Lessoned learned

I just spent 3 hours washing/drying/taping off a 1984 Porsche 944 w/300,000+ miles. The body is in great shape, no rust (is this thing fiberglass? lol...) but it looks like its never seen a paint correction or wax in the past 15 years. Tons of swirls, marring, hardwater deposit, etc...

I started up my PC, started working in Megs UC. I did one complete pass, buffed off residue.....and it was about a 50% improvement. It looked better to you and me, but to just anyone you could still see a lot of swirling. Did another pass, no noticeable improvement.

Because thats all the compound i have, and there is nothing good available OTC locally i had to remove all the tape and stop.

3 hours of work, for nothing...because i was unprepared and over estimated my tools ability to do the job.

Learned that one the hard way.

 

That sucks man, always gotta make sure you take inventory and have everything topped off before you go at it. Sorry this happened.

 

yeah, that sucks.......... someone asked me once, "why do you have so many different polishes and stuff" My reply is "you never know when you will need it, and its better to spend the money now, then stress about having to search it out.

I hope the client was understanding and willing to bring it back.....

 

I believe that Meguiars Ultimate Compound ( or something like those words), is OTC, and is similar to Meguiars 105, but more user-friendly than the Meguiars 105 professional line. If this product is available, you might want to read the label and see if it will work with a PC.

Were you using the 5.5" pads? The smaller pads would rotate much easier than the big 6" ones, and this might help, but it sounds like you need my all time 1st choice - Rotary Power.

Sorry you had to go through this - guess that's why everyone recommends doing a test spot first, before getting serious about the whole vehicle..

I dont know where you are, but if you are in Western Washington, I will be glad to help!

Good luck, hope this works out for you and the Client.

Dan F

 

Thanks Dan for the offer, but im about 2200 miles due east

Client? No lol...still learning, i would not take on a client at this point. I have been doing family members cars all summer getting experience, this would have been my 5th car. The other 4 went flawless, and quick! All with uber 5.5" pads and only using megs ultimate compound (i referred to it as Megs UC above). Correction was not pro quality, but for only 4-5 hours of work on the cars and given that the drivers will be taking them through auto washes regularly...it looked great. Either later this fall or next spring i want to try and get a pro quality finish on my Grand Cherokee when i get more product.

A place near me (Carquest) has M105/205, but from what i have read if the UC wont remove the deep stuff than 105 would not have either. I will be doing test spots from here out, i never thought of doing that (learning curve). I plan on getting 3-4 products from menz in the future, and grabbing a few more uber pads...hopefull i wont get stuck again.

 

maybe try a more aggressive pad with the UC...........
I am a big fan of power gloss, if your going to get two menz polishes, I recommend that ,and Power finish.....
I have SIP and Super finish, and i never use them.

 

Thanks again, menz aint cheap...and i was going to get SIP.

 

ill sell you a 32oz bottle with 75% -80% left LOL........I was going to post that and Superfinish up.

I like SIP, and honestly PF is almost the same cut, IMO..... I just dont need two laying around.

 

Thanks for the first buy option, i need to find that menz usage chart again...its been awhile since i read up on it.

 

actually on DD, phil has really good descriptions of the entire line......

 

Can i use PG and PF like a 105/205 or do I need a third step?

 

no, you can use PG and PF as a two step, but you could use PG and SF as well, they all finish down very nice... but PG is for sure a two step. I al,ways follow up SIP or PG with SF or PF, but I have used PF as a standalone and got amazing results.

 

Good to know about the PF, thats why i grabbed UC instead of ordering something. To be honest, the cars im correcting are owned by people who dont care enough to maintain the finish. For me, being able ot bring back 90% of the shine is good enouhg most of the time...so PF will be great. When i need/want more i can do a two stage with PG.

Awesome help! Thank you!

 

im in the same boat, 60% are people who don't care and just want it clean and better then before, and the 40% are enthusiasts who want their car looking a certain way. So I totally understand where you are coming from, I try to keep it simple, and as non confusing as possible. I have used UC, and its a great product for those people who just want some minor hazing or marring removed, I also use alot of D151 which is a great product in itself. Leaves a nice gloss, and lasts a decent amount of time. Not alot of cut, its sort of a cleaner wax, but with a green or orange pad it does nicely.

If you want to try anything, Let me know, ill break you off a few ounces, just send me some bottles and 5.00 for return shipping.....

 

Sorry, I didnt read the abbreviations very well, ref Meguiars UC.. Wow - 2200 miles ! Yikes, that's more than a days drive for me ! Ok, I understand where you are coming from now; thought you were doing this full time, etc...

I was thinking, the Lake Country purple foam wool pads work really well on badly damaged finishes and allow the compound to finish down really well too. The only thing I don't know, is if they would work with a PC or not.. I use them frequently with a Rotary on paint when nothing else will make a difference...

Menzerna USA Polishing Compounds

POS34A Power Gloss Cut = 4.5 out of 5 Gloss = 1.5 out of 5
PO83 Super Intensive Cut = 3.8 out of 5 Gloss = 3.2 out of 5
PO91E Intensive Polish Cut = 3.3 out of 5 Gloss = 3 out of 5
PO203S Power Finish Cut = 3.5 out of 5 Gloss = 3.8 out of 5
PO106FA Super Finish Cut = 2.5 out of 5 Gloss = 5 out of 5
PO85RD Finish Polish Cut = 1 out of 5 Gloss = 5 out of 5

Dan F

 

I can't stress enough about taping a section off and doing a test spot before you waste your time and start taping up the whole car. It just saves so much time because you can figure out your process of pad/product combination, thus giving you a general idea of what to look forward to on the other panels.

 

^^^good advice. Work a small section until you find out what works.

 

maybe get some surbuf pad from Phil?

 

Lots of great advice ITT. Thanks to everyone, i do appreciate it.