The last in this exciting three part polishing with wool pads episode! Following on from these threads: http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f12/meguiars-meets-wool-pads-2799.html http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f12/markv-meets-wool-pads-2798.html Its now Menzerna's turn. So we swirl up the panel again! Without the Brinkmann, the damage is clear for all to see and severe - inflicted with wire wool and a key, as per above threads. This time for trialling on wool, it was Menzerna POS34A Power Gloss. Now this compound is recommended for use on foam rather than wool - as opposed to Meguiars #84 and MarkV Mystique. However, in the name of experiment, it would be interesting to see just what it was capable of on a wool pad. Picked up at 600rpm, and then spread at 600rpm -you could hear the sandy abrasives grind at this stage, nasty noise but this is heavy cutting we are doing! Definitely a dry compound though compared to the smoother gliding #84 and Mystique. Up the speed to 1500rpm and begine to work the compound. As before, yuo could watch the general swirls disappear quickly. Three or four passes at this speed and the general swirling was gone. Up to 200rpm and after about five or six passes, the polish had dried to a point where I simply could not continue - many marks removed at this stage, but some deeper marks remained and looking at the finish under the Brinkman, it was clear this compound still had a lot of cut to go... Just, it had run out of lubrication... So, as with using it by foam, a little QD was spritzed onto the wool (Menzerna Final Inspection), and the pcompound respread at 600rpm and instantly we got white residue ready to work again. Work back up to 2000rpm, and another five or six passes got rid of all but the deepest of key marks - the polish had dried again at this stage, but the compounding was now finished as the desired correction had been achived... The finish was much better now as well: And the gloss restored: To tidy up the compounding marks and enhance the finish, Menzerna PO106FF Final Finish was applied using a Meguiars W8006 polishing pad: 600rpm to spread, 1200rpm to start working, 1500rpm until the residue went clear, and then 1200rpm to refine. The end results: This enhanced the gloss and restored the finsih to what it was before I attacked it with wire wool! Paint thickness removed: 20um Discussion: By foam pad, we are aware of the requirement to keep Power Gloss well lubricated with quick detaileror water to ensure you get the best out of the cutting abrasive as it will dry out before it is fully worked. This may have been down to the heat produced by the compounding, drying the polish out, however the lower temperature wool pads required the same process which shows the problem is not just a termperature one... Indeed, the requirement for it on DA too highlights this. Out of the three compounds tried toay, all cut effectively, but PG felt less at home by wool than the oilier MarkV and #84... The latter two seemed designed for task, the PG felt more like it was being forced to do something it wasn't designed for. But it did manage effectively, as the results show. To summarise all three here - this is simply an introduction to the capabilities of wool and a small sumary of a winter's worth of thorough testing and trialling from me... I will not be introducing wool to my detailing this year, as much more testing si requiered for me personally using different wools and also testing the technique to destruction... Until thorough testing has been done, I wont be takinjg wool away from the scrap panels! It is however, going to make an appearance i my detailing in time to come, as its capabilites can not be denied and it presents many advantages which I am goin to harness... Watch this space for further wooly developments No lambs were harmed in the making of this thread
so dave, when you are working on a foam pad, what's your technique in terms of speed of movement of the rotary or how long do you let the rotary stay in on place? what movements do you do?
I never let the rotary stay in one place... unless I'm doing a strike through demo. Though seriously, it does take a few seconds to burn the paint but temperature build up is fast if the machine remains in the same place... When using foam, I sweep the rotary from side to side as this is the way the rotary tends to glide for me... I never force the machine, but let it do the work and simply guide it to where I want it to be. This stops the machine from fighting and hopping, and it just glides effortlessly (unless Menzerna happens to be playing up for some reason). Movement is generally a couple of inches per second going side to side, a little faster if compounding at high speeds to avoid heat build up, and a little slower if refining at slow speeds to get the last out of the cut of broken down finishing abrasives to burnish. Its hard to describe fully in words, but I've got some videos planned this year to highlight the different methods I personally choose to use, and how I move the machine. Many move it faster than I do, but the slower movements suit my technique better and give me results which I personally prefer.
I learn a lot of everything from you Dave KG, and everyone here!!! Thanks a lot of your kindness of sharing knowlege, especially newbie like me! hope to learn more form you guys in the future!!!
Great work, and proper writeup as always. Dave. What woolpads did you use? I only got Meguiar's wool, and I'm not fond of that.
The Wool pad that came with the Makita for these tests, but my fav wool pad right now are the LakeCountry light cutting ones.
I am doing the same thing on my inlaws car, he thought it would be good to clean it with steel wool, seriously. Not joking. My attack is an edge black wool and power gloss
