I bought a PC7424 along with the M105 ultra-cut compound and the M205 finishing polish, along with a variety of pads. I've read the DI guide on how to polish and such but my questions are:

- do I apply the M105 first on ALL of the car's paint, or only areas where there are scratches or other damage?
- how would I go about polishing the back of the trunk, do i need to mask off the branding ("Infiniti" logo, etc)?
- Should I apply the M105 to the whole car first before applying M105 or do it area by area?
- I noticed in the DI guide they recommend changing pads after each couple of panels.. I only have 1 of each color (and 2 whites) and i have the snappy cleaner product. Is there a way I could work it out?
- Is just a wash ok before polishing or should I also clay the car?


thanks, it's a lot of questions

 

If you have no experience, practice on an older car or go buy a hood form a junk yard to practice on first.

-Polish whatever needs polishing one panel at a time. When you polish and get a scratch and swirl free finish on one panel, you'll want to do the entire car. Use the M105 followed by the M205 in areas of heavier scratches and swirls. Just the M205 everywhere else.
-Definitely do one area at a time, not the entire car. Do an area no larger than 2' by 2' at a time.
-You should be able to tell when the pad needs changing. If you only have one, you'll have to clean it and let it dry before proceeding. Buy more pads if you will be doing your own detailing regularly.
-If you have clay and have never clayed it, then use the clay. It will make the paint really slick and smooth and help you get a better looking finish. It's amazing what it will take off of the car that you usually don't see but you can definitely feel. I clay every 6 to 9 months.

 

Ok thanks.

I don't think i'll be able to practice.. unless I use someone else's car I'll ask around.

I clayed my car about 3 months ago, I guess i don't have to do it again but will it affect the polishing if I don't?

 

3 months ago should be fine. If the paint is still slick to the touch, you don't need to clay again.

 

go to Detailed Image - Premium Auto Detailing Supplies and read all of their how-to's on detailing. It will take you through everything

 

yes thank you, it's one of my bookmarks, great ressource

just a last little question.. is there any actual "danger" in applying M105? I'm worried that I might screw up the paint somehow. I'll try to practice on another car but if i can't i don't want to mess anything up.

 

anything you apply with a buffer is, in an extreme situation, dangerous to the paint. if you sit in one spot with pressure you can burn through the paint, but as long as you aren't overapplying pressure in one area you should be fine

 

+1 on what was already said.

I just posted what I did on my father in laws camry with M105. I would only use M105 on deep scratches. If you dont have deep scratches and just a bunch of swirl marks or minor scratches, M205 on a white (or similar) pad should do the job.

Read up on DI about the how to for M105 and M205.

Polishing How To with Meguiar’s M105 / M205 – Detailed Image

You mentioned you read the DI guide on how to polish, but there is a guide specifically for the M105 and M205.

Heres from the Megs webpage on the Kevin Brown Method:

A look into Pad Priming - The Kevin Brown Method - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online

You said you have 1 of each color, and 2 whites. That should be all you need to do a car.

Did you get a yellow, orange, green, 2 whites, 1 black and 1 blue? If you only use M105 on the deep scratches, one pad will be fine. You can use the orange with M105 for deep scratches (or yellow if necessary) Then you use M205 on the entire car which your 2 whites (or black) will be suitable for.

I currently love M105 and Im using up my menzerna power finish and replacing it with M205. My pad collection is going to be 2 cyan pads to use M105 on. 2 white pads and 2 black pads to use M205 on (depending on level of cut) And then 1 blue to put the sealant on.

I currently have an orange, green, 2 whites, 2 blacks, and a blue. The orange is on its last leg and the green is probably close, so I will replace them both with 2 cyans.

And if you go slow and move the buffer maybe a 1/2 inch every second, it will be hard to screw up with the M105 and M205.

 

Arguably the best random orbital polisher guide available - Machine Polishing by Dual Action Polisher - Full Guide - Detailing World

 

If you like Meg's products, you might want to start with their Ultimate Compound before going with the M105 & M205 combination. I've used it one time (not on my G) and was really surprised how effective it was at removing swirls, etching, and hard water spots. I used a DA polisher with a yellow pad. One application was all I needed followed up with a cleaner wax and it looked better than new!

 

I'm curious why you need the cutter to begin with. These cars are at most 2-3 years old. A fine polish is about all you would need to eliminate most issues.

$0.02.....Starting as a "rookie" with an orbital polisher and heavy cut sounds like a bad idea or an expensive lesson.


Having said that, LESS is MORE. If you start shallow you can always go deeper into the paint. Go deep the first time and its done.

 

That totally depends upon how well the owner cared for the paint. I've seen new cars that needed more paint correction than cars that were 2 or 3 years old.

 

You don't have to worry about burning the paint using the porter cable, even if you used the most abrasive polish and held it down for many many minutes in the same spot. Use painters tape to cover the rubber trim as it will dull it if you go over it with the polish. To be on the safe side I would tape up anything else that isn't painted.

A few months ago I clayed and polished my 370z using the porter cable, 4 white pads, and a finishing polish.

 

That is simply NOT true. It's not likely if you are using it properly, but you most certainly CAN burn paint using a PC. I've done it just to see if it were possible. It most definitely is possible.

All it took is a PC with a 4" yellow pad, Menzerna Power Gloss, and moderate to slightly strong of pressure moving over the same area for just a couple of minutes. This was on a metal part of a car, on plastic parts it's much easier. The paint gets extremely warm to the touch, then hot, then burns. It's not pretty.

 

ummm...yeah...this is wrong