M105 Ultra Cut vs. Wet Sanding - Need Advice

[LedFoot]

If you have to go wet sanding, please take a look of this thread by Mr. Stoops

The Power of 3000 Grit

Hope this help.

Thanks for that! Very interesting write-up. Now after reading that I'm thinking maybe damp sanding with a DA and 3000 grit may be better...

It says damp sanding with a DA and 3000 grit is less invasive to the paint than applying 105 with a rotary. I'm wondering how harsh/invasive applying the 105 with a DA is compared to wet sanding with DA. From what I understand, a rotary takes a lot more skill to use correctly than a DA. Decisions decisions. Since I'm not going to buy BOTH a rotary and a DA and I'm certainly not a pro, i will go with a DA. I guess I could try damp sanding with the DA on a small test area and 105 with the DA on another test area and see what works best.

[Nezil]

It's great that you're thinking of doing a test area, since that's always recommended.

The usual process for a test area, and for all paint correction work for that matter, is to start with the least aggressive first, and then move up if necessary.

Your photos sure do look pretty bad, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the difference a DA makes to your process, it's so so much more effective than polishing by hand. My advice to you, would be to start your test area with materials that you already have, such as Ultimate Compound, on a Meguiars Yellow Polishing pad. Take a look at the videos to make sure that you have your technique right, and that will be a great start. #105 isn't that much different to Ultimate Compound, and you already have a bottle of that, so it seems fairly pointless to waste money on another similar product.

If Ultimate Compound on a Yellow pad doesn't work, you have two choices... Step up to a more abrasive system, or go over the area with the same materials for multiple passes. The multiple passes approach will take you longer, but you're not a professional being paid by the hour, and you're only wanting to fix this problem once. It's by far the safer option, and the one that I'd go with if I were you.

My concern here is that if your paint is damaged so badly that you really need to start sanding, it likely needs the consultation of a specialist who can actually see the panel rather than just one photo on a forum. You might be correct that sanding would fix your problems quicker, but I'm not sure I'd want to test that theory on my own car. If you make any mistakes, your only option is a respray.

[Michael Stoops]

As has been pointed out, going from hand application of any liquid, even M105, straight to wet sanding is a huge jump. Since you will absolutely require a power tool to remove your sanding marks, and since sanding and rotary buffing are both very advanced processes that are best NOT self taught on a vehicle you care about, we're going to recommend the following:

Pick up a good DA buffer and the DA Microfiber Correction System. Those scratches look really, really bad and our gut feeling is that traditional foam pads, even with M105, might struggle with them. The DAMF System will allow you to reach rotary levels of cut without the long, steep learning curve of that tool - and as such, without the potential to do real damage, too. Read through D/A Buffing 101 - An Introduction to the G110v2 and similar tools to familiarize yourself with the basic use of a DA, and then read Using Meguiar's D/A Microfiber Correction System for specifics on using this system with a DA. In the hands of a novice such as yourself, this is going to be the fastest and safest way to remove these scratches. The DA buffer, the correct backing plate, a pair of each microfiber disc, and 16 oz bottles of the two liquids will cost about the same as a rotary buffer, the backing plate and pads needed for it, and the proper quality sand paper that you'd need to do the job correctly. And the chances of something going horribly wrong drop from "almost certain" to "nil".

Now, about those scratches..... can you feel any of them with your fingernail? Our concern is that there are so many, that they look so deep, and that they are so closely spaced that they could have compromised the clear coat even if it isn't failing at the moment. If you can feel these scratches, or even just a small percentage of them, do NOT try to remove everything 100% as doing so will remove so much clear that you very likely will compromise the life expectancy of it, if it hasn't happened already. If you can not feel them at all and the pictures are making them look worse than perhaps they really are, then so be it.

[LedFoot]

^^^ Thanks Michael! I will take your advice. I have already ruled out a rotary after reading several threads and will purchase a DA and the DAMF items you mentioned. I guess if this doesn't work I have no choice but to try a more abrasive compound or the damp sanding method with the DA as discussed in the thread andytsang posted the link to.

Is it necessary that I use the DAMF correction compound and wax from the kit, or can I use Ultimate Compound and Tech Wax (since I've already purchased these)? Would M105 be better than Ultimate or DAMF correction compound?

As for the scratches, surprisingly, no, I can't feel them with my fingernail. They do look horrible in the pic. I snapped the pics up very close and at a certain angle so they would be most visible. After washing/waxing the car they don't look quite as bad and you have to get within 1-2 feet of the car to notice them. There is no hazing or white spots just the scratches.

Thanks again everyone for your input. It may be a week or two before I purchase the DAMF items and get around to doing the work, but I will keep you guys posted and post up pics of my results. Feel free to keep the comments coming.

[Michael Stoops]

Is it necessary that I use the DAMF correction compound and wax from the kit, or can I use Ultimate Compound and Tech Wax (since I've already purchased these)? Would M105 be better than Ultimate or DAMF correction compound?

To minimize your costs you could, at the very minimum, pick up the W67DA backing plate (this is mandatory), a two pack of the DMC5 Microfiber Cutting Discs, and a 16oz bottle of D300 Correction Compound. That should take care of the "heavy lifting" as it were, removing the defects quite efficiently. Whether or not this process creates some level of hazing on this paint is hard to say until you actually use it, but if it does you can then clean up that haze very easily with a light pass of UC on a foam polishing pad, and then apply your NXT Tech Wax 2.0. If no haze is present after removing the defects (which is more than likely going to be the case), then you can go straight to the NXT.

There is no problem mixing and matching processes as described above, but we do recommend sticking with the D300 Correction Compound instead of UC or M105, even though it's perfectly OK to use them if you don't have other options. UC won't cut as much as D300, and M105 would be both more expensive and create a lot more dust than D300, hence our strong recommendation for D300 here (and it's extremely cost effective, too).

Just make sure you use the microfiber pads and D300 properly - 4800 opm (speed setting 4 on the G110v2) and plenty of pressure. Don't be shy about the pressure, just keep the tool moving slowly over the paint and you'll be fine.

[saturn2]

http://www.resizeyourimage.com/uploa...t/IMG_0005.jpg




I have this same problem too believe or not I can't fell them with my figure nail either.

[saturn2]

[saturn2]

http://www.resizeyourimage.com/uploa...t/IMG_0007.jpg

[saturn2]

[saturn2]