Meguiars vs Meguiars

[6318]

It seems I was able to kill several birds with one stone...
I wanted to try a couple of different things...
I wanted to practice using a rotary
I wanted to practice wet sanding
I wanted to see, side by side, the different effects various Meg products would have, including different application methods.
...so...
I went to the local junkyard and procured a hood (they were nice enough to donate it to the cause).

DISCLAIMER: Links may lead to large pics painful to dialup...I used detailed pics to better highlight the differences I was looking for...

First, the unprepared hood...

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/before

Note the damage...I'll be leaving that for next week...my Bondo experiment!!!

Next is the pic after I washed the hood...it is in the process of drying and I took the picture to try and capture the severity of oxidation that you can see by contrasting the dry vs wet portion...

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/washed

I then clayed the entire hood...it did a great job of removing the print from the oil pencil, though I had to really scrub to get some of it out...you can see in the pic where even some of the oxidation was removed by my vigorous claying...however, knowing I was to attack more of the hood with much more aggressive products, I didn't try and deoxidize much with the clay...

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/clayedi

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/clayedii

I then layed a strip of tape on the left hand side of my test section to maintain the 'just washed and clayed' appearance and did a bit more of the hood with my PC on #5 with a 7006 pad using #83 and got this result:

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/just83o

I was quite amazed to see what a significant improvement it made without having to use the rotary!

I then confined my workspace to the center portion of the hood, following the PC #83 with rotary application of #83 with Meg 7006 on about 1850rpm; followed that with rotary application of #84 (again with 7006 on 1850); then #85; and finally went back and buffed the #85 with the PC using #83...in this pic you can see the tape laid out for the progression (after the '85' tape is the final #83 buff, of course):

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/taped

I removed the tape to note the differences. You'll notice come residue from the compound getting caught under the edge of the tape...I knew it would happen...but I let it stay to mark the edges when the tape came off. It might seem that there isn't a significant difference between the various strips...but I think there is, just keep looking...there are some definite changes in reflectivity between the various applications...
here you can see the light going from the washed/clayed strip to the #84 strip:

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/unmaskedi

and here you can see the light span the #83 with rotary to final #83 buff:

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/unmaskedii

you can imagine what sort of condition this hood was in after sitting who knows how long in a junkyard...what better victim for my first wetsanding adventure?!? I soaked Megs 1500unigrit paper for the designated 15 min in a water and wash solution...then basically went to work. I attacked anything that looked like a scratch or etch which had refused to yield itself to my more humane removal methods. This is the fruit of that labor:

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/afterwetsand

hehe...that was great fun! Of course I went too deep a couple of times...I meant to! I figure if you don't know what too much is, you haven't learned what the product is capable of...

Now for the fun of removing the unigrit marks. I used the rotary #85, stepping down to roatry #83, then to PC #83. I'm pleased with the results...infinitely better than before wetsanding. You can still detect a hint of the lines I used in wetsanding...next time I'll go with a higher # unigrit before going back with the #85 in an effort to smooth the surface even more. Here's the finished results!

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/finishedi

http://bookmd.henriksen.org/finishedii

And there you have it...what I learned on Saturday...

PS I should note that for purposes of scientific authenticity...all pics were taken in the same location with the exact same lighting

[perry]

Huh, that's pretty interesting. Thanks for doing that little experiment. I think I can actually see a difference in the unmaskedi picture. The difference with just 83 is pretty amazing itself, seeing the progession is even coolor.

If you decide to do something like this again, let me suggest leaving a little piece of tape at the top of the strips w/ markings showing what each strip is. I have a short memory and kept having to go back to the taped picture to see what each strip was. Kept forgetting about the 83/PC only strip

[6318]

Thanks for the input perry...the pics have been altered to reflect your suggestions...

[Mike Phillips]

Just to chime in here...

This is one of the best ways to learn how to use a variety of products without putting yourself into any liability situation, especially wet-sanding and using a rotary buffer.

On that note: Most, not all, buy most wet-sanding is done within hours or days of applying fresh paint. In this window of time, the paint is dramatically much softer and thus much easier to remove sanding marks from with the rotary buffer.

Wet sanding on cured paint, especially if its factory paint, is probably the hardest paint to remove your sanding marks from completely.

Good job!

Do you feel more comfortable with the wet sanding and compounding procedures?

Mike

[6318]

Hey mike!
I do feel MUCH more comfortable...in several areas...
1) I now feel comfortable with the rotary
2) I think my PC ability is greatly enhanced by working with the rotary (I don't know why...I just seem to be getting better results)
3) I'm learning the benefits and limitations of wet sanding (though I still have a lot aof practice ahead of me...)

One question I've got for you...
I read someone's (a mod?) post saying that #85 is meant to be used with a wool pad...if used with the foam, the rotary would skip and hop...
of course I read this after saying to myself "self, why is #83 so much easier to apply than the #85?"

So my question...in your video, you don't use the wool on cc...I was thinking of sticking with the 7006 with #85, just working on maintaining control (not difficult, just takes concentration)...is this what you do?

[6318]

So, Mike...what kinda of stepdown do you use from the #85 for a swirl free finish?
...I think I did #83 with rotary and 7006 then #83 with PC and 8006...does this sound about right?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by 6318
One question I've got for you...

I read someone's (a mod?) post saying that #85 is meant to be used with a wool pad...if used with the foam, the rotary would skip and hop...

This is true. The #84 is a compound formulated for use with Meguiar's W-7006 foam cutting pad and the #85 is a compound formulated for use with a wool cutting pad.

The #85 is not as slippery and when used with the foam pad it tends to create too much heat. I used to use the #85 with foam cutting pads until I learned that it was not formulated for use this way. I find that it's true, the #84 works a lot better with the foam and the #85 works much better with wool.

Of course I read this after saying to myself "self, why is #83 so much easier to apply than the #85?"

One factor that Meguiar's chemists adjust that affects a product buff-ability is the lubricity of a product. That's probably what you're noticing.

So my question... in your video, you don't use the wool on cc...I was thinking of sticking with the 7006 with #85, just working on maintaining control (not difficult, just takes concentration)...is this what you do?

No. On clear coats, I tend to go with the #84 with the W-7006 or W-7000 foam cutting pad.

In keeping with Meguiar’s philosophy,

Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

If the #84/W-7000/RB isn't aggressive enough, then I would recommend substituting #85 and the W-4000 Wool Cutting pad.

If this isn’t' removing the defects quickly enough, then I would stop and re-evaluate the situation. Perhaps wet-sanding the defect using a fine grit Nikken Finishing Paper would be a better choice and then remove your sanding marks, or perhaps the defects are too deep, the paint is too hard, and potentially too thin and it's possible that the defects cannot be safely removed.

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by 6318
So, Mike...what kind of of step-down do you use from the #85 for a swirl free finish?
...I think I did #83 with rotary and 7006 then #83 with PC and 8006...does this sound about right?

This kind of depends on how hard the paint is, but I would probably tend to go with the #83 DACP with a W-8006 or W-8000 foam pad instead of the W-9000 or W-9006 pad because it offers a little more bite to remove any residual haze.

After that, to insure a flawless finish, I would perform the extra step of going over the finish with the PC use a W-8006 foam polishing pad and either #82 or #80

If it's fresh paint, then I would stop there. If it's cured paint I would apply two thin coats of the NXT Tech Wax.

Mike

[6318]

Thanks Mike...
Turns out my wife showed this post at work and I got two jobs out of it!
...will be removing scuff marks from her co-workers cars...who'd'a'thunk it!