Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

[Kevin Brown]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

Better watch it, TODD... You may have to change your name to MIKE.

As we all know, if you are going to work for Meguiar's in any capacity, you have a very good shot if your name is MIKE.

Sweet work.

p.s.- You named the KBM. Only WE know that the "M" stands for "Mike", not "Method". This is why there is so much confusion I guess.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

Very nicely done, Todd, and we know it will help a lot of people overcome some confusion.

Kevin, on a completely personal note, I really think you're wrong about the "M" meaning "Mike" and not "Method". And if in you are wrong about something related to detailing, well........ I think I may some time to ponder the ramifications.

My world is suddenly shaken.






Not stirred.

[Ganesa]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

wow nice chart...
but would you really recommend the aggressiveness of a DA with a cutting pad?

[Kevin Brown]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

wow nice chart...
but would you really recommend the aggressiveness of a DA with a cutting pad?

If I am not mistaken, you are asking if Todd recommends that a person use the W7207 Foam Cutting Pad with the DA?
I don't know if he is recommending it, but he has placed a statement of the chart saying that Meguiar's does not recommend it.

That being said, the Meguiar's W7207 finishes out WONDERFULLY with a DA most of the time.
If the time is taken to "dial in" the procedure on a given paint job, it can often leave a surface super-refined, and ready for wax .

Worst case scenario would require a follow up step to remove any fine hazing created by the pad.
As usual, it is always best to do a test spot before polishing the entire vehicle.

[the_invisible]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

Todd, could you please give us an idea of where the 5.5" LC Yellow Pad on a G110 goes relative to the chart? A rough estimate will be fine. I believe the LC Yellow Pad is quite a bit more aggressive than the W7207. Is that right?

Is the W7006 really that bad? I once ran out of LC Orange Cutting pad (from saturation caused by touch up jobs done by plastic model paint on a client's car) and was about to grab a W7006 for $35USD at a local parts store. Glad I didn't.

I was told by Meguiar's that the Solo line of pads are more aggressive than their equivalent Softbuff 2.0 pads due to their diamond patterns. This chart seems to contradict Meguiar's Online Customer Service's information. Perhaps, the KBM changes the characteristics of the pads being compared in the chart???

Also, I am kind of wondering what speeds we are talking about here on both machines, and what kind of machines are being compared in the chart. I am assuming this is a case for the Makita Rotary and the Meguiar's G110 DA. Meguiar's never recommends a speed above 5 on their G100 and G110, so I am assuming a speed 5 in this chart for the DA and 1500rpm for the rotary? Also, is KBM being used for the comparisons provided in the chart?


Finally, again, love the graphics!!! The graphics is almost like the packaging of a Hit Playstation Game!!!

[TH0001]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

Todd, could you please give us an idea of where the 5.5" LC Yellow Pad on a G110 goes relative to the chart? A rough estimate will be fine. I believe the LC Yellow Pad is quite a bit more aggressive than the W7207. Is that right?

There are several different 'cuts' of Lake Country Yellow Pad. Some feel like a Brillo pad and the higher quality ones are a little finer in texture. The Brillo pad like yellow pads are much more aggressive then 7207 (they are more in line with the previous 7000 and 7006 cutting pads). The Brillo like yellow pad will leave significant surface scouring. The finer feeling yellow pad is still more aggressive then the 7207, and will leave significantly less scouring then the Brillo pad. It is my preferred version of the yellow cutting foam. Unfortunately the Brillo version is sold by some larger companies and has given yellow pads a pad rep.

The Meg's 7207 is a unique, closed cell foam, while not as aggressive as either yellow pad, it will finish to near LSP ready. It really is the nicest cutting foam I have used.

Is the W7006 really that bad? I once ran out of LC Orange Cutting pad (from saturation caused by touch up jobs done by plastic model paint on a client's car) and was about to grab a W7006 for $35USD at a local parts store. Glad I didn't.

The W7006 isn't bad, it is just an aggressive foam that will cut well but scour the paint. Every foam has a time and place. The W7006 will cut more aggressively then the orange pad.

I was told by Meguiar's that the Solo line of pads are more aggressive than their equivalent Softbuff 2.0 pads due to their diamond patterns. This chart seems to contradict Meguiar's Online Customer Service's information. Perhaps, the KBM changes the characteristics of the pads being compared in the chart???

This chart doesn't reference the KBM, but the cuts of the pads will be similar. I spoke to Jason Rose about the differences in the pads, foams, and designs. It seems you where misled about the aggressiveness of the So1o pads from Meg's Customer Service, unfortunately.

The foam on both the So1o Yellow Pad and the Polishing Pad is the same, the Diamond Pattern of the So1o Pad makes it less aggressive. The foam used on the So1o Finishing pad, by design, is less aggressive then the foam used on the Soft Buff 2.0 Finishing Pad.

Also, I am kind of wondering what speeds we are talking about here on both machines, and what kind of machines are being compared in the chart.

No speeds are being accounted for. The chart is a reference to the type of action each particular combination is capable of producing given similar circumstances.

I am assuming this is a case for the Makita Rotary and the Meguiar's G110 DA.

A rotary is a rotary; It spins the pad. The type of rotary is not really in question. Increasing RPM will increase cut per time, decreasing RPM will reduce cut per time.

Meguiar's never recommends a speed above 5 on their G100 and G110, so I am assuming a speed 5 in this chart for the DA and 1500rpm for the rotary? Also, is KBM being used for the comparisons provided in the chart?

As long as the technique is similar in application with a given style of machine, the chart should serve as a fairly accurate reference point.

Finally, again, love the graphics!!! The graphics is almost like the packaging of a Hit Playstation Game!!!

Thanks!

[the_invisible]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

There are several different 'cuts' of Lake Country Yellow Pad. Some feel like a Brillo pad and the higher quality ones are a little finer in texture. The Brillo pad like yellow pads are much more aggressive then 7207 (they are more in line with the previous 7000 and 7006 cutting pads). The Brillo like yellow pad will leave significant surface scouring. The finer feeling yellow pad is still more aggressive then the 7207, and will leave significantly less scouring then the Brillo pad. It is my preferred version of the yellow cutting foam. Unfortunately the Brillo version is sold by some larger companies and has given yellow pads a pad rep.

I am glad you are adressing this.

I am getting similar cuts between my yellow and orange pads and I have always wondered why that is the case. When I rub my LC yellow pad against my skin, it feels SOFTER and SMOOTHER than my orange pads. Also, contrary to popular resuts, when I used my LC Yellow pad on my freshly repainted fender, I am not getting any scouring, marring, scratches, or swirls that are infamous with the LC Yellow pad. I have always wondered if there was a mistake on the color-coding of the yellow pad, because my yellow pad feels more gentle than my orange pads. Now I see why... there are two versions of the LC yellow pads, and I have the finer one.


So, from what I am understanding, the greater the cut of the pad, the better it is at removing defects, at the risk of scouring the surface. So a pad that scours the surface is naturally an ideal pad at removing deeper defects. Correct? Can the scoured surface be easily repaired using a less aggressive polishing pad? In most cases, a cutting pad is alaways followed by a polishing pad. If so, why is there any worries regarding scouring a surface with a cutting pad?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

Great chart, Todd. Thanks for taking the time to do this. It is appreciated.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Meguiar's M105/M205 Polish and Pad Chart

So, from what I am understanding, the greater the cut of the pad, the better it is at removing defects, at the risk of scouring the surface. So a pad that scours the surface is naturally an ideal pad at removing deeper defects. Correct? Can the scoured surface be easily repaired using a less aggressive polishing pad? In most cases, a cutting pad is alaways followed by a polishing pad. If so, why is there any worries regarding scouring a surface with a cutting pad?

As with so many things involving paint polishing the answer to this is "yes and no". A pad that scours one paint system may not scour another, just as a given liquid doesn't provide equal results from one paint system to another. While we don't recommend use of our W9207 Soft Buff 2.0 cutting pad on a D/A polisher, we have seen reports of it leaving an LSP ready finish when used this way - on some paint systems - when the same was virtually unheard of with our previous W9007 cutting pad. Why worry about scouring with a cutting pad? Mostly just because it means you must follow with another step to remove any scouring/hazing. If you can remove the original defects with a more aggressive liquid on a polishing pad, without scouring/hazing in the first place, then that is obviously the preferred combination. But when faced with really severe defects, especially on "hard" paint, sometimes you need to take a more aggressive approach. While a rotary buffer with a polishing pad may be the overall best approach in such cases, if you don't have access to a rotary and/or don't know how to use one, then perhaps you need to get a bit "creative" with your D/A.

As you suspect, the vast majority of the time any scouring/hazing inflicted by a cutting pad can be easily removed by following with a polishing pad.