Question about ultimate compound

[chris328]

Hey guys so I finally went and became acquainted with clay barring which is fine, but I know theres an additional step before waxing and that's polishing, the problem is my paint is only about 1 year old and still looks decent, I want to use the least abrasive compound and I think ultimate compound is what I need,

however I noticed Mike Phillips said in a thread that it's very agressive and you should follow up with swirl-x, this is confusing because in all the videos they say it leaves behind NO scratches, (I thought that was what made this product special) so it leaves the question, does ultimate compound leaves behind scratches or not?

I have some etched water stains on my hood that I'd like to remove and I was considering using ultimate compound after claying and before waxing, however I need the least intrusive product as possible, which product rates as a "1" on meguiar's abrasiveness scale? Does ultimate compound rate as a "1"?

Thanks

[yalerd]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

Ultimate Compound is the most aggressive product in the Meguiar's Consumer Line.

Sometimes when you use a product as aggressive as Ultimate Compound, you would follow it with a less aggressive product like SwirlX or ScratchX 2.0 to refine and get the most clarity and gloss from the surface.

Ultimate Compound is a great product, and it can leave the surface ready for wax just because it leaves the surface looking so different from traditional compounds but sometimes or some people will tend to follow it with a milder product to refine the looks.

See this link, it might help out
Aggressiveness Order for New Consumer Products - This will surprise you!

[chris328]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

Thanks, so according to this since scratchX 1.0 is discontinued, my best option would be swirl X? Is swirl x applied in the same way as ultimate compoound, or is it used only for specific areas. I'm looking for a product in between claying and waxing that will clean the paint further without potential damage, and can be applied easily without a buffer...

[yalerd]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0 and Ultimate Compound have the same application method. Always start with the least aggressive method, do test spots and see if the defects that you have can be removed with the product you are using, if not and you would like to remove them then you'll have to step it up to a more aggressive product.

Good luck and we are here to help out

[chris328]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

alright, what about dc system, does this make sense:

wash -> clay -> rewash -> dc paint cleaner -> dc polish -> wax

i didnt know you could apply both the polish and paint cleaner by hand. or is that a bad idea? cause i dont have a rotary buffer or anything.

[james0509]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

alright, what about paint cleaner though, does this make sense:

wash -> clay -> rewash -> dc paint cleaner -> wax

or does the dc paint cleaner without the dc polish not make any sense.

from my knowledge of detailing ( I'm still fairly new)

you don't really need to rewash your car after claying, and paint cleaner is the same category as claying, claying removes above surface contaminants and paint cleaner removes below surface defects.

Polish is for fixing defects such as swirls, light scratches, etc.
Pure polishes (such as #7 car glaze) does not fix swirls but has oils in it to make the car shiny

I got all this info from this detailed thread :

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2409

[Eddie6th]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

You don't need to wash again after claying. Just start off with the SwirlX and see if it removes any swirls. If not,then move to the more agressive products. DC2 won't remove these kind of defects,but could be used after. If your car is dark esp black or red it helps,before waxing.

[Calais]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

alright, what about paint cleaner though, does this make sense:

wash -> clay -> rewash -> dc paint cleaner -> wax

or does the dc paint cleaner without the dc polish not make any sense.

No need to rewash after clay if you use enough lubricant and don't smudge the clay. You should be using most of the bottle of QD that comes with the Smooth Surface kit.

Polish is optional. If it may make you paint look better, why not spring for it?

[cardriver]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

Here's a quick tip:

A)In your small test area, you start with the least aggressive chemical.

B)If you find that it isn't strong enough, then you move up the scale to something stronger.

C)After (hopefully) getting results with the stronger chemical, generally you move back down the scale and use the less-abrasive chemical to polish out the micromarring that was probably left behind by the stronger polish.
Of course, before using the weaker polish, try it in a test spot to make sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Take this for example:

I try SwirlX in my test spot. It didn't have much effect.

Then I try Ultimate Compound in the test spot. Wow, results! Now I know that UC works, and since my car is basically uniformly/equally swirled-up throughout, I use UC over the whole car, one panel at a time.

I inspect, and see that UC took out a lot of the bad imperfections, but a little marring and remnants of swirls still remain, or some marring was actually introduced by the strong UC...

Now, I move down to SwirlX, the weaker polish, try it in the test spot. Wow, it polished out beautifully, and little/no marring! Now I do the whole car with SwirlX and booyah, beautiful.
"Makes sense? "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a rule of thumb, you always try to start with the least-aggressive chemical, and you always try to finish with the least-aggressive chemical also.

Pro's correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that'll help clarify for the OP.

[chris328]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

Alright well my main focus is to just get the paint looking as clean as it can without using any intrusive abrasives. I can try and work on the etched water marks individually on a case-by-case basis (theres only 4 or 5 of them). At this point I'm thinking of just claying -> rewash -> dc cleaner -> dc polish -> wax, my only question at this point is the application of the dc cleaner & polish, from wht I've seen and read it seems you just apply and remove right away, before they dry, and can be done by hand, this will work right?

I only rewash because I use my own cheapo lubricant made from gold class wash and water (ratio is about 8:1), it works fine but obviously leaves somewhat of a thick coat of concentrated gc on the paint, quick wash takes care of it. I tried QD that came with the clay kit and theres no difference (all QD is, is just water and alcohol anyway)

[Murr1525]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

my only question at this point is the application of the dc cleaner & polish, from wht I've seen and read it seems you just apply and remove right away, before they dry, and can be done by hand, this will work right?

Yes. Although the DC products are pretty easy to use, even if they do dry a little by accident.

I tried QD that came with the clay kit and theres no difference (all QD is, is just water and alcohol anyway)

Water and alcohol wont lubricate anything.

[chris328]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

thanks

btw, ive heard some ppl use wter for lubricant

[Zuke]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

thanks

btw, ive heard some ppl use wter for lubricant

It does work, but its going to ruin the clay over time a lot faster than using QD and getting it too dirty to use.

[Tuck91]

Re: Question about ultimate compound

Well,

I feel more comfortable using an actual Quik Detailer rather than water.