Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

[The Dodge]

Okay, so I picked up a bottle of Ultimate Compound yesterday cause I was determined to get rid of some hard water spots on the hood of my wife's car and here is a test spot I chose after I clayed the whole car.

UC Blob(*Excuse the "X" Brand Applicator. . . .my 8 Meguiar's Applicator's were drying*)


UC Applied(*You can see how just applying the UC it started drying up*)


UC Wipe Off(*tried to wipe off right after application and you can see the UC is all dried and crusted onto the paint*)


Once I got all the UC off I then polished with some M07 and then waxed with some Gold Class Carnauba Liquid Wax. The hard water spots were gone, the swirls were gone and it looked fantastic, but I was not impressed with how hard it was to apply and wipe off the UC. Did I do something wrong or did I get a bad bottle of UC? HELP!!

[Murr1525]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

Was that the size blob you used to cover that area?

[The Dodge]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

Was that the size blob you used to cover that area?

Yes. The area was about 15" by 20". . . . .do I need more or less? The odd part is the thinner parts still were a pain to wipe off and the really strange part was the M07 and the C-Wax stayed moist till I was done(same size blob too) applying and then wiped off with no problem.

[imz4n]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

I take it that the hood was cool? If the surface was cool and the engine has not been running ( heating the hood ) and you was doing it in the shade. Try a smaller area. When doing this by hand it sometimes takes a good amount of time to get defects out ( allowing the product to dry ), With a clean pad, you might need a bit more product to also prime the clean pad as well.

[The Dodge]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

I take it that the hood was cool? If the surface was cool and the engine has not been running ( heating the hood ) and you was doing it in the shade. Try a smaller area. When doing this by hand it sometimes takes a good amount of time to get defects out ( allowing the product to dry ), With a clean pad, you might need a bit more product to also prime the clean pad as well.

Yes the hood was cool. . . .I will try a smaller area today(i'm hoping my G110v2 hits my door today). . . .I never thought of priming the pad. . . .the part that makes no sense is the polish and the wax never dried out like the UC did!! I'm gonna call Customer Service today and see what the techs have to say. I'm really hoping its just a bad bottle of UC and not me. . . . .we'll see!

[Murr1525]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

Have to figure that over a big area, the paint is going to absorb some oils, the fresh pad will absorb some of the oil, and there wont be a whole lot left to spread around.

Usually the first product used will dry out the most.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

That looks to be a very small amount of product you show on the pad. We usually cover about that same sized area when we do our typical test spot during the Saturday Classes, but we use at least double that amount of product, if not triple. If the paint is showing any signs of dryness at all, and you use such a small amount of UC, the dry paint will draw out what little lubricant is there and the product will dry up on you like that. The smaller the amount of product, the larger the area, and the dryer the paint will all impact how quickly this will happen. Remember, UC is a compound, not a polish, cleaner/polish or polish/wax so it's a bit "dryer" of a product to start with. M07 is super rich in polishing oils, and Gold Class is a polish/wax, so both will stay wetter a bit longer than this small amount of UC. M07 won't be any easier to remove if you let it dry completely - it just won't do that as quickly here.

For future reference, if you ever get this situation happening again, with any compound, cleaner or polish, just apply a bit more fresh product over the dry stuff and wipe off right away. Like dissolves like, so to speak, and that second quick application will sort of reconstitute the dry layer and wipe off should be quite easy.

[The Dodge]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

So I went out today and attempted to use the UC again and so far so good!!! I tried it on a smaller section on my truck(12"x12") and used the Meguiar's Applicator insted of the "X-Brand Applicator" and it was like night and day. The UC stayed moist enough after applied that I simply wiped it off with a Meguiar's Micro Fiber Towel and all is well. Oh yeah, I did use more UC this time instead of the small amount I used yesterday. Which brings me to another queastion, how much UC do I put on my G110v2 pad? Is there a video of how UC is applied or any pictures on the forums. . . . .sorry for all the dumb queastion's. . . .I'm a newbie to UC and the G110v2. . . .which by the way is still on its way!! I ordered it last week from AutoGeek.net and it just now got to IA. . . .

[BillE]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

NEVER feel like you are asking 'dumb' questions.

As a math instructor had on the board, "There are no dumb questions, just dumb people who don't ask questions." (and THAT class caused a LOT of questions...LOL)

Sooo, ask away...

Bill

[ffboy]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

Hmm... could it also be the applicator? Most of the time i'm biased towards applicators of the foam kind. I found foam allows more product to be spread evenly, i dunno but its my observation. Microfibers aren't bad, but i found it requires a smaller work area.

[The Dodge]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

NEVER feel like you are asking 'dumb' questions.

As a math instructor had on the board, "There are no dumb questions, just dumb people who don't ask questions." (and THAT class caused a LOT of questions...LOL)

Sooo, ask away...

Bill

Thanks Bill!!

Hmm... could it also be the applicator? Most of the time i'm biased towards applicators of the foam kind. I found foam allows more product to be spread evenly, i dunno but its my observation. Microfibers aren't bad, but i found it requires a smaller work area.

That was what I think part of my problem was. All my Meguiar's Applicator Pads were drying(i had just hand washed them all) and all I had was two crappy micro fiber applicator pads. . . . . . .thanks for the tip though!!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

Which brings me to another queastion, how much UC do I put on my G110v2 pad? Is there a video of how UC is applied or any pictures on the forums. . . . .sorry for all the dumb queastion's. . . .I'm a newbie to UC and the G110v2. . . .which by the way is still on its way!! I ordered it last week from AutoGeek.net and it just now got to IA. . . .

Read through D/A Buffing 101 - An Introduction to the G110v2 (and similar) before you use your new buffer the first time and you should be good to go. There's a picture in there showing how much product to apply to the pad ( we used SwrilX for the demo but the same applies to UC ).

[ffboy]

Re: Bad Ultimate Compound Or Operator Error?

Thanks Bill!!



That was what I think part of my problem was. All my Meguiar's Applicator Pads were drying(i had just hand washed them all) and all I had was two crappy micro fiber applicator pads. . . . . . .thanks for the tip though!!

Your microfiber applicators do look high quality to me, there are products where i prefer microfibers (interior protectants, leather cleaners/conditioners, even certain polishes) because it seems to have more bite. But foam pads are basically my standard applicators. Ultimate compound is great though, i actually find it easier to use than swirl x and i still get good results by hand i actaully don't feel like getting a D/A polisher. I enjoy its ease of use, yet its a good workout!