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I picked up some UC and one of the rotary polishers from harbor freight for 35 bucks for my wife's badly oxidized 2001 Sequoia. I did some reading around here and figured I had nothing to lose since she wanted a new car anyway and went to town. Now I know that you are not supposed to use a rotary with UC but it worked out great for me. Maybe it's because the Chicago Electric is less powerful and loses RPM's with increased pressure. I didn't find it that hard to figure out the right amounts of pressure to get the results I needed.
I read a thread - on here I think - from a professional detailer who works on exotic cars. He showed a process he used on a gorgeous Ferrari with megs 105 and two orbital polishers to cut and polish all at the same time. The pictures were outstanding and he was ready for LSP after only using 105. He first applied 105 with a cutting pad and firm pressure then followed up with a black polishing pad on another machine for final polish. He did not wipe down the area after using the cutting pad and went straight to the black finishing pad primed with 105. After that he buffed off with microfiber and had the most perfectly polished black surface you could hope for.
I decided to employ this method on the wife's Sequoia with UC and the cheap rotary switching between an orange cutting and black finishing pad. I found the settings and corresponding speeds for the rotary someone posted on here and used them as a general guide. I found that it slowed down a good bit with pressure and I had to go to a higher setting to get an equivelent speed with applied pressure. It is just kind of a feel thing figuring out how to make it run at 1500 rpm's or so with pressure relative to where you have to set the dial when working without pressure. I didn't find it to difficult to dial it in and kind of think it acts as a safety feature in a way. I was very careful and cautious starting out and tried lots of different speeds, pressures, and working time on the paint. I would work a little area and feel how hot certain combos made the paint and how the UC's properties would change if that makes sense. Once dialed in I used pretty firm pressure starting out with the orange cutting pad and let up on subsequent overlapping passes. Then I worked the area a little faster with the black finishing area using only the machines own weight as pressure to polish. This process worked flawlessly. I worked 2 x 2 sections and it took maybe 5 minutes to go from dull oxidized contaminated paint to a perfectly smooth and polished finish with the Ultimate Compound.
I bought a bottle of ultimate polish but did not need it. I worked an area with UP and it did not improve it in any visible way or by feel. The above method with UC yielded a perfectly smooth and glossy finish ready for LSP. I went over the SUV with quick detailer and then applied ultimate wax and the suv looks better than it ever has. I am truly blown away by how well this worked. The finish is flawless and nobody believes that I did not have it repainted.
On a side note and I'm sure the pros will rip me for this, but I did not clay the car before applying the UC and it was heavily contaminated. The UC did that step as well and I'm thinking it must have cleaner chemicals that break down the contaminates to the point they are harmless because I am telling you guys the paint finished out perfect. Maybe I just got lucky but thought I would pass this info along and see what kind of feedback I get from more seasoned detailers. It seems 9 out of 10 say to always clay but others go straight to compound with no ill effects and it worked for me as well.
Sorry I don't have any before pics but I can take some of the finished product and post them. It was so bad the doors were different shades of white than the rest of the car. I think UC is a miracle product and there is no telling what can be done with it that may not be endorsed by Meguiars. I put some UC on a 4 inch orange pad and restored the headlights to perfect clarity in under ten minutes as well. Also used it to remove hard water spots on the windows that NOTHING else would put a dent in. The picture on the bottle is not an exaggeration of how well this product performed for me. Very rare to have a product live up to it's marketing hype but this one does.
I guess my question to the staff would be: Is it unreasonable to think UC could be used as an all in one product, except lsp, to get the results you are after when combined with the various different pads? It seems that with a black pad and minimal pressure that you would not be achieving that much cut at all and it behaves like a polish or swirl remover. The more aggresive pad, pressure, and speed you use the more aggressive the product seems to behave. I've seen some of the nightmare post and think they are just an example of impatience and going to fast like it's a wax. I figured out early on you have to be PATIENT and work small areas with an laser like attention to detail as to what is happening. If it is starting to gum up....STOP and clean your pad. I'm a problem solver by nature and found it rather fun figuring out all the little variables to get the results I wanted. I will also say I have a new appreciation for the amount of time, effort, and skill required to get great results and think professional detailing rates are actually quite a bargain. I was able to combine some steps and get great results but I would still not do the job I did for someone else for a penny less than $300 bucks. I just really can't say enough about your product. UC is not your typical consumer grade product and I feel like it's quite a bargain. My wife now loves how her ride looks and does not want to trade it in. It appears UC just saved me 35,000 grand or so.
I read a thread - on here I think - from a professional detailer who works on exotic cars. He showed a process he used on a gorgeous Ferrari with megs 105 and two orbital polishers to cut and polish all at the same time. The pictures were outstanding and he was ready for LSP after only using 105. He first applied 105 with a cutting pad and firm pressure then followed up with a black polishing pad on another machine for final polish. He did not wipe down the area after using the cutting pad and went straight to the black finishing pad primed with 105. After that he buffed off with microfiber and had the most perfectly polished black surface you could hope for.
I decided to employ this method on the wife's Sequoia with UC and the cheap rotary switching between an orange cutting and black finishing pad. I found the settings and corresponding speeds for the rotary someone posted on here and used them as a general guide. I found that it slowed down a good bit with pressure and I had to go to a higher setting to get an equivelent speed with applied pressure. It is just kind of a feel thing figuring out how to make it run at 1500 rpm's or so with pressure relative to where you have to set the dial when working without pressure. I didn't find it to difficult to dial it in and kind of think it acts as a safety feature in a way. I was very careful and cautious starting out and tried lots of different speeds, pressures, and working time on the paint. I would work a little area and feel how hot certain combos made the paint and how the UC's properties would change if that makes sense. Once dialed in I used pretty firm pressure starting out with the orange cutting pad and let up on subsequent overlapping passes. Then I worked the area a little faster with the black finishing area using only the machines own weight as pressure to polish. This process worked flawlessly. I worked 2 x 2 sections and it took maybe 5 minutes to go from dull oxidized contaminated paint to a perfectly smooth and polished finish with the Ultimate Compound.
I bought a bottle of ultimate polish but did not need it. I worked an area with UP and it did not improve it in any visible way or by feel. The above method with UC yielded a perfectly smooth and glossy finish ready for LSP. I went over the SUV with quick detailer and then applied ultimate wax and the suv looks better than it ever has. I am truly blown away by how well this worked. The finish is flawless and nobody believes that I did not have it repainted.
On a side note and I'm sure the pros will rip me for this, but I did not clay the car before applying the UC and it was heavily contaminated. The UC did that step as well and I'm thinking it must have cleaner chemicals that break down the contaminates to the point they are harmless because I am telling you guys the paint finished out perfect. Maybe I just got lucky but thought I would pass this info along and see what kind of feedback I get from more seasoned detailers. It seems 9 out of 10 say to always clay but others go straight to compound with no ill effects and it worked for me as well.
Sorry I don't have any before pics but I can take some of the finished product and post them. It was so bad the doors were different shades of white than the rest of the car. I think UC is a miracle product and there is no telling what can be done with it that may not be endorsed by Meguiars. I put some UC on a 4 inch orange pad and restored the headlights to perfect clarity in under ten minutes as well. Also used it to remove hard water spots on the windows that NOTHING else would put a dent in. The picture on the bottle is not an exaggeration of how well this product performed for me. Very rare to have a product live up to it's marketing hype but this one does.
I guess my question to the staff would be: Is it unreasonable to think UC could be used as an all in one product, except lsp, to get the results you are after when combined with the various different pads? It seems that with a black pad and minimal pressure that you would not be achieving that much cut at all and it behaves like a polish or swirl remover. The more aggresive pad, pressure, and speed you use the more aggressive the product seems to behave. I've seen some of the nightmare post and think they are just an example of impatience and going to fast like it's a wax. I figured out early on you have to be PATIENT and work small areas with an laser like attention to detail as to what is happening. If it is starting to gum up....STOP and clean your pad. I'm a problem solver by nature and found it rather fun figuring out all the little variables to get the results I wanted. I will also say I have a new appreciation for the amount of time, effort, and skill required to get great results and think professional detailing rates are actually quite a bargain. I was able to combine some steps and get great results but I would still not do the job I did for someone else for a penny less than $300 bucks. I just really can't say enough about your product. UC is not your typical consumer grade product and I feel like it's quite a bargain. My wife now loves how her ride looks and does not want to trade it in. It appears UC just saved me 35,000 grand or so.
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