Need help selecting products.

[Slow Eddie]

Hello,

I plan on performing my own detailing, and I'm set to pull the trigger on the G110V2 DA polisher. My question pertains to product selection for use with my new polisher.

I have a Flame Red 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 pick up in desperate need of paint correction. Bugs, water spots, swirl marks, scratches, you name it and it is there. The plan here was a Clay/M105/M205 combo finished off with the hi-tech wax. Plausible? I've read the tutorials as well as the posted articles and they were very informative. My question though, is what is the difference between the M105 Ultra Cut Compound and something like the 95 Speed Cut Compund? The cut rating is the same for both (12) but the 95 is nearly half the price. I'm assuming they are for different applications?

I also have a Black with metal flake 2011 Dodge Charger. This vehicle has the typical swirl marks associated with automated car washes as well as bug blemishes from road trips, but ultimately it is in good shape. I was thinking of just some #9 Swirl Remover would hopefully do the trick. Is there anything that I should know about darker paint? Are there certain liquids that work better for darker colors?

Also how many pads should I order? I've read that two of each should suffice. I was going to pick up 2 polishing, and 2 finishing in the 7 inch and 4 inch sizes. And also a cutting set just in case.

Thanks for the help.

Eddie

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help selecting products.

You can most likely use the same plan for both cars.

I would tend to want to look at Ult. Compound instead of #105. It is strong enough in most cases, and easier to use.

Probably cheapest to buy a case of 6 pads, and can either get 3 of each, or throw in 1 cutting pad for if you plan to remove wax by machine.

And yeah, the #95 is a rotary only product.

[Slow Eddie]

Re: Need help selecting products.

You can most likely use the same plan for both cars.

I would tend to want to look at Ult. Compound instead of #105. It is strong enough in most cases, and easier to use.

Probably cheapest to buy a case of 6 pads, and can either get 3 of each, or throw in 1 cutting pad for if you plan to remove wax by machine.

And yeah, the #95 is a rotary only product.

Thanks for the help. Which Ult. Compound are you referring to? All I saw on the Meguiar site is the Ultra Cut (the 105)? Are you talking aout the Ultimate Polish consumer product?

Thanks.

Eddie

[Slow Eddie]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Also, is an 8 oz bottle enough for an entire vehicle? How about 2?

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help selecting products.

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g17216-ultimate-compound/

It does depends on how many applications of product you may need, but one bottle of UC (16 oz) will do one car easily. Would do 2 in most cases.

8oz would be cutting it a bit close I would think, just in case a couple applications were needed.

[Slow Eddie]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Thanks for the link. The Ultimate Compound is a consumer product, and I've heard that the consumer products are watered down versions of the professional products from Meguiars. This is probably just a myth though. I hope.


How does the Ultimate Polish compare to the 205? I can probably score the Ultimate products off the shelf, where as I would have to order the other products online.

Thanks again.

Eddie

[Marc08EX]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Thanks for the link. The Ultimate Compound is a consumer product, and I've heard that the consumer products are watered down versions of the professional products from Meguiars. This is probably just a myth though. I hope.


How does the Ultimate Polish compare to the 205? I can probably score the Ultimate products off the shelf, where as I would have to order the other products online.

Thanks again.

Eddie

From my understanding, the difference between consumer products and pro products is pro products can be used with the rotary while consumer products are more D/A or hand application friendly. They are not sub-par products just because they're readily available. In addition, pro products are available for bulk purchase. Ultimate Compound is used in Meguiar's Saturday classes all the time with amazing results.

Ultimate polish is slightly less aggressive and has more polishing oils than M205.

You won't be disappointed with both Ultimate Compound/Polish. They're great products.

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Not watered down at at... just different. The Consumer products are just that, meant for general consumers, and to deal with the general consumer situations.

The Pro Line has more options for all the situations a pro detailer, body shop, etc might face. And the Detailer Line is meant to suply some things in bulk that a pro detailer will use a lot of.

So for instance the UC is based on #105, and is fairly strong, but not so strong that a general consumer will easily damage their paint, and will most often finish with a good shine. It is also designed to use by hand, or by a dual action type polisher that a general consumer will want to use.

The #105 is pretty much the strongest product made, more likely to leave marring that a general consumer may not know what to do with. It was desinged for rotary use in a body shop environment by a pro, though can be used by hand/DA, but isnt as easy to use by DA. There also isnt quite as much oils in #105, because it is meant for freshly sprayed paint. Again, something the average consumer wont have to worry about, and that is some of what makes it hard with a DA, and also hard to use on older, dried out paints.

#95, and #101 are also related, but have sublte differences for use, working time, intended situations, etc.

So hopefully that just gives a little idea into the thouhts that go into the different lines of product, and so on.

#205 and UP are also related to each other. #205 is a little stronger of a cleaner, little less polishig oils. UP is a little more oils, little less cleaning ability. Once your cars are fixed up, it would be these that you would use for the regular details, so would use more usually. Just have to check your price for a 32oz #205, versus some UP bottles. I suppose i might prefer #205 for a little extra cleaning ability.

[Slow Eddie]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Excellent information gentlemen, very helpful. I may pick up the Ultimate Compound and the Ultimate Polish here at one of the big box stores and give it a shot by hand first to see what works the best on my paint before investing in the DAP. I figure if it works well by hand, it will work even better with the DAP.

Thank you.

Eddie

[Murr1525]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Able to be used by hand... and revoming heavy defects by hand over two vehicles are two different things.

A DA will become your friend quickly.

[BillE]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Mat,

Excellent explanation!

Bill

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Need help selecting products.

Ultimate Compound is going to be far, far more user friendly especially in the hands of a new user like yourself. Don't get too caught up in the "Pro" vs "Consumer" product lines. The pro stuff tends to be more body shop specific, meaning it's safe to use in an environment where fresh paint is being applied. Working at home this is almost never a concern.

We use Ultimate Compound in our Saturday Classes all the time, and we've had a huge variety of makes & models of cars thrown at us, with a huge variety of defects. Look through some of the threads from Pictures from Saturday Classes and you'll get a feel for what can be done with this product.