clay + Megs 205

[Jimjc]

Well I originally finished my new car [ silver ] with NXT2.0 [ that I`ve used for many years ] and Collinite 845 on top. but wasn`t happy with the gloss. So today I washed the front end with Dawn to remove everything and used Megs clay and Megs 205 polish and Collinite 845 on top....

I see a very, very, very slight difference [ not worth all the work ] between the front fender and the door that was not clayed or polished but has the NXT+845 on top.

I`m not going to be any more aggressive with the pad [ I used a finishing pad ] and use a polishing pad because my new car has soft clear coat and I have no intentions of removing any more clear coat.

So I`m going to start the search for a glaze or something that can amp up the gloss, any ideas I`m still going to use the Collinite 845 for the protection.

[Marc08EX]

Re: clay + Megs 205

If you already used M205, then UP or M07 will be your best bet if you want to add more gloss. Heck, even M80 might work too.

But I think you're expecting too much. If M205/finishing pad didn't get the paint's gloss to your expectation, chances are using UP or M07 will add very little to it too. Especially since you're working on a lighter colored vehicle. But hey I could be wrong.

Do a test spot or test panel first before doing the entire car like you did. See if you can tell a difference between the spot or panel you worked on and the rest of the vehicle. That way you won't waste your efforts like you experienced.

[s word]

Re: clay + Megs 205

#7 glaze is great.

But I think you may want to worry less about the clear coat removing and put that focus into the polishing pad. Finishing pad can only do so much. Was the clay extremely dirty when you did it? It may be that you didn't have much contaminant because I can ensure you if you clay a car with a ton of contaminant you will be able to tell the difference after.

What kind of car is it by chance? Is it new to you or showroom new?

[Jimjc]

Re: clay + Megs 205

#7 glaze is great.

But I think you may want to worry less about the clear coat removing and put that focus into the polishing pad. Finishing pad can only do so much. Was the clay extremely dirty when you did it? It may be that you didn't have much contaminant because I can ensure you if you clay a car with a ton of contaminant you will be able to tell the difference after.

What kind of car is it by chance? Is it new to you or showroom new?

Actually I have 2 new cars both are Honda Accord Sports. one white Pearl and mine is Light silver. Honda has soft clear coats that you have to be careful with. The clay didn`t have a mark on it from the whole front end. It may help my wife's White Pearl it`s 3 months old mine is only 1 month. But they stay in a garage. You know the cars look good but I`m interested in getting the most gloss with the least amount of paint loss. That`s why I`m thinking glaze as a undercoat, I`m guessing now. Since clay didn`t do anything and polishing didn`t I can only guess. I may have come to the end of what I can do and have to accept it. I`m may be a bit to critical anyway.

[Jimjc]

Re: clay + Megs 205

If you already used M205, then UP or M07 will be your best bet if you want to add more gloss. Heck, even M80 might work too.

But I think you're expecting too much. If M205/finishing pad didn't get the paint's gloss to your expectation, chances are using UP or M07 will add very little to it too. Especially since you're working on a lighter colored vehicle. But hey I could be wrong.

Do a test spot or test panel first before doing the entire car like you did. See if you can tell a difference between the spot or panel you worked on and the rest of the vehicle. That way you won't waste your efforts like you experienced.

Thanks for the reply, Yes I`ll bet I`m just to critical and there may not be a answer. I`m going to do that test panel with some Glaze and see. I had a number of Mercedes years ago but they were single stage white paints and I used #7 show car glaze and #26 Yellow wax and the cars looked awesome all the time but Mercedes puts tons of paint on back then and you could do a lot with it. Today the paint is to thin so you have to be careful with clear coat failure, that`s why the concern.

[Marc08EX]

Re: clay + Megs 205

You won't harm the paint with M205. Even if you lightly polish with it every month, your paint will still be fine. The reason I emphasized lightly is because a person can still use wool and a rotary with M205 and that will remove a lot of paint even if M205 is used. But in your case, a finishing pad coupled with a dual action polisher using minimal pressure - nothing to worry about.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: clay + Megs 205

You might actually be toning down the crispness of the shine by putting a carnauba wax on top of everything. Silver, white and other light colors just can't show the same sort of depth and richness that you can get with black, red and other darker colors. What can do, however, is give them a very high clarity, crisp, brilliant shine. That is usually done with a fine finishing polish like M205 on either a foam finishing or polishing pad (which you choose sort of depends on how the paint responds) using either a DA at medium speeds or even a rotary at very slow speeds. Finish it off with Ultimate Wax paste and you should end up with something you can't look directly at in bright sunlight without having a good pair of sunglasses on.

Don't overstress about removing too much clear by doing this. You're really doing more to refine the surface rather than aggressively removing defects.

[Jimjc]

Re: clay + Megs 205

You might actually be toning down the crispness of the shine by putting a carnauba wax on top of everything. Silver, white and other light colors just can't show the same sort of depth and richness that you can get with black, red and other darker colors. What can do, however, is give them a very high clarity, crisp, brilliant shine. That is usually done with a fine finishing polish like M205 on either a foam finishing or polishing pad (which you choose sort of depends on how the paint responds) using either a DA at medium speeds or even a rotary at very slow speeds. Finish it off with Ultimate Wax paste and you should end up with something you can't look directly at in bright sunlight without having a good pair of sunglasses on.

Don't overstress about removing too much clear by doing this. You're really doing more to refine the surface rather than aggressively removing defects.

Well Michael thank you again, I`ve talked to a number of people that consider you to be more than knowledgeable and straight forward and always willing to help, as you have with my numerous threads. Looks like I`ll try to improve the paint using my polishing pad with the 205 since the finishing pad didn`t do it. Do you consider the liquid Ultimate Wax to be as good as the paste. I use the spray in between.

[chiptouz]

Re: clay + Megs 205

Well Michael thank you again, I`ve talked to a number of people that consider you to be more than knowledgeable and straight forward and always willing to help, as you have with my numerous threads. Looks like I`ll try to improve the paint using my polishing pad with the 205 since the finishing pad didn`t do it. Do you consider the liquid Ultimate Wax to be as good as the paste. I use the spray in between.

Michael,

I second the question about the ULW vs the UPW. I thought he liquid was better. Maybe that is b/c I am using a DA?

[BillE]

Re: clay + Megs 205

The nicest thing about liquid UWax is it does not stain the 'trim' like so many other products. In fact I've been using it for ALL the plastic trim (and there is a boat load of it) on my truck for the past two years (more as an experiment at first), no 'white spots', nice shine and it LASTS!

I do believe the Mike has mentioned that there really isn't any difference 'tween liquid and the paste. Only that one is 'soft' and the other 'hard.'

Bill

[Marc08EX]

Re: clay + Megs 205

In addition, you don't need the liquid to dry before buffing as opposed to the paste where you need to let it dry.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: clay + Megs 205

Do you consider the liquid Ultimate Wax to be as good as the paste. I use the spray in between.

Michael,

I second the question about the ULW vs the UPW. I thought he liquid was better. Maybe that is b/c I am using a DA?

According to our R&D group the liquid and paste versions of UW are the same (that also goes for liquid and paste versions of NXT, or M26, etc) with the noted exception that the liquid version won't stain plastic trim while the paste version will, but that's down to some of the ingredients that make it a paste. That said, from purely personal experience, I find the paste version to impart a brighter and crisper shine on virtually any color. I know I'm not alone in this, but I also know that this is one of those purely subjective, personal impressions that we don't all see equally. I apply it with a 4" foam finishing pad via DA, by the way.

Quite literally for decades people have been telling us that M07 Show Car Glaze topped with M26 High Tech Yellow Wax gives the best shine they've ever seen, and many of those have stayed with that pairing over the years. To me, personally, a nicely prepped finish that is given a final refinement with M205 and then topped with UW paste is nothing short of amazing.

[chiptouz]

Re: clay + Megs 205

According to our R&D group the liquid and paste versions of UW are the same (that also goes for liquid and paste versions of NXT, or M26, etc) with the noted exception that the liquid version won't stain plastic trim while the paste version will, but that's down to some of the ingredients that make it a paste. That said, from purely personal experience, I find the paste version to impart a brighter and crisper shine on virtually any color. I know I'm not alone in this, but I also know that this is one of those purely subjective, personal impressions that we don't all see equally. I apply it with a 4" foam finishing pad via DA, by the way.

Quite literally for decades people have been telling us that M07 Show Car Glaze topped with M26 High Tech Yellow Wax gives the best shine they've ever seen, and many of those have stayed with that pairing over the years. To me, personally, a nicely prepped finish that is given a final refinement with M205 and then topped with UW paste is nothing short of amazing.

Well...Once I finish up this bottle of ULW I will buy some ULP and see if I can see the difference myself. Thanks for the info.