which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

[MaxT]

Newbie here, so go easy. I purchased g110v2 from advance auto parts, and assuming it actually ships, i would like to know what pad to use with Ultimate polish.
I will be following up swirlx (applied with yellow pad) with ultimate polish before the wax stage. I know the black pad needs to be used for the wax stage. But what to use for Ultimate Polish since it's not a pure polish and has some mild cut ability?

If i had to guess, i would probably guess the black pad. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

[rapport25]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Newbie here, so go easy. I purchased g110v2 from advance auto parts, and assuming it actually ships, i would like to know what pad to use with Ultimate polish.
I will be following up swirlx (applied with yellow pad) with ultimate polish before the wax stage. I know the black pad needs to be used for the wax stage. But what to use for Ultimate Polish since it's not a pure polish and has some mild cut ability?

If i had to guess, i would probably guess the black pad. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Welcome Max T to MOL

Depending on what type of paint you are dealing with and what you are trying to achieve will play a big part.

For example a VW has hard paint I would use ultimate compound on a megs yellow pad followed by ultimate polish on a black pad. Then on a megs black pad your favourite sealant/wax.

If I was working on a car with very minor defects or soft paint I would use/try ultimate polish on a megs yellow pad followed by ultimate polish on a megs black pad. Then on a megs black pad your favourite sealant/wax.


Just a quick note ultimate polish/ swirl x are the same kind of product. The only main difference being ultimate polish has more polishing oils.

Hth’s Rappy.

[Marc08EX]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Either the polishing pad or the finishing pad will work with ultimate polish. Most of the time, the finishing pad is used with the ultimate polish when it's applied after a compounding step. However, if you're only doing a mild polishing job and the finishing pad isn't really getting the correction you need, then you can step it up to the polishing pad. You won't get much correction since this is a very mild polish.

This approach stems from the saying of "using the least aggressive method to get the job done."

[MaxT]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Welcome Max T to MOL

Depending on what type of paint you are dealing with and what you are trying to achieve will play a big part.

For example a VW has hard paint I would use ultimate compound on a megs yellow pad followed by ultimate polish on a black pad. Then on a megs black pad your favourite sealant/wax.

If I was working on a car with very minor defects or soft paint I would use/try ultimate polish on a megs yellow pad followed by ultimate polish on a megs black pad. Then on a megs black pad your favourite sealant/wax.


Just a quick note ultimate polish/ swirl x are the same kind of product. The only main difference being ultimate polish has more polishing oils.

Hth’s Rappy.

Thanks for your response. I've been doing so much research but haven;t done any hands on yet to see what works and what doesn't. Heh.

I was going to use SwirlX specifically for removing some light swirl marks and scratches. I was under the impression Ultimate Polish would do some of the same, but it would also mask some of the defects instead of actually fixing them (since it has more polishing oils and it might fill instead of fix). I figured ultimate compound was too aggressive, since i don't have paint oxidation or deep swirl marks or scratches.

I have a 2009 nissan murano, i have no idea if it has soft or hard paint.
I am definitely not experienced to tell the difference.

Whatever I do first, i will probably do a test area by hand to see which product seems to work.

So does ultimate polish mask defects or does it fix them the same way SwirlX by itself does?

Thanks.

[MaxT]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Either the polishing pad or the finishing pad will work with ultimate polish. Most of the time, the finishing pad is used with the ultimate polish when it's applied after a compounding step. However, if you're only doing a mild polishing job and the finishing pad isn't really getting the correction you need, then you can step it up to the polishing pad. You won't get much correction since this is a very mild polish.

This approach stems from the saying of "using the least aggressive method to get the job done."

Thanks for the info!
I knew Ultimate Polish was very mild, that is why I was going to use SwirlX as my compound step. But it sounds like they might be similar in how mild they are.

I've definitely seen the least aggressive method mentioned a few times and i agree with its ideology.

So it sounds like a yellow pad for swirlx or ultimate polish (if it accomplishes the same) and then follow up with the black pad for ultimate polish (for shine) and another black pad for ultimate liquid wax. And if the correction wasn't strong enough, switch to UC in step 1.

Thanks guys!

[MaxT]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

I guess i found some of this information in the UP announcement thread.
It does have a lot more polishing oils, so in addition to correcting it does fill.

It sounds like it should be used right with the black finishing pad right before the waxing stage and most of the correction needs to happen with the yellow pad + SwirlX for light defect or soft paint or UC for more serious defects or hard paint.

I guess I will have to do a test spot or two.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Don't take the "least aggressive method" concept wrong - it does not mean to use the least aggressive product and then work up if needed. That interpretation would have you buying more product than you need; it is NOT a marketing ploy to get everyone to purchase more product from us. The full concept is to "use the least aggressive method needed to get the job done", and it really applies primarily to situations that involve fairly aggressive processes overall - like wet sanding, rotary compounding, etc. Too many people have a tendency to just reach for the most aggressive product they can find in the (false) belief that it will get the job done faster. In many cases when you go overly aggressive you then need to redo everything with a less aggressive product to fix the issues you created with the overly aggressive initial step. Where's the time saving in that?

Now, sometimes you are faced with a situation where you must use an aggressive process to remove defects, and that initial process requires a follow up. Wet sanding followed by rotary compounding is one example of this, and it's perfectly normal. But it's the guys who always reach for M105 to remove simple swirls that can sometimes run into problems. We often wonder how these folks ever managed to remove swirls prior to 2008!

As to your specific case, SwirlX and Ultimate Polish are quite close in cutting ability, depending on how you use them. For example, if you put SwirlX on a polishing pad with the buffer at speed 5 and you use very slow movements and a lot of pressure it will cut more than UP on a finishing pad at speed 3 with light pressure. But swap things around and UP will probably cut more - they're that close. And the "more" in the above scenario isn't much more at all. We really believe you'd be much better off starting with Ultimate Compound on the yellow W8207 polishing pad, speed 5, moderate pressure, then follow with Ultimate Polish, speed 3-4, light to moderate pressure, and then wax.

UC will get through the defects pretty quickly without being overly aggressive, and UP will then refine the surface, adding clarity and gloss before you top it all with your favorite sealant or wax.

[MaxT]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Michael,
Thanks for the clarification!
At the bargain prices you guys charge for this stuff, i really don't mind buying an extra product even if i don't end up using it. In return for this minor expense i am getting education and experience that is priceless!
The problem is, and I am sure you hear this all the time in your call centers, is that i (as a beginner) have no way of measuring how aggresive swirlx is vs UP vs UC vs professional products. For you, the professionals, UC might be considered pretty mild stuff by professional standards, but it definitely sounds like it is more aggressive than swirlx (which it is, but to what degree?), so I was trying to be safe.

Plus I have no idea if the paint on my car is soft or hard.

The progression you have described is probably what I will end up with as I was leaning towards it anyway, but I don't see a reason for using UC if SwirlX can do the job. I will use UP as a polisher that will clean up and clear up the paint after whatever paint cleaner i end up using.

I'll try SwirlX just in case my car has soft paint and to see how well it works. if it doesn't, I'll move up to the UC.

So thorough wash > clay > quick wash > SwirlX or UC > UP > ULW > UQW > UQD is the progression I will use.

PS: i understand 70% of the results depend on the technique used, i am sure I will pick it up fairly quickly

[MaxT]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

UQW and UQD as maintenace of course.

Also, just to make sure i got the speeds right:

SwirlX or UC (yellow soft buff 2.0 pad speed 5) > UP (black soft buff 2.0 pad speed 3) > ULW (black soft buff 2.0 pad speed 3)

Obviously if something is not working, i will need to adjust, but this should be the starting point, correct?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

UQW and UQD as maintenace of course.

Also, just to make sure i got the speeds right:

SwirlX or UC (yellow soft buff 2.0 pad speed 5) > UP (black soft buff 2.0 pad speed 3) > ULW (black soft buff 2.0 pad speed 3)

Obviously if something is not working, i will need to adjust, but this should be the starting point, correct?

Yes, all of the above is correct. You will likely use a lot more pressure when doing the defect correction step (Ultimate Compound or SwirlX) than you will when applying the polish and LSP.

[MaxT]

Re: which soft buff 2.0 pad to use with ultimate polish?

Thanks Michael!