Rotary recommendations for abrasives

[Wildcat Rudy]

For years I have used my usual setup of Meguiars products with a rotary buffer. I usually used Medium Cut Cleaner (M01) on deeper scratches, Fine Cut Cleaner (M02) all over the car for general cleanup, then Swirl Remover (M09) to put that final gloss on it, followed by a favorite wax (which usually is M26). It always looked fantastic.

I'm low on M01 and M02, and am out of M09, so I'm wondering if I should refill with more of same, or since I've read so much about the newer M105 and M205, if I should try those with the rotary. Getting the new orbital buffer is not in the cards right now.

While I know they might behave a bit differently than I'm used to, I think I'm more concerned if the new ones will clean up everything. I can always still use the M01 to get rid of the deeper scratches (which I've had incredible luck with over the years), but would its cutting ability be present in the M105, or do I still need to use M01? Or does the M105 work more like the fine cut cleaner, and M205 like the M09 swirl remover?

If I have to buy more, is it worth trying the newer ones, or just sticking to what I'm familiar with?

The paint on the TL is in very good condition for its age, with no rust. But there are some parking scuffs and some scratches of varying degrees. What really irks me is that either the former owner or the dealer slopped some touch-up paint on a couple of the scratches and door dings. I don't even know if it's the real Acura paint or not--I have a feeling it is generic. I did buff one of the scuffs out by hand with some of the M02 and some of that touch-up paint came off, of course, but aside from some other minor scratches (many of which I know M02 would clean up), the rest is all swirls.

Just trying to decide which products to replenish with...

[Murr1525]

Re: Rotary recommendations for abrasives

Well, it is kind of up to you, but I think most people would consider the #105/205 an upgrade.

#205 would be a little like #9.

#105 is going to be up there with the #01/04.

I believe #95 is a product that is a bit like #105, but applies a bit more like the older style products. But would need a confirmation on that.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Rotary recommendations for abrasives

While you are spot on about M105 giving a different feel than the products you're used to using, we are highly confident that you'll also get a much better finish out of it compared to M01. Couple that with an easy going over with M205 on a foam finishing pad at slow speed and you should see a major step up in clarity and gloss from M09. In fact, you should be able to use just those two products rather than three for full correction. You may want to ease up on the tool speed when using M105 in place of your "overall cleanup" step with M02, but M105 is going to offer a higher level of cut than even M01. That means you may find that a bit slower tool speed overall gets the job done for you, and still gets it done more quickly, and with that nicer finish mentioned earlier.

The key difference is that the old school products you've been using utilize diminishing abrasives while M105/M205 utilize a micro fine non-diminished abrasive, or what we call SMAT (super micro abrasive technology).

[Wildcat Rudy]

Re: Rotary recommendations for abrasives

Thanks for the input on the new products. Much appreciated!

If I remember correctly when using these in the past, the M09 would not get rid of the "haze" that was caused by the M01, in the places where I used it (as I would not use M01 on the entire car). Hence, I tended to go over the entire car with M02 mainly to clean up the minor scratches and scuffs, along with the "haze" left by the M01. The M02 did clean the paint up nicely but left those very fine swirl marks that the M09 removed. The results always looked fantastic (which was my consolation prize for having sore arms for a few days ).

If M105/M205 will do everything for me (including the deeper scratches that M01 used to remove), then maybe I should try that route. I need to get a couple of pads for the buffer though, and it's an older one from the early 80s that uses the drawstring buffing pads. Pretty sure it was 7", but with most of my car care tools still in moving boxes, I haven't looked at it recently. I know many of the recent buffers are velcro-based, so I'm going to have to see which pads Meguiar's offers and if I can use them with my equipment. Getting a new orbital buffer is out of the question this year--I have some upcoming maintenance and repairs that the money needs to go toward.

Would you recommend going over the entire car with M105, or just doing the worst of the scratches and scuffs with it? My gut feeling on this first go-round might be to do the whole car with M105, although for its age, the paint looks remarkably good, and most of the paint issues are the very fine haze or swirls that M205 would easily get rid of.

I'm anxious to start this, but will have to wait another payday or two.

Thanks again!

[Murr1525]

Re: Rotary recommendations for abrasives

You will certainly be wanting to look at the foam pads, and most likely only polishing/finishing.