Ultimate Compound by hand

[greg0303]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

You might be challenging the hard paint. As J.A. mentioned, try to step up from foam applicator to soft buff terry towel for more aggressiveness.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

Sometimes the foam applicator will not provide enough for the job. Try a test spot with a terry cloth towel. Use a lot of passion. (elbow grease).

[Zach]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

Could you describe more about how you are applying it, what with, etc?

Any chance of pics?

What are you working on?

I'm working on a Red 1998 Ford Ranger pickup. The paint is quite oxidized, some portions look pink!
I am applying Ultimate Compound with a Meg's purple foam applicator. I plan on topping that off with DC Polish #2 and NXT 2.0. I will post pictures soon. I'm trying to do a complete detail of it before winter.

[Zach]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

Zach, the key to make paint cleaners work effectively with hand application is to work on really small area and apply some pressure (it's called elbow grease or passion application). If you concentrate on 16" by 16" surface you can make all corrections much better. And remember that improving defects means removing some paint around them therefore it's so hard to reach this goal by hand. Sometimes you need to re-apply the product again to get desired level.
Of course dual action polisher would make a big difference. Machine application makes work faster, more effective and you can corrects much more serious defects. Would you consider to buy an used DA polisher on eBay, Amazon or Craigslist? Those machines are really safe, even for first time users, but make detailing jobs much more enjoyable.

Trust me, I put in plenty of elbow grease... my arm is sore!
I would LOVE a DA polisher, but I can't find any that are affordable. I mean, $150 is a lot these days.

[Murr1525]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

Could you describe more about how you are applying it, what with, etc?

Any chance of pics?

What are you working on?

[greg0303]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

Zach, the key to make paint cleaners work effectively with hand application is to work on really small area and apply some pressure (it's called elbow grease or passion application). If you concentrate on 16" by 16" surface you can make all corrections much better. And remember that improving defects means removing some paint around them therefore it's so hard to reach this goal by hand. Sometimes you need to re-apply the product again to get desired level.
Of course dual action polisher would make a big difference. Machine application makes work faster, more effective and you can corrects much more serious defects. Would you consider to buy an used DA polisher on eBay, Amazon or Craigslist? Those machines are really safe, even for first time users, but make detailing jobs much more enjoyable.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Ultimate Compound by hand

I used Swirlx and UC with great success by hand. Give this a read through: http://meguiarsonline.com/forums//sh...ad.php?t=43068

[Zach]

I'm having trouble applying UC by hand. No matter how hard I try, each application doesn't seem to be making a difference. Any tips? I've thought about getting a DA but then I saw the price... I have a DA DeWalt sander that looks like you could use polishing pads on it, would that work?