Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

[Bounty]

Ok, so my roommate's girlfrined has a 90's-something Toyota Paseo going through clearcoat failure. She always comes over and sees me detailing the household cars, customer cars, etc and was wondering if anything could be done to help the overall looks of the car. Careful inspection of the CC failure and paint condition had me a little leary of using even the mild DA on it. So I figured I'd do some test spots with my Meg's arsenal by hand. I know, I know! Bounty (the DA promoter) going hand application? I just didn't want to make a bigger mess than I started with so using the famous Meg's line...I went with the least aggressive method first.

Process:

1. Washed the hood with Dawn.
2. Clayed using Meg's Smooth Surface Kit (QD as lube).
3. Masked off and marked test areas.
4. Did one pass on each test section (two sections) one each with M105 and Ultimate compound by hand using a german foam applicator.
5. IPA wipedown and inspection.

Before shots of hood...







Test areas masked and marked...



German foam applicator. This applicator has two sides...an orange "cutting" side similar to a CCS orange pad and a black "finishing" side similar to the CCS black finessing pads. It has a nice large shape allowing you to get uniform pressure and product application. It's perfect for small, hard to reach areas like under door handles.



After slightly priming the pad I laid down a bead of product...



After one pass of Ultimate Compound by hand in the work area...



And in direct sunlight...





Now prepping the M105 side...



Direct sunlight comparison shots after one pass each...





Tape removed...





And of course a shot including the detail rig...



The results were strikingly similar even though I skewed the test a little by giving the slightly more damaged area to the M105 (it was hard finding two equally messed up locations side-by-side). The Meg's M105, however, did the job with less effort, pressure, and time and would be my go-to choice if I had to do this by hand. I'm going to give the DA a shot a little later and start off with the Ultimate compound but to say she was astounded by the results would be an understatement. I think it shows even severly damaged surfaces can be rejuvented to an extent. Would an owner like this spring for the time and money necessary to correct? Probably not but it shows the merit of these products...thanks again Meg's!!

[Murr1525]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

Looks promising, hopefully it holds up for a little while.

[MyFirstES300]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

Good hood to do a side by side comparison. It was my understanding though that UC and M105 were the same; the difference being UC is the Consumer version, and M105 the Mirror Glaze (pro) line.

If you had the time, it would have been interesting to see what the finish would have looked like by just using M105 by hand vs. DA. Then, depending on her availability of funds, you could do her car for her without doing a full correction! Seems to me she neglected this car's finish for years. Most women; it's get in the car and go!

[Carfire]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

Nice Work!!
Huge Improvement!!
Thanks for the Information!!
Keep Up the Great Work!!

[Bounty]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

Good hood to do a side by side comparison. It was my understanding though that UC and M105 were the same; the difference being UC is the Consumer version, and M105 the Mirror Glaze (pro) line.

If you had the time, it would have been interesting to see what the finish would have looked like by just using M105 by hand vs. DA. Then, depending on her availability of funds, you could do her car for her without doing a full correction! Seems to me she neglected this car's finish for years. Most women; it's get in the car and go!

The Ultimate Compound is far less abrasive then the M105 but also finishes cleaner on most finishes. I've used UC more than once to chase slight micromarring left by M105 and a cutting pad via DA. UC is not as mild as say M205 but less than M105 for sure. I can't remember the exact thread but someone placed it at a 7 or 8 if I remember correctly on the Meg's scale while M105 is maxed out at 12 (Extreme Heavy Cut).

I'll be doing at least another test section via DA soon so I'll report back when I get some results...

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

Fair test. Impressive results.

I like your foam applicator.

[JTOWN]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

Awsome work and thanks for showing the results, may be interested in trying this on my mum's car and do test spots just like you did..

[MyFirstES300]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

The Ultimate Compound is far less abrasive then the M105 but also finishes cleaner on most finishes. I've used UC more than once to chase slight micromarring left by M105 and a cutting pad via DA. UC is not as mild as say M205 but less than M105 for sure. I can't remember the exact thread but someone placed it at a 7 or 8 if I remember correctly on the Meg's scale while M105 is maxed out at 12 (Extreme Heavy Cut).

I'll be doing at least another test section via DA soon so I'll report back when I get some results...

Bounty, there was a typo in my initial post to you. Originally I stated:

"If you had the time, it would have been interesting to see what the finish would have looked like by just using M105 by hand vs. DA. Then, depending on her availability of funds, you could do her car for her without doing a full correction! Seems to me she neglected this car's finish for years. Most women; it's get in the car and go!"

What I meant to write was try D151 NOT M105 by hand one one side, and D151 on another with a DA. Sorry for the confusion. That's the price I pay for typing too fast!

[OhioCarBuff]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

I just tried UC this weekend for the first time, I was very impressed too. I observed that it makes a distinctive sound when you rub it by hand, kind of like a scrubbing noise, and you can feel it work- it's like a grabby feeling. You can tell when the product is done doing its work when the scrubbing noise is done and you can feel the grabbing action wear off. It seems to me that the more volume of product you use, the more agressive it is, or in other words the more work it has the potential to accomplish. Swirl-X does the same thing by the way.

[Bounty]

Re: Meg's M105 vs UC by hand...(56k not a chance)

I like your foam applicator.

I love that thing...so handy and the cutting side has some real bite to remove those spot defects without having to break out the DA and affect a larger area around the defect.