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Used a harbor freight dual action orbital buffer, m205, with orange and white lake country pads, followed by a good wax.
I also have a question about higher speeds with the DA, as when I went above the lower speeds I found I spun product EVERYWHERE. How do I avoid this? It certainly corrected the paint much better on higher speeds, but is there a way to keep it a cleaner process in the future?
Before
After
Front Weld's are on the way lol, before someone asks why the wheels don't match.
Last edited by Squirts11; Dec 17, 2015 at 06:09 PM.
As far as the product dusting, what was your process of applying product to the pad and to the car? I use a 3 dime sized drops on an already primed pad and dab the pad on the surface I will be working to spread it out evenly before I turn the DA on. The 105 and 205 dust quite badly but work very well. I recently started to use M101 which dusts less and can be worked a bit longer than 105 or 205.
I love m105 and m205, good all around polish. But for black vehicles it can not shake a stick at this imo. Lvl 1, 2 and finishing with 3. I also use a rotary
I can post pictures also if anyone wants to see
I too used the harbor freight DA to do my correction. However I desperately want a better DA now that I know what I'm doing.
As far as the product dusting, what was your process of applying product to the pad and to the car? I use a 3 dime sized drops on an already primed pad and dab the pad on the surface I will be working to spread it out evenly before I turn the DA on. The 105 and 205 dust quite badly but work very well. I recently started to use M101 which dusts less and can be worked a bit longer than 105 or 205.
This is the EXACT method I used to apply product to the vehicle and to an already primed pad. Speeds 1-5, anything higher than 1 slung product in small drops everywhere over the car. Do I need to apply more pressure or use less product? 3 pea size drops doesn't seem like much.
I love m105 and m205, good all around polish. But for black vehicles it can not shake a stick at this imo. Lvl 1, 2 and finishing with 3. I also use a rotary
I can post pictures also if anyone wants to see
With these products, do I need to use orange, white, then black/red pads from lake country? Would 1 be considered aggressive correction, 2 more of a fine cutter, and 3 more of finishing?
With these products, do I need to use orange, white, then black/red pads from lake country? Would 1 be considered aggressive correction, 2 more of a fine cutter, and 3 more of finishing?
As far as lake county pads I do not know there color coordination due to I have always used 3m. But you are correct on the 1, 2 and 3 steps. I have used m205 and use it on general vehicles but the dark colors and Black's and high end vehicles I use 3m ultra finish 3. It finishes down a lot nicer than m205. Don't get me wrong 205 is a great product. Just figured I would mention 3m ultra finish to you guys doing black because it's light years better to work with and finishes a lot nicer, less finicky, no swirls or marring. I have never used a d.a, just a rotary for the past 12 years so maybe it's not as big of issue with the d.a.
But I think the 3m is worth giving a shot for you guys doing black
I recommend you watch Mike Phillips videos on Autogeeks channel. Larry of Ammo NYC also has some very good videos.
But in short you need the higher speeds to do correction. Lower speeds are great for wax and sealant application.
Seeing as you have the HF DA, use speed 5 for compounding and speed 4-5 for polishing.
Also if you are slinging product, then you are using way to much. Don't forget to clean your pads often as you are moving along. A dirty pad does not correct well over a clean pad. When you turn the machine off and on, be sure it is flat against the surface.
I would recommend you get M100. It's a much better compound over M105. It has a longer working time and is less frustrating that M105. M205 is a great polish and I would stick with that.
I would also recommend you have more pads and a pad cleaning brush. One last thing is to go with 5"-5.5" pads. The new thin Meguiar's pads are great. I highly recommend those.
One thing to note is that these cars tend to have harder paint. Which means it's a little harder to correct.
Seeing as you are starting out, stick with the DA. A rotary requires more skill and practice.
I recommend you watch Mike Phillips videos on Autogeeks channel. Larry of Ammo NYC also has some very good videos.
But in short you need the higher speeds to do correction. Lower speeds are great for wax and sealant application.
Seeing as you have the HF DA, use speed 5 for compounding and speed 4-5 for polishing.
Also if you are slinging product, then you are using way to much. Don't forget to clean your pads often as you are moving along. A dirty pad does not correct well over a clean pad. When you turn the machine off and on, be sure it is flat against the surface.
I would recommend you get M100. It's a much better compound over M105. It has a longer working time and is less frustrating that M105. M205 is a great polish and I would stick with that.
I would also recommend you have more pads and a pad cleaning brush. One last thing is to go with 5"-5.5" pads. The new thin Meguiar's pads are great. I highly recommend those.
One thing to note is that these cars tend to have harder paint. Which means it's a little harder to correct.
Seeing as you are starting out, stick with the DA. A rotary requires more skill and practice.
I watched all of Junkman's videos, and will reattempt this with M100. I actually ONLY used m205 with an orange and white pad, followed by a wax.
I will order some m100, and a pad cleaning brush. I never cleaned the pad during the process so perhaps that will also help my results.
Is m100 very "beginner" friendly? I've only attempted this once, so would like to stay away from compounds that are extremely aggressive. It looks like this has the max "12" cut rating from their company.
Last edited by Squirts11; Dec 1, 2015 at 09:52 AM.
Ultimate compound is always available locally if you are looking for a compound that is user friendly but that also works well. It is not as aggressive as M105. As a matter of fact it is derived from M105.
M205 is very versatile and can be used with any pad combination. But sometimes a more aggressive liquid is needed.
Nice work. I remember my first paint correction. Makes you feel damn good when you get them to turn out like that. Now go out and earn some extra cash doing them for your buddies.
Picked up some of this, hoping it's pretty user friendly.
Is this stuff too aggressive for mild correction? 12 cutting power seems like overkill?
That stuff is WAY too heavy for just a swirl removal. If you have deep scratches in certain areas it'll do that just fine, but for the rest I would use m205 or Ultimate Compound on an orange cutting pad.
Picked up some of this, hoping it's pretty user friendly.
Is this stuff too aggressive for mild correction? 12 cutting power seems like overkill?
M100 is good stuff. Much better than M105. It is more user friendly than M105. Enjoy the product.
It is hard to answer your question on whether or not it is too aggressive. My response to that would be to do a test spot with M205 and polishing pad. If you need more correction you can move to M100 and a cutting pad.
From my experience the paint on these cars (98-02 f bodies) are on the hard side. So they can handle the aggressive combo just fine. But again I have to go back to the test spot.
Once you compound you should not need to do it again as long as you maintain your work properly.
Originally Posted by NowhereFast
That stuff is WAY too heavy for just a swirl removal. If you have deep scratches in certain areas it'll do that just fine, but for the rest I would use m205 or Ultimate Compound on an orange cutting pad.
It depends on the severity of the defects. Again I refer to the test spot.
M100 is good stuff. Much better than M105. It is more user friendly than M105. Enjoy the product.
It is hard to answer your question on whether or not it is too aggressive. My response to that would be to do a test spot with M205 and polishing pad. If you need more correction you can move to M100 and a cutting pad.
From my experience the paint on these cars (98-02 f bodies) are on the hard side. So they can handle the aggressive combo just fine. But again I have to go back to the test spot.
Once you compound you should not need to do it again as long as you maintain your work properly.
Let me take some pics of the paint in direct light, and see what your thoughts are.
It depends on the severity of the defects. Again I refer to the test spot.
I'll get some pics in direct sunlight to get your thoughts on the needed aggression for correction.
Updated: Started the process over, starting with wash with dawn, clay bar, then using m100, followed by m205, then will follow with wax (not done yet).
wash
claybar
m100
m205
wax (not done yet)
here are some progress and before/after pics of this process. Also, m100 isn't nearly as aggressive as I initially assumed it would be (given it shows a 12/12 (high) cut rating).
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Before/after paint correction (black T/A) 
