one more question though, i was thinking as a way to save time. would you be able to after working 105 or 205 into the paint, leave the residue on there, switch pads... prime the pad with something like the XMT priming spray, and continue to work what you have on there in with a finer pad to save the problem of wiping away....
Theoretically that shouldn't hurt anything because theoretically the super micro abrasives used in the M105 and M205 don't break down like a diminishing abrasive therefore there's not supposed to be a difference in cutting power throughout the buffing cycle of the product. That said as you buff the product gets used up and as paint comes off the car it also becomes adulterated or diluted so it doesn't cut the same at the end of the cycle as it cuts at the beginning of the cycle. So theoretically there shouldn't be a problem with what you describe from the abrasive technology point of view but I wouldn't do it the way you describe.
Here's why, you always want to work clean. As you abrade paint you remove paint and also any impurities on or in the paint, this turns into a residue of spent product and removed paint, as this build-up between your pad and the surface you're not longer working clean.
Misting on some XMT Pad Priming Spray will re-wet this mixture so you can buff longer or more but you're re-wetting spent product and removed paint. That's not working clean. I know when you run into problems that you get to a point where you'll try anything so if you want try your idea out but here's what I would do.
First, it sounds like the paint is either very soft or very scratch sensitive. A paint can be hard and still scratch easy and this is called scratch-sensitive. I can't explain it so please don't ask suffice to say Corvettes have very hard paint but still scratch easy as do other paints on the market.
The goal is to,
A. Remove the below surface defects with your first step product
B. Create a clear, swirl-free surface or haze-free surface
Once you remove the defects with the M105 you can stop buffing as it's not like a DAT product, (Diminishing Abrasive Technology), in which you must work the product till all the diminishing abrasive have broken down.
Next, you want to use your second step product to refine the results from the first step product till the surface is perfect, or as close to it as possible, this would be smooth, technically flat but some people confuse the word flat with the word matte and that's not the context of how I'm using the word flat in this instance, and clear, that is no defects or surface imperfections that will cloud your view of the paint under the clear coat. Even if this were a single stage you still want the single stage paint clear, not as in you can see through it but clean and without defects to so the full richness of the color is not blocked by anything on the surface.
If M205 is removing any haze or micro-marring left by the M105 and I'm assuming that if M205 isn't leaving a perfect finish then M105 isn't either since it's more aggressive, then the fix is to,
Adjust the pad being used with the M205
Adjust the technique being used with the M205
Switch to a different product
M205 is very non-aggressive, it's designed primarily for use on fresh paint in a body shop situation to remove any light swirls left by the M105 after being used with a rotary buffer. That is the primary market these products were formulated to go after. Correctly used, M105 can remove up to #1200 grit sanding marks and polish out to about 90% of the goal of a 100% swirl-free, clear glossy finish. Thus M205 is very light because all it's supposed to have to do is go after the last 10% of the goal.
This is why M205 is actually less aggressive than SwirlX and ScratchX in the Consumer Line which often times surprises people and that's why I wrote an article on the order of aggressiveness and in the title I added the words, "This will surprise you"
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Before going any further, here's a question, from your experience, would you say this paint is hard or soft?
Did the defects, that is the swirls an scratches buff out quickly, easily and for the most part completely with the M105?
as long as you already know you've worked what you have on there in enough, you could save a little bit of time and product by using what is already present... id assume a majority of the paint taken off would be absorbed in the pad as well since things are continually lifted off the surface, not deposited.
What you wrote above is correct but the problem is while "yes" you can re-wet the conglomerate of substances now on the pad and on the surface but you're no longer working clean. I can't stress the importance of working clean because the opposite is working dirty and that can lead to problems whether you do this on purpose or by accident.
See this thread for an example,
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/21447-removing-pigtails.html
Note in the thread I also brought up the topic of working clean as it related to accidental getting some kind of abrasive particle trapped between the pad and the paint surface and the resulting problem and it was accidental.
Sometimes things like this happen, it's happened to me before, (pigtails in the paint after buffing)
If you can, let me know what you think of the paints hardness or softness and I'll get back to you.
