XMT Incompatible with VW?

[Pepperjam]

I am using the XMT line currently, along with a Flex 3401 VRG, and the Lake Country Flat line of pads. So I am polishing my Black 2001 Volkswagen Jetta and it has absolutely no effect, no matter how many applications I use. I thought it was me, so I went to do a 1987 Mercedes 300 SDL, and the XMT destroyed all the swirls, it was amazing. Does anyone have any experience, should I order a different polish because I've got lots of swirls and the polish won't effect them at all. Please let me know.

EDIT: I should note if I use the #4 it will remove some scratches, and of course leave polishing marks, but it won't get out the swirls.

-Dusty

 

[JonMiles]

In response to your questions, every paint is different and your VW may be extremely hard similar to mercedes ceramiclear which for me requires a lot of work with megs 105. I have used the Pinnacle Lines and they work well but sometimes are not aggressive enough to get the job done in decent time.

What pad are you using for the project?
I use a med. Cutting pad with xmt #4 and it works pretty well but may leave a few swirls so i normally follow with a finishing polish and light polishing pad to get the paint looking good. You don't need to spend more money to get the swirls out, you just need to find a combo that will work for you. The flex has plenty of power to get rid of some nasty defects. What speed are you using, how much pressure, how fast are your section passes?

Do you have a finishing polish and a light polishing pad?
What other options are you thinking if you can't get the paint looking the way you want? If you want some great compounds look into menzerna and the megs SMAT stuff. My 2 favorites by far.

 

[Pepperjam]

In response to your questions, every paint is different and your VW may be extremely hard similar to mercedes ceramiclear which for me requires a lot of work with megs 105. I have used the Pinnacle Lines and they work well but sometimes are not aggressive enough to get the job done in decent time.

What pad are you using for the project?
I use a med. Cutting pad with xmt #4 and it works pretty well but may leave a few swirls so i normally follow with a finishing polish and light polishing pad to get the paint looking good. You don't need to spend more money to get the swirls out, you just need to find a combo that will work for you. The flex has plenty of power to get rid of some nasty defects. What speed are you using, how much pressure, how fast are your section passes?

Do you have a finishing polish and a light polishing pad?
What other options are you thinking if you can't get the paint looking the way you want? If you want some great compounds look into menzerna and the megs SMAT stuff. My 2 favorites by far.

I use the LC Orange pads for my correctional polishes so 2,3,4, and I have a white polishing pad for the #1 Polish. I've tried every speed but I usually sit around 4.5 to 5, and I make slow passes, take my rear door I usually split it into three sections, each section takes me a little over two or three minutes to do.

I was considering picking up the Meguairs #105 and #205 twins and seeing how those went.

 

[JonMiles]

You can work the area a little bit longer than that, and maybe slow down your passes so you are moving about 2 inches per second, it will give you a little more "bite". If you have the yellow pad, you might want to give it a try on a small area like behind the back wheel and see how it works, I think the yellow is the med. cutting pad for LC? I know the orange is a light cutting pad.

If you are already considering the megs twins, I would get them for sure. They work wonders and do it quickly. I actually corrected an entire F250 in 6 hours with them and the truck was beat to hell. I used the XMT line on a mustang once and it took about the same amount of time. Like my dad told me a few years ago, "you have to try everything until you find something that works for you."

I use a makita rotary with the megs 105 and follow with my cyclo for 205, my pads are from a local supplier and similar to the yellow and orange LC for cutting. Do you have a rotary you are comfortable using? this may keep you from dropping an extra 60 bucks to get the car looking right.

 

[mfortier]

LC orange or yellow is a pretty aggressive pad so you may need a more aggresive polish like 205 or 105 to start. Conversely, if those pads get out the scratches but not the swirls you may need to move down in pad aggressiveness (and maybe polish) to get the swirl free finish you are after. To my (still growing) understanding, swirls should be easier to remove than scratches. Hard to imagine the Mercedes clear is harder than the VW clear so if in fact it is "softer" then the yellow/orange pads may be the issue, i.e. too aggressive for swirls. As many have said, every paint/clear is different. I have only used XMT 360 as a final polishing step/paint cleanser - so I'm not familiar with their other products. It does finish out nicely after 105 or 205 or Megs Ultimate Compound (swirl free) but I still use a yellow pad with the 360 just to be able to move more quickly. Your Jetta might not be so accepting. (I have a Hyundai.)

Anyway, hope that helps.

Regards,

Martin

 

[Pepperjam]

You can work the area a little bit longer than that, and maybe slow down your passes so you are moving about 2 inches per second, it will give you a little more "bite". If you have the yellow pad, you might want to give it a try on a small area like behind the back wheel and see how it works, I think the yellow is the med. cutting pad for LC? I know the orange is a light cutting pad.

If you are already considering the megs twins, I would get them for sure. They work wonders and do it quickly. I actually corrected an entire F250 in 6 hours with them and the truck was beat to hell. I used the XMT line on a mustang once and it took about the same amount of time. Like my dad told me a few years ago, "you have to try everything until you find something that works for you."

I use a makita rotary with the megs 105 and follow with my cyclo for 205, my pads are from a local supplier and similar to the yellow and orange LC for cutting. Do you have a rotary you are comfortable using? this may keep you from dropping an extra 60 bucks to get the car looking right.

I don't have a Rotoray, I bought the flex so I could put off putting the rotary for awhile. I have to put in a order for a vacuum anyway, and my Lexol conditioner streaks if rain gets in the car, so as soon as I hear about the car bay I'm wanting to rent I'll be putting the order in. Oh I don't have a cutting pad so I'll be getting one of those too.

 

[JonMiles]

my Lexol conditioner streaks if rain gets in the car

lol Dude roll up your windows.

I am also getting a car bay this summer after I finish my masters degree. I have a pretty good list of stuff I think is needed if you want me to pm it to you, I'd like to hear what you are thinking about putting in yours. BTW for leather I have used saddle soap followed by a coat of lexol that I buff off after a few minutes and it seems penetrate a lil better due to leather pore opening. Might help your streaking problem, and saddle soap is cheap and easy to use.

 

[termigator]

I am using the XMT line currently, along with a Flex 3401 VRG, and the Lake Country Flat line of pads. So I am polishing my Black 2001 Volkswagen Jetta and it has absolutely no effect, no matter how many applications I use. I thought it was me, so I went to do a 1987 Mercedes 300 SDL, and the XMT destroyed all the swirls, it was amazing. Does anyone have any experience, should I order a different polish because I've got lots of swirls and the polish won't effect them at all. Please let me know.

EDIT: I should note if I use the #4 it will remove some scratches, and of course leave polishing marks, but it won't get out the swirls.

-Dusty

I feel your pain. A while back, I was trying to get rid of some light swirls on my brother-in-law's 09' white Jetta. I did not realize how hard VW paint is, so I tried SwirlX with a white LC pad and it did absolutely nothing. A few weeks later, I went over the car again with Power Finish with a white LC pad. It got rid of most of the swirls, but some still remained. I think if I were to do it again (Not likely, since it's not my car!) I could probably get rid of the rest if I did it again with the same combo.

Going with my experience with VW and the fact that your Jetta is black, you might consider using Power Finish or Super Intensive Polish with an orange LC pad and finish it off with Super Finish (Po85rd?) on a grey/blue LC pad.
The m105/205 combo might work as well or better, but I haven't used them too much. M105 works great on the orange LC pad (this might be your best bet to get rid of the swirls, but you'll definitely need to follow it up with a finishing polish), but I haven't been able to perfect M205 yet. Good luck!:buffing:

 

[CEE DOG]

lol Dude roll up your windows.

I am also getting a car bay this summer after I finish my masters degree. I have a pretty good list of stuff I think is needed if you want me to pm it to you, I'd like to hear what you are thinking about putting in yours. BTW for leather I have used saddle soap followed by a coat of lexol that I buff off after a few minutes and it seems penetrate a lil better due to leather pore opening. Might help your streaking problem, and saddle soap is cheap and easy to use.

Jon, I don't know first hand but according to the information on Leatherique here on AG they worn against saddle soap

....We strongly advise against saddle soap, as it has been known to remove the dye from the leather........
Heres the link:
Leatherique How To Instructions

 

[JonMiles]

Jon, I don't know first hand but according to the information on Leatherique here on AG they worn against saddle soap

....We strongly advise against saddle soap, as it has been known to remove the dye from the leather........
Heres the link:
Leatherique How To Instructions

I might reconsider my saddle soap after seeing that, I have never experienced any problems with removing dye and I have been very careful with using on inconspicuous areas first with no problems. If leatherique is safer, its better to be safe that sorry. Thanks for the heads up.