Ultimate compound and m205 are a great choice for beginners.
You'll know when you are done by doing a test spot and checking your work; then replicating the process and checking your work on the whole car. No shortcut there, although experience helps and with a keen eye, you can spot swirls through a light compound film.
As for when the polishing cycle is done, that's less of an issue with SMAT. If the product has dried completely, you can mist it with water, mineral oil or other dedicated pad priming products to extend the cycle. If you see the product has gone clear or has flashed, then it's done or time to mist.
M205 doesn't contain dedicated fillers, but it is rich in oils and can mask defects, so consider an IPA wipe down to check you work.
THIS!!!
rops:
For quicker correction, not having to *wait* for the product to break down, and consistent -
repeatable - correction "
Section-to-Section" SMAT products are hard to beat.
The *KEY* is to keep working WET. If you work the product till it dries.... you've worked it too long. With SMAT products you work the section 4 (maybe 5) passes and wipe it down. Look for a wet buffer trail behind your pad as you go. If you need more correction you have a few options; 1: reapply (current) product to the (current) pad and do 4~5 more passes, 2: switch to a heavier cut pad with the current product, or 3: switch to a heavier cut product with your current pad.
I agree that M105 is something that you should stay away from if you've not used it before. Not that you can't use it, not at all... just that you need to be prepared for how best to utilize it within the parameters you'll be facing that day. If you've properly primed your pad you can use M105 and do 2~3 passes MAX! Whatever you do... DO NOT LET IT DRY! If it does, it'll be like cement and you'll curse yourself trying to get it off. Better yet (as was stated previously) you can put more product on and 'rewet' the area, spritz it with distilled water, or perhaps a bit of mineral oil (baby oil will do).
Easier yet would be to get D300 as a heavier cut product, Ultimate Compound, M205, and Ultimate Polish (in that order from most to least cut). If you really want maximum cut, get M101 as it's a LOT easier to work with than M105.
Basically, SMAT products whether they are compounds or polishes should be worked CLEAN. Have a clean surface, clean pad, and work each section clean. Don't overwork the product as the particles will actually get larger the longer you work them. Instead, work each section (as I've said) 3~4 times then wipe own and inspect your progress. Also you want to MAKE SURE and "clean on the fly" after each section pass, (
much more critical when compounding than polishing, but needed with both processes).
OTOH, Menzerna products are truly something that everyone needs at least two, if not a few of. I'd say FG400 to cut with and SF4000 to finish and you'll be doing good.
The difference between working with SMAT and DAT is that with the latter you'll HAVE to work each section 7~10 times to get the product to work completely through it's working cycle. So in a way, SMAT is actually faster! Take 4~5 passes to compound then wipe, then 5~6 to polish and it's done.
Yet DAT can (
as has also been said in this thread) finish down better (
well easier to finish better with some paints for sure).
Here is an excellent thread from Mike@Dedicated Perfection on using Menzerna products.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...rning-3401-menzerna-products-hybrid-pads.html
Everything has a learning curve, just be prepared when you start. Don't get ahead of yourself, and TAKE NOTES.
Do your testing for how much correction you want to get when doing the compounding stage. If you're looking for 50%, 70%, 90% correction THIS IS THE TIME where you will get a 'feel' for how that is going to happen. Do NOT finish them all down right away, just work on the compounding stage.
Tape the hood off into say 6 areas. Do 3, something like: white pad - speed 5 - UC - 4 passes - medium arm pressure - medium arm speed. Then orange pad - speed 5 - UC - 4 passes - medium arm pressure - medium arm speed. Then say, orange pad - speed 5.5 - 4 passes - heavy pressure - medium speed. So on and so on. The trick (in the beginning) is to only do the same amount of passes, just changing up your compounding product, or your pad, or your machine (not arm) speed. Because you WANT TO KNOW what just that amount of passes will do on JUST THAT PAINT. You can always go back and do more passes to get more correction after cleaning your pad and applying more product!
Remember... much easier to go back and do more than to try and add paint after you've removed too much!
Once you get the compounding done where you like it, THEN you start polishing. Take the next 3 spots, compound them all the same (using the process you worked out in the first spots you did) then experiment on how the polishing process works for you to get the optimal results you're looking for at the time.
Remember TAKE NOTES!
Once you have your 'method' down then you'll know that that paint, on that vehicle, with that amount of swirls... needs... for THAT amount of correction.
(Don't even have a Menzerna banner in my garage... to compete with my Meguiar's banner....... which should make Barry Meguiar happy enough.) :laughing:
