Finishing Polish

mattruggiero said:
Haha... i should have known that I was going to get a bunch of recommendations. Thanks guys! So does SF4500 have an cutting ability or is it purely for a really clean finish?

For those of you who have recommended HD polish.. I have heard good things about it. CarPro Reflect as well. What is the difference between the two? And do they match up with SF4500?

Thanks!
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I have SF4000/4500 & Reflect. All 3 work well; it's hard to go wrong with any of them.

A few months back I used SF on half my hood and Reflect on the other half. After removal I couldn't tell the difference as the final product looked the same to me.

But Reflect was easier to remove given the humid conditions I live in. Sometimes I did get dusting with SF, but never had any dusting issues with Reflect.
 
Ebg18t said:
I have SF4000/4500 & Reflect. All 3 work well; it's hard to go wrong with any of them.

A few months back I used SF on half my hood and Reflect on the other half. After removal I couldn't tell the difference as the final product looked the same to me.

But Reflect was easier to remove given the humid conditions I live in. Sometimes I did get dusting with SF, but never had any dusting issues with Reflect.
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Good to know. Seeing how Reflect is the cheaper option I'll probably go that route. Are there any tricks to applying it? Thanks!
 
mattruggiero said:
Good to know. Seeing how Reflect is the cheaper option I'll probably go that route. Are there any tricks to applying it? Thanks!
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Don't prime the pad with a QD. Put a few pea sized globs of Reflect on the pad, swirl it around the paint and then add a tad more Reflect to the pad before turning the DA on. I found if I primed with a QD the pad gummed up. As you work it use less pressure each pass. You last pass has no more pressure than the weight of the machine.

AG offers a 250ml bottle which is convient so if you don't like it your not sitting with a lot of polish.
 
What, no Optimum! I have nothing to compare it to though other than their compound which is also awesome, but I love it. Easy to work with for a newb, long working time, doesn't dust, wipes away easily, and can get some decent correction out of it with an aggressive pad.
 
On the agressiveness scale, M205 is at 4.

Megs Ultimage Polish and Menzerna's SF4000 are at 3 so a little bit finer.

At 2 you you will products likes 3M Ultra-Fine Machine Polish and Menzerna's SF4500 and Megs ColorX. Those are the finest polishes on the market.

At a scale of 1 you will get cleaner waxes and such but no actual polishes. Although using a drop of M205 in a bottle of water "might" be at an agressive rating of 1... hard to say. Try reading about it if you are interested.
 
Ultimate polish with a green pad, can produce awesome gloss and it's otc!
 
Dereksdtail said:
Ultimate polish with a green pad, can produce awesome gloss and it's otc!
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Ultimate Polish is what I use as well, switched from Adam's. I think UP is the same (consumer grade) as your M205 if I'm not mistaken, good stuff :dblthumb2:
 
cfiiman said:
Ultimate Polish is what I use as well, switched from Adam's. I think UP is the same (consumer grade) as your M205 if I'm not mistaken, good stuff :dblthumb2:
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Less cut and more oils to wipe up, buy yes it's good stuff for sure.
 
Mantilgh said:
What, no Optimum! I have nothing to compare it to though other than their compound which is also awesome, but I love it. Easy to work with for a newb, long working time, doesn't dust, wipes away easily, and can get some decent correction out of it with an aggressive pad.
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I don't like Optimum Hyper Compound, but Hyper Polish is pretty good. Stains pads badly, but that's just cosmetic.
 
Would I be wasting time/money applying UP with a black LC flat pad after applying M205 with a black pad? My limited pad selection goes from black to red.
 
Lexus Man said:
Would I be wasting time/money applying UP with a black LC flat pad after applying M205 with a black pad? My limited pad selection goes from black to red.
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Black to red.... Of what line? Hopefully not Lake Country.

I can say that M205 has a pretty significant cut considering it is supposed to be a finishing polish. I looked at the Autopia Polish Chart for the first time today and wasn't surprised with the cut level it has. I've had M205 leave DA haze on super soft paints.
Ultimate Polish has less cut and is more oily which means longer working time. This is a true finishing polish and I have used something such as SF4500 after M205 to refine soft paint that M205 did not leave flawless. I would use Ultimate Polish in a similar fashion.
 
Maybe start with Ultimate Polish with a black Lake Country flat pad? It's a Matador Red Mica Lexus which I think is "softer" paint. This is the first time for me ever to touch a car with a polisher and my thinking is to use the very least aggressive approach possible. Is my thinking correct?
 
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