M105 trick to minimize dusting & maximize work time

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heckhole

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I love using M105 when the job calls for it. Unfortunately the majority of the cars I receive at my shop need this step.

The only thing I've disliked about M105 has been the dusting and caking if you don't swap pads enough.

While buffing a red Toyota, I got frustrated with the dust all over and my sinuses were taking a beating. I normally mist the pad to minimize but it's just an extra step that slows you down. I grabbed my M205 and a new pad, I primed the pad with M205 and then proceeded to use M105 with that same pad. Barely had any dusting, and noticed an extremely increased work time without dealing with it drying out. I didn't notice if it had any less cut either.
 
M105 is designed as a fast working compound and is intentionally designed with a short working time. Since it uses a high amount of super micro abrasives you can quickly level defects and not have to worry about letting the abrasives break down to get an acceptable finish.

A longer working time, IMHO, is not desirable because your pad will load up with more paint residue the longer you continue to work the panel. Loading the pad with spent product and paint residue reduces cutting ability (because abraded pieces of paint are larger than the abrasive particles in the product) so working the same product for a longer period of time is inefficient.

Instead I recommend to not overwork the product. Clean the pad frequently to remove spent product and abraded paint residue. Work in shorter buffing cycles, as the product is designed to do, and you will get more done in a shorter amount of time than if you try to overwork the product. :buffing:
 
Why not just switch to a product that dusts less but still cuts and finishes instead of making 105 something it's not? HD Cut and Adapt cut almost as well, if finish fantastic, and don't dust.
 
The primary issue is its locally available, for cheap.

In dry heat, and my shop is extremely dry, the working time of 105 before it dusts is not even half a section pass. I can now get 3-4 section passes out of it without a dust pile and it's far easier to remove.

I'm waiting on my order of HD cut to come in.

*** I want to add that when I'm using 105 I typically use 2 pads per panel. Pad caking for me is never an issue but I see a few complaints about that, but that's likely over use of product or residual paint like Nick said. When using M105 on an entire vehicle when called for, I'll use any where from 10-15 pads.
 
Good tips. Fortunately I have a lot of various lsp's to try. I can't tell you how many times an area called for M105 unless I wanted to spend an extra 30 minutes with what I had available for polish and made a giant mess within 20 seconds of working time.

I've also found a drop or two of glaze on a fresh pad helps with M105. Always have to IPA wipe after to inspect.
 
I use M07 or Deep Crystal Polish on the pad and it reduces dusting considerably without affecting cut, oh and it leaves a super glossy finish at the same time too :)
 
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