making the right pad choice?

sadler

sadler

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ok i just sprung on a flex da polisher that comes with a bag and 3 pad options. I will be tackling a 2003 w203 c320 in the spring and i am assuming the paint is more on the softer side compared to the s class and bmw x5 that i have which both will be gone in summer so i am not worried about them. anyways i went with the lake country orange, white, and gold pads. did i do good? also the paint needs work , has light to medium swirl marks.
 
The pads are fine.

You really won't know for sure until you do a test spot with the products that you would be using.
 
You'll do a test spot to determine best pad choice. Also you'll need more than one pad for each stage of polishing.
 
cleanmycorolla said:
You'll do a test spot to determine best pad choice. Also you'll need more than one pad for each stage of polishing.
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Yeah, you'll need 3-4 pads of each type. Get yourself a stiff brush or access to shop air, as you'll need to clean the pad after each section.

What products will you be using?
 
is it okay to use a white pad 105 compound then cleaning the same pad and using 205 on the same pad, or should i be using a new pad between each compound and test spots
 
You really need more pads. As a good starting point, 3 pads for cutting and 3 for finishing. You should also go to the grocery store and find a stiff nail or tub cleaning brush, and brush out the pads after each section.

I would not use the same pad for compounding and finishing.

IMO, I prefer to use MF for cutting and foam for finishing. The Flex doesn't work too well with certain MF pads, but I've heard that the Buff & Shine MF pads may work OK on the Flex.

You may also want to try something other than M105. That stuff creates massive dust storms and has a really short work time.

Are you sure that you need a compound? For most cars, getting a decent improvement is all that you're usually after. I would not bother going for 90-100% correction as it's probably a waste of time and clearcoat.
 
Vancity808 said:
is it okay to use a white pad 105 compound then cleaning the same pad and using 205 on the same pad, or should i be using a new pad between each compound and test spots
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It's better to have more than 1 pad.

Like the post above said 3 of each at a min.
 
ok cool , i will get more pads. how aggressive is the orange pad to start with? i got bored after washing the car today and clayed the trunk lid a threw on a coat of meguiars nxt 2.0 on after too see what it looks like. came out nice and smooth but not sure if i let it dry long enough (10min) anyway i just wanted to see how bad the clear had scratches in it, and there is a lot. so is the orange pad a good starter? what products should i use? i would like to go with a sealant and then coat with carnauba wax. this is on a 2003 mercedes c320 by the way (pewter) i will try to get pics of paint.
 
sadler said:
ok cool , i will get more pads. how aggressive is the orange pad to start with? i got bored after washing the car today and clayed the trunk lid a threw on a coat of meguiars nxt 2.0 on after too see what it looks like. came out nice and smooth but not sure if i let it dry long enough (10min) anyway i just wanted to see how bad the clear had scratches in it, and there is a lot. so is the orange pad a good starter? what products should i use? i would like to go with a sealant and then coat with carnauba wax. this is on a 2003 mercedes c320 by the way (pewter) i will try to get pics of paint.
Click to expand...

I would say:

WG Uber Compound 3.0 (Orange Pad)

Wolfgang Finishing Glaze 3.0 (Polish) (White Pad)

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 (Gold Pad)

Whatever carnauba wax you want...

I would recommend Megs M26.
 
here is some pics , This is the best pics i can get of the paint cause of the light but this is how it is over the whole car.
 
That car may be CeramiClear'ed (CC). You may want to look at what has worked for others in the past. You want to take off the LEAST amount of clearcoat if its CC.

But, there are too many variables to make an accurate recommendation. I would have at least a few MF pads or compounding pads of some sort for difficult spots.
 
those look like light swirl marks.. start from the least aggressive pad. but i believe the right polish and polishing pad would get rid of these. you might not even have to cut much.
 
I will look into it , I know high end models have the special clear but i would not think the c class models would and also it being a 2003.
 
so just read about nano paint to see if i have it and i dont since there is not c before my paint code.
 
Thank you, no one mentioned that in anything that i was reading.Is there any other way to tell if a car has ceramic clear or not? I know the s class has it and maybe the bmw x5 we have? both 2007s , both the s class and bmw`s paint needs some work but they are going to be gone in summer due to them being money pits more the s class the the bmw.
 
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