polish pads and compounds for my old jeep?

bradleyheathhays

bradleyheathhays

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I've got a great survivor '96 Jeep Cherokee in Flame Red. I had a local professional detailer do some kind of cutting process a few years ago that really brought the bang back out of the color. Since the fender flares were looking worn I just finished repainting them with a rattle can base color and 2k clear coat process, and other than the orange peel they look really good. Actually they're upclassing my paint finish now so I need to get my body shine up to speed. I've got a griot's 6in polisher and other than that I need to be coached through what I need to get to give my paint a good simple polish. But I'm trying to do it cheap so just the minimum is perfectly fine. It's got a fair number of small scratches/blemishes that are just gonna stay, so I'm not looking to make anything close to perfect here.

Basically I need to know, what pads should I get and what product(s) should I use with them? I've seen some kits that might be good enough for an amateur like myself.

Also, if there's anything designed to work in colder weather please let me know. I don't see it getting warm around my area anytime soon.
 
Well since it sounds like a quality job is not a high priority for you / your goal & you dont want to sink any time or money into it also

Just go down to your local Auto zone and they will have a GREAT selection of just what you need. They will have a good selection of Griots products including pads-- pick up 3 of their Boss line of pads and a bottle of Meguiars ultimate compound ( not polish )

Then all you need to do is come up with a LSP-- sounds to me that something in a spray would fit you

Good luck
 
I have three sets of gear. One I keep at my house, one at my gf's where I do the bulk of my personal, private work, and one I keep at my part time gig.

They all have a core compound / polish in 3D ONE. I get a lot of milage out of it.

I typically use a microfiber cutting pad in the Buff and Shine Uro-Fiber, or Lake Country HDO Microfiber, and yellow B&S Uro-Tec or orange HDO CCS. Pick one of each, add 3D ONE and you can get a LOT of territory covered.

Sometimes the microfiber pad will finish down enough to not need the foam polishing step, and sometimes the foam polishing pads cut enough to not need a microfiber cutting step.

As someone facing a wide variety of scenarios I also keep 3D ACA500 for a heavier cut, and AAT502 for ultra fine finishing.
 
Spend a little time on YT and watch some videos

As much as I dont like the guy- you can look up dallas paint and correction videos and he has a couple of vids on how to polish a car for beginners.

There is a lot that goes into a quality paint correction but on a "beater " like your car and the overall level of of time, effort & $$ you want / dont want to put into it--the above will get you the results you will be more than happy with. Biggest mistake folks like you will make is not keeping your pad clean. On a beater like yours with out seeing it-- twice a panel. I go thru 5-6 pads EASY on a truck paint correction thats in real good shape, maybe 4 on a car.
 
Based on your description of expectations, I would start with a good AIO... Depending on the amount of correction you are looking for, Meg's #6 (or the consumer equivalent Cleaner Wax in the maroon bottle) or D166 are good choices. Of those three, the 166 will have the best correction ability. Use any one of them with a foam "polishing" pad (Meg's DFP5) or even a "cutting" pad (Meg's DFC5). Stay away from the soft "finishing" pads.

As for the number of pads, more is better, but there are workarounds where you could get by with less to minimize the initial cost.
 
I would tape off your freshly painted flares before polishing. Rattle can clear coat isn't polisher friendly

For pads and polish I would go with a half dozen microfiber cutting pads and mequiars 100 or 110.
You could get by with less pads if you want to break this job into doing part of it 1 day (wash pads) after they dry you can proceed to the next section.
Once done this finish will last longer if you lay down a ceramic.
 
3D one with a microfiber pad and a foam polishing pad is really good advice.

If your looking for specific's get the blue or orange microfiber from Lake Country and the orange FOAM polishing pad. I would get the orange SDO with CCS if you have a short throw polisher or the HDO if you have a longthrow. GREAT PADS. I personally feel they are considerably better than the rupes foam pads in user experience.
 
Wow, thanks for all the great advice. This really gives me a good info base on which to start building my finishing knowledge.
 
2black1s said:
Based on your description of expectations, I would start with a good AIO... Depending on the amount of correction you are looking for, Meg's #6 (or the consumer equivalent Cleaner Wax in the maroon bottle) or D166 are good choices. Of those three, the 166 will have the best correction ability. Use any one of them with a foam "polishing" pad (Meg's DFP5) or even a "cutting" pad (Meg's DFC5). Stay away from the soft "finishing" pads.

As for the number of pads, more is better, but there are workarounds where you could get by with less to minimize the initial cost.
Click to expand...

I hadn't used the D166 in a while. It works great but the scent is really off putting for me.

We cut with D300 on LC HDO MF pads, and finished with orange HDO a.d D166.

The only Meguiar's AIO I have is M06 Cleaner Wax. It's closer to M66 than the A12 maroon bottle version.

Fall of 2019 I did a friend's black Tahoe. I wanted to test out my M100 and M205 with B&S Uro-Fiber and yellow Uro-Tec pads. I ended up going around the entire vehicle with the M06 on black Buff and Shine finishing pads. That M06 did a great job eating the oxidation and lighter defects. I did that all with an old school Porter Cable 7424. I only used the M100 and M205 on the hood.
 
Flash Gordon said:
I would tape off your freshly painted flares before polishing. Rattle can clear coat isn't polisher friendly

For pads and polish I would go with a half dozen microfiber cutting pads and mequiars 100 or 110.
You could get by with less pads if you want to break this job into doing part of it 1 day (wash pads) after they dry you can proceed to the next section.
Once done this finish will last longer if you lay down a ceramic.
Click to expand...

I still really love those Meg's offerings.

M110 is a real winner in my book.
 
I've been using a lot of 3D One for exactly what you're looking to do. A 1 step "sorta" correction.

I never use any less than 6 pads on any buff/polish machine jobs (or as Flash suggested, maybe 3 if you split up the work over a few days). I would do a few test spots if you have any combos to compare but would most likely reach for MF cutting and/or Lake Country HDO orange pads.
 
dlc95 said:
I still really love those Meg's offerings.

M110 is a real winner in my book.
Click to expand...

I prefer 105 over anything else if I am facing a challenging job. It can be a frustrating compound to figure out because of the short working time (plus it dusts like crazy) so I (typically) don't recommend for the novice user

I have so much 100,101 & 105 that I haven't gotten around to purchasing 110. Ive heard many great things from people that I respect concerning this product that I have no problem recommending

I do wish Meguiars would step their game up with product development. Since 3M bought them out they appear to be asleep at the wheel



Paul A. said:
I've been using a lot of 3D One for exactly what you're looking to do. A 1 step "sorta" correction.

I never use any less than 6 pads on any buff/polish machine jobs (or as Flash suggested, maybe 3 if you split up the work over a few days). I would do a few test spots if you have any combos to compare but would most likely reach for MF cutting and/or Lake Country HDO orange pads.
Click to expand...

Changing out pads often is key. If possible I think it's a great idea to change after each panel. Not only do you get better results, it prolongs the life of your pad.

I use orange and yellow pads almost exclusively (rotary polisher). I really prefer the RUPES pads for their beveled design. This design really helps keep the backing plate from hitting your paint. They also allow you to get another inch into tight spaces.

If I am using a dual action (DA) / random orbital (RO) polisher I prefer using microfiber pads no doubt.
 
Flash Gordon said:
I prefer 105 over anything else if I am facing a challenging job. It can be a frustrating compound to figure out because of the short working time (plus it dusts like crazy) so I (typically) don't recommend for the novice user

I have so much 100,101 & 105 that I haven't gotten around to purchasing 110. Ive heard many great things from people that I respect concerning this product that I have no problem recommending

I do wish Meguiars would step their game up with product development. Since 3M bought them out they appear to be asleep at the wheel.
Click to expand...

The first time I broke out the M105 I was doing my old neighbor's car in his driveway. I was in the mid afternoon summer sun, Flex 3401, and green Hex pad. It barely had any time to cut. It was incredibly dusty and puzzling to work with.

Then the "gurus" were recommending weird "priming" methods for it, which only exacerbated the situation.

Now that I've used my typical application (4 drops, reload with one or two small drops) I get excellent cut and finish from M105, with a lot less dust. I still get some, but it actually seems to keep my pad cleaner after a good brush out.

I like it because it gets to the point very quickly, and usually doesn't take so much effort to remove where my 3D can fight me sometimes. I also like that it doesn't have any intentional odors. I like the natural scent that the Mirror Glaze abrasives have. The 3D ACA500 and especially AAT501 are nauseating

I was a very big user of M100 for years though. That stuff performed miracles when I needed divine intervention to help me cut some paint. I currently don't have any, but I am planning on picking some up.

That M110 cuts like M105 but has a very different user experience. It has en extended work time, but will still dust out of the pad easily.

With M205 I can almost get a similar performance to 3D ONE in terms of cut to finish. I have had some issues finishing with M205 on soft black paints in the past, but I just switched to Ultimate Polish in those situations. Today I'd try the M210.
 
noorth said:
3D one with a microfiber pad and a foam polishing pad is really good advice.

If your looking for specific's get the blue or orange microfiber from Lake Country and the orange FOAM polishing pad. I would get the orange SDO with CCS if you have a short throw polisher or the HDO if you have a longthrow. GREAT PADS. I personally feel they are considerably better than the rupes foam pads in user experience.
Click to expand...

Hey noorth, I'm just now getting around to doing this and have the 3D One ordered. I have a very step learning curve with what pads do what so please forgive me. From what I'm understanding, I'm to apply the 3D One all over with microfiber pad, clean, and then apply it again with a foam polishing pad?

I have a 20mm long throw polisher so I've been searching for the Lake Country HDO pad like you suggest but I'm not sure how to interpret what's coming up in the results. Would you mind giving a link to the pads your referring to please?
 
dlc95 said:
I have three sets of gear. One I keep at my house, one at my gf's where I do the bulk of my personal, private work, and one I keep at my part time gig.

They all have a core compound / polish in 3D ONE. I get a lot of milage out of it.

I typically use a microfiber cutting pad in the Buff and Shine Uro-Fiber, or Lake Country HDO Microfiber, and yellow B&S Uro-Tec or orange HDO CCS. Pick one of each, add 3D ONE and you can get a LOT of territory covered.

Sometimes the microfiber pad will finish down enough to not need the foam polishing step, and sometimes the foam polishing pads cut enough to not need a microfiber cutting step.

As someone facing a wide variety of scenarios I also keep 3D ACA500 for a heavier cut, and AAT502 for ultra fine finishing.
Click to expand...



You sound like me talking about the Ultimate Compound that I use for ages, but obviously it's time to try the 3D One.

Would you be able to compare the 2 ?
 
Looks like autogeek is out of orange CCS/HDO..

Lake Country HDO CCS 5.5 in. Pads - 3 Pack - Choose Your Pads

I would get 3-4 orange pads and a few microfiber - if you have heavy defects. If your not in a huge rush you can clean up pads has you go.

The SDO/CCS is another option butt they won't last so long on a 20mm throw. But i always liked the standard orange SDO on my 15mm. Holding up just fine.
 
bradleyheathhays said:
Hey noorth, I'm just now getting around to doing this and have the 3D One ordered. I have a very step learning curve with what pads do what so please forgive me. From what I'm understanding, I'm to apply the 3D One all over with microfiber pad, clean, and then apply it again with a foam polishing pad?

I have a 20mm long throw polisher so I've been searching for the Lake Country HDO pad like you suggest but I'm not sure how to interpret what's coming up in the results. Would you mind giving a link to the pads your referring to please?
Click to expand...

Yeah sure you can use 3D one that way. So people don't even wipe off the residue. Straight to the foam pad.

Mike Phillips called it the cheater technique i believe...

There are many options but the buff and shine uro-fiber 50/50 is a good cutting pad. You might even get away with just 1 step.
 
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