Well then forget what I've said because this dude knows more than me. KB changed the way I correct paint.
That's
kind and funny, all in one!
I wouldn't recommend that any single post is ignored, but this is a topic that I deal with almost every day via phone or text or e-mail. When a guy is having a tough time finishing down a paint job, the go-to polish is always M205 for me. This is partly because I know it so well, also because its abrasive grains are very refined, and the liquid portion of the "polish" is fantastic.
By adjusting the quantity being used (more or less quantity), most of the finishing issues are resolved.
Common occurrences responsible for subpar results when
final polishing:
1. Long-cycling the product.
Buffing for too long a period of time
2. Use of too much product.
A guy will typically polish until the M205 "disappears" or "breaks down", which causes the polish to continually remove paint, and the paint grindings (the residue) causes new scouring. An excess amount of polish can also be tougher to remove from the pad, so contaminated polish continues to scour even after the pad has been cleaned "on the fly".
3. Use of a pad that is not ideal for your polishing style, or your polishing machine.
Pads can squish, twist, and distort during use, to the point that it cannot achieve a consistent result from one second to the next.
4. Use of a backing plate that is grossly mismatched to the diameter of the buffing pad. This is not usually a problem if the pad being used features a flared-edge design. Vast differences in pad and plate diameters becomes especially noticeable with pads featuring square-cut edges, and if high machine speeds are used.
5. Use of a super-soft, super-pliable buffing pad.
Oftentimes, a super-soft finishing pad does not provide as nice a finish as a polishing or cutting pad. Foam design, wall thickness between each pore, pad thickness, etc., all have a monstrous effect on how well a pad can refine a paint surface.
6. Lifting up or lightening pressure on the last couple of passes.
Why is this always considered a
must-do? When you wet-sand a paint surface, are you taught to
lift up or
lighten your sanding pressure right as you finish? I'd say that in many cases (and in super-critical testing), lightening user-applied pressure has a tendency to scour the surface. There are specific reasons for this.
7. Using a variety of machine speeds, or too much speed (for no reason other than because it was recommended to do so).
Without knowing why you are doing something, you cannot possibly know whether or not procedural changes are beneficial or detrimental to the polishing result. This is partly because super-fine scour marks are easily masked during polishing, and are not seen until the panel is wiped clean (or a wipe-down spray is applied and wiped).
8. Overuse of wipe-down sprays.
Checking your work is fine, but at some point, the mist & wipe surface cleaners (detergents, alcohols, petro-solvents) can temporarily alter the mechanical characteristics of the paint (it
is an expandable/contractable structure after all, just like all things in the world, at least from what I know). If you must do multiple test applications in hopes of dialing in the ideal product or procedure, consider using a hot-water saturated microfiber towel to wipe the surface clean, then a moistened and wrung microfiber towel to dry. Or, test-polish using different areas of the vehicle to avoid affecting the paint via overuse of stripping agents.
This list continues on.
In my experience, pad priming is a
big deal when it comes to creating that "perfect finish". Regardless the
quantity of polish being used (12 drops of M205 mixed into a quart of water, or M101 compound slathered about and massaged into the pad), it NEVER hurts to have a consistent layer of polish across the pad face.
rops: