Which is better for a final polish?

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RMarkJr

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So as the title says, I am wondering which would be the best for a final polish. I have Menzerna SF3500, HDPolish +, and the Megs M205.

This is on a 2015 Honda Accord Metallic Grey paint.

I first tried to go over it with the HD-Polish+ and the SF3500 first, but that didn't quite get out all the stuff I wanted. So I am now going over the whole thing with Menzerna medium Cut 2500 with the medium cut orange pad. After that I plan on going over it with a final polish and trying to decide which would give the better finish to it.

I am trying to make it as good as absolutely possible, after I get everything done, I have CSL and EXOv3 that is going to go over it.

Thanks again!
 
The best thing to do is perform a test spot with your cutting compound and then go over the same 'test spot' area with one of your finishing polishes. If the finish looks good you now have a game plan for the rest of the vehicle.
 
With it being that color, it's not rare to see absolutely no change in appearance after compound/polish no matter what you use. I recently had that experience when buffing out a metalic blue 2011 Kia Optima.

I tried Megs M205, Megs D151, and a 3rd polish [I forgot which 1] and neither 1 of them gave even a slight difference at all... It was so disappointing that I didn't even bother polishing the hood and just decided to finish up and apply sealant.
 
Being that you have defects to remove, and want a nice finish, the PF2500 would be fine. You might be able to get away with using a white polishing pad wit it too.

If you have any Lake Country Tangerine Hydrotech pads, you almost get the orange pad cut, with the finish of a grey pad. Menzerna and LC Hydrotech pads play really well together.
 
RMarkJr said:
I first tried to go over it with the HD-Polish+ and the SF3500 first, but that didn't quite get out all the stuff I wanted. So I am now going over the whole thing with Menzerna medium Cut 2500 with the medium cut orange pad. After that I plan on going over it with a final polish and trying to decide which would give the better finish to it.

I am trying to make it as good as absolutely possible, after I get everything done, I have CSL and EXOv3 that is going to go over it.

Thanks again!
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If you are trying to make it perfect, Cut to the chase!

Use a compound remove all the damage, and come behind it with one of the polishes you listed above.

Trying to make paint perfect with a mid-grade polish is going to require more time, more pads, more passes, more everything.

By the time you repeat the same section you polished 2 or 3 times, You can do 1 pass with compound and then come behind it with polish and get it done.

Even if the paint is on the softer side of the spectrum! You might be able to remove the lighter swirls/scratches, But the deeper ones are still going to be tough to remove.

A few months ago I polished a Lamborghini Jalpa, The paint was on the softer side, I got really good results with a mid-grade polish and a cutting pad, But it would have required more passes, more pads, and more time. I cut to the chase and slapped a microfiber cutting pad with compound.

A compound like Fast Compound finishes so good that minimal effort is required to remove the ever so slight haze.

So if PERFECTION or the best as possible is the goal, Always "cut" to the chase!
 
Recently did a black Honda and finished with Scholl S40 on LC crimson hydrotech; worked much better for me than Menz 3800 or Hd Polish+ on the somewhat soft paint.
 
I'm surprised the 3500 didn't work for you.

I was able to get these results on a gray '12 Fit using nothing more than a white LC Flat pad and Blackfire SRC Polish (recently discontinued), which is supposedly very similar to 3500. How deep are the defects you're trying to remove?

IMG_20171021_111925.jpg


IMG_20171021_115314.jpg
 
BudgetPlan1 said:
Recently did a black Honda and finished with Scholl S40 on LC crimson hydrotech; worked much better for me than Menz 3800 or Hd Polish+ on the somewhat soft paint.
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This is good to know. I'm at a point where I need to replenish my polishes and I'm looking for something that works well on really soft paint like what's found on Toyota's and Honda's.
 
Some Hondas have sticky paint is that something you have experienced? I know many likes Sonax perfect finish to handle that type of clearcoat. It also cuts well with a cutting microfiberpad. Do one step with a coarse pad and finish of with a finishing pad with sonax perfect finish. If you have a longthrow polisher you may consider rupes yellow pad. Have beard that rupes keramik polish works great also on the softer clearcoat. And then I just for safety take a compound like sonax cutmax or cut and finish. You are useing different cut from the pads to get the result you want.
 
In my experience with an unknown paint that initially is compounded I will do a few tests with the finish polishes. I can see the improvement after the compounding and then compound maybe half the hood. I then do 3-4 test sections with some different finish polishes and find the one that finishes it out best.

I find the single best test spot and THAT'S the product I use. Sometimes I go one more test with that polish on a different pad just to see if it can get even better.

All of this testing may take 10-15 mins.

As far as deeper scratches, DON'T chase them down if they're too deep. In some cases I will locally wetsand down some deeper scratches to minimize their appearance but I am careful not to sacrifice too much clearcoat. I have learned to live with a few of those on my 10 year old black car...I'd rather minimize their look rather than risk thinning my clear to dangerously thin areas.
 
Sonax perfect finish is a great choice for the soft paints. If you're going to use a coating, I would suggest against any of the oily polishes and go for something water based. Heat and expansion =some polishing oils in the pores of the paint, meaning improper bond of the coating even after multiple panel wipes. Since you're using gtechniq, have you considered using their nano polish for the final polish?
 
So what did you use? How'd it turn out? What's the update?
 
Eldorado2k said:
So what did you use? How'd it turn out? What's the update?
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well ... lol I am still working on it. I started with detail spray to clean the dust off. Then Iron x over the whole car, I clayed the whole thing.. twice. I decided to use menzerna 2500 medium cut with an orange pad with light pressure and about 3 to 4 passes on speed 4.5 with the Boss 21. That seems to be working out really well. I almost have the whole thing done with that.

Then I am going to go over it with a very soft pad and the menzerna SF 3500 at a lower speed and probably about 3 passes. Then wipe it down and apply the coatings.

So far what I have done I can tell that it is looking a lot better. I didnt have a lot of defects on it to start with ..but there were a few marks that the finer polish wouldnt remove .. so I just decided to do a two step deal.

didnt get to work much on it today as today was kinda rough with stuff .. but I plan to get on it tomorrow for sure.
 
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