Finishing hologram free on Mercedes?

G

garbageman918

New member
I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong and hoping to get some advice before I trial-and-error 20 different combinations. :)



I started with a full prep followed by 105 with LC orange. Cleaned, followed by 205 with LC white.....but still getting holograms. Machine used is the griots DA (new one) on speed 5.



So I guess the question is, what's the easiest way to end up hologram free? I'm not doing this to make $, so being super time efficient isn't a high priority.



Is low and slow (speed 2-3 with LC Black/205?) better or is it more of a good combo of speed and proper product?



Recommendations much appreciated.







Cars:

I have 2 Mercedes, a 06 CLS55 and SLK. One is the standard black and one is the obsidian black (pearl-ish).



Equipment/tools:

PC & Griots new gen DAs.

Megs 105/205

LC yellow/orange/white/green/black ranging from 3-6.5"

(some other mez polishes that I've never used too)
 
do you have the LC pads with a textured face? like a hex pattern/kopressor pads? My first suggestion would be get some flat pads IE hydrotech cyan and tangerine.
 
Not sure if holograms are from 105 or 205......they're there after being done with 205 for sure, but I didn't inspect between. I thought that 205 would be able to finish out any holograms...maybe that was another bad assumption.



I have Mez 203. I never used it, mainly because it seemed easier (for me being a rookie) to use a nondiminishing compound to get more uniform results. Maybe I'm way off on that. ;)
 
I would finish with menzerna 85rd or 106 with white ccs pads and it should finish flawlessly. Do a small section at a time, about 2 sq. Ft.



John
 
I know technique has been talked to death but I think you're right about me doing something wrong with it...especially if I'm using 205 and still getting holograms.



I've been doing (what I think) is KBM with the 105/orange and it does take out all the swirls which is awesome. Should be I doing an identical process with the 205/white (or Mez)? I'll admit that I've been lazier with the 205 and not added nearly as much pressure as I had with with the first step.



edit: I just figured being lazy with 205 would make the finish better no matter how good or bad I did with 105. A better question might be: Is it possible for 205/white to hologram any car or is it more likely that I'm not finishing out marring from the 105 and need to be slightly more aggressive?
 
garbageman918- Your problem might not be as bad as you think :D



First off, you're probably not dealing with *real* holograms, but rather what I can "pseudo-holograms"; real ones are a rotary-only phenomenon and often harder to sort out. Gee, "So what?!?", huh? Who cares what they're called, how to fix'em :D OK..



- If they're from the M105 then they're light micro marring from the compound, often from when you buff it off (it stays abrasive and if it dries out a lot it can really do this micromarring). Try misting some QD, I use M34, on and then buffing off the residue- that QD makes the buff-off more gentle.



If the M105/orange is too aggressive (not all *that* likely IMO, but possible), then you might want to try M105 on a finishing pad. But you gotta keep M105 pads *clean* and I mean like obsess over it. I use a scad of pads just so I don't have to stop and spend forever cleaning them out. If you don't use a clean pad, the old, dried M105 can cause all sorts of issues, including what you're dealing with.



-If the problem is from M205, I'd bet on it being just the polishing oils. The oils in M205 can look *very* much like holograms and you can go nuts repeatedly polishing an area with seemingly zero effect. Try IPAing it (I think TOL's PrepWash works a lot better) or use a foaming window cleaner (yeah really, it usually works).



If you've already done something like M205/orange (which oughta knock down any marring from the M105 if you used that with a gentle pad), and you still get the problem with M205/white, then maybe try M205 with a finishing pad. That oughta ensure that you've done all the real *correction* that you need to do, and anything left is most likely just from the oils. Or at least that'd be how I'd approach it.



FWIW, I keep up the pressure with M205; lightening it up didn't make it finish out better for me. Especially if you're thinking you might be correcting micromarring from the M105.
 
I think you're confusing "halograms" with pad marring. DA's don't create halograms. I hate the CCS pads with a DA, especially on hard Mercedes clear. I'd step up to the new Meguiar's Microfiber pads with M105. Keep your pads clean with either a pad brush or compressed air. You should be able to go right to M205 or Menzerna for the finale, but you might need to make a few passes with M105 1st.
 
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