GM Clear

E

Ern

New member
As I have come to find out over time and doing some reading, GM has some some really hard clear. Would I have any issues using HC or OC with a PFW? Or would I be better of grabbing up some SIP and 106ff?
 
It depends on which GM car you're working on and the level of correction needed. GM uses many different kind of paint at many different assembly lines. Give us more details....
 
I've de-swirled a 06 GMC Diesel truck (black) with my PC using 4 inch Orange pads and Meguire's 105...1 pass.



but a couple months before I couldn't get 100% correction with 6 inch pads with Menz IP on a CTS even after 3 passes.
 
Well Ive done a firebird, 2 hhrs, a couple of rondevous a g6 and grand prix and some others that I cant think of off hand. They all seem to be super hard. Im done with foam and moving to wool. I use some optimum and pinnacle stuff right now with the pc and the makita rotary.
 
dublifecrisis said:
I've de-swirled a 06 GMC Diesel truck (black) with my PC using 4 inch Orange pads and Meguire's 105...1 pass.



but a couple months before I couldn't get 100% correction with 6 inch pads with Menz IP on a CTS even after 3 passes.
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Are you saying that you achieved a 100% swirl free finish by using 105 (compound) combined with an orange (cutting) pad on soft black GM paint?
 
i have owned GM vehicles since i worked for them in the mid 70's. currently i have an 03 avalanche (hard), 05 CTS (semi-hard to soft) and an 07 corvette (hard). david is correct. GM clear is all over the map. :D
 
My 03 Silverado clear is Hard. I had good luck using #83 on a cutting pad via makita followed by #80 via DA. I didn't want (or get) full correction. I could have stepped up to 105 but in the test spot I did I couldn't go right down to #80 and I felt like doing a 3 step on my work truck would be kinda pointless...... It's only been a month and it's already had some lumber slide down the entire bed and and run into a plastic trash can on the front fender.
 
My 96 chevy impala ss had incredibly hard clear. I used the udm with 5.5" edge pads and barely got rid of any swirls using Opt. HC. I had to use 4" edge orange pads to finally get some work done on it. The car looks better now but I forgot to get one panel between the front and back doors. I'm too lazy to fix it now, it will have to wait until I get the car ready for winter. My dad has an 2007 Audi A8 and talk about rock hard clear. I got a dewalt rotary to speed my details along and it took several hours just using optimum polish to get rid of some light swirls, granted, I was going slow since I'm new to the rotary. I'll probably shell out the bucks for some menzerna 106 and purple wool foam pads for the rotary to detail his car.
 
#80 w/ 5.5 orange did nothing on my Grand Prix, neither did 5.5 orange/IP. I'm thinking I may have to try out my small sample bottle of M105. Start off with a white pad though since that stuff is deffinately more aggressive than 80. Anyone know how 80 stacks up against IP? Is it more abrasive, less or around the same?
 
The clear on my 99 SS camaro is hard as a rock. I havent found ANY products that will even phase the minor swirls it has with my PC. I finaly gave up and just use a filler then top with p21s.
 
My G6 has semi hard clear compared to some of the Cadillac's I've done recently. I've had to order some wool and will be going back to finish an new CTS that I couldn't get 100%.
 
ProStreetCamaro said:
The clear on my 99 SS camaro is hard as a rock. I havent found ANY products that will even phase the minor swirls it has with my PC. I finaly gave up and just use a filler then top with p21s.
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Try the 3.5" PFW pads and something like 1Z Pasta Intensiv (or Meg's M105). The small wool pad will do the job but you'll need a follow-up with something milder on a 4" foam pad.
 
David Fermani said:
Accumulator - Would you say wool would be a better choice than a heavy cutting pad(LC orange) when PCing?
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Leaving aside all the "well, it just depends..." stuff that goes with any generalization: yeah, maybe even in *every* case.



IMO if you have serious marring on not-stupid-soft clear, the 3.5" PFW pad is the way to go with a PC, period. It cuts better than a 4" orange and it's a *LOT* safer, surprisingly so IME- what a sense of confidence regarding having an "oops!" :heelclick



If a medium-cut productd (e.g., something along the lines of 3M PI-III RC 05933) won't do it on a polishing pad (e.g., 4" Cyclo green), I'd skip right over orange/yellow foam and use something like 1Z Pasta Intensiv on a 3.5" PFW pad. No more messing around with innumerable passes via PC and no more worrying about the 4" orange foam pad causing damage; it really is a whole new ballgame.



The only downside of the 3.5 PFW (compared to orange foam) is that it leaves more micromarring/hazing. No problem IMO as either approach will require a follow up and the PFW doesn't leave things all *that* messed up.



I still like the orange pads for some jobs via *cCyclo* but I don't see myself using them on the PC or the rotary any more (ditto for the yellow foam).
 
What do you guys think about PFW with Optimum Compound and finishing up with a white/black pad with Optimum Polish? Using this on a 2001 Chevy Impala.
 
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