So I'm not one to buy into any kind of hype of products based on what I read on the forums and such, and for a while I've been using Poorboy's products with success on my rotary (their SSR line), so I felt no real need to jump ship..... until yesterday.
So starting on Monday I was working on a 2004 CTS-V that has horrible swirls, RIDS, oxidation, and on top of that, has been repainted, and still has plenty of buffer trails left behind by the body shop.
Here are the before shots:
I was able to tackle the deeper imperfections with Malco tru-grit, which I've been using for years with success on a wool pad, but this is a pretty heavy duty combination that will leave behind some micro-marring.
My first attempt was with SSR2.5 on an orange CCS pad followed by SSR2 on a white CCS pad, and I noticed this combination would leave behind buffer trails, and would not finish down good enough. I then tried SSR1 on a black CCS pad, and this still would not get rid of the buffer trails. Then, for the next hour, I tried different combinations of the SSRs and CCS pads, with still no luck in getting a flawless finish.
Here is what was being left behind; minimal, but still visible:
After a good cry, I then thought in the back of my head of all of the M105/M205 talk, and that the M205 finishes down great, has a long working time, and is easy to use. So I picked up a bottle, along with M105 just in case, as well as the Meguiar's soft buff 2.0 pads, as I have heard that the CCS pads are a bit aggressive and can leave behind marring on soft paints.
So I decided to give the M205 on the Meguiar's soft buff 2.0 finishing pad, and voila; like magic, this stuff would finish down a heavy duty compound. I have no idea how they do it, but it pretty much made my SSR stuff obsolete. I then tried it on a black finishing CCS pad, and the results were very similar, although I think the Meg's finishing pad was a bit better. One problem I think I had was the SSR stuff on a rotary, as it did not have much of a working time at all.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with how well the M205 works, as well as the quality of their soft buff 2.0 flat pads.
After M205 on a finishing pad:
(still some severe pitting on the hood - which was repainted poorly)
So starting on Monday I was working on a 2004 CTS-V that has horrible swirls, RIDS, oxidation, and on top of that, has been repainted, and still has plenty of buffer trails left behind by the body shop.
Here are the before shots:
I was able to tackle the deeper imperfections with Malco tru-grit, which I've been using for years with success on a wool pad, but this is a pretty heavy duty combination that will leave behind some micro-marring.
My first attempt was with SSR2.5 on an orange CCS pad followed by SSR2 on a white CCS pad, and I noticed this combination would leave behind buffer trails, and would not finish down good enough. I then tried SSR1 on a black CCS pad, and this still would not get rid of the buffer trails. Then, for the next hour, I tried different combinations of the SSRs and CCS pads, with still no luck in getting a flawless finish.
Here is what was being left behind; minimal, but still visible:
After a good cry, I then thought in the back of my head of all of the M105/M205 talk, and that the M205 finishes down great, has a long working time, and is easy to use. So I picked up a bottle, along with M105 just in case, as well as the Meguiar's soft buff 2.0 pads, as I have heard that the CCS pads are a bit aggressive and can leave behind marring on soft paints.
So I decided to give the M205 on the Meguiar's soft buff 2.0 finishing pad, and voila; like magic, this stuff would finish down a heavy duty compound. I have no idea how they do it, but it pretty much made my SSR stuff obsolete. I then tried it on a black finishing CCS pad, and the results were very similar, although I think the Meg's finishing pad was a bit better. One problem I think I had was the SSR stuff on a rotary, as it did not have much of a working time at all.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with how well the M205 works, as well as the quality of their soft buff 2.0 flat pads.
After M205 on a finishing pad:
(still some severe pitting on the hood - which was repainted poorly)