Need some Help/Clarification.

T

TLcoats

New member
Hey guys, First of all i want to thank you guys for all the invaluable information that's on this site. I recently bought a BLACK 1999 Lexus GS400. The car's paint is starting to show its age. There are many scratches all over the car and lots and lots of swirl marks visible from 10 plus feet away in the sunlight. I know that the PC 7424xp would be the best polisher for me since im a newbie. But theres so many different polishes and pads out there its hard to choose. I've been getting different answers from each person i ask. My question is for under $250 what polish/pad combo will work the best for me. I was thinking about getting LC's 6.5" orange pads and white pads but read that 6.5" wont have enough cutting power. I was recommended to buy Meguiars M205/M105 polishes but heard that M105 would be too strong for my Lexus's soft clearcoat. Anyways, You guys know alot more than i do so any advice or recommendations on what to combo of polishes and pads would work best would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading this long biography LOL :xyxthumbs
 
It sounds like you already have a general idea as to what is needed. For pads, I recommend at least 5.5", many here will recommend 4" pads for serious correction on a PC. Depending on how bad the swirls/hazing is on your paint, you might actually need the M105 despite your soft clear coat. Another option would be Menzerna's Super Intensive Polish or Meguiar's Ultimate Compound for the compounding step. As for pad combo - its an experiment. Always start with a less aggressive option and move toward more aggressive. You will probably want to use a LC orange pad with the compounding step and a white or gray pad for the polishing.



Maybe try posting pictures of your paint's condition so we can see what you are going to be working with?
 
Thanks for the reply. I will take some pics tommorow to show you what im working with. Any tips on how to catch the swirls in pictures?
 
Okay, i was able to take some pics today with my phone. The swirl marks look worse in person.



You guys are the experts, What do you guys think would work best for my car? It a 1999 GS400 black 202 one stage paint, (soft). I know i probably need LC orange pads and white and grey. But what polish and pads do you guys recommend for my car's problem? Thanks again for the help! :clap:



Oh yeah, and the marks are all over the car, but the worst is the hood and front pillars.
 

Attachments

  • swirls1.jpg
    swirls1.jpg
    77.8 KB · Views: 23
  • swirls2.jpg
    swirls2.jpg
    98.8 KB · Views: 29
  • swirls3.jpg
    swirls3.jpg
    82.2 KB · Views: 24
From the info i gathered, with the imperfections i have on my paint surface how do you guys think this set up is?



1. wash

2. Clay bar

3. Meguiars M105 LC tangerinie

4. Meguiars M205 LC cyan pad

5. Blackfire sealent

6. Carnuba wax



What do you guys think about this. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
TLcoats- I've never done a Lexus, but most single stage black is very soft.



That said, I don't think that the M105/cyan combo would be overkill for the initial correction, but it's just a guess.



Generally, the M105/M205 + Hydrotech pads approach should be a good way to go. But note that you had the pad/product pairing wrong:



You only want to use the cyan cutting pads with aggressive products like M105. Don't use them with milder products like M205; the tangerine pad will be plenty aggressive for use with M205 and using the cyan pad with that product would, IMO, be a mistake.



There's a *chance* that the M205/tangerine combo won't finish out quite nicely enough for that paint. You might want to do a final pass with a milder combo. But again, I'm just guessing.
 
Accumulator said:
TLcoats- I've never done a Lexus, but most single stage black is very soft.



That said, I don't think that the M105/cyan combo would be overkill for the initial correction, but it's just a guess.



Generally, the M105/M205 + Hydrotech pads approach should be a good way to go. But note that you had the pad/product pairing wrong:



You only want to use the cyan cutting pads with aggressive products like M105. Don't use them with milder products like M205; the tangerine pad will be plenty aggressive for use with M205 and using the cyan pad with that product would, IMO, be a mistake.



There's a *chance* that the M205/tangerine combo won't finish out quite nicely enough for that paint. You might want to do a final pass with a milder combo. But again, I'm just guessing.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the help! So do you suggest i pick up a LC white or grey finishing pad for the final polish? Or should i pick up an addtional polish after the M205? Im thinking about buying the blackfire sealent.
 
TLcoats said:
Thanks for the help! So do you suggest i pick up a LC white or grey finishing pad for the final polish? Or should i pick up an addtional polish after the M205? Im thinking about buying the blackfire sealent.
Click to expand...



I bet the latest-tech Meguiar's (black) finishing pad would be a good choice for the final passes with M205.



I haven't used BF for a while (as my regular LSP, I do use it for some odd things) but it oughta be OK.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top