Best Buffing Pads To Use After Wet Sanding?

gdumond

New member
Any suggestions on which pads are best when removing wet sanding scratches?



I spoke with the techs at Meguiars. They are recommending starting of with Meg 105 and a WOOL pad and then following up with Meg 205 and a FOAM pad using a Rotary Buffer. Are they on track with this approach?



Wet Sanding was done on 2 stage paint finishing up with 2000 grit paper.



Any recommendations on the best brand of pads out there both in Wool and Foam. I have both a Rotary and a PC in my arsenal. Also would appreciate any tips or suggestions during the removal proccess.



Thanks guys
 
gdumond- Well, the rotary will be faster and wool/M105 is a "standard response" for jobs like this. That's what I did for the most part the last time I wetsanded, but I also did some spots with the PC/3.5" PFW (which got the job done but was SLOOOOOOW).



People have also done OK with SurBuf pads.



Only real advice I can offer is to stick with the aggressive pad/product combo until you're sure you have all the sanding marks out; don't switch to M205 too soon (just let it take care of micromarring from the M105).
 
If you want sanding marks removed, use something like Menzerna Power Gloss. It's cuts more than 105 and dust less while still finishing down decent. 105 is still good, but when I need something removed like sanding marks, I'm using Power Gloss every time.
 
105 on a lake country purple foam wool pad SHOULD work, or maybe a megs yellow wool pad if the PFW doesnt work fast enough (it has more cut).
 
I agree with the techs



I will use either the the Meguiars W5000 pad or the Meguiars Maroon Solo Wool pad on the rotary for removing sanding marks....especially 2000 grit.



The W5000 is a little large but it's a 2 sided pad that threads on vs. using Velcro and there is zero vibration from them like you can get from Velcro pads.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I do use and prefer the double sided pad. I have been using Buff and Shine's pads. They have the white wool pad which is more aggressive than their yellow wool pad. I thought I would start off with the lesser aggresive yellow first.



Are the Surbuf pads wool or foam? Thanks for the tip on the Menzerna Power Gloss as an option to Megs 105.



Is it also recommended to follow up with a swirl remover after buffing with the MEG 205?



Thanks for the feedback!
 
gdumond said:
Thanks for the feedback. I do use and prefer the double sided pad. I have been using Buff and Shine's pads. They have the white wool pad which is more aggressive than their yellow wool pad. I thought I would start off with the lesser aggresive yellow first.



Are the Surbuf pads wool or foam? Thanks for the tip on the Menzerna Power Gloss as an option to Megs 105.



Is it also recommended to follow up with a swirl remover after buffing with the MEG 205?



Thanks for the feedback!



Some paints can benefit from a lesser polish (3M Ultrafina) but in my experience M205 finishes down very well on most newer paints as long as your last step is done with M205 on a finishing pad.



Removing wet sanding marks should always be at least a 3-4 step buffing process IMO.



An example would be something like this but a test spot should always be done to confirm your process will work well.



M105 wool

M205 foam polishing

M205 foam finishing







I used some smaller sized Buff n' Shine wool pads on this Impala for some tighter areas. The larger areas were done with the W5000 pad and Solo wool. ;)



1964 Impala wet sand n' buff
 
To remove all the sanding marks I would start with Wool and Menz Power Gloss.



105 is good, but does a little filling and IME does not cut as well as Power Gloss and you want to remove them 100% not 90%.



Then I would follow up with a foamed wool pad and 105 followed by white foam pad and SIP then a black pad and a final polish.



Figure at least 4 steps with multi passes per step.



That's just what I would do.



Josh
 
All with a R/O (PC, G110v2, ect)



Surbuf with M105 till sanding scratches are removed.

Orange with M205

Black with M205



See my sig for tips.





JoshVette said:
To remove all the sanding marks I would start with Wool and Menz Power Gloss.



105 is good, but does a little filling and IME does not cut as well as Power Gloss and you want to remove them 100% not 90%.



Then I would follow up with a foamed wool pad and 105 followed by white foam pad and SIP then a black pad and a final polish.



Figure at least 4 steps with multi passes per step.



That's just what I would do.



Josh



Josh, How many IPA wipedowns are you doing to figure that M105 is filling? I do 5 straight IPA wipedowns and never get any filling.
 
I may have to try the PG out again because when I tried it the first time it didn't seem to cut any better than M105 on the car I was working with...



FWIW I did end up having to use 3M Extra Cut on that particular car to effectively remove the scratches given how hard the clear was.
 
Chad -



Try it again, I used PG the other day with a orange pad and was surprised how much it took out while finishing excellent. Only a finishing polish was needed like 106FA.
 
yeah I have used powergloss as well a while back, and it dusted like crazy and tood multiple passes with a PFW...I didnt notice much of a difference



ill have to try it out again
 
Got_Leather said:
Chad -



Try it again, I used PG the other day with a orange pad and was surprised how much it took out while finishing excellent. Only a finishing polish was needed like 106FA.



Will do DJ. I've only tried it that one time on the Acura...I actually thought about giving it another try last weekend on that Caddy but was to lazy to run into the house and get it! :D





I have a '68 Firebird coming this week for a full wet sand n' buff (as long as the convertible top work gets done in time) and Maybe I'll try it out on that car. ;)
 
RaskyR1 said:
I may have to try the PG out again because when I tried it the first time it didn't seem to cut any better than M105 on the car I was working with...



FWIW I did end up having to use 3M Extra Cut on that particular car to effectively remove the scratches given how hard the clear was.



Before M105 I really like using 06060 3M ECC much more then PG.
 
RaskyR1 said:
Will do DJ. I've only tried it that one time on the Acura...I actually thought about giving it another try last weekend on that Caddy but was to lazy to run into the house and get it! :D





I have a '68 Firebird coming this week for a full wet sand n' buff (as long as the convertible top work gets done in time) and Maybe I'll try it out on that car. ;)



Yea on Acura I personally wouldn't bother using it simply because of how Honda paint is. 90% of the cars I do are BMW or Benz so Power Gloss just loves those clears. Depending on the temperature I have also had it dust very little. M105 dust much more than PG in all my experiences.
 
I think it will have more to do with the type of clear whether being hard or soft that will make the difference between using 105 or Menz PG.



I've used both and on hard clears I find PG to be better at cutting deeper and longer where as 105 cuts nice and finishes well but just didn't seem to go as deep and remove all sanding marks.



The OP is just going to have to try it all and find out what give him the best results, all paints are different in the way they respond to polishes/compounds not to mention everyone's techniques are probably slightly different.....
 
gmblack3a said:
Josh, How many IPA wipedowns are you doing to figure that M105 is filling? I do 5 straight IPA wipedowns and never get any filling.





I did 1 IPA wipe down after the paint cooled off and let it set over night then came back the next day and found slight holograms that I couldn't see directly polishing.



The filling was extremely minor but none the less....



Josh
 
JoshVette said:
I did 1 IPA wipe down after the paint cooled off and let it set over night then came back the next day and found slight holograms that I couldn't see directly polishing.



The filling was extremely minor but none the less....



Josh



So you had holograms or filling? Rotary or PC?



If you used a rotary and had holograms after M105, would not that be considered normal? :nixweiss
 
It's interesting to see the response to my original question. Fortunately everyone seems to agree on the proccess used. The variable seems to be the temperature and maufacturer's clear coat that may respond differently to a couple of the product preferences recommended. Bottom line, test and retest!



Thanks for putting me on the right path! And Rasky, thanks for the link to the job you did on the Impala.....very nice!
 
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