Which Cutting/polish?

[Dizz]

I have a 2004 obsidian black CLK and have been recommended a Sonus kit to remove and light scratches etc (thanks Toobad for suggesting )
Sonus Hand Polish Bundle - Clean Your Car

This may be a stupid question but can I use an electric drill with a pad attachment?
Also I'm a bit concerned that I may do more harm than good with either hand application or worse still a drill attachment!


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[exvolvoman]

I think you may do more harm than good by using an electric drill with pad. Fast and probably difficult to manage.
Ever thought of buying a DA polisher?
Clean Your Car do one for under £80, just bought one myself.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...r/das-6-v2-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html

 

[Chrishazle]

Years ago I used a cordless drill with lambswool pad with mild cutting stuff on the rear door of a Range Rover, and very swiftly went through the paint to the metal on the edge. I now have a Kestrel DAS6 DA polisher and Sonus pads and have paint corrected our past and present MB C class estates and my past and present 968's without problem and with excellent results. Preparation is important - wash, clay then wash the car, mask edges with 3M blue 25mm masking tape, work on a small area at a time and use a water spray to keep the correcting compound wet, take your time to get used to the DA machine. It's worth it, transformed my Guards Red 968 coupe from a purple-tinge back to showroom new!

 

[Dizz]

Ok I guessed the drill would be a no-no!

 

[Chrishazle]

So now you've decided on a DA polisher, the next thing is which paint correction fluid to use. First off it depends on how serious the needed correction is, as there are fluids ranging from 1200 grit equivalent (serious stuff) to 3000 grit equivalent polishes. With PCGB I've visited 2 different high end body shops (Porsches, Lambos, AM's, Bentleys etc in their shops when I visited!) and their choice was either Farecla or 3M Perfect-it. In the past I have used Autoglym Bodyshop 01B, 02B and 03B, but they no longer make those products - I still have some in each bottle thankfully, but have also invested in a litre of 3M Perfect-it 3000 grit equivalent which is a polish as well as a very mild correction fluid, but must be applied by DA. However, as for waxes, you'll find everyone has an opinion and a favourite, and each will be different!

 

[whitenemesis]

I believe Hexlogic green pads are MB preference. I used such with Meg's ultimate compound on my obsidian black CLS. Worked very well.

 

[matty.13]

Have a look on you tube and search junkman .his detailing videos are brilliant and tell you everything you need to know on technique and products . Megs m105 and m205 is all you need with a da polisher
As for wax , try fusso king of gloss .£20 .
Lots of hype about detailing , you can get great results with fairly cheap products .

 

[Toobad]

Unless you have a very sophisticated electric drill with rotational speeds available in set steps, there is a good chance the whole endeavour could end in tears. As I said in your original post, hand polishing can be successful but will be very time-consuming and require enormous dedication. Mercedes clearcoat is notoriously hard and if the paint hasn't been corrected in the past 13 years you are probably going to have to hand-polish the car on a panel per session basis.

If you want to dip your toe in the machine polishing waters, plenty of people have had success with the Argos Dual Action Polisher. It has a 600W motor and 8mm throw. It comes with a 6" backing plate which has an M8 thread although I'd fit a 5" backing plate to suit 5.5" pads to concentrate the polishing power.

Challenge Xtreme Dual Action Polisher £54.99

This would allow you to use one of the latest generation German nanopolishes. I'd steer you to Scholl Concepts S20 Black auto-reducing polish. It starts of as a coarser polish to attack your swirls and scratches but as you work it the abrasive particles reduce in size to refine the surface to an extremely high gloss. Here's the full skinny:

Scholl Concepts S20 Black 1-Step Polish

 

[whitenemesis]

That's what the Meg's Ultimate compound does, starts coarse then as you work it, it breaks down to finer and finer particles.

 

[Toobad]

Any D.A. polishing virgins out there would do well to invest 54 minutes of their life with Autogeek's Mike Phillips. The guy is one of the world's foremost detailers and is an excellent communicator. No disrespect to Junkman2000 of Youtube fame but Mike conveys in 54 minutes what the Junkman would take all week to put across.

Exterior detailing with Mike Phillips

If nothing else you can just soak up the retina-searing gloss he puts on that 454 cu.in. Chevy Chevelle, it will definitely cause stirrings in the trouser department.

 

[Dizz]

Wow, another rabbit hole for me to go down [emoji106][emoji3]

 

[Dizz]

So far I have....

Clay mitt (blue-fine grade)
Megs gold class shampoo
Megs ultimate wash & wax
Poorboys black hole
Poorboys nattty blue wax

So just a DA polisher and some cutting compound to get, I like the sound of the ones that break down and get finer as you go.

 

[HKGBoy]

I would also suggest a Lambs wool pad for applying the likes of Megs Ultimate Compound as it helps breakdown the product more evenly and cuts better

 

[Alpinaman]

I always use microfibre pads with Megs ultimate. Merc paint is pretty hard,so the MF cuts nicely and works the Megs down to oil...

 

[Dizz]

I would also suggest a Lambs wool pad for applying the likes of Megs Ultimate Compound as it helps breakdown the product more evenly and cuts better

This one?

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[Dizz]

Scholl Concepts S20 Black 1-Step Polish[/URL]

Out of stock at 'clean your car'

I might go for the Hexlogic green pads and Meg's ultimate compound, has anybody used this combination before? other than whitenemesis,

 

[RickyBurrows]

The electric polisher with a hard foam head with green top 3m cutting compound then a softer yellow waffle head with the yellow top 3m polish then finish off with the blue waffle head and blue top 3m polish then a good wax and it will be like new if you want to sand the light stubborn scratches with 2000 paper wet then 3000 wet over top that will be all you need it's expensive to buy but save yourself taking it to a body shop they will charge you anything from £150 upwards easily

 

[whitenemesis]

After polishing with the green pad finish off by applying some Meg's ultimate liquid wax using a black Hexlogic pad.

 

[Dizz]

After polishing with the green pad finish off by applying some Meg's ultimate liquid wax using a black Hexlogic pad.

Where did you buy your black/green Hexlogic pads?


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[Toobad]

@Dizz
The first rule of machine polishing - You can't put back what you have taken off! Up until recently Mercedes finished their cars with PPG's Ceramiclear which is some of the hardest clearcoat on the planet. However, applications are less than generous, being as thin as 50 microns. To put it into perspective, a Post-It Note is 75 microns thick. Professional detailers will always check the situation with an instrument called a Paint Thickness Gauge (PTG). The trick is to always leave sufficient meat on the bone as insurance against future disasters. If you can feel a scratch with your fingernail you will have to live with it as it is through to the basecoat and will not polish out.

The rule when polishing is to start with the least aggressive pad and polish combination first and only if that is not yielding satisfactory results should you step up to a coarser combination. And only then in areas that actually need that level of refining. Remember there is only a loose association between the polish and the pad and to get the optimum degree of cut you require may mean pairing a particular polish with a finer or coarser pad to achieve your desired finish and leave the maximum thickness of clearcoat behind. With pad design you also need to separate the marketing spin from the actual science and decide whether a pad allegedly faced with fabric from the Turin Shroud will genuinely improve the finished result for its exorbitant asking price.

If you do want to try some S20 Black it is in stock at Polished Bliss. Whilst their prices may not be quite as competitive as others, the free P+P on everything is psychologically inviting. They also stock the 135mm Scholl Spider Pads which will offer combinations of variable aggression. Also have a look at their Car Care Advice section, it is one of the most informative detailing resources for n00bs on the internet.

Scholl Concepts S20 Black at Polished Bliss £21 delivered