Very hard Paint Question

[Grizzo]

Hi. Im new here and Im fairly new to car detailing and have just purchased a G220 Dual Action polisher.

Im having problems removing even small lines and swirls from the paint of my BMW E90. The colour is white. It seems this paint is very hard and coated with diamond!


I started with Scratch X then Ultimate compound now M105 and each step has been a slight impovement. I have managed to remove some swirls but Im using ALOT of pressure and its taking a VERY VERY long time. Like 20 passes or more in one small area and its still not removed enough.

Ive cheched over all the tutorials and Im confident Im using the machine properly. Set at speed 4 or 5 the pad is always turning and Im holding it flat against the surface and moving along very slowly doing a small section at a time. Also, Ive tried the polisher breifly on a Lexus and Toyota with Ultimate compound and the defects came off with 1 or 2 passes with ease.

The pad Im using is yellow W8207. What else can I try as this is taking forever. What about the W7207 cutting pad. I know its not recommended in most cases because it can cause hazing but maybe in this case it will work well?

[s word]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

I was in a similar spot on my VW CC recently. No pads or product would work out the swirls. I jumped over to meguiars DA microfiber system. It removed them just as easy as it sounds the other cars were for you. The DAMF system was very nice to work with. I never heard of G220 DA, but I have G110v2. Make sure to get the right MF pad size. I bought a 6" system originally and the Meguiars G110v2 is designed to use the 5" pads. read the write ups on the DAMF use first because product amount used and processes vary significantly in certain aspects from using foam pads.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

I too recommend the microfiber system. It works amazing with the cutting compound that the kit comes with. It will also work with the M105 that you have (but it will dust lots more and be harder to remove any remaining product). I've used it on my Corvette and on hard Mercedes paint and it gets the job done.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

Every tool, pad, product, etc is going to have its limits and it sounds like you've reached that limit with the product mix you're currently using. Some, not all but some, BMWs have extremely hard paint (as do other brands, of course) and so sometimes you have to step up to a more aggressive process to get the job done. The DAMF System the other guys have mentioned is the next logical step up for your situation. It can provide near rotary levels of cut without the steep learning curve of a rotary buffer. Since you've already made some excellent progress using other liquids and foam pads on this BMW we would expect the DAMF System to handle the stubborn, more severe defects for you.

Using the microfiber pads is a bit different than using traditional foam pads, so make sure to read through this thread before you get started and follow the directions closely. The usage differences are subtle, but make all the difference in the world when using this system.

[Grizzo]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

Thanks for the replies. I have just purchased the polisher, pads and polishes etc so am trying to limit any further costs at the moment. If I purchase the 6.25" microfibre cutting disc will this fit on the (just under)6" backing plate that came with the buffer? I also have the S3BP backing plate but this may be a bit small to do the whole car with.

Can I use Ultimate compound and M105 with the microfibre cutting disc as I already have these.
Can i use the soft buff sponge pads to finish after the microfibre cutting disc has done its job instead of the microfibre finishing disc?

Thanks..

[s word]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

Thanks for the replies. I have just purchased the polisher, pads and polishes etc so am trying to limit any further costs at the moment. If I purchase the 6.25" microfibre cutting disc will this fit on the (just under)6" backing plate that came with the buffer? I also have the S3BP backing plate but this may be a bit small to do the whole car with.

Can I use Ultimate compound and M105 with the microfibre cutting disc as I already have these.
Can i use the soft buff sponge pads to finish after the microfibre cutting disc has done its job instead of the microfibre finishing disc?

Thanks..

You can do whatever you like and what works best. I recently did something similar and got great results (best results yet). MF cutting pad with mf compound, black foam pad and 205, then another black foam pad with yellow 26.
But MF cutting pad and compound, with mf finishing pad and polish/wax also yields great results (plus the polishing/waxing is a breeze)
Ultimately whatever works best.

For the 6" that sounds right. The pad is always slightly larger than the backing plate. Keep in mind if you have G110V2 you should get a 5" setup.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

Thanks for the replies. I have just purchased the polisher, pads and polishes etc so am trying to limit any further costs at the moment. If I purchase the 6.25" microfibre cutting disc will this fit on the (just under)6" backing plate that came with the buffer? I also have the S3BP backing plate but this may be a bit small to do the whole car with.

The backing plate you have is the W68DA and that is not compatible with the DAMF System. You'll need the W67DA backing plate for the microfiber discs. This is actually quite important since you will be using the microfiber discs pretty aggressively and using the wrong backing plate can lead to all sorts of problems, primarily failures due to excess heat build up. If you want to learn more about the whys and hows of backing plate importance, read through this thread. But you really want the W67DA backing plate to use with the 5" microfiber discs (DMC5 cutting and/or DMF5 finishing). You also don't really want to use the 6" discs with your buffer since the whole system was designed around the 5" discs on our G110/G220 tool and you'll get less cut using the 6" discs with this tool.

Can I use Ultimate compound and M105 with the microfibre cutting disc as I already have these.
Can i use the soft buff sponge pads to finish after the microfibre cutting disc has done its job instead of the microfibre finishing disc?

Thanks..

Yes, you definitely can use M105 with the microfiber cutting disc, not a problem at all. It may produce more dust than D300 will, but it's perfectly acceptable to use it in this application. Just remember that you're using a very small amount of product after priming the pad - in this case, less really is more. Do NOT overuse the product. Following up with a foam finishing disc and a fine polish (M205, Ultimate Polish, etc) is also a very viable alternative to using the finishing discs and D301. It's done all the time with excellent results.

[Grizzo]

Re: Very hard Paint Question

OK thanks guys. I was hoping I could get away with only one more purchase and using what I have.