# A very confused newbie



## xonxon (Nov 3, 2011)

I have recently I purchased a DAS6 pro from cleanyourcar. But prior to starting I have some queries.

I noted that it is recommended to start with the least aggressive polish and least aggressive pad, and then, if the level of correction required is not reached, one shall try a more agressive pad, and if still not satisified, a more agressive polish.

How many times must that test area be polished, once? or should you put more polish on the pad and do it all over again?

To put perspective to the picture. The below are what I purchased and have accumulated over the past few months:

Hexlogic Yellow, Orange, white, black, blue pads

As regards to polish I have Megs 105, 205 and AG super resin.

My questions are:


1. Can I start with AG super resin and the white pad? Or should I use megs 205?

2. Say I use megs 205 with the white pad, and I then move to the yellow pad, if I am yet not satisfied, do I put megs 105 on the yellow pad, or would that damage my paint / pads? (If I have 2 types of polish on 1 pad)

3. I also purchased Poorboys black hole and have a bottle of AG Ultra deep Shine. Say I am using all polishes/ pads (I have a highly oxidised 17 year old punto as my test mule), is this plan of attack correct?

Megs 205 on yellow pad -> megs 105 on white pad -> blackhole on blue pad -> and ultra deep shine on blue pad -> wax on the black pad.


5. I have an almost full bottle of wax made by Farecla, could I still use it or do I need something more refined? - Can I also apply this by machine?



Apologies for asking so many questions,I've been reading for ages, and now I feel that I am at a point that whenever I try reading about a new topic- a whole pandora's box is opened. To my disadvantage, paint correction is not practiced by a lot of people where I come from and it has not been possible for me to pop by someone,and take a look on what they're doing.


Thanks for reading my queries and I look forward to your replies.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I would start with 205 on a finishing pad and then try a polishing pad. If none of these work then try 105 on a polishing pad and then consider 105 on the compound pad. The reason I do not suggest SRP is not because it is a poor product but rather it will hide the swirls more than it will remove them.

You may find after polishing there is not a real need for the Poorboys or AG UDS. Sorry, no idea about the Farecla wax as I have not used any of their products.

The test area does not need to be the same section but nothing horrible will happen if you do. Essentially you are just trying to find out which product works best for your paint. Panel wipe/IPA/CarPro Eraser etc are very useful products to own as these allow you to check your progress by removing all the polishing oils which can hide the swirls.

If you have not done so I would read the DaveKG guide and Autogeeks have some great videos on their Youtube site for getting the best results from a DA


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## deano93tid (May 8, 2013)

Junkman has some awesome videos up on youtube I spent a few hours watching those. 

On a DA I doubt you will get the level of correction you are after without using 105 on the yellow hex pad and refining with 205 on a finishing pad. If you were using a rotary I think then then above is more likely to be the case.


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## xonxon (Nov 3, 2011)

Hi all,

Thanks for the info. I've watched all the junkman vids on here and I have also read the massive DA guide twice, which helped a lot. Have not purchased a polish cleaner yet - to be honest I am in the phase where I've spent a lot, and got nothing in return. I have been sent to the UK by my employer until december, and therefore have no access to my cars. But I'll bite the bullet and get some cleaner aswell 

any advise on megs 205 and 105 on the same pad? As I've only got a spare white pad, all other colours, I just have one, as they're a bit pricey.


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## deano93tid (May 8, 2013)

I personally would either use another pad or rinse it and ring it out if you really need to use that pad.

If the paintwork has a decent amount of scratches and swirls try using 105 with yellow hex then 205 on a white hex pad.

If the paintwork has very slight marks light swirls 205 on the white pad will be enough. 

To remove serious marks with a DA even with a harsh compound and a harder pad will still take a good while with several passes due to the way that it works. You will struggle to damage your paint with a DA unless you catch the backing plate on the car you will be fine.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

xonxon said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Thanks for the info. I've watched all the junkman vids on here and I have also read the massive DA guide twice, which helped a lot. Have not purchased a polish cleaner yet - to be honest I am in the phase where I've spent a lot, and got nothing in return. I have been sent to the UK by my employer until december, and therefore have no access to my cars. But I'll bite the bullet and get some cleaner aswell
> 
> any advise on megs 205 and 105 on the same pad? As I've only got a spare white pad, all other colours, I just have one, as they're a bit pricey.


As above, it is really useful to have several pads. You can mix polishes on a pad but I would suggest getting used to one what each polish can do on their own.


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## Junkman2008 (May 8, 2009)

xonxon said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Thanks for the info. I've watched all the junkman vids on here and I have also read the massive DA guide twice, which helped a lot.


I'm confused. If you have watched my videos on machine polishing for novices, why do you still have all these questions, and why are you buying so many different products???

I can remove any removable imperfection in paint with what I showed in those videos. I may need to use a more powerful polisher to speed up the process but the compound and polish I used will address EVERYTHING that is fixable. There is no need to add any other polishes or compounds to the mixture. So again, how can you have the questions that you have if you watched and understood what you saw in my videos?


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## Junkman2008 (May 8, 2009)

lowejackson said:


> ... You can mix polishes on a pad...


I definitely wouldn't recommend doing this. You will never get a feel for exactly what a product is capable of if you follow that practice. Also, mixing a DAT and SMAT type product on the same pad is definitely counter productive.



lowejackson said:


> ... but I would suggest getting used to one what each polish can do on their own.


Definitely.


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

The first thing to look at is the condition of your paintwork. If it's in pretty good condition you'll probably just need to use the 205 and a finishing pad.
Looking up too many different products you'll just confuse yourself. Assess your paint, and adjust accordingly


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## xonxon (Nov 3, 2011)

The car is a 40,000 km, 19 yeard old mx5. Shine is there, and also a lot of swirls. It is horrid in the sun, from what I've read, with a DA and 205, I won't be able to remove all swirls so I am assuming will have to go down to megs 105.

I also have the yellow and orange pad, do I start the 105 with the orange or directly with the yellow?



DJ X-Ray said:


> The first thing to look at is the condition of your paintwork. If it's in pretty good condition you'll probably just need to use the 205 and a finishing pad.
> Looking up too many different products you'll just confuse yourself. Assess your paint, and adjust accordingly


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## Flakey (May 5, 2013)

I am also new to machine buffers and I understand it can be overwhelming. My recommendation would be to start with M205 on a black finishing pad and then gradually move up the ladder. Don't worry about removing swirls at this point. Rather, learn machine control and how the combination of paint hardness, pad, polish, type of machine, amount of pressure and duration that it is worked upon matters. Baby steps is what is required.

I stated with Menzerna Finishing polish that has practically no cut on paper but it pretty much removed the scratches by 75% on my test panel. I am not even ready to use the menzerna on my car yet and will start with Dodo supernatural Micro prime to test the waters. There is a lot of good advice on this thread already.


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## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

Hey there hope all is well.
Glad you posted up in the section most relevant to your questions, i hope you are too!
As with anything of this nature, there can be multiple answers to even relatively simple questions.
If you have some products already, i would suggest using those and finding their strengths and weaknesses, the exception to this might be buying multiple pads of the same brand/colour to use with the polishes you have.

As stated elsewhere, the M105/205 combo works, Junkmans tutorials are proof of that, however the part about using 105 indoors rings very true. 
Outdoor use seems to cut working time, and increase dusting with what is, in the correct environment, a great product.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

xonxon said:


> The car is a 40,000 km, 19 yeard old mx5. Shine is there, and also a lot of swirls. It is horrid in the sun, from what I've read, with a DA and 205, I won't be able to remove all swirls so I am assuming will have to go down to megs 105.
> 
> I also have the yellow and orange pad, do I start the 105 with the orange or directly with the yellow?


You may well be surprised with what 205 can do. Unless you _know_ for certain you will need to start with something strong, start with the mildest products first. If for example your paint is very soft then starting with 105 on a cutting pad will bring you to your knees in frustration. Take the boring but well established route of soft products first.


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## xonxon (Nov 3, 2011)

thanks guys appreciated.

I have a few spare panels, and also a spare car which has only a few months to live. So I'll start from there and I'll see how it goes


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

xonxon said:


> The car is a 40,000 km, 19 yeard old mx5. Shine is there, and also a lot of swirls. It is horrid in the sun, from what I've read, with a DA and 205, I won't be able to remove all swirls so I am assuming will have to go down to megs 105.
> 
> I also have the yellow and orange pad, do I start the 105 with the orange or directly with the yellow?


Start with the lightest combination of pad and polish first and see how you get on. Don't expect instant results, sometimes these things take as long as they take. It's your car no need to rush your work :thumb:


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