Lots of tree pinstriping happened today...

In answer to your questions:

1) I'm kind of puzzled as to how you could do much "correction" with a Black Lake Country pad. They're just too soft for any real correction work since they're designed for LSP application with no marring. If you used an aggressive polish (like M101 / M105) on one though, you would probably induce marring. Don't do it.

2) The difference between a Porter-Cable 7424 (or

$139 7424XP PORTER-CABLE Car Polisher and Buffer, 6", Orbital, Variable Speed (7424XP)

7424XP) and a rotary is day and night. That's because you don't have much rotational pad speed and what you do have can be easily stalled - leaving you with just random orbital motion. You won't get much ability to correct with the 7424, but you won't be able to get into any serious trouble either. Oh, and a 7424 does not have anywhere near the correction ability of a rotary.

Think of the Flex 3401 as a lower speed rotary with some random orbital motion. You cannot stall the rotary motion, so it's a lot more powerful than the 7424. I have a (DeWalt) rotary, but I only use it on boats. It's just too heavy.

As far as side by side comparison of the 3D One and Menzerna 400, I'd say the Menzerna cuts faster, generates more heat, but needs a second stage follow up polish to finish. The 3D One doesn't cut quite as hard, doesn't dust at all and doesn't require nearly as much second stage polishing to finish. In fact with a simple pad change, you can finish with the 3D One. Not so with the Menzerna.

3) How does 3D One compare to M105 / M101? Although the Meguiar's twins might cut a little faster, the caking (M105) and dusting (both) just isn't worth it in my book.

 

I only used the black pad for LSP application or for a finish polish.

To get the best correction for me I use the most aggressive wool pad I can buy that won't slow down the 7424 much. Then I paired it with something like M101.

Also the clear coat is kind of soft this helps with defect removal. I can't correct as fast as a rotary, it takes a lot longer, but the comments I get, I achieve rotary like correction with the 7424.

I use the Dewalt DWP849X only when I dealing with major paint correction, or headlight restorations.

Is the Menzerna 400, oily?

I used some older Menzerna products and find them quite oily. The white bottles 85rd, 106 FF and a few others.

Understandable. I don't like the dusting either. I sometimes add a little M205 to the M101 or M105 to help with the dusting. Sometimes I spray some water for added moisture. If no water I'll spit on the panel. If it works use it.

 

The Menzerna 400 is not oily at all. The 3D One has somewhat of an oily feel to it.

 

Thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated.

 

So I've been told that my 2008 Toyota Tacoma has "soft" clear coat, and it did a geat job of not being too aggressive. I started out my paint correction using an orange Lake Country pad and on the hood it just wasn't getting the job done, so I switched over to the UroFiber 50/50 pad (still using the 3D One) and it worked much better.

I don't have any shade to work in, but it didn't give me any problems working in direct sunlight. I kept my immediate work area limited to about a 2' x 2' area, so the polish didn't lay on the paint for an extended period of time.

So I'm a weekend warrior only working on my own vehicles and don't have extensive experience working with other products and different manufactures paint, but I believe you'll find 3D One is very user friendly, and you get a feel for what it's doing, and how long to work it. With diminishing abrasives, the longer you use it, the less cutting it does and the more polishing it will do. I followed Brian's recommendations on how to use it doing a horizontal overlapping passes, then vertical overlapping passes, then wiping it off. Check the results and repeat if necessary and/or move on to the next panel.

 

I had issues at first finding the right compound, polish, pads, microfiber that don't marred up the finish. I was working backwards, and still am. The clear coat is to finicky. Detail spray didn't help either wiping off the compound, polish. Got to learn somehow.

I think that soft clear coat is better off using diminishing abrasives. I find out when I get some.

Thanks for the reply! Been very helpful.

 

Detail Spay is not going to help remove polish. In fact it's just going to make a mess. If you're having trouble removing polish, the first thing I'd look at is what towels you're using. Good (and generally new) microfiber towels almost never fail to easily remove just about any kind of polish. Launder those same towels incorrectly and they'll never be the same again. All they'll do is smear what's left of your polish around.

What are the biggest no-no's on laundering microfibers?

1) Drying them at a high heat setting. Heat is the enemy of microfibers and one pass through a dryer at high heat can do irrepairable damage.

2) Regular laundry detergent doesn't always work. I use Micro Renew in addition to laundry detergent and it makes a huge difference.

3) Cheap microfibers rarely work. Enough said there.

 

The detail spray (McKees 914) was to add lubrication to the panel to help with the marring. The Toyota is the only vehicle that gives me issues while wiping residue off. Made things worst. I was better off using nothing.

Microfibers are wash with either Micro Restore or Tide Free & Clear. Dried on low heat.

Most of my microfiber towel says Super Towel on the tag or they have sticker tag/label.

 

If you have trouble with marring, that canbe an indication that the pad is dirty and needs to be changed and/or cleaned. Pads will get loaded up with semi-dried polish and clear coat, in a similar way that sandpaper gets loaded up with wood dust. It's just much smaller and in most cases you cannot see it.

 

Most of the marring from the microfiber cloth, when wiping off compound, polish residue. It only marred the finish on the Toyota but the rest of the vehicles it doesn't do it. I found one type of microfiber cloth where the marring is minimum, very little but under the right light it can be seen. I just ordered some extra thick microfiber cloth to see if it eliminate or reduce the marring.

 

Curious what microfiber you are using. I have worked on 4 different Toyotas and never had marring from microfiber. Only time I saw marring was claying and not enough lubricant.

 

From Autogeek Cobra Gold Plush, Chinchilla.

Some says Super Towel on tag, 70/30.

 

If you’re planning on wheeling and pinstriping it again and again over the coming years I would suggest just keeping a thick coat of hard wax on it and deal with the correction when you want to sell it. The paint is so thin and soft on these trucks you can’t compound it over and over without burning through the clear coat eventually.

Just polish the tits off it when you’re prepping it for sale and until then keep it coated with hard carnuba and view the scratches as a badge of honour.

 

And I've detailed well over a hundred Toyotas (Lexus & Scions) and never had that issue.

 

The repainted areas are worst for marring.

Microfiber are wash & dried and stored in a ziplock bag. To avoid contaminants.

Just order Griot's PFM cloths to try.

 

Wow this thread went off (Original poster here...) I got my order from chemical Guys today-could not be happier. I bought a foam pad sampler with cleaner, a couple of different backing pads with velcro for my old Makita polisher, and some two or three different polishes. Started with an orange pad and V36... 15 minutes and one side done. I could never have achieved that result in that amount of time ever with wool. Wow! Can't wait to do the rest of the truck and go to a final polish... THANK YOU EVERYONE! Love this place!

 

What about pollen? Can it marred up the finish?

Just wash the SUV and it's covered in pollen already.

 

Just about anything covering the painted surface of a car and removed incorrectly can marr it.

 

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...^^^...

 

Great thread and I learned a lot here from you guys ....

On a different note .... have solid white quartz counter tops in the kitchen and need to buff the scratches and minor stains out ... any suggestions ??

It sounds like some of these automotive products will do the job ... but which ones are best ?