[tbird187]

This is one of my first buff attempts...

I started out with very dull nasty looking dead paint.
I first sprayed the car down with water than sprayed it with simple green, and scrubbed it with dish soap and warm water... The paint was so dirty it took about an hour of scrubbing to get the dirt off.

Next, I Used Meguiars Medium Cut Cleaner, I instantly saw night and day difference,

After that I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound and the paint looked almost as good as new.

Finally I used Some mothers carnuba wax. The whole process took about 15 hours. That was without touching the hood, or rear bumper.

Before pics





After shots

[wytstang]

Really brought the paint back.
Do have a question, Wouldn't the Ultimate compound be used first then the Medium Cut? I'm not familiar with Megs compounds but by the names it seems backwards. Ultimate compounds sounds more aggressive to me.

[tbird187]

the ultimate is more of a polish/glaze..

[MustangLX-5.0]

Read my post on my ultimate compound testing.I sort of put it off in my last post.It's really NOT a bad compound at all.It does excellent work on chalky paint finishes (single stage paint where when it fades and you buff it,color rubs onto the cloth).It's more of a finishing compound rather than heavy duty.3M standard rubbing compound is heavier cut.If you have a horrible finish with little to no gloss,use a heavy cut compound first,then use Ultimate Compound.UC is a more finely cut grade.It's like using 3000 grit sandpaper versus 2000 grit.IMO...Good stuff.Well worth the purchase.

Nice finish btw. Huge difference I'll say.And yeah....a LOT of work.You might've cut it shorter if you used the 3M instead of the Medium cut stuff from Megs..The 3M really does killer work of horribly faded finishes.

[tbird187]

Can you link me to what the 3m heavy compound looks like?

[MustangLX-5.0]

Here is the compound I use.It's what many body shops use also.It's better than 3M's consumer grade compound or (Scratch Remover).



You can get this at Pep Boys..Napa..or Advanced Auto Parts.

[tbird187]

im guessing your using that as final polish? whats about heavy cutter?

[MustangLX-5.0]

That may be the same stuff.Everything on the label looks identical and reads the exact same,except mine doesn't say "Fine Cut".I'm sure they just altered the label as the bottle I have is 2 years old.

Using anything much coarser than this really tears up the paint.The 3M compound does a hell of a job whether it's light cleaning to heavy buffing.I have used Meguires No.84 Medium cut compound.It can be rather harsh.The thing is,if the paint is that bad off,then I just lightly scuff the surface with 2000 grit sandpaper then use the 3M.Makes it a lot easier.And the 3M gets the haze and scuff marks the sandpaper leaves.After the compound,the finish is butter smooth and clean.

The Megs med cut works ok.It's the equivalent of using 1500 grit sandpaper mixed with polish.I guess whatever works best for you.And it also depends on what kind of paint you have....how old...scratches...rust..whited out clear coat...chalky paint single stage paint...how thick of finish is left....peeling..blistering....orange peel ...etc etc.We all have our own prefs..what we like and dis like.I have come to like the 3M stuff as I have used it for so long.I've tried many others,but come back to 3M.Now I have added the Megs Ultimate compound as a finishing touch before waxing.That and the 3M make a good combo.Try the 3M stuff on a spot you havn't touched yet.It's a pinch thicker so you have to work it slightly different than the Megs med cut (which is thinner).But use it a few times and see if you like it.It cuts sharply and can continue to cut deeper,but leaves a much smoother less scuffed finish.Who knows,the Megs stuff may work better for your finish.

There is also a 3M heavy cut compound.I have not tried that but I will assume it's rather harsh and probably not meant for clear coat finishes.like that old red canned Turtle Wax compound...tears the chit out of paint.