Tornado red MK5

[robby]

Since picking up my Red ED30 a few weeks ago it's looking a bit sorry for itself with swirls, etc

When i got it home i clayed and polished it but after trying with the DA (using merenza with orage pad) to rid it of swirls i struggled.

What is the best cutting polish to remove swirls (i've seen the Megs ultra cut - is this ok?), and what pad should i be using?

Thanks

[stealthwolf]

Which menzerna polish are you using? Menzerna polishes are very temperamental. I use them in the summer with good effect but if it's too cool, it just doesn't break down properly.

I take it the orange pad is a light polishing pad?

Ultra cut is very aggressive. You should be able to take out most swirls with a lighter polish. Even something like Dodo Lime Prime has a small amount of cut with excellent results. But as with any polish, you must break it down properly.

[JackG]

My advice would be to try the Meguairs DA microfibre system, it's great at removing swirls whilst being pretty safe,
May save you a few Bob too if your thinking about buying pads and polish etc 

[KevMK5]

in the last year i have machined about 12 cars, from various makers.

vauxhall
ford
suzuki
seat
and VW

i have found to date, the Sonus kit (pads and polishes) were good when i started but i have not started using meguiars stuff and also 3m stuff

to be honest it depends on how deep the swirls are, as i have found VAG paint to be some of the toughest paint going.

[Boothy]

I used the Menz polish and Sonus pads on my red GTI when I machined it and although I initially struggled eventually I got good results. Have you machined before or are you just starting out?

[robby]

Thanks for the replies

The Merenza i used was the 203s which i'd used on a Focus ST which made the paintwork look flawless, no swirls at all (took 8 hours), on the Golf it doesn't seem to do anything even when i tried several weeks ago when the weather was warmer?

The orange pad was 1 i got with the DA polisher which is for a medium cut and i even tried a white pad which is for hard paint/ hard cut

[E30Dom]

VAG have very hard paint... best upping you pad to a polishing or comppounding pad, and trty with current polish,

[n_d_fox]

VAG paint is solid... as you have found a combo that works well on one car is useless on another... thats what makes this detailing malarky something that takes time to perfect 

I recently did an Audi A6 Avant and a polishing pad with Meguiars 105 compound (high cut) did nothing. 2 passes with the same product on a cutting pad gave the results i was after but left loads of holograming as that compound will not break down enough to give a LSP ready finish.

I followed it up with a pass of Meguiars 205 on a polishing pad and the results were spot on.

Chemical Guys Hex Logic pads are good, they seem to work really well with every compound i have. Meguiars and 3M pads are also very good and i use a lot of them. 3M pads are my favourite for applying cleansers or glazes by machine as they are generally a bit softer than other makes.

[Shammyy786]

This may be some help to you pal 

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,37217.0.html

[greygti]

I used the 3m three stage system on my tornado red gti and it worked a treat

[robby]

I used the 3m three stage system on my tornado red gti and it worked a treat

What that? 2 different compounds? what pads, etc

[greygti]

It has 3 different pads and 3 different compounds (bottles/tops are colour coded to the pads) green,yellow and blue,so in my case i started with the green pad and compound 1st(the most aggressive) and then moved onto the yellow pad and compound then last finished with the blue pad and compound and wiped it  down and hit it with 2 layers of zymol glassur followed by some field glaze. (that is a very condensed explanation of how i detailed my car) but the 3m system is really easy to use, al post some pics later on

[robby]

It has 3 different pads and 3 different compounds (bottles/tops are colour coded to the pads) green,yellow and blue,so in my case i started with the green pad and compound 1st(the most aggressive) and then moved onto the yellow pad and compound then last finished with the blue pad and compound and wiped it  down and hit it with 2 layers of zymol glassur followed by some field glaze. (that is a very condensed explanation of how i detailed my car) but the 3m system is really easy to use, al post some pics later on

So is this specially for hard paints?
Is it available from Halfords, etc or just online?

Thanks