First use of Megs G220 DA - am I using it wrong?

[CDTi]

I used my new G220 for the first time yesterday and I am not overly impressed by it. Due to the positive reviews that this machine gets, I assume that I am doing something wrong .

I read all the advice that I could from the various detailing sites before I started. I used Megs #80 polish and the finishing pad (W9006) as I didn't want to try anything to abrasive the first time out.

I have two main complaints (maybe they are linked?). Firstly, I just couldn't get a good shine. No matter what I tried, I had to resort to using a cotton cloth and elbow grease to bring up the shine. I used the W9006 as previously mentioned and when this would not bring up a good shine, I swapped to a clean pad for buffing. While the clean pad did help a little, I still had to finish off by hand (fnar, fnar :lol.

Second complaint - its very easy to stop the G220 from rotating. The recommended pressure is 10 -15 lbs, but I reckon that little more than that would stop the machine rotating altogether. Is this normal or is my machine dodgy?

Having said all that, the shine is excellent and the swirling has been greatly reduced.

[trebor]

Keep going Eamonn, I had similar problems to start and found that the cutting polish can dull the shine, so i now use Clearkote Red Moose Machine Glaze after the cutting polish which is great to apply and gives back that wet look, after glazing i finish off with Poorboys Nattys Blue Wax and the shine on my motor is pretty good.
You can also get polishing bonets that fit over the pads and help to restore the shine.

[CDTi]

Originally Posted by trebor

Keep going Eamonn, I had similar problems to start and found that the cutting polish can dull the shine, so i now use Clearkote Red Moose Machine Glaze after the cutting polish which is great to apply and gives back that wet look, after glazing i finish off with Poorboys Nattys Blue Wax and the shine on my motor is pretty good.
You can also get polishing bonets that fit over the pads and help to restore the shine.

Thanks for that, Rob. I have been looking at the Red Moose stuff as its supposed to contain fillers. There are a lot of scratches on my car and I don't want to use anything too severe as the car is only a few years old.

I have a couple of wool bonnets somewhere - I'll give them a try the next time I wash the car.

[Tatts]

Interesting.

I can't say whether you're using right or wrong, as I'm quite a novice too. But I spent Thurs & Fri using it. Plus the couple of times in the past I've managed to use it.

So, I've been using the Sonus 4" 'blue' pads (no cutting properties). I used Sonus SFX2 polish & Klasse all-in-one. Topped off with P21S.

Fortunately my paintwork is pretty swirl free; I had it sorted last year by someone from .Org, so I wasn't trying any correction work this time. I applied the SFX2 panel by panel thoroughly working it with moderate pressure - not once did the machine stop rotating.

Used Microfibre cloths to remove it.

Then the same process with the Klasse.

Finally I also applied the wax with the machine.

Must admit, the results are excellent - even if I say so myself. Just need to get a few layers of wax on it now.

What size pads were you using?
What was the weather like? Reason I ask, maybe the product had baked dry because of the sun & heat before it had chance to break down properly, which would possibly cause greater friction - thereby stalling your machine.

[CDTi]

Originally Posted by Tatts

What size pads were you using?
What was the weather like? Reason I ask, maybe the product had baked dry because of the sun & heat before it had chance to break down properly, which would possibly cause greater friction - thereby stalling your machine.

I was using the standard 6" megs pads.

Interesting that you mention the weather - its wasn't sunny but was reasonably warm. I wonder if that was the problem?

I still have to wax it so I will use the DA again for that and see if I can stall it.

Thanks for the help, lads

[deano78]

the megs polishes take ages to break down as its not shiny it suggests the polish isnt ready. how many passes are you doing? keep going til the polish is clear, then reduce the speed, the oils in the megs polish sometimes "perk up" again and you'll see the residue re-appear. one tip, you know the yellow backing plate, draw a thick black line on it, edge to edge, that way you can see how many oscillations it is doing, if the line stops moving, ease the pressure. be patient, megs polishes are very good, but due to their oily nature take a while to break down. you can get a dullish finish with the more aggresive compunds but megs 80 should leave a very nice shine. spread it about on speed 2, then step up the speed to 5-5.5. work til the polish goes clear, step down to about speed 4 see if the oils come back, if they do step up the speed again til it goes. the fact your using a pad for buffing suggests you're using it just for spreading. you should be able to wipe of the polish with a cloth with ease.