Meg's cutting pads

[Center Stage Auto Detailing]

I know that it's said to not use the meg's 1.0 cutting pad with a D/A.

Has anyone tried them with a rotary?  Have a guy comming in on Thurs to have his headlight lenses cleaned up and thought that D151 or PlastX might work well with that pad and a rotary.

I've used both with the D/A and a polishing pads but these are going to be a bit further gone than ones I've worked on before but really don't want to move up to wet sanding.

Thoughts?

He's comming in later for a full detail but wants his lights done right away because they're causing him problems seeing at night.

[Lumadar]

I know that it's said to not use the meg's 1.0 cutting pad with a D/A.

Has anyone tried them with a rotary?  Have a guy comming in on Thurs to have his headlight lenses cleaned up and thought that D151 or PlastX might work well with that pad and a rotary.

I've used both with the D/A and a polishing pads but these are going to be a bit further gone than ones I've worked on before but really don't want to move up to wet sanding.

Thoughts?

He's comming in later for a full detail but wants his lights done right away because they're causing him problems seeing at night.

I have done 3 different headlights repairs in the last week using wetsanding. Trust me, it isn't even half as scary as you are thinking.

I suggest getting Meguiar's Unigrit sandpaper, 1,500, 2,000, and finally 3,000. Use them in that order. The 3,000 sands out so fine that it only looks like an old school compound was used. (I say use Meguiar's paper because I actually side-by-side tested some REALLY freaking expensive sand paper from Home Depot and the results were not even close. Meguiar's paper was better at cutting, finished better, and lasted 10x longer).

Follow that with M86 if you have it on an orange 4 inch pad, or something similar. M105 works too I hear.

Then follow for a final pass with PlastX and a white LC 4 inch pad.

It's easy, safe, and mind blowing.

[Rockpick]

I had really good luck with #84 as my polishing step but, 86, 105, 85, and probably even 83 (if you've got a little bit of time) would work.

Like Lumadar mentioned, it's really not rocket science and you'll quickly get the hang of it.  With wet sanding, the key is to keep your strokes at the same downward pressure thus only allowing the paper to cut like it is supposed to.  With a higher grit like 1500, if you really 'hammer down' on the downward force, you'll probably induce 'cuts' that are deeper and will prove to be more difficult to back sand out.

Also, soak your papers.  Mix up a very small batch of shampoo/water solution and allow the paper to soak for a couple of hours.  Additionally, make sure that you keep the area to be sanded wet (it's called wet sanding for a reason).  The water will provide additional lubrication and will also keep the papers good for longer.

Nikken abrasives are also top notch.  Another option, in a pinch, is 3M papers... that is, if the Unigrit or Nikken aren't available.  3M, from my experience, is pretty good and uniform (and available at most Wally Worlds).

It's pretty easy stuff but, it'll take just a little bit of getting used to... Let us know if you need anything.  :)