Informal Poll - Compounds and Polishes - What Do You Use?

Discuss anything after that final masking comes off.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:00 pm
Hi Everybody, I really appreciate the guidance and camaraderie I have received from the members of this forum. You're a great group.

I need some guidance. I am considering distributing a line of compounds of polishes designed for professional auto body shops and detailers. I am interested in opinions from Body Shop Professionals but also from the many of us who have years of experience but don't actually work in a shop. Just 4 questions. Ok, some are 2 part :).

Thanks, and I really appreciate it.

1. What compounds and polishes do you use for polishing fresh paint and/or paint correction detailing and why?

2. How much compound and polish does a medium sized body shop use per month?
(1 liter bottles)

3. It seems the majority of body shops use 3M. What are the most commonly used 3M compounds and polishes and if you use 3M, is there anything you don't like about it?

4. Is what you use now providing results you are happy with? What I mean by this is do the compounds/polishes cut and polish fast to bring up a shine keeping production moving along? Do the final results especially on darker colors satisfy most if not all customers? Are you proud to deliver a car with the sun shining directly on the repair?

Thanks again. I really appreciate everyone's opinions.



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PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:15 pm
I have tried the 3M stuff and I don't care for it at all My self, others Love it.
I have every component of the 3M Perfect-it system from the Special sanding disc's all three buffing compounds the special Pads the spray cleaner all of it.
I find the perfect-it system to be over rated & overly complex with too many steps and too many components and all components of the system overly too expensive!

Me Personally I will stick with Presta my #1 choice followed by Meguair's stuff #2 choice.
If I were to try another it would be Menzerna and Chemical Guys to name a couple.

3M has many great products its too bad they feel the need to over price all of them.
There are Many 3M products that no other can match that's why I use them.
But for Polishing there are many products on the market that flat out Blow there doors off! Not only in production but in quality, finish and final price!
Last edited by Doright on Tue Jan 22, 2019 11:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dennis B.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:08 pm
Meguiar's M-100 (much better than the m-105) with twisted wool pad.
Chemical Guys V-34 and foam cutting pad
Menzerna SF-3800 with foam polishing pad.
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 12:16 am
Some of these brands won't be relevant in different countries, but my comments will be relevant for similar products. This is what we use:

For general purpose cutting, including fresh paint: Autosmart Sophisticut. Breaks down quickly and is easy to remove. Usually use with a 150mm medium foam cutting pad on a Bosch rotary. Leaves a nice shine - on a white or silver car almost enough.

For heavy scratching: 3D System. Their demo is to scratch a car with P240 and then take the scratches out. Use with wool pad on rotary and then soft black polishing pad. Again, easy to use, no mess and easy clean up.

For ceramic clears: 3M Perfect-It system. Too expensive for everyday use but nothing else will cut a BMW or Benz like 3M. Messy and hard to clean up with residue left on panel but nothing else comes close on ceramic.

For polishing and swirl removal: Gelson T47 (light colours) or T57 (dark colours). Use with Cyclo twin head polisher and medium pads or soft pads for extra gloss on black cars. Zero swirl and the product is also a polymer polish which is quite long lasting.

This one done today. Sophisticut and T57. No before shot but it looked like someone had dragged the cat, backwards, across the bonnet and a detailer had left the biggest swirl marks you've ever seen.
Image


There is Farecla G3 and G10 in the shop as well as some Meguiars polishes. They're hardly ever used.

We do 10-15 cars/week and use maybe 10 litres of the Sophisticut per year. You don't need much. :wink: A similar quantity of the Gelson swirl remover/polish and 2 x 3l kits of the 3D System.
Chris

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:32 am
I use several different brands, usually 3M Perfect-It #1 for initial buff, then
Meguiars Fine Cut for final buff and either one of their swirl remover
after that.
I keep trying different ones but the 3M and the Meguiars
always do pretty good. I need to try the Presta.
The 3m is hard to get residue off if it sits very long,
Wax & grease remover does good for that.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



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PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:52 am
3M has there own clean up spray for removing the residual buffing mess, It works like Magic but again it is expensive.
Dennis B.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 11:53 am
The main thing is to get away from compounds that contain fillers. You think the finish looks good and then later you see there are still scratches in it.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:37 am
'68 Coronet R/T wrote:The main thing is to get away from compounds that contain fillers. You think the finish looks good and then later you see there are still scratches in it.


So true!
Always wash the buffed area afterwards with soap and water.
It's amazing what shows up.
I've heard that Presta is one of the few that doesn't use any glaze
in their compounds, that would be a real plus for not hiding the scratches.
Most add the glaze for just that reason, it hides scratches.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:41 pm
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the feedback.
I have visited some body shops and met a few that use Malco and PRO products. Anyone out there use them?

I see a lot of Meguiars and 3M. I also see a few body shops have converted to DA polishers like the Rupes and their line of products and pads. They like the DA polishers for the 2nd polishing step or even the 1st step if its a custom shop finishing with 5000 grit.

Detailers seem to use Meguiars, Chemical Guys, 3D, Presta and a lot of brands that cross into the consumer market.

Any other comments are appreciated. THX.



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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:41 pm
I've been hearing good things about Sonax,going to try their cutmax and perfect finish. This will be applied with a rotary and corresponding foam pads, I'll post my novice opinion after I try it.
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