When you've been doing something for a long time it's easy to get in a rut and simply use what you always have . I see that my compound is in need of replacing and I'm just wondering what you guys are using and why you like it .

 

It's been awhile since I've done it for a living, and there may be better stuff now, but I've always been fond of the 3M Perfect It line of products. It worked good and worked fast, and the finished product never failed to win awards when we were doing the ISCA thing.

 

Exactly I'm not unhappy with what I've been using just wondering if there's better stuff out there .

 

Ceramics and other coatings are the new rage, there's a lot of poor quality ones out there but I have had good luck with McKee sio2, and klasse. Especially on my daily driver the flexibility to do it twice a year and still have it hold up to Michigan weather is great.

 

The technology and methodology have changed quite a bit over the years. I did a lot of research when I started to rebuild my 51 F1 into primers, paints, cut and buff, etc and discovered that there are a number of products available from different manufacturers. They all seem to work about the same; reviews and forum posts detail the differences from one to the other.

I settled on the V32, V34, V36, and V38 compounds from Chemical Guys. I use the V32 with a wool pad on a rotary buffer for heavy cuts, then switch to the various foam pads on an orbital buffer for finish.

I used the 3M Finnesse It system for years and find the Chemical Guys system to be far better. The 3M system had a tendency to use fillers that eventually washed out of the swirl marks, where the Chemical Guys system is better at removing the fine swirls completely.

Just my experience.

 

I started out working in a shop in high school, tearing down wrecks and buffing out lacquer with 3M compound that came in a gallon bucket. That stuff was a red mess, thick clumpy, and would fling everywhere. Needless to say those were the "old days"...in more recent times I have used the 3M line and I have tried a few others just to see if I was still on the right track. I guess that I am fortunate to live close enough to Meguiars headquarters to be able to attend their workshops and learn about their product lines, both new and traditional. For the last 10 years or so I have settled in on Meguiars...I liked the M105/205 combo, good cut and great swirl removal/clarity. Then they released M100 which was specially developed for the European paints but worked super for me on the House of Kolor products I use...it is not the "rocks in a bottle" technology, the grit in the compound actually diminishes during the buffing process which means that you can start with buffing out 1500 grit scratches and work it all the way til you have just a fine haze. It does have some dust however. Now there is the M110/210 combo, touted to have all the great properties of the 105/205 combo and the 100 but with little to no dust. I bought a gallon of each and have used it on some small jobs but not enough on large panels to know if I like it better yet. There are many good videos on YouTube on this topic, professional detailers seem eager to share their knowledge and experience with everyone on that platform.

 

I have always used DuPont polishing compound in the green container. Never failed me so I never found a reason to change.

Later!
Mr. Ed

 

It depends on what you need to do of course. Do you simply need to remove some swirl marks? Do you have deep gouges in your clear top coat or SSU? Do you need a multi-step system to take out haze, and then gouges, and then swirl marks, and then polish to the top? Consumer Reports ran a pretty in depth review of waxes a few years back. I don't remember if it covered polishes too. In my experience, I try to go as light an abrasive as possible to see if it works before using anything too abrasive that makes it more hazy than it already was. Mequire's Swirl-X is a product I swear by. A light wax over it once complete has provided me a showroom shine. But that's because I'm maintaining the finish and it is in mostly good condition.

For wax I was told by an old, hardcore biker, who was also an autobody detailer, that Collinite 845 was the cat's meow. So I bought it. And I'm never using anything else as a wax!

 

Thanks guys great info . I guess I should have stipulated that the majority of use would be a first cut and polish although the " tune up stuff " is still needed to get the best final finish . When I worked in shops it was easy to get access to new products and technics but now I am limited to what I already know and what a " salesman or brochure " tells me and I have my reservations with online reviews . So some actual experience is great . Thanks for your replies but anyone with more info is more than welcome to chime in as I'm sure I'm not the only one with interest in this .

 

Again, it depends. I'm not a pro by any means. If I have to cut someone's crappy orange peel from a fresh paint job it's a wet sand followed with 3M heavy duty machining compound with a large wool bonnet. Everything else I use 3M Perfect It compounds and pads. I've grown really fond of my little Astro 331 3" palm polisher with the Perfect It pads and polishes. There are just so many places with compound curves, nooks and crannies that a 7" or larger polisher can't reach. The Astro is geared, doesn't use a ton of air and doesn't bog down no matter what speed you set it at. It's also fairly quiet, compared to many others. I consider it one of my best tool purchases in the past couple years. (see it here: http://tinyurl.com/y4ft8n46 I have no idea how the included pads work, I'm sold on the Perfect It products)