Why use so many different products to remove swirls and scratches

R

robwoodgto

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2017
Messages
197
Reaction score
0
Hey Mike, and all other forum members who wish to reply,

Is there a specific science or reason why you use so many different products to remove swirls and scratches? Example being on one of your videos you use a Pinnacle, and on another you use a Wolfgang product. For me, I usually stick with Meguiars products and start with Ultimate polish with a polishing pad but if I don't think that will remove the defects then I will start with a medium cut pad such as the HexLogic orange pad, or just go straight to the Ultimate Compound.

Thanks,
Ron
 
IMO I think it is a great idea to have many other products. For compounding/polishing, I like Menzerna Products and 1 3M product. I like to get the best (for me at least) performance in the least amount of time. I have tried different brands and found their strengths and weaknesses. Over time, I have narrowed the compound/polish to Menzerna because it's best for me. For Jeweling Polish I like 3M Ultra fine polish.

Others might like the idea of choices in products. I did for a while and after trying several different brands I always went Back to Menzerna. Now I just stick with them. 3M is my newest addition for jeweling polish as IMO nothing compares.

Now for waxes and sealants.....I have a whole bunch of them....too many!

But love this forum to get opinions and insight to products before I use them. My guess you will too!
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
IMO I think it is a great idea to have many other products. For compounding/polishing, I like Menzerna Products and 1 3M product. I like to get the best (for me at least) performance in the least amount of time. I have tried different brands and found their strengths and weaknesses. Over time, I have narrowed the compound/polish to Menzerna because it's best for me. For Jeweling Polish I like 3M Ultra fine polish.

Others might like the idea of choices in products. I did for a while and after trying several different brands I always went Back to Menzerna. Now I just stick with them. 3M is my newest addition for jeweling polish as IMO nothing compares.

Now for waxes and sealants.....I have a whole bunch of them....too many!

But love this forum to get opinions and insight to products before I use them. My guess you will too!
Click to expand...

You bet. My wife says I am OCD and she is probably right. I had a buddy who went around his house spraying clorox spray everywhere all the time. That is not the type of OCD I am. I just like a system that works so as to streamline my activities. Thanks for the tip on the 3M Ultra.
Ron
 
Please note. 3M Ultrafine Polish is recommended for use with rotary polishers only.
 
Sbmin said:
Please note. 3M Ultrafine Polish is recommended for use with rotary polishers only.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I put it on my to get list after I get proficient with a rotary.
Ron
 
Different paints or more often different clear coat finishes respond to polishes differently. Same goes for pads as well. There are literally millions of combinations available between pad and polish combos when you look at what Autogeek offers.

Throw polishers into the mix (no pun intended) and you add another variable.
 
LEDetailing said:
Different paints or more often different clear coat finishes respond to polishes differently. Same goes for pads as well. There are literally millions of combinations available between pad and polish combos when you look at what Autogeek offers.

Throw polishers into the mix (no pun intended) and you add another variable.
Click to expand...

So I have to assume that it is trial and error? In the end I take it that what works well on a 2014 Toyota Highlander may not work the same for a 2010 Chevy Malibu.
Ron
 
If I had free access to all of the products Autogeek carries I'd use them all too! What a great way to find your favorite product.

But for us common folks who have to buy everything, I subscribe to the "find something you like and stick with it" philosophy and Meguiar's is usually my starting point.
 
Mike is just showing you how the products work. He is demonstrating the abilities of various products from polishers to abrasives to glass cleaners. He is the Training Manager, so he has to be able to show people how to use the various products. He will use, from your example, Pinnacle on one video, and Wolfgang on another. When he is showing the Pinnacle stuff, he isn't implying that Wolfgang won't work, and vice versa. When he writes a book on the Flex 3401, he isn't saying that it is the only polisher, or even the best polisher, he is simply showing you the best way to use the polisher to get great results, and to inform you about the polisher in general. Same as when he wrote the Rupes book, he doesn't represent the Rupes system as the best, just the best way to use it.
 
robwoodgto said:
Hey Mike, and all other forum members who wish to reply,

Is there a specific science or reason why you use so many different products to remove swirls and scratches?

Example being on one of your videos you use a Pinnacle, and on another you use a Wolfgang product. For me, I usually stick with Meguiars products and start with Ultimate polish with a polishing pad but if I don't think that will remove the defects then I will start with a medium cut pad such as the HexLogic orange pad, or just go straight to the Ultimate Compound.

Thanks,
Ron
Click to expand...


Hi Ron,

Great question.

When I worked for Meguiar's... of course I only used and shared Meguiar's in my car detailing write-ups. For what it's worth, Joe Fernandez credits me with the guy that created write-ups. Don't know if I'm that guy but I did start writing write-ups in probably 2002 or 2003 when discussion forums were invented.

Back on topic...

I work for Autogeek. On of my jobs is to showcase products. So that's why you see me writing write-ups and making videos on various brands.


2 more things...

1: If there were only Mothers and Meguiar's options, people would complain there's not enough "options". Now that there's probably hundreds of options or brands for car detailing supplies, it's just the opposite, people, (not you Ron), complaining that there's too many options. I guess humans can never win. :laughing:

I see this topic of not enough or too many come up with tools and pads too.


2: Competition in the market place is a good thing as it tends to mean you and me get better and better products as we continually move into the future.

As for hexlogic pads, they always seem kind of thick to me... years ago I coined the saying,


Thin is in...


And that has been the trend since coining that term...


:)
 
If you think there are too many detailing procucts to chose from, go down the beer isle at a major grocery store:cheers:
 
Mike Phillips said:
Hi Ron,

Great question.

When I worked for Meguiar's... of course I only used and shared Meguiar's in my car detailing write-ups. For what it's worth, Joe Fernandez credits me with the guy that created write-ups. Don't know if I'm that guy but I did start writing write-ups in probably 2002 or 2003 when discussion forums were invented.

Back on topic...

I work for Autogeek. On of my jobs is to showcase products. So that's why you see me writing write-ups and making videos on various brands.


2 more things...

1: If there were only Mothers and Meguiar's options, people would complain there's not enough "options". Now that there's probably hundreds of options or brands for car detailing supplies, it's just the opposite, people, (not you Ron), complaining that there's too many options. I guess humans can never win. :laughing:

I see this topic of not enough or too many come up with tools and pads too.


2: Competition in the market place is a good thing as it tends to mean you and me get better and better products as we continually move into the future.

As for hexlogic pads, they always seem kind of thick to me... years ago I coined the saying,


Thin is in...


And that has been the trend since coining that term...


:)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification Mike. Being that I am really new to the "detailing" world it is kind of overwhelming at first. And to think, had I not bought my wife a black car I probably would not have ever found you and everyone on this forum. I just don't want to be one of those guys whose wife drives a black car that looks like crap.

As far as the HexLogic pads, I will be buying a few different types over the next few details I do to try and figure out which pads I like best.

Thanks a lot and I'll see you at Detail Fest 2018,
Ron

parshooter said:
If you think there are too many detailing procucts to chose from, go down the beer isle at a major grocery store:cheers:
Click to expand...

Now we are talking my language.
Ron
 
Just think, there are hundreds of companies trying to formulate compounds and polishes, so thats all different kinds of abrasives, and chemicals being used to create these products. Different companies have different performance goals for their products. Different market segments they are developing products for. So while the end result of a compound is to remove defects in the paint, how all the different products perform to get those results vary incredibly.
 
robwoodgto said:
So I have to assume that it is trial and error? In the end I take it that what works well on a 2014 Toyota Highlander may not work the same for a 2010 Chevy Malibu.
Ron
Click to expand...
First two cars I ever compounded/polished were a 2016 black Subaru WRX and a 2004 black Corvette.

WG 'Twins' took care of WRX very easily; hardly made a dent in the Vette. WG Uber Compound and then Megs M101 on yellow LC heavy cutting foam did very little as well; Finally found Megs D300 on their microfiber discs which finally did the trick.

Subaru = Extremely soft paint, Corvette = very hard paint.

Amazing how different 'car paint' can be between makes/colors.

Also many products behave differently; M105 is used by many, many folks with great success...I tried it once, tossed the bottle in garbage after 1 panel...stuff was just to finicky for me despite trying many 'tricks' folks advised to make it workable.

Additionally, some like DAT products (like WG & Menzerna), some SMAT (Megs 101, 105, 205).

Since I started using a Rupes LHR15 Mark 2 and a Flex 3401 I seem to prefer DAT stuff with the Rupes and SMAT with the Flex. Dunno really why but that just seems to work easiest for me. And I'm kinda lazy so always looking for the easiest way to complete task at hand.
 
See the Wikipedia entry for "formulation" and understand that detailing products comprise of many thousands of different formulations that are optimized for various objectives. In particular, read the description of components.

From the article section on components:

Components (also called ingredients), when mixed according to a formula, create a formulation.
Some components impart specific properties to the formulation when it is put into use. For example, certain components (polymers) are used in paint formulations to achieve deforming or levelling properties.[1] Some components of a formulation may only be active in particular applications.
A formulation may be created for any of the following purposes:
- to achieve effects that cannot be obtained from its components when these are used singly
- to achieve a higher degree of effectiveness
- to improve handling properties and often safety for the user

Doesn't this describe perfectly what detailing products are and what they are trying to achieve?
 
The Wikipedia reference certainly does describe car detailing products accurately.

There are other reasons for so many products being out there. There are external factors such has paint hardness, type of pad, type of polisher, personal preference, desired speed of use (especially important for detailing ships)., and even ambient environment (temperature and humidity). What may be an ideal product for use with hard German pain, may not be ideal for soft Japanese paint; what works well for somebody with a long throw DA may not be best for somebody using a Flex3401, and so on. A lot of people on the board have multiple products of the same type for this very reason.

Mike has often said that you sould "Find a product that works for you, and learn to use it". The product that works for you and your car(s) in your environment may not work well for somebody else with their own cars in their environment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top