is 3M polishing compund any good?

[cranny]

Picked up a bottle of 3M polishing compound today to use with a rotary buffer. Is the 3M a decent product or should I ditch it and get something else?

I just need to polish out a few light scratches. After that I will follow up with a sealant and wax both by hand.

 

[93fox]

Picked up a bottle of 3M polishing compound today to use with a rotary buffer. Is the 3M a decent product or should I ditch it and get something else?

I just need to polish out a few light scratches. After that I will follow up with a sealant and wax both by hand.

Welcome! to start off you picked up quite a good compound. 3M compound is a very good cutting compound. Pretty strong. Just know that ANY compound ALWAYS requires a follow up. Meaning a polish. if You want to stick to 3M you need to pick up the 3m polish. The one that has a number 2 on the bottle. Now if you want to take that shine to and even more extreme level you can pick up 3m ultrafina polish. Its a finishing polish and it will look awesome. Its the bottle that has the number 3 on it. How long have you been using the rotary?

 

[maximus20895]

3M bought Meguiar's in 2008 and Meguiar's is a pretty good brand. I don't know how much influence 3M has on Meguiar's polishes though, but something to think about none the less.

 

[93fox]

3M bought Meguiar's in 2008 and Meguiar's is a pretty good brand. I don't know how much influence 3M has on Meguiar's polishes though, but something to think about none the less.

meguiars is still making their own products... Personally, i believe 3m has nothing that can compete with m105 and m205 combo.... just my opinion.

 

[maximus20895]

Probably so, but I do not know how much 3m influenced the creation of 105 or 205. I don't have any 3m compound.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Probably so, but I do not know how much 3m influenced the creation of 105 or 205. I don't have any 3m compound.

Meguiar's still has their own R&D team, chemists, etc. that are autonomous from 3M. I don't think there is much if anything shared between the two in that regard.

 

[IID]

Picked up a bottle of 3M polishing compound today to use with a rotary buffer. Is the 3M a decent product or should I ditch it and get something else?

I just need to polish out a few light scratches. After that I will follow up with a sealant and wax both by hand.

3M does have some very nice offerings(polishing compounds) for polishing out scratches/swirls.But if your correcting soft/softer paints(clearcoat's),you may want to follow up with 3M UltraFina and a soft buffing pad.The polishing compound will definitely leave it's own haze/marring.Depending on the color of the vehicle,the UltraFina(any finishing polish) may be a must

 

[guess23959]

i have 3m compound and its ok, but not the best. the main reason i bought it was cause i took the badges off on my car for a nice clean look, and i wanted the scratches gone from rubbing the floss and the heatgun and scraping from my nail, gone. it got 75% gone thats about it. i have surface scratches and i guess you can say that it chooses WHEN it wants to work. so sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt, at least how it is for me. i wanna get a deeper cutting compound but i need hands on "coaching" first before i try anything serious.

 

[PAB DETAIL]

3M does have some very nice offerings(polishing compounds) for polishing out scratches/swirls.But if your correcting soft/softer paints(clearcoat's),you may want to follow up with 3M UltraFina and a soft buffing pad.The polishing compound will definitely leave it's own haze/marring.Depending on the color of the vehicle,the UltraFina(any finishing polish) may be a must

This is exactly right especially with black paint. I absolutely love Meguirers Ultimate Compound.

 

[Dr Oldz]

3M polishes are some of the best you can find. Especially if you are using a rotary!

 

[cranny]

Welcome! to start off you picked up quite a good compound. 3M compound is a very good cutting compound. Pretty strong. Just know that ANY compound ALWAYS requires a follow up. Meaning a polish. if You want to stick to 3M you need to pick up the 3m polish. The one that has a number 2 on the bottle. Now if you want to take that shine to and even more extreme level you can pick up 3m ultrafina polish. Its a finishing polish and it will look awesome. Its the bottle that has the number 3 on it. How long have you been using the rotary?

I'll have to check what number is on it. I got it at my local NAPA parts store. I saw 3M polishing compound and 3M rubbing compound. I just need to fix a few light scratches so I got the polishing compound. I'll use it with a foam polishing pad.

I'ts been years, but I used a rotary buffer many times in the past when I use to paint cars. It's an old Makita variable speed. I honestly don't even remember what type of compound I used in the past, but I remember getting it from my local auto body paint supply store.

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[drobinson]

Picked up a bottle of 3M polishing compound today to use with a rotary buffer. Is the 3M a decent product or should I ditch it and get something else?

I just need to polish out a few light scratches. After that I will follow up with a sealant and wax both by hand.

It's a great product. There is also a scratch remover kit that includes the pads and scratch remover product that works with your household drill. It's a good option, too.