Nedd a good polish / Compound reccomendation

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04lss

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Hi all,

I do my fair share of polishing cars with my Griots DAs, ive been using the Griots microfiber cutting pads, griots orange, and rupes yellow to get some pretty good results. On my friends cars, i just use m105 and m205 because they're pretty good, economically priced, and my friends standards are NOWHERE near my own. They have their drawbacks though, like the dusting, and the m205 never seems to get quite the shine i hope for compared to some of the other polishes ive used.
Ive been using griots compound on my personal cars but im almost out.
Id like to get something a bit "higher end" I guess. Mainly a compound that has enough cut for german paints, and a polish that can finish up really nice. Im willing to spend a bit, but nothing CRAZY. id be comfortable with say 30 dollars for each?
 
I’ve been polishing BMW, VW and Audi paint a lot lately. I’ve had very good results with Rupes wool pads and Carpro Ultracut gives good cut and finishes well.
 
I love the Menzerna FG400 and Menzerna Super Finish SF3500/3800. That has been my go-to for years. Tried other brands but always went back to Menzerna. Menzerna is located in Germany is designed for German made vehicles.
 
Compound: Sonax CutMax, CarPro Ultra Cut

Polish: Sonax Perfect Finish
 
My most hated characteristic of a compound/polish is dust.

So far 3D (ACA500 compound, ONE hybrid compound/polish, AAT502 finishing polish) has been the best match for me.

I work on all sorts of exotic from Europe for the most part. The 3D doesn't have any issues cutting through those paints.

98% of the time I'm using Buff and Shine Uro-Fiber to cut and yellow Uro-Tec to polish / finish.
 
My favorites are Sonax CutMax, Sonax Perfect Finish and 3D One.
 
I've tried everything there is and I do this 10+ hours a day... Meguiar's M110 and M210 are my go-to 95% of the time and I keep a bottle of M101 close by for the extra hard stuff. With M110 and 210 it is IMPERATIVE that you follow the directions: slow arm speed and more pressure than you're used to on the first few passes then almost no pressure for the final section pass. They were my favorite compound and polish even when I was not using them correctly, but now that I have actually listened to Markus Kleis regarding how to use them... I'm in love.
 
I’m a novice polisher and the Griots Boss Creams have been great. No dust, finishes well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
talonted said:
I've tried everything there is and I do this 10+ hours a day... Meguiar's M110 and M210 are my go-to 95% of the time and I keep a bottle of M101 close by for the extra hard stuff. With M110 and 210 it is IMPERATIVE that you follow the directions: slow arm speed and more pressure than you're used to on the first few passes then almost no pressure for the final section pass. They were my favorite compound and polish even when I was not using them correctly, but now that I have actually listened to Markus Kleis regarding how to use them... I'm in love.
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I like those too.

Michael Stoops was saying they don't need priming, or pressure, so they were a natural fit for me in that regard.

I find M110 to cut really hard though.

I'm keeping M205 on hand with them though. I've always enjoyed it as a one step on a more aggressive pad.
 
Another vote for the Griots BOSS polishes. They are what's I use most of the time these days.

For German cars I also liked using the Blackfire Compound and Polish. The compound on a medium cut polishing pad makes for a great one-step on hard paint.
 
Paul A. said:
My favorites are Sonax CutMax, Sonax Perfect Finish and 3D One.
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I love the results of 3D one - i find it cuts a little harder than perfect finish - and zero dust but i struggle with the clean up often. I'm going to try soaking a towel in N914 this year to help clean up the panel. I think it will fix the issue. The beauty of 3D one is i have yet seen it dust and i don't have to worry about the so called breaking down of the abrasives, your probably fully aware it's non-diminishing. Not that i really understand that stuff lol It must still breakdown somewhat you would think...but i don't know
 
noorth said:
I love the results of 3D one and zero dust but i struggle with the clean up often. I'm going to try soaking a towel in N914 this year to help clean up the panel. I think it will fix the issue.
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I absolutely believe you about the clean up issues because others say this as well

But it mystifies me because I can't remember ever having had an issue wiping it off

I have no clue what the variable could be that makes our experiences with it so different
 
chilly said:
I absolutely believe you about the clean up issues because others say this as well

But it mystifies me because I can't remember ever having had an issue wiping it off

I have no clue what the variable could be that makes our experiences with it so different
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Me neither but I have used it MANY times now. More than any other polish actually. If the rinseless towel tip i picked up from the UK forums works i might not even pick up perfect finish when the bottle of 3D is gone. Its about 1/3 full i guess. I might just buy 3D One again. Perfect finish is a little more temperamental outside than One. It has dusted up on me a few times but it wasn't horrible. When i used it on my test panels inside i never had any issues that i recall after many hours and i do miss that nice clear film that appears after 3-4 slow passes. The 3 options i have this year is a little known medium polish from labocosmetica called leale, 3D one and rupes DA fine. That's the 3 i will have on my cheap detailing cart lol I really try hard to not hoard products. Rupes DA fine as a nice wipeoff but a very short working window before it starts to almost gum up.
 
noorth said:
Me neither but I have used it MANY times now. More than any other polish actually. If the rinseless towel tip i picked up from the UK forums works i might not even pick up perfect finish when the bottle of 3D is gone. Its about 1/3 full i guess. I might just buy 3D One again. Perfect finish is a little more temperamental outside than One. It has dusted up on me a few times but it wasn't horrible. When i used it on my test panels inside i never had any issues that i recall after many hours and i do miss that nice clear film that appears after 3-4 slow passes.
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I like SPF as well and I get the dusting as well but there are times nothing else will give the gloss and clarity that SPF will

Still if I had to just use a single compound/polish in that category it would be One

Please report back on the N914 trick

Thanks
 
noorth said:
I love the results of 3D one - i find it cuts a little harder than perfect finish - and zero dust but i struggle with the clean up often. I'm going to try soaking a towel in N914 this year to help clean up the panel. I think it will fix the issue. The beauty of 3D one is i have yet seen it dust and i don't have to worry about the so called breaking down of the abrasives, your probably fully aware it's non-diminishing. Not that i really understand that stuff lol It must still breakdown somewhat you would think...but i don't know
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Try backing off on the amount of material you're putting on the pad.

There are a lot of times where I'll brush out the pad of the abraded paint and spent polish, and be able to continue to the next section without reloading at all. I refer to this as "stretching" the polish. With 3D ONE I've been able to stretch it to three sections. It's remarkable that a lubricating system can do that.

The wipe off is a breeze when approaching in that manner.

When I do reload it's often with one or two super small dabs. Possibly three if cutting with a fiber pad.

3D ONE. AAT502, and (especially) ACA520 have super concentrated lubricating systems, like nothing I've ever experienced before. This means that the wipe off can be a challenge, but for me the results and no dust motivated me to find a way around it.
 
dlc95 said:
Try backing off on the amount of material you're putting on the pad.

There are a lot of times where I'll brush out the pad of the abraded paint and spent polish, and be able to continue to the next section without reloading at all. I refer to this as "stretching" the polish. With 3D ONE I've been able to stretch it to three sections. It's remarkable that a lubricating system can do that.

The wipe off is a breeze when approaching in that manner.

When I do reload it's often with one or two super small dabs. Possibly three if cutting with a fiber pad.

3D ONE. AAT502, and (especially) ACA520 have super concentrated lubricating systems, like nothing I've ever experienced before. This means that the wipe off can be a challenge, but for me the results and no dust motivated me to find a way around it.
Click to expand...

Speaking of "stretching" the polish, where do you stand on this piece of advice I have read and heard about 3D One, and probably other polishes that are advertised as being the same "one size fits all" class of polish

The advice is to go ahead and do your cutting passes, leave the residue on the panel, switch to your polishing/finishing pad, and then just hit the same area by using the residual polish?

I just get concerned about all the abraded paint, I don't feel it is all absorbed into the cutting pad

I know 3D One can do both jobs with the correct pads but the wildcard seems to be all that paint residue and I don't like the idea of smearing it back over a freshly corrected panel

Obviously I am coming at this from a Hobby aspect where time is essentially free and product cost is negligible, but maybe in a business setting it is a worthwhile time and money saver

I have never been comfortable trying it so maybe I am full of crap (wouldn't be the first time)
 
chilly said:
Speaking of "stretching" the polish, where do you stand on this piece of advice I have read and heard about 3D One, and probably other polishes that are advertised as being the same "one size fits all" class of polish

The advice is to go ahead and do your cutting passes, leave the residue on the panel, switch to your polishing/finishing pad, and then just hit the same area by using the residual polish?

I just get concerned about all the abraded paint, I don't feel it is all absorbed into the cutting pad

I know 3D One can do both jobs with the correct pads but the wildcard seems to be all that paint residue and I don't like the idea of smearing it back over a freshly corrected panel

Obviously I am coming at this from a Hobby aspect where time is essentially free and product cost is negligible, but maybe in a business setting it is a worthwhile time and money saver

I have never been comfortable trying it so maybe I am full of crap (wouldn't be the first time)
Click to expand...


You know, I've never really tried that. I just don't trust my abilities to not check the work before moving on to the next step.

I'm more in your camp of thinking when it comes to abraded paint. I'd rather remove it than grind it back into the surface.

Maybe I'll try it one day though. I have a trade with a co-worker next Saturday. He's going to install PPF on the gf's Jeep and I'm going to give his car a paint correction and ceramic coating. His car is a black Chrysler 200 that's totally destroyed. Maybe I could give it a shot then and report back!
 
dlc95 said:
You know, I've never really tried that. I just don't trust my abilities to not check the work before moving on to the next step.

I'm more in your camp of thinking when it comes to abraded paint. I'd rather remove it than grind it back into the surface.

Maybe I'll try it one day though. I have a trade with a co-worker next Saturday. He's going to install PPF on the gf's Jeep and I'm going to give his car a paint correction and ceramic coating. His car is a black Chrysler 200 that's totally destroyed. Maybe I could give it a shot then and report back!
Click to expand...

I believe Mike Philip's called it the "cheater method" but i'm not totally sure lol He wasn't saying it in a disparaging way just a method for fast work. But for some context i believe he said something about high volume shops using it not high end detailing.

I honestly miss Mike on the forums....someone give me a hug haha
 
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