Optimum Compound & Polish II

Ron Atchison

Ron Atchison

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I've had some rids in the hood of my black Z4 that have been bothering me so seeing how I had just received Optimum Compound & Polish II along with their MF pad I thought this could be a good test to see just how well they work on removing rids from BMW paint. The condition of the paint prior to starting the test was very glossy with a lot of depth. It had previously been done a couple of months ago using the Wolfgang twins topped with Fuzion. Which in turn also revealed the rids which were not very deep and most could only be seen with the right angle on the paint but some were on the deeper side which are the ones I concentrated on.

Let me start by saying I have a rotary and have been using one for many years and know I could have corrected this in very short order in comparision but this was to test the products with a DA which is more inline with what most people here seem to use. So on to my test using my Griots DA.

Step 1.
Prep the pad with Polish II and add a couple more dime size drops of the polish.
Using medium pressure and speed set at 3 I saw no difference in the rids but did see a lot of hazy develop. I was expecting the haze using a polish and the paint being so glossy so I wasn't really concerned but expected a bit more gloss.

Step 2
Clean the pad with compressed air and use the polish with a speed setting of 5. No change. Rids along with hazing still there.

Step 3
Knowing that this was going to be the end result on some of the rids anyway I got aggressive on them early to see if the polish could remove more uniform scratches so I wet sanded a few of the more deeper rids with 3M trizact 3000 grit. After cleaning the pad again I went to work on them and saw very little correction. Defiantly not corrected. OK so seeing the Polish II isn't going to get it done so I moved on to the Coumpound II.

Step 4
Using Compound II I repeated the same process as above of preping the MF pad and used a speed setting of 5. Starting off with medium pressure and then finishing off with not much more pressure than the weight of the machine the wet sanding scratches were removed but left a lot of maring in the paint.

Step 5
Prep a clean pad with Polish II and using a speed setting of 5, I went to work on the maring from step 4. The Polish II removed the maring but once again left the finish very hazy. Not good enough for a LSP for sure.

Step 6
Now knowing the compound and polish will remove the wet sanding scratches without a problem I needed to figure out how to restore the finish I started with. I tried using Poli-Seal with the MF pad as I don't have the new GPS yet. Result was a bit more shine but defenatly lacked enough correcting ability to be happy with. The paint was still cloudy that lacked any depth. arggg!!!!!

Step 7
Repeat all of the same processes as above and same speed settings on the other side of the hood but this time replacing the MF pad with LC CCS orange pads. Using the compound II with a orange pad the correction time was about the same but finished out with less maring. hmmmm

Step 8
Using the Polish II with a white CCS pad corrected the maring better than the previous test with the MF pad but still not LSP ready.

Step 9
Using a white CCS pad prepped with Poli-Seal gloss was returned but still not much depth.

Step 10
Using a white CCS pad prepped with Wolfgangs TSR haze was returned and gloss was back.

I know I'm going to get the pictures post but I'm not really sure they would have come out to the point you could see the differences. But looking at it you could or at least I could see the differences from start to finish.

In summary. This was not a test done to any standards or controlled eviroments just me and my car in the garage with too much time. So will the new Compound & Polish II remove defects and leave a LSP ready paint? No, not at least to my standards on jet black BMW paint. I will say though if you don't have a rotary or skills to use one you can do paint correction using these products with your DA. I'm still on the fence on the MF pads though. I seemed to get just as much correction with the foam pads as I did the MF pads. I really wish I would have had flat pads to try also. So unless you just have to have the MF pads your supply of foam will get you just as good results. Neither one of them are very fast at it though so don't expect rotary speed correction with the MF pads and a DA. They may be a bit faster than the foam but not much and your going to need to do a finish step no matter which one you use with these products on black paint.
 
I think the MF pads are for designed for there Hyper Spray polish.

Traditional foam pads work best with Compound II and Polish II. I have also seen many corrections with those products with great success.
 
Yes I thought so too, so i posed the question to Chris over on the Optimum forum and was told either will work fine with the MF pads. I would like to try the sprays in comparision but don't think after these results I would purchase them just to see.
 
I have read that post a few times prior to using it on my car as the finish was very nice prior to starting and really didn't want to end up with a can of worms. To me it was hazy or some may even call it cloudy. But it wasn't LSP ready for sure. Now this was my first time using MF pads so my technique could be needing some help but I've also asked on the OPT forum for speed a pressure settings prior to starting out. But got limited response so I had to somewhat wing it. I would think there would be a bit more product support on a new system but.... I wasn't really too concerned as I have been polishing cars for a long time and know what to look for using standard procedures but the MF may be in fact a different animal.
 
It is recommended to follow PolishII with Finish Polish on dark, soft paints. Did you ever step down to a finishing pad? Sounds like you weren't working the polishII long enough and/or not keeping the compound/polish wet enough to work it long enough. Were you misting the pads before applying product/priming? That helps me work the previous versions of the comp/polishII. Starting at a low speed with compound isn't going to work it properly and can instill a significant haze that polishII may have trouble removing completely on black paint.
Interesting to know how the OPT polishes are working with their MF pads. Did you say you compounded with the OPT polishing MF? Was that part of your problem with results?
 
I would go back and try with standard pads. Also maybe you are pressing too hard to begin with?

The polish is designed to work with which pad you use. So if you want the polish to have more cut step it up. If you want it to finish well change to finishing pad.

I would maybe just call optimum and I'm sure they can help you out.

Let us know how everything goes!
 
ShaunD, A couple of points I left out in the OP were all the pads were misted prior to priming with product and during the polishing process with both products the surface was lightly misted with water which did ramp up the cutting or finishing process.

toycar18 see step 7 in the OP. I did go back to pads to see if there wa any difference. maybe a call to OPT would be better than the info from posting on their forum.
 
I read Corey's review on the GPS and that is what actually prompted me to start this thread. I did all of this last night and saw his review this morning and had different results with the PS and thought I would post my results. The new GPS must be much better than the old PS b/c there wasn't much correction with PS after the Polish II with either a MF or white CCS pad. I would really like to get this system figured out because at this point these will probably end up on the shelf if not.
 
Hopefully Mike Phillips will chime in.

I'm curious because I just ordered the compound, polish and finish polish.
 
Here's my experience which is a way of saying what I've seen with my eyes on black paint after chemically stripping the paint and inspecting under bright light.

Foam pads still finish better than any type of fiber pad.


A couple of comments...

For the most part I do all my testing on black paint because black is going to show everything to your eyes easier than any other color. The point of any testing is to gauge results, (at least at some point in the testing), so using a paint color that shows results best means using black paint.

If you're working on clear coat paints, then you're working on the top coat which is clear. Thus any testing done to a black basecoat/clearcoat paint system would means you're only using the underlying black basecoat to reveal what's going on at the surface level. Point being, when testing on a black basecoat/clearcoat paint system, if it's happening to the clear over black it's likely happening clear coat paint over any color of basecoat it's just you're eyes will have a harder time seeing results.

What a person sees or doesn't see is highly dependent on how they inspect, (stripping or no stripping, type of light), and the underlying color is also a huge factor.

The exception to the above is that paint systems are different so your results are always first dependent upon the type of clear paint being buffed on as some paint systems are better than others. In other words, just because I see micro-marring or DA Haze on my black, basecoat/clearcoat panels out in the studio doesn't mean it's a 100% sure thing everyone will see the same thing on the car in their garage.

It's possible that you can finish out using only fiber pads on a clear coat finish and not have any hazing at all even after chemically stripping the paint. You won't know until you try. I'm only going by my test panels.


As for any hazing with any company's fiber pads, including Meguiar's, Surbuf and now Optimum, if there is hazing that you can detect, simply re-polishing using foam should remove it.

For some people and some projects, hazing might not be an issue. For example production detailing work where the wax masks any haziness.


As for me? Any time I'm working on anything important then I finish out with foam...

I don't even care if proof can be made that any type of fiber pad will produce as good or better results proven on black paint after chemically stripping the paint, I just prefer to finish out with a soft foam pad, that is a pad with a uniform surface, not individual fibers.


So use fiber pads for the major correction step and then switch to foam.



:)
 
Thanks for the reply Mike, I totally agree with your comments as I have seen it with my own eyes on this little MF pad test I did.

I think my main objective in writing my results were to let others know that the MF systems were not going to be the total answer to a perfect finish. I've seen multible post claiming MF pads to be the cure which they are not.

I think my test bed was a real indicator as to what was going on with the end results. Starting off with a 99% corrected black finish verses one that is in rough shape allowed me to see the hazing created and correction that needed to be corrected from the sytem used, verses the other way around as most do.

As I said in my OP a rotary really would have been the best route to take on this but wanted to see the DA results. So until I get a chance to use the sprays if ever, (unless someone sends me a sample, won't be buying them) to compare I will put the MF pads on the shelf and use the rotary, save a ton of time and finish off with the foam.
 
rzatch said:
I think my main objective in writing my results were to let others know that the MF systems were not going to be the total answer to a perfect finish.
Click to expand...


Ditto.

I first used the MF pads back in 2006 so I've had them for a while and they do have a place in the detailing industry but they're not the end-all, be-all that some of the early excitement made them out to be.

If a person were to read my posting history on the Meguiar's MF pads system, the consistent theme in all my replies is to first lay down a foundation based in reality and that is that system was designed and intended for use,

  • On factory baked-on paint
  • By "production" detailers

Not that it can't be used on non-factory baked-on paint or by others besides production detailers but it's important to remind people the history and intended purpose of the system.


:)
 
Yes I can see were production detailing could use this system especially for detailers lacking the experience of using a rotary. I worked at a new car dealership for 7 years cleaning cars and the production was the driving force not the end result. Most times it was get it done yesterday. Also the vast majority of the public really doesn't know any better. The mind set is "it's nicer than what I drove onto the lot with". If the car is shiny that's about all they see.

Luckily for me it was also in the late 70's early 80's and the paint on the new cars left a lot to be desired and that is when I learned to use a rotary. Although you never could have convinced me of it at the time when I was lugging around that boat anchor Milwaukee lol.
 
I would certainly not base my opinion on a single use on a single car. I agree with Mike that some cars need to be finished with foam and yours may be one of them. But microfibers should be primed as Kevin Brown recommends when using pastes instead of out sprays so it sounds a little like you may have been dry buffing unintentionally which would explain your hazing after the polish. You may see micro maring under the right light on soft paints, but definitely not hazing when used correctly. Give it another go on a couple more cars and try to determine if it's the products, technique, or paint system that's the culprit.
 
Well I tried it again tonight and used it the exact same manner as the steps before ie priming and so on. But changed the speed instead of using 5 I backed it down to 3 and bingo no hazing. It still needed a third step which is where the Finish Polish may have been the answer but not having any I tried PS and a white CCS pad and ended up with the same results as before, no luck. I then went back to the tried and true Wolfgang Finish Glaze and it looks perfect again. Now for a Fuzion topper and I'm all set. I'm still disapointed at the PS I was really hoping to find a fast onestep polish in it. Maybe it's the pad selection as other seem to use the HT tangerine with good results.
 
rzatch said:
Well I tried it again tonight and used it the exact same manner as the steps before ie priming and so on. But changed the speed instead of using 5 I backed it down to 3 and bingo no hazing. It still needed a third step which is where the Finish Polish may have been the answer but not having any I tried PS and a white CCS pad and ended up with the same results as before, no luck. I then went back to the tried and true Wolfgang Finish Glaze and it looks perfect again. Now for a Fuzion topper and I'm all set. I'm still disapointed at the PS I was really hoping to find a fast onestep polish in it. Maybe it's the pad selection as other seem to use the HT tangerine with good results.
Click to expand...

Since you have polish II, mix 70% poly seal to 30% polish II for a great one stepper :xyxthumbs:
 
I would finish Polish II off with a finishing pad not a polishing pad.
 
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