PBW Professional Polish

grandprix2plus2

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I've read that PBW pro polish has no abrasives in it. I've also read that it's pad dependent. How does something without abrasives become pad dependent?

Are most polishes considered a "pre-wax" cleaner. I know I've read an article I think written by Mike to take what the product does and go with it opossed to thinking all polishes/pre-wax cleaners are the same because they're labeled so.
 
When they say a polish is pad dependent, the polish relies on the cut of the pad itself to remove defects. Some pads have cutting ability on their own. So when looking to remove defects you need to take both product and pad into consideration depending on what you are trying to achieve.

As far as considering polishes a pre wax cleaner, I would say most times no. It can really get confusing as to the definition of the word POLISH. The best thing to do is take a good look at each product and determing how it works. IE... Does the polish have abrasives in it or does it chemically polish the paint without aid of abrasives.

In general, polishes with abrasives are used to correct different degrees of swirls and polishes that use a chemical base are used more to deep clean paint. You still have to consider the cut of a pad in combination with the polish. You can still get some light correction out of a chemical polish containing no abrasives if you use a pad that does have some cut!(the PB Pro Polish is a good example of this) Confusing isn't it???
 
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If it polishes the paint chemically I would assume it would pull up old wax and remove blemishes/water spots. It wouldn't remove swirl marks, at best maybe hide them if it has a filler, would this be correct to assume.
 
If it polishes the paint chemically I would assume it would pull up old wax and remove blemishes/water spots. It wouldn't remove swirl marks, at best maybe hide them if it has a filler, would this be correct to assume.


I just edited my post. Does that help clarify? Yes if you are polishing chemically, it will remove old wax/sealants. It may or may not remove blemishes/water spots depending if those blemishes are etched into the paint or not and depending on your pad selection.
 
Makes perfect sense. I was under that impression but wanted some reassurance from the pros.
 
I've used PBW Pro Polish with multiple pads (by hand) and it's definitely true. WHen I first used it with a MF pad on soft black paint, it scared me...I wasn't sure what I was looking at or doing wrong (also quite new to all of this). I went back over it with foam pad and it cleaned it up beautifully. It worked more like a cleaning polish with very light correction, even on my '08 Honda. An '09 black Lexus took the MF pad with no problem and with very similar results to what I saw on my Honda.
 
Great spot on info here! Thanks guys

Yes, PP is a very versatile product and paired up with a finishing pad its a finishing polish and paired up with a cutting pad or wool pad it will do some serious correction!

And not to mention it polishes glass, plastic, paint, chrome, metal, and metal plating's
 
Poorboy's World Pro Polish (original version is indeed a chemical polish that will do some serious correction with the right pads for the condition of the paint being worked on. I have done paint corrections on some seriously swirled finishes, from cut to finish using just Pro Polish. It works well in direct sun too. For removing hard water mineral deposits, nothing beats it.

Poorboy's Pro Polish 2 is pretty much the same great chemical polish but it also has a non diminishing abrasive in it so it will correct very nicely and either version works great as a metal polish. Pro Polish is by far the most versatile polish that I have ever used.
 
Great spot on info here! Thanks guys

Yes, PP is a very versatile product and paired up with a finishing pad its a finishing polish and paired up with a cutting pad or wool pad it will do some serious correction!

And not to mention it polishes glass, plastic, paint, chrome, metal, and metal plating's
Dang Pockets, you beat me to the punch. :laughing:
 
What pad would you suggest using if you were going to use this just for a pre wax cleaner? I was going to then apply EXP and then Nattys.

Is this something that can be used 1-2 times a year when I completely detail the car(clay, polish/pre wax, seal, wax) Assuming the paint is in good shape.
 
What pad would you suggest using if you were going to use this just for a pre wax cleaner? I was going to then apply EXP and then Nattys.

Is this something that can be used 1-2 times a year when I completely detail the car(clay, polish/pre wax, seal, wax) Assuming the paint is in good shape.

For just a pre wax cleaner, I have had great results with a grey LC pad. Assuming ur paint is in good condition, this is a great way to take the least aggressive approach and leave the paint ready for any LSP.
 
Thanks for all the info Jim! Seems like once I think I know what I'm talking about I read something else and I'm in the dark again. Thanks again. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.
 
I like pro polish. It is quite versatile as a multi-surface cleaner (glass, paint, chrome, headlights).
 
I have a bottle of pro polish that I never used because I dont really understand what it is. I bought it as a chemical cleaner.

So if it has no abrasives in it, how can it remove 2000 grit ! wet/dry sanding marks, like it states on the back of the bottle ? Just with pad cut alone ?

Does the product have diminishing abrasive in it or no ??
 
If you take a clear chemical such as acetone or even mineral spirits and apply it to a microfiber towel and then rub the towel vigorously over the single stage paint on a car you'll see some paint transfer on the towel. If you switch to a cotton diaper type of material and do the same thing you'll see more paint on the towel because cotton has more bite to it than a microfiber towel. Now switch to a cotton terry cloth towel and do the same thing and you'll really be removing a lot of paint in comparison to the microfiber towel. Neither acetone or mineral spirits have any abrasives in them so how could they possibly be removing paint or more paint. It's a combination of the chemical and the texture of the media used to apply and work the chemical. The different grades or textures of the materials used in the towels that provide the mechanical abrasion to remove the paint. The same principles determine how much paint is being removed with the use of pro polish and differing pad materials/coarseness. It's actually quite simple to understand when you have a visual like I provided above.

A quick call to Steve or Pockets can answer your question as to whether there are any abrasives in the product. My guess would be that there are some fine abrasives in it and that's why it's white. Just a guess.
 
If you take a clear chemical such as acetone or even mineral spirits and apply it to a microfiber towel and then rub the towel vigorously over the single stage paint on a car you'll see some paint transfer on the towel. If you switch to a cotton diaper type of material and do the same thing you'll see more paint on the towel because cotton has more bite to it than a microfiber towel. Now switch to a cotton terry cloth towel and do the same thing and you'll really be removing a lot of paint in comparison to the microfiber towel. Neither acetone or mineral spirits have any abrasives in them so how could they possibly be removing paint or more paint. It's a combination of the chemical and the texture of the media used to apply and work the chemical. The different grades or textures of the materials used in the towels that provide the mechanical abrasion to remove the paint. The same principles determine how much paint is being removed with the use of pro polish and differing pad materials/coarseness. It's actually quite simple to understand when you have a visual like I provided above.

A quick call to Steve or Pockets can answer your question as to whether there are any abrasives in the product. My guess would be that there are some fine abrasives in it and that's why it's white. Just a guess.

Dave, thanks for the in depth explanation. And I understand completely what you are talking about.

but I would personally like to know if theres abrasives in it.

I have some diminishing abrasive polish's that when used with a cutting pad can not remove 2000 grit sanding marks as they do dont cut enough. This makes me wonder how a chemical cleaner with "NO abrasives" in it can achieve this task.

Ive got a good handle on paint correction and have worked on my fair share of neglected cars with pretty much every machine around except a rotary. And in my opinion, I personally do not prefer to overdue a product just by upping the pad cut. IE: using 85rd with a yellow cutting pad just to achieve more cut. anytime I have tried something like that it usually trash's the paint and will force me to add an additonal meduim step polish to clean up the paint before finishing. something I would always avoid if I could.

Just to Note, I truly trust in your work that Pro Polish is a great product and you can achieve full correction with it and finsh great.

But this is strongly making me believe that there IS abrasives in the product. Which would make the marketing of "NO ABRASIVES" on the bottle a false statement.

The only other thing I can think of is in the past when I have seen a company put "NO abrasives" on a bottle, but there definition of no abrasives means that there product will not score the finish with something aggressive. an example is the 1Z consumer polish line. It corrects paint, but if you read the bottles, it trys to make you believe they are only chemical paint cleaners.


I do plan on using the Pro Polish. And I do understand the fact of use it and if it works thats all that matters. But I dont like when I have a mystery product that does not properly describe whats in the bottle. I have gone down that road too many times with companys like Chemical Guys. My latest example is the Blacklight radiant finish. I was applying it over LSP's only to find out months later that is has pretty potent fine abrasives in it that will clean and strip paint, and remove swirls on soft paints. I prefer to know what i'm using, is all im saying. Again, thanks for you time in explaining everything you have experienced with the product. I appreciate it.
 
There are of course very very very fine "abrasives" in the product

This however does not make it an abrasive product because in the chemical world and detailing world they do not count anything under x amount of cut an abrasive and that is where Pro Polish falls ...... so not false advertising as it is not correct to call it an abrasive polish it is in fact a chemical polish and works off of what it is paired up with for cutting abilities.

Get what I'm saying??
 
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