On the topic of polishes etc....

So I have begun the task of moving from a straight paint gloss and shine - and I am now working on the POLISHING and waxing stage of my McLaren... So I thought I would share some observations...

3M Perfection III compounding

I had read a lot of good reviews on the 3M Finesse II for compounding the paint. Unfortunately when I went to the local body shop supplier he 'claimed' that they no longer make that product and that they now selll the new improved version as 3M Perfection III. The stuff did a great job with the Brightside paint - and I would suspect it would do an equally excellent job on the Tremclad/Rustoleum - since it is designed for 'all types of paints' according to its packaging. It did an excellent job of getting the paint smooth and glossy.

TURTLE WAX ICE

Well this product turned out to be a MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. As far as I am concerned it is no better then spraying Armorall on your paint job. It applies easily and looks GREAT when first applied. Then as it dries out you realize that the CRAP is 99% mineral oil... and that oil is what was giving the great temporary shine. In the end even that trace of a shine disappears. But then again what should we expect from a product where the manufacturer says you can also use it on your vinyl interior and rubber etc. I took this CRAP back to the store and got my money back. I was furious. I felt very let down by the strong brand name of Turtle Was. Frankly they should be embarassed selling ICE - and not float advertising about how this product is going to be their flagship product into the next century.

MEGUIRER pure Carnuba wax.

Everyone said that pure Carnuba was the best for waxing, shine, water repelling etc. And they were RIGHT. Funny thing about this product... it is suppose to be pure carnumba... but you know they are LYING simply because the stuff smells like Bananas... I am no Carnuba expert but I am pretty sure that natural carnuba doesn't smell like bananas. Pure ? Uh... it can't be. Oh well I digress. The Meguiars product went on nicely with the Cable & Porter polisher. It not only laid on a shine but it was able to give a darker and deeper appearance to the compounded paint.

Meguiars XTech Wax

Now... this is the flagship product of Meguiar and they said that it would give a shine and deep coloring that rivals the carnuba. They were right. Although it is all synthetic, they are right that the end result will rival carnuba. Apparently this synthetic is all based on polymers and nano-technology where the glossing molecules are able to become part of the paint etc. All I know is that this tuff worked great over the compounded paint job. Overall I would give it thumbs up ( and it certainly kicks the a$$ of the Turtle Wax's flagship product ).

One nice thing is that the two Meguiars products are quite complementary and you can use BOTH to reap the benefits of each of the products.

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