Abrasive Scale

[kimwallace]

Could some of you including the manufacurers of cleaners, polishes, swirl removers, etc. help out in establishing an abrasiveness scale of various products such as Meguiars or Poorboys ... example?

What Poorboys product is equal to Meguiars, etc.

On a side note which products work better on harder or softer paint.

I want to try some Poorboys stuff as soon as my existing runs out but would like to know what compares to what.
Thank you for your help

[The Fuzz]

That`s a very good question. A comparison like that would be very difficult to put together. Mostly it would be the opinion of the tester unless they had the acutal chemical composition of the product in front of them and they knew what they were looking at. You can get the abrasive scale from companies like Meguiar`s or 3M or places like that, but they aren`t going to compare them to every other product in the industry. Someone around here has the abrasive scale for Meguiar`s, but that is the only one I`ve ever seen.

[kimwallace]

Fuzz,
Maybe that was an abrasive question !!!
I have the scale for Meguiars ...
I guess opinions would work ...
How about comparing Poorboys to Meguiars

Meg,s #84 Compound Power Cleaner
Meg`s #83 DACP
Meg`s #82 SFP
Meg`s #9 Swirl Remover 2.0

The question is ... Where would Poorboy`s Products line up with Meg`s In Your Opinion?
Thanks For Your Help

[ranch4x4]

Meg`s #82 and #9 are near equal in terms of abrasiveness. I know #9 has some fillers, not sure about SFP.

From what I`ve read SSR3 is more abrasive than DACP, SSR2.5 will probably be more comparable.

[Boss_429]

Yep, I would say that the #82 & #9 are close to the SSR1 - around 3 on Meguiar`s scale
From what I`ve heard, the SSR2 is just a tad more abrasive than SSR1 - probably a 4
The SSR2.5 is supposed to be close to the DACP - around 6 on the scale.
SSR3 is probably close to the Power cleaner - around 8 or 9. (Serious stuff here) :D

[Poorboy]

Funny Natty had this all figured out and posted it, but his post has since gone with the infamous "shouldn`t have touched that button" and Natty is not around much anymore:dunno
but I`m sure Boss`s assessment is pretty accurate:D

[kimwallace]

Thanks everyone,
My main reason for asking is that since I have heard so much good about Poorboys product, I want to try it out as soon as my other stuff starts running low. I would try it now but I, like many others here, have way too much stuff already ... Of course my mood might change tomorrow and I might order more stuff anyways.

[dalmore]

The forum search still finds a lot of those old posts so you can retrieve a lot of the lost info. In the three minutes I dedicated to the search I found this from nattybumppo:
"... I also think SSR2 has a bit less bite than DACP......actually a tad more than SSR1. If I were to compare on a Megs abrasive scale I would put SSR1 at the same level as Swirl Free (#3 on the scale), SSR2 at a number 4 or 5 (say like Speed Glaze or Meg`s Light Cut Cleaner) and SSR3 jumps up to a number 8 or around the same as Compound Power Cleaner on their scale."

[Poorboy]

Very good work dalmore:bigups wow:bigscream someone knows how to use the search feature:D

[57chevy]

All good information and a great question I might add. Have Sh*t load of Megs. Products myself I found this useful. M

My next question would be how does the pad ( if using a PC) your using effect product performance? Do you still want to start with the least abrasive pads?

[Rosso Scuderia]

Yes, use the least aggressive pad first. Obviously if it`s a light polishing job then you will only need to choose from a couple pads. But, once you reach the pad you want, say a Lake Country yellow, move progressively to less aggressive pads. So, in that case you start will the most abrasive and then move to less abrasion to get rid of the hazing and obtain a clear reflection and a smooth surface. It would be great to have a chart that could inform people about all of the polishes and the pads over the major manufacturers. I can just see such a chart as being a huge success and attracting people to the site.

[groebuck]

So here be my question - even SSR3 is listed as Clear Coat Safe I believe - just what the heck does that mean ? I alwasy thought it meant would not damange the clear.

[kimwallace]

groebuck,
Now that is a great question.
I have used polishes/compounds on clearcoat paint that were designed for single stage color coats.
Some with good success some not.
Does it mean that clearcoat safe means the product has been made in the last few years ... or does it mean the product is less abrasive ... or does it mean it has diminishing abrasives ????????

[Poorboy]

Originally posted by kimwallace
groebuck,
Now that is a great question.
I have used polishes/compounds on clearcoat paint that were designed for single stage color coats.
Some with good success some not.
Does it mean that clearcoat safe means the product has been made in the last few years ... or does it mean the product is less abrasive ... or does it mean it has diminishing abrasives ????????

Yes good questions no doubt....:bigups

Ok I`ll try my best....
1)yes there are diminishing abrasives which breakdown and allow you to work on less forgiving surfaces like clearcoats.
Years ago and still for some products, they do not use diminishing abrasives and only stopabrasing the surface when you stop , which led to many people going right through their paint, especially around the sharp edges of the 50`-70`s cars.
2) Clearcoat compounds do need to be less abrasive.
3) there is no given amount of times you can polish or compound a vehicle. That is why with a fragile(I`m using fragile not in the sense of breakable , but as in the case of how scratches , dents, and just normal wear make it look imperfect as it ages) coating like a clearcoat, that is very expensive to replace you don`t want to use product this strong without experience or the right tools.

:dunno ...did I help?

[kimwallace]

Poorboy,
Yes you did ...
I only do this part time but started out in the early 70s painting car and custom painting semis.
Now my paint work is limited (because of material cost mostly)
It seems like many of the diminishing abrasives break down before they have a chance to what I want them to. So it is use more product or find a different product. DCAP is a good example ... it is a very good product but many times I wish it didn`t break down so I could remove the imperfection in the paint ... then go to a less abrasive product ... etc.
That said ... I completely understand the need for "safer" polishes and compounds.
I am looking forward to ordering some SSR products soon ...
Thank you for sharing you knowlege and experience!