3M FI M/C Polish vs DACP

[stevet]

I thought DACP was more abrasive than 3M FI M/C Polish? I am out in the garage playing around with these two products and it is not working out like I expected it to.



I am working on a 1995 aqua colored Oldsmobile Cutlass. It has the typical swirls of a car that is driven through automatic car washes and some deeper scratches in a few places around the car. The 3M stuff is removing swirls and marks in one pass that DACP will not touch with multiple passes. I have tried this with a polishing pad and cutting pad , same results. The only thing I can think of is that DACP starts out more abrasive but doesn`t stay that way very long before it breaks down to a fine polish. The 3M FI M/C doesn`t seem to break down like DACP.



What do you guys think is going on. I`m very new to the PC and right in the middle of the learning curve.:confused:

[imported_edschwab1]

Which 3M product are you using?



Eric

[stevet]

I am using 3M Finesse IT- II Machine Polish, PN 39003. I just got hold of some today and was trying it out along side DACP.

[bigpoppa]

I didn`t find 3M Machine Polish 39003 to be any different than SMR 39009. DACP was noticeably stronger than both in my experience.

[raymond_ho2002]

I`ve found machine polish to remove heavy swirling that could not be removed with SMR. But then again, this might have been because of the pad i was using (CMA yellow pad).. I didn`t try using the yellow pad with SMR on my heavy swirls.



Machine polish takes much longer to break down, so it might be that my results came from polishing for a longer period of time. Machine polish sometimes leaves a hazing that can be removed only with SMR, though, but again, this could be more a function of the pad.

[imported_edschwab1]

FI-II takes about as long as DACP to break completely when using a PC, but DACp breaks down to a finer polish quicker. Further, FI-II does not break down to as fine of a polish as DACP, using the PC, just my opinion. FI-II usually needs a follow up with a less abrasive product to produce a fine haze free finish, but this could be caused by pad choice. One last comment, DACP is less fickle about paint type than FI-II.



You are right, both break down differently and thus produce different results. Further I think FI-II is slightly stronger than DACP.



Question for Stevet:

In your opinion which looked better the DACP side or the FI-II side?



Eric

[beanbag]

I don`t think Machine Polish is all THAT abrasive. It might be two notches stronger than SMR, and one notch stronger than Menzerna IP. On my car, I had to use 3 passes with a compound pad on speed 5 or 6 to remove a light texture in my paint. At least with a PC, you should follow up with something else to remove the small haze that remains. I haven`t used DACP, so I can`t compare it to that.