Just ordered some PI-III Machine Glaze - Pad questions...

[MnRiverman]

Well I decided to do some spring purchasing and I bought:



3M Perfect-Itâ„¢ Gloss Enhancer, PN 39034, 16 oz - $6.80



3M Imperialâ„¢ Hand Glaze, PN 39007, 16 oz - $10.84



3M Car Wash Shampoo, PN 39800, Gallon - $24.28



3M Perfect-Itâ„¢ III Show Car Machine Glaze, PN 39012, 1 Pint - $16.18



I ordered these all from 3M`s website as no one locally carries them and all the stores I checked charge atleast 50% more for the same products. Also, they do free shipping, however they charge you sales tax (odd).



Anyways, I have two polishing pads now from CMA, and one cutting pad. I had another polishing and cutting pad, but I put them in a sealed container and supposedly the pads were still damp and well, they started to mold. So yeah, make sure the pads are perfectly dry if you do that. ;)



I was on CMA`s website and I was ready to order the normal 6.5" pads, but I saw the 7.5" Advanced Foam Pads which are only $1 more per pad. I did a search and came up with basically nothing. Can anyone tell me about these? The design of the pad looks kind of odd, and I wonder how hard it is to use, or how much of the pad actually comes in contact with the paint. I would be interested to hear what you guys with these pads have to say about them before I order.



Also, with the PI-III MG, do I want to use a cutting pad or a polishing pad? From descriptions of the product, it seems like I could use both a cutting pad for more cut, but it seems to me as if the product was designed for a polishing pad. Does anyone know?



Thanks!



- Anthony

[MnRiverman]

Oh, and dumb question.... should I be using a polishing pad or a finishing pad for the IHG?



I think I remember reading before it really doesn`t matter which one, but I just want to make sure before I order. :)

[thinksnow]

Today after work, I hit up a `90 Civic that was last washed in...well, 1990. MANY swirls and scratches. I would say that III MG took out 85% of the swirls and 50% of the scratches. Excellent product.



ANYWAY...I used both a yellow CMA cutting pad and a maroon Meg`s cutting pad and both seemed to yield great results. I`m not sure on the PC if a polishing pad would pull off as much, or at least as quickly. Unlike DACP, I gave the 2`X2` section one pass at medium pressure and one pass at no pressure (weight of the PC only).



You will find the MG is very forgiving, cut and haze-wise, but wipe it off quickly. This stuff dries FAST. Have fun and enjoy it.



Haven`t used IHG.

[6']['9]

i think for IHG you would use your hand right, Imperial Hand Glaze

[MnRiverman]

You don`t have to use your hand, it can be applied with a machine.



Everything is easier when applied by machine. :p



I think I`m just going to order another cutting pad, polishing pad, and a finishing pad.



But I would still like to know which pad to use with the PI-III MG. :) Thanks!

[TortoiseAWD]

Originally posted by adg44

But I would still like to know which pad to use with the PI-III MG. :) Thanks! Both yellow (cutting) and white (polishing) will work; you can make your choice based on the severity of swirls you`re trying to remove. In my experience, MG with a yellow pad finishes very well, and I usually move straight to wax or sealant from there (no need to follow up with MG on a white pad, or another milder polish).



Tort

[Accumulator]

adg44- Yep, what everyone is saying. You can use MG with either a cutting or polishing pad depending on what you want it to do. Sometimes the cutting pad leaves a ready-to-wax finish, sometimes it doesn`t, depends on your paint.



Heh heh, can never have too many pads! *I* sorta prefer the 6-6.5" ones, but others like the 7.5". I really only like the "advanced" pads on ss paint, myself. Honestly, I think I`d recommend you just buy a bunch of the "regular" 6.5" ones in all three grades (cutting, p0lishing, and a few finishing). Do some shipping cost calculations and order the quantity that`s most cost-effective. It`s not like they`ll go bad or that, conversely, they`ll become unavailable later.



If you want to apply IHG by machine, you can USUALLY use either polishing or finishing pads. Again, it depends on your paint.



MOST of my vehicles have such hard paint that a polishing pad (and sometimes, like Tort, even a CUTTING pad) DOES NOT micromar the finish, so there`s usually no REALLY COMPELLING reason to use a finishing pad unless I like the way it "works" a particular product. If your paint is softer, then yeah, use a finishing pad for everything once you get the marring good enough for you. But sometimes a finishing pad "loads up" with certain products (like IHG), not fun.