Diminishing Abrasives Technology



A non-linear abrasive that require kinetic friction and applied pressure, while the majority of polishes on the market use a form of diminishing (non- linear) abrasive, which you polish until it turns translucent; when a polish "flashes" from a liquid paste to a light semi-dry haze, much like a coating of Vaseline®, proceed until it looks like a clear oil and then stop; the diminishing polish has then broken down and is ready for removal.

Diminishing abrasives, as the name suggests; the abrasives become smaller with friction, and therefore go from removing paint defects to polishing the paint, which produces the shine. If you don`t break them down sufficiently, you are just grinding those abrasive particles into your paint, without polishing it, which can leave behind marring and other paint surface imperfections.



It is important to know when a polish has broken down because if you take it too far you will re-introduce surface marring. During the polishing process, trace amounts of paint and / or oxidation is removed; this can cause the debris and the polish to “clump†together. This can cause a haze to the paint surface, a wipe-down or a paint cleaning product will eliminate this.



When the polish is starting to break down properly you should have a clear surface (somewhat like Vaseline®) keep polishing until the polish becomes clear, like thin clear oil, but still barely visible on the pant surface and then stop as the abrasives are fully broken down. However not allowing the abrasives to break down sufficiently would be tantamount to rubbing sand paper across the paint, causing fine surface scratches

Pros - Menzerna diminishing abrasive polishes are formulated with a long lasting lubricant. The abrasives break down before the lubricating oils dry out, thereby giving polish a longer working time and producing less abrasive dust and avoiding dry buffing.



Cons - Menzerna lubrication oils and waxes can be really resistant to removal; it may take 2-3 IPA wipe-downs.



Non- Diminishing Abrasives Technology



A linear abrasive that require time and pressure - unlike diminishing abrasives, which require friction to enable the abrasives to `break-down to obtain the best possible finish (and avoid holograms) non-diminishing abrasives react very differently. It will be as abrasive as you want it to be, time and pressure applied (linear abrasive) being its working criteria. By varying pad selection, machine speed and pressure, you can select the amount of abrasive cut required.



Block wet sanding (finishing paper and a sanding block) is the most effective tool for paint defect removal because of its linear process you abrade the paint surface flat until the defects are removed. Non- diminishing abrasives, a flat foam pad and a rigid backing plate are very similar in application.



The other similarity between using a non-diminishing abrasive polish and block wet-sanding with finishing paper; the cleaner the media, the more consistent the polishing will be.



It the polishing media becomes saturated, they lose their abrasive abilities. A linear abrasive eliminates the ‘abrasive cycle’ as you have a constant and consistent abrasive medium, the longer you work the abrasive the more surface defects are removed.



Linear abrasive polishes / compounds provides a constant cutting abrasive, as the abrasives remains uniform in size throughout the polishing process, so you need to check the surface often. They should be used with a semi-rigid backing plate and a cutting foam or wool pad until the defects are removed (1200 – 1500 RPM) but do not allow the polish too completely dry (as this will also produce holograms) and ensure that pad surface is cleaned by removing paint / polish debris regularly This type of compound / polish process usually requires subsequent polishing step(s) to further refine the finish and to produce a shine



Cons - the lubricating oils dry out, thereby providing a shorter working time, producing more abrasive dust and the possibility of dry buffing



Mequiar’s Super Micro Abrasive Technology (SMAT) - that is used in these polishes (M105 Ultra Cut Compound 1200< grit CAS 10/10 and M205 Ultra Finishing Polish CAS4/10) utilizes non-diminishing abrasives. Using a compound with a random orbital polisher requires a very different technique, pressure, pad size and selection, pad priming (with the compound) etc. The product used is a non-diminishing, heavy cut compound, applied with a 6 – inch LC CCS Orange Light Cutting or Yellow Cutting flat foam pads with a semi-rigid Velcro® backing plate (to ensure maximum abrasive used over minimum area) and ensure that pad is clean by removing paint / polish debris regularly or replace



Like all linear abrasive compounds or polishes, they require a correctly primed pad, to ensure sufficient product, the use of applied pressure to ensure abrasive contact with the paint surface, this ensures constant surface contact. Linear abrasives require that you work the product until you achieve the desired finish.



Prime the pad by semi-saturating (80%) the pad with M105 and spread the abrasives uniformly. Keeping the pad flat while applying a constant / consistent pressure; thus ensuring constant paint / polish contact, when the initial polish has been expended replace with 5-6 small sized dots. Keep the pad flat (like you would with a sanding block) while applying constant pressure, the oils in the polish provide the lubrication (like the water does in wet-sanding).Do not allow the pad to “load-upâ€



Pad grit number, amount of pressure applied and time will all affect the amount of abrasion achieved. If the initial process doesn’t provide the desired finish, increase the aggressiveness of the process; i.e. use a longer working time, increased pressure, increases the cut of the polishing pad. A properly primed cutting pad will eliminate most surface scratches and M205 will polish (burnish) the finish