Abrasiveness Scale

[iulery]

Hello Everyone,



After a weekend of "compounding" and "polishing" my hood with my 7424 , I haven`t made even a slight dent in the oxidation, acid rain spots, spider webbing, swirls, bird excrement indentations, or scratches in the paint.



I was using Meguiars Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner as the "compound," beginning with the yellow pad at the 3.5 speed setting, and eventually ending with the wool cutting pad at the 6 speed setting, alas, to no avail.



I`m hearing good things about DACP. Would DACP have more cutting power than MMPPC?



Otherwise, can you suggest a progression of products to try, of increasing abrasiveness? At what point is wet sanding suggested?



A post truly worthy for the "Autopia University" section.

[imported_jaobrien6]

MPPC is primarily a chemical cleaner. I`m not 100% sure whether or not there are any abrasives in it, but if there are, they are extremely mild. I would say the oxidation is the only thing on your list of complaints that the MPPC would be able to handle.



DACP is definitely abrasive, and would be a significant step up from what you`re using right now. In conjunction with a cutting pad (yellow if you`re using LC pads), it should be able to reduce most of your problems. Note: anything too deep (scratches you can feel, deep etching from bird bombs and acid rain), won`t be easily repairable. With that kind of damage, you`re mainly trying to minimize the effects, especially when you`re not using a rotary.



If you have easy access to the Meg`s line, the two products I`d probably recommend are DACP and SFP (swirl free polish). If you work the DACP long enough, you can sometimes go straight to a sealant/wax, but I`ve always found it helpful to follow with something.



If you`re interested in trying other lines, there are a lot of good choices:



1Z: Ultra Polish, Paint Polish, Metallic Polish

3M: Perfect It-III Fine Cut Rubbing Compound, Perfect It-III Machine Glaze

Poorboys: SSR3, SSR2, SSR1

Menzerna: Intensive Polish, Final Polish



I personal find it easier to stick within 1 product line when polishing because it`s easy to know the relative abrasiveness. That way you don`t have to worry about whether 3m`s PI-III FCRC is more or less abrasive than DACP. In the past, people have tried to assemble a comparison like that (here) , but it`s not very complete or accurate.



Hope this helps,

John

[jfelbab]

Originally posted by jaobrien6

MPPC is primarily a chemical cleaner. I`m not 100% sure whether or not there are any abrasives in it, but if there are, they are extremely mild. I would say the oxidation is the only thing on your list of complaints that the MPPC would be able to handle....

Really? Below is the autopia abrasiveness list. MPPC is a 5 on a scale of 10. DACP (#83) is a 6 on that scale. I`ve used MPPC for 9 years and have removed lots of swirls and light scratches with it. Of course, I use it with a PC.



Here is a 14 year old MR2. Notice there are no swirls. I use MPPC on this regularly.







=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



COMPOUNDS, POLISHES AND GLAZES SORTED BY CUTTING ABILITY



10 – MOST AGGRESSIVE - COMPOUNDS

3M SUPER DUTY RUBBING COMPOND HEAVY CUT 39004

MEGUIAR’S BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL DIAMOND CUT COMPOUND 2.0 VERY HEAVY CUT #85



8

MEGUIAR’S BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL COMPUND POWER CLEANER HEAVY CUT #84

3M PERFECT-IT III EXTRA CUT RUBBING COMPOUND 05936

MEGUAIR’S MIRROR GLAZE HEAVY CUT CLEANER #4



7

3M IMPERIAL MICRO FINISHING COMPOUND MEDIUM CUT 39001

MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE MEDIUM-CUT CLEANER #1

3M PERFECT-IT III RUBBING COMPOUND 05933



6

MEGUIAR’S BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL DUAL ACTION CLEANER POLISH MEDIUM CUT #83



5

3M PERFECT-IT II RUBBING COMPOUND FINE CUT 39002

MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE FINE-CUT CLEANER #2

3M ONE STEP CLEANER WAX, MEDIUM OXIDATION REMOVER 39066

MENZERNA INTENSIVE POLISH

3M PERFECT-IT SWIRL MARK REMOVER DARK CARS 39009

3M PERFECT-IT SWIRL MARK REMOVER LIGHT CARS 39109

MEGUIAR’S MEDALLION PAINT CLEANER #97

MEGUIAR’S SCRATCH-X #108



4 - POLISHES

MEGUIAR’S BODY SCRUB A10

MEGUIAR’S DEEP CRYSTAL PAINT CLEANER #30

MEGUIER’S QUICK DETAILER #66

MEGUIER’S SPEED GLAZE #80

BLACK FIRE DEEP GLOSS POLISH



3

MEGUIAR’S BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL SWIRL FREE POLISH LIGHT CUT #82

MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE SWIRL REMOVER #9

3M FINESSE-IT II MACHINE POLISH 39003

3M FINESSE-IT II FINISHING MATERIAL 05928

MENZERNA FINAL POLISH



2 - GLAZES

MEGUIAR’S BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL HAND POLISH VERY LIGHT CUT #81

MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE MACHINE GLAZE #3

3M PERFECT-IT III TRIZACT MACHINE GLAZE 05930

3M PERFECT-IT III MACHINE GLAZE 05937

3M IMPERIAL MACHINE GLAZE 05991

3M ONE STEP CLEANER WAX, LIGHT OXIDATION REMOVER 39006



1

MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE SHOW CAR GLAZE #7

3M PERFECT-IT III FINISHING GLAZE 05941

3M IMPERIAL HAND GLAZE 39007

BLACKFIRE ALL FINISH PAINT PROTECTION

[stevet]

jfelbab,



That is not "the Autopia abrasiveness list". That list is somebody`s attempt at creating a list to compare the abrasiveness of different products. It is by no means an official list. It has mistakes in it.

[jfelbab]

Originally posted by stevet

jfelbab,



That is not "the Autopia abrasiveness list". That list is somebody`s attempt at creating a list to compare the abrasiveness of different products. It is by no means an official list. It has mistakes in it.

The list was a collaborative effort if I recall correctly. Nevertheless, MPPC has been removing swirls and light scratches nicely for me. I would also rate it a 5 on the abrasiveness scale from my 9 years working experience with it.

[imported_jaobrien6]

I haven`t used MPPC much, but I didn`t get much in the way of swirl removal from it. Sometimes different products work differently for different people on different cars. :nixweiss



As for the abrasive list, that`s the one in the thread I linked to. It`s far from official, complete, or accurate. I take issue with a lot of entries on that list. For example, Menzerna IP and 3M SMR are both 5`s? And 3M PI-III MG is a 2? I don`t think so. That list has been posted several times, but never fixed up, and never really agreed upon.



If MPPC is working well for you, that`s great. However, in my experience, it`s too mild to fix the damage described in the original post.



My $.02,

John

[jfelbab]

Originally posted by jaobrien6

I haven`t used MPPC much, but I didn`t get much in the way of swirl removal from it. Sometimes different products work differently for different people on different cars...

I agree completely. The only reason I even posted in this thread is that it seems more and more common with many autopians lately to jump to the most aggressive product too quickly. I`d rather use a less aggressive product a couple times than a more aggressive product once.



It`s also true that some paint is just softer than others.



Keep it shiny.:up

[imported_jaobrien6]

Originally posted by jfelbab

I`d rather use a less aggressive product a couple times than a more aggressive product once.

That`s a great point, and something important for the original poster to keep in mind. Only practice and experience will allow you to easily tell when you should step up to a more aggressive combination. Until you get a feel for it, you should definitely start slowly so you don`t unnecessarily polish too much clear.



John