favorite compounds???

T

tar1059

New member
Alright.... been lurking for a while and now have a cause to post. I've been detailing for a while and wondering what you guys are using for compounds. My favorites are from Menzerna. Problem is I havent really been able to master the Power Gloss. It always seems to smear apart and not really cut unless I am using a 4" pad and a very small area of application. I am using lake country pads and the metabo at around 3 on the dial. The recommendations have been to use the yellow pad with the Menzerna PG, but the combo seems useless.



Any insights on other compounds that are more efficient at cutting.



thanks in advance...
 
I use Optimum regular Compound and Hyper Compound which give sensational working time, and NO dust - combined with very good, fine optics. I also like the 1Z Pasta Intensiv, which has coarser abrasives and more initial cut but it dusts - sometimes a lot.

Recently, I am big fan of the Finish Kare 360, which has pretty decent cut, and 90% as dustless as the Optimum products. It can be worked just as long and produces wonderfully bright, LSP ready surface.



I use them with a DA; always on speed 6.
 
I like optimum and feel I was one of the original proponents. But if you don't mind dust, Menzerna cannot be beat. In fact, I don't know of any polishes even close, unfortunately. Try mixin in about 1/3 of RMG, it will help the workability tremendously.



Other compounds that cut as well as PG do not finish down nearly as well, leaving substantially deeper swirls/halograms, and worse, they typically leave a sparatic swirls or two that seem to be twice as deep as the rest, forcing you to have to use another heavy compound just to remove these; PG does not do this. So don't give up on PG yet.
 
My favorite is 3M Perfect-It III RC followed by Perfect-it III MG...gives a nice finish...



problem is finding it...I went to Boston to see my mother and stopped at a auto body supply house and they had some in stock..so bought 2 more bottles of it....should last a lifetime..lol



Al
 
Haven't used their Perfect-it III series, but their II series is about as bad as it gets :(
 
The only two I'm using recently are Optimum Hyper Compound and 1Z Extra Paintwork Cleaner. The Optimum "Hyper" is (despite its name), not that aggressive, but it's very easy to use, with a long working time. The 1Z is more aggressive, has similar working time, but "dusts" more. I find that the 1Z takes down deeper scratches easier, but with the penalty of more marring, which needs to be addressed in the next step. For what it's worth. . .
 
I'm with AL-53, I do almost all my vehicles with the PI-III twins, and I've stockpiled enough to last a long, long time. The PI-II FCRC was OK, but I like the PI-III RC 05933 better (and the PI-III doesn't have silica-based abrasives). I might sometimes use a more aggressive product for a first pass, or use a milder product for a final burnish, but the two PI-III products are my go-to products for paint correction.



Percynjpn mentioned the other one I use regularly, the 1Z Ultra/Extra.



A lot of people are singing the praises of Hi-Temp Heavy cut, which I plan on trying sometime.
 
percynjpn said:
The only two I'm using recently are Optimum Hyper Compound and 1Z Extra Paintwork Cleaner. The Optimum "Hyper" is (despite its name), not that aggressive, but it's very easy to use, with a long working time. The 1Z is more aggressive, has similar working time, but "dusts" more. I find that the 1Z takes down deeper scratches easier, but with the penalty of more marring, which needs to be addressed in the next step. For what it's worth. . .
Click to expand...



Agreed. Hyper isn't really that aggressive. But great working properties and zero dust!
 
On a related topic - I hope - Are there any decent hand-use compounds out there? I have several scratches on one of my cars. I had another one, fairly long, which I was able to remove with ScratchX but it took me 2 hours and about six thousand passes. Am thinking seriously about using a rubbing compound now - gotta be easier. I would appreciate any input. TIA.



_____________

E-Jag
 
i really like PG/rmg mix....but dont do it 50/50....I did and it was too runny and soaked into the pad too fast....do more like a 70/30 or 60/40 mix and you should be set....
 
E-Jag said:
On a related topic - I hope - Are there any decent hand-use compounds out there?
Click to expand...



The PI-III RC 052933 and the 1Z Ultra/Extra work fine by hand. Not all *that* aggressive, so you still have to work at it. But at least they break down OK and are safe to try on most any (healthy) paint. 3M's PI-II Fine Cut Rubbing Compound (pn 39002 in the commonly available 16 oz bottle) is OK too, a tiny bit more aggressive than the PI-III stuff.



Note that all the above will require a followup with a milder product, they leave a little micromarring but nothing awful.
 
toyotaguy said:
i really like PG/rmg mix....but dont do it 50/50....I did and it was too runny and soaked into the pad too fast....do more like a 70/30 or 60/40 mix and you should be set....
Click to expand...



Yup. Optimum Hyper Compound is good, but the Menzerna abrasives cannot be beat...I was a Menzerna die-hard, then temporarily switched to Optimum, now I use both. But in a heads up comparison, Menzerna is far superior (of done side by side testing probably a dozen times at least, and Menzerna removes more defects and yet leaves a better finish), but dust is an issue for some. However, one day I decided to mix in a little RMG to improve the workability of PG and reduce dust, and it worked wonderfully. In fact, I'm sure all those who have now tried it would agree; I usually mix 70/30 with PG and IP (FP II doesn't need it). With the mix, I get about 1/4 the dust, and if I switch out pads regularly (I have a ton of pads), I get basically no dust.
 
My favorite is 3M Perfect-It III RC followed by Perfect-it III MG...gives a nice finish...



I agree 100%. BUT, I haven't tried ALL the compounds out there, so take it for what it's worth.



I just used (in the middle of) this combination on a used and abused red Ford Focus, and I nailed it.



Would Accumulator or AL-53 use the machine polish after the Machine Glaze, or would that be overkill? With the red, I do plan on using the SMR (dark) after the MG, and then sealant. Remember, this car is just a Focus for the lot, so I am not going to kill myself anymore. Those days are over.
 
RAG said:
Yup. Optimum Hyper Compound is good, but the Menzerna abrasives cannot be beat...I was a Menzerna die-hard, then temporarily switched to Optimum, now I use both. But in a heads up comparison, Menzerna is far superior (of done side by side testing probably a dozen times at least, and Menzerna removes more defects and yet leaves a better finish), but dust is an issue for some. However, one day I decided to mix in a little RMG to improve the workability of PG and reduce dust, and it worked wonderfully. In fact, I'm sure all those who have now tried it would agree; I usually mix 70/30 with PG and IP (FP II doesn't need it). With the mix, I get about 1/4 the dust, and if I switch out pads regularly (I have a ton of pads), I get basically no dust.
Click to expand...



Now that sounds like a great idea! I'll have to give it a try. So you mean it's 30% RMG?
 
E-Jag said:
On a related topic - I hope - Are there any decent hand-use compounds out there? I have several scratches on one of my cars. I had another one, fairly long, which I was able to remove with ScratchX but it took me 2 hours and about six thousand passes. Am thinking seriously about using a rubbing compound now - gotta be easier. I would appreciate any input. TIA.



_____________

E-Jag
Click to expand...



Actually, ScratchX is not really a "true" compound , it's more of a mild hand-use swirl remover. You def. need to use something stronger for something like that. I think the "Scratch" in the name is misleading.
 
percynjpn said:
Now that sounds like a great idea! I'll have to give it a try. So you mean it's 30% RMG?
Click to expand...



That's what I do with my Menzerna 106FF. Fill my smaller bottle about 3/4 full with 106FF, top it off with RMG and shake.
 
percynjpn said:
Now that sounds like a great idea! I'll have to give it a try. So you mean it's 30% RMG?
Click to expand...



Yeah, anywhere from 20-40% depending on what you are trying to do. Longer working time, less dust, and it also wipes off a lot easier. PG/RMG via rotary with a white Lake Country VC pad is the best compounding combo I know of - even on black you cannot see the haze, swirls, or halograms under 1000 halogens. The white LC VC pads aren't the most user friendlyl, but you can excert a lot of pressure and speed on these pads, making them aggressive, yet on the last pass you can reduce pressure and finish down like a champ. I then like to finish with the green propel and FPII - this is the best 2-step combo I know of, allowing me to accomplish what would normally take 3 steps with any other brand of polishes (literally).



Hope you like it.
 
I really recommend the Four star Body Shop Line of products. Here is what I would recommend.

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Start with the Med. Cut compound with a wool pad on the rotary. Follow that up with the Light Cut compound and a white LCM foam pad with the rotary. Then, follow up with the Porter Cable and the Swirl Mark Remover.
 
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