Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
Here is my understanding, although take it for what it is worth, which is just a good attempt at gathering info and research.
Glaze was a term that was originally applied to fresh paint jobs, because you shouldn't use a wax (that can seal the surface) on fresh paint. The very first glazes, to my best research, where actually very similar to waxes of the time, they just didn't have wax: Just oils and perhaps solvent. This was the last step body shops would do prior to handing the keys to the customer.
Body shops had also used various abrasives to refine the surface, including using a buffer in combination with corn-starch/water to help 'cut' the paint after sanding. This would leave a pretty swirled out finish. As better glazes came to market and machine polishing increased the term glaze was transformed to mean a final polish of sorts.
These new machine glazes tended to be a fine abrasive (to help remove the compound marring, which we all know makes the most dramatic increase in appearance) that refined the surface as well as some level of protection. So hand glazes tended to be now abrasive and machine glazes tended to have some fine abrasives.
A lot of detailers would use oil rich hand glazes to increase the look of the paint, prior to applying a wax coat.
Today the term glaze is used to described various products, including waxes. Zymol calls its high end waxes 'Estate Glazes'. A lot of body shops still call the last step polishing step 'glazing the paint'. 4 Star 'Foam Pad Glaze' is really a final polish, as well as some 3M products, and older Meguiar's products like M80 Speed Glaze.
Detailers tend to associate machine glazing the paint with filling the swirl marks instead of completely removing them. This is because body shops tend to work in volume, so time is key. Completely removing swirl marks can be extremely time consuming and cut into profits. Thus the polishes may have a little bit of fill to them to create the appearance of perfect paint in far less time.
Many detailers, to this day, will still use a non-abrasive glaze under their favorite carnuaba waxes.
Glaze was a term that was originally applied to fresh paint jobs, because you shouldn't use a wax (that can seal the surface) on fresh paint. The very first glazes, to my best research, where actually very similar to waxes of the time, they just didn't have wax: Just oils and perhaps solvent. This was the last step body shops would do prior to handing the keys to the customer.
Body shops had also used various abrasives to refine the surface, including using a buffer in combination with corn-starch/water to help 'cut' the paint after sanding. This would leave a pretty swirled out finish. As better glazes came to market and machine polishing increased the term glaze was transformed to mean a final polish of sorts.
These new machine glazes tended to be a fine abrasive (to help remove the compound marring, which we all know makes the most dramatic increase in appearance) that refined the surface as well as some level of protection. So hand glazes tended to be now abrasive and machine glazes tended to have some fine abrasives.
A lot of detailers would use oil rich hand glazes to increase the look of the paint, prior to applying a wax coat.
Today the term glaze is used to described various products, including waxes. Zymol calls its high end waxes 'Estate Glazes'. A lot of body shops still call the last step polishing step 'glazing the paint'. 4 Star 'Foam Pad Glaze' is really a final polish, as well as some 3M products, and older Meguiar's products like M80 Speed Glaze.
Detailers tend to associate machine glazing the paint with filling the swirl marks instead of completely removing them. This is because body shops tend to work in volume, so time is key. Completely removing swirl marks can be extremely time consuming and cut into profits. Thus the polishes may have a little bit of fill to them to create the appearance of perfect paint in far less time.
Many detailers, to this day, will still use a non-abrasive glaze under their favorite carnuaba waxes.