Anything between an abrasive polish and waxing steps ?

[lexterminator]

Hey guys, I have the following products

XMT 1, XMT 2, XMT 3, XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze
Pinnacle Advance Finishing Polish, Paintwork cleansing lotion
Wolfgang Paintwork polish enhancer, finishing glaze 3.0
I also have on order M105, M205 which I never tried but was curious so I ordered the 8oz samples.

I have a black Raven (non metallic) CTS. Daily driver in harsh Canadian Winter and always parked outdoor.

In spring time I will have to asses the work but I will most likely have to start with at least XMT 2 to get scratches and swirls left by the snow, ice, salt.

I have Fuzion, Souveran and the Deep Gloss Sealant (bought it recently so haven't tried it yet) and Supernatural on order. Also tempted for the Swissvax Concorso but that will wait for later.

Let's say paint is not too bad and I get good results getting rid of minor swirls with XMT # 2.... then go to something like the XMT finishing glaze or WG Finishing Glaze or Pinnacle Advance Finishing Polish. From there do I wax or is it better to apply the Paintwork Cleansing lotion or the Paintwork polish enhancer before waxing ? Is there any benefit from doing that ? I know there is also on the market HD Cleanse or Swissvax cleaner fluid with similar function. Was wondering if all those non abrasive products would bring any value if I previously used a mild abrasive polish in the paint correction process.

thanks a lot for the feedback.

[TornadoRed]

XMT2 has the same cut as M205 so you may get a good finish, assuming it gets rid of the defects. If you need a little more polish after that, go with Advanced Finishing Polish or WG Finishing Glaze. Both have slightly less cut than M205. Keep in mind WG Finishing Glaze is a fine polish and not a glaze.
At this point, I think any more steps before LSP are a waste of time for a daily driver (except maybe an IPA). Use the Paintwork Cleansing Lotion or Paintwork Polish Enhancer when not doing polish steps prior to LSP.

[TornadoRed]

http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-cut-chart-master.htm

[lexterminator]

thanks for the tips and the chart Tornado !

Alex.

[Kurt_s]

I felt that WG FG3.0 might finish a little better than M205 in my hands but I only used M205 on my white Bimmer once. You may find that different polishes act differently with different paints and environments (temp, humidity, etc.)

Rsurfer reported that he liked the results using Pinnacle paintwork lotion between the polish and LSP step.

I really like Fuzion and WG DGPS3.0 on black and other dark colors. I find that my cars seem to look cleaner longer when I used DGPS than most waxes. Fuzion has also not been a dust magnet for me.