Finishing Polishes - level of cut on soft paint

[heinzbush]

Hi Community,

I’m fully aware of the thousands of posts on topics / products like this, nonetheless, let me try to get some clarity on some specific products and ask for your experiences.

I am currently looking into trying the following finishing polishes for my soft clear Porsche. Based on hours of research and reading, I narrowed it down to the following 5... for anyone of you who has tried some of them in comparison, would you agree with the following order from least aggressive (finest) to most aggressive (least fine)...

(fully aware that some of them are pretty versatile and can be combined with various pad types to get more or less cut... BUT lets assume you use the same finishing foam pad on a DA...)

1: Menzerna 3800
2: Carpro Essence
3: Optimum Hyper Polish
4: Koch Chemie M2.01
5: Sonax Perfect Finish

THANKS!

[Desertnate]

Of those on your list the only one I've used is Hyper Polish, but not on a Porsche. It worked very well on soft Toyota paint and a test I performed on soft Honda paint, so I'm sure it would serve you well.

On both vehicles I used a white Lake Country pad, and Hyper Polish not only provided a pretty good level of cut, but it also finished out very nicely.

[SWETM]

It's a little interesting that polishes has often a mentioned cut in as what grit grade it's capable of removing. And it's only their own scale of how well it can be finished with. I have a one step compound that claims to get p600 sanding marks out and finish down to p12000 sanding marks. Would be very interesting to have a measure to the finishing it can do and not comeing from a gloss level reader. As that is very paint depending and hard for the human eyes to that little difference you can get. Then of course there are difference between paints and the polisher and the pad you use any polish on.

I think that SF3800 and Koch Chemie M2.01 is on par with each other. Sonax PF works great on soft clearcoats and finicky paints. Essence is a little different from the others. It has fine abrasives in it like the once in Reflect but less abrasive particals. Then you have the semi permanent fillers that filling the last tiny abrasive marks and also gives you a more leveled paint. They are cheating some there LOL. But it does correct the paint to a high gloss I think even if it not where any filling resins in it. Then you also have a Sio2 protection in it that also is for making a better bond for the Carpro cquartz coatings. The Optimum Hyper Polish I have no experience with. But it's a polish I would want to try for sure.

This is just a guess. But I think on the same pads that SF3800 and M2.01 has the least cut and Sonax PF the highest cut. And HP and Essence is somewhere between them.

On the other hand if you use a soft finishing polish pad. I don't think you can even measure the different cut they have with a paint thickness gauge. They are to close in the cut I think to do difference in cut. If you where to use them on a light cutting pad or more aggressive pads I think you could see more difference in the cut between them.

So finally use the polish that works best for you and gets the most glossy finish from your test spots. Do a panel wipe product wipe down and look with a inspection light which you think looks best and is easiest to work with on your Porsche with soft paint.

/ Tony

[jdgamble]

There is a chart on Autopia that shows the aggressiveness of most compounds and polishes out there. I know there is a link in this forum somewhere.

Based on what I have read, 3800 should not be less aggressive than Essence, although I have used neither. Have no idea about 4-5.

Honestly, I don’t know why you would need to try all of them. I’m a current Hyperpolish user, and I wish I had known about it when I had my Porsche. Unless you paint is just totally jacked, it can do it all based on the pad you use.


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[DetailedByPrecision]

I own and use 1,2,3. On every paint correction job I tend to grab carpro essence as my go to last step final polish because it does a great job removing the last feint haze. But some paintwork does not accept essence. For example, it leaves smear marks, very hard to remove, and its own haze. Most paintwork goes on easy wipes off easy. My 2nd go to final polish would be the SF3800. The hyper polish is a good polish, but it stains your pads, a little oily, and you need to get used to the viscosity so you wont over apply product onto pad.

[DaveT435]

I’ve recommended HyperPolish and a finishing pad on soft black Porche paint on a few occasions and it’s worked perfectly for everyone who has used it.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I have a lot of experience with soft black paint, and I haven't found anything that finishes better than optimum hyper polish. However, if the paint is super soft black, you will get towel marring, so you'll need to use an AIO polish that is EASY to wipe off like blackfire one step, HD speed. These do not finish as good as hyper polish, but you'll still be better off because of no towel marring from wipe off.

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[heinzbush]

I have a lot of experience with soft black paint, and I haven't found anything that finishes better than optimum hyper polish. However, if the paint is super soft black, you will get towel marring, so you'll need to use an AIO polish that is EASY to wipe off like blackfire one step, HD speed. These do not finish as good as hyper polish, but you'll still be better off because of no towel marring from wipe off.

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As always, thanks a lot for all your input. Very interesting, and it seems that Hyper Polish has an edge

@WRAPT: simply out of curiousity, have you tried any of the other products listed above?

I have Hyper Polish, CarPro Essence and 3800 at home and will do some testing once the weather is better.

Thanks!

[WRAPT C5Z06]

As always, thanks a lot for all your input. Very interesting, and it seems that Hyper Polish has an edge

@WRAPT: simply out of curiousity, have you tried any of the other products listed above?

I have Hyper Polish, CarPro Essence and 3800 at home and will do some testing once the weather is better.

Thanks!

I tried a sample of Essence a while back, but I cant remember if it finished as good. I have not tried 3800. I've tried lots of others, however. The only knock on Hyper Polish to me is it's a bit too oily. Let us know what you come up with.

[FUNX650]

The Polishes listed may, indeed, be quite
affable towards soft paint, but I still prefer
Meguiar’s M205 for a Finishing Polish.


Meguiar’s SMAT abrasive technology allows
me to stop buffing at the precise moment
that the paint defects, that I’m wanting to
eighty-six, are gone from sight.



Bob