Meguiars ultimate compound vs clear coat safe rubbing compound

[bmwstephen]

Hi all-

Trying to level and polish a touched up rock chip and some surrounding swirls and hazing next to the body line of the car that requires hand application. Anyway i tried researching between UC and rubbing compound but cant really distinguish the pros and cons of both. I heard one or the other has diminishing abrasives where the end results will not require a polish compound afterwards. Anyway can chime in here?

[North26]

UC is a rubbing compound. And is safe. As are all auto compounds.

With all rubbing compounds you have to use a less abrasive polish after. Regardless of how smart their abrasives are or how much they diminish. There is no "shortcut".

But I cannot comment on your pictures because I can't tell what specifically I'm looking for. Maybe someone else.

[AnthonyGXP]

As you probably already know, working by hand is quite a task in itself if you don't have access to a machine. From my experience 3M Compound will leave it's own damage/scratches behind that you'll need to follow with a less aggressive polish to achieve a perfect finish. Ultimate Compound on the other hand is pretty good at finishing wax ready if worked properly, or can be used to follow up after the 3m. However, neither of these products will be able to level the area pictured completely due to the amount of touch-up that has been applied.

[bmwstephen]

As you probably already know, working by hand is quite a task in itself if you don't have access to a machine. From my experience 3M Compound will leave it's own damage/scratches behind that you'll need to follow with a less aggressive polish to achieve a perfect finish. Ultimate Compound on the other hand is pretty good at finishing wax ready if worked properly, or can be used to follow up after the 3m. However, neither of these products will be able to level the area pictured completely due to the amount of touch-up that has been applied.

My goal is to not so much to level it anymore at this point. Rather increase the shine of the touched up area and remove the haze/swirl marks around it (hard to tell from pics).

Again, I'm reluctant to do any further sanding or buffing with rotary tools due to how thin the existing paint it already is.

[Zubair]

Ultimate Compound is SMAT and for use by hand and DA.

Rubbing Compound is DAT and according to Megs hand use only.

Also Ultimate Compound is slightly more abrasive so will have more cut.