POLL - What's the number one most important factor when it comes to polishing paint?

[StephenK]

When this poll started i said paint was the most important and i have listed multiple reasons why as well as a couple articles by some top people in this industry.

Since this thread as grown and basically paint as been taken out of the factor due to the fact that the paint is gonna be able to be polished.

Now there is no need to even consider the paint anymore. The chemical companies have really stepped up their game since there has been a lot of change to automotive paint through out the years they have had to keep up and change their products.

IMO there are 3 companies that have kept up with the change of paint technology and that is Griots BOSS line, HD, and Optimum.

As long as i have any of these 3 in my arsenal i feel i can conquer any vehicle that comes my way. For me these 3 are very easy to use.

So i will reluctantly go with abrasive technology.

Just keep in mind products companies changed their formulas cause they had to due to changes in the paint.

Which shows their first thought was "whats gonna work on this paint.?"

[JeffM]

If people were achieving show car results before 2016 products then it cant be the products that are the most important.

[StephenK]

If people were achieving show car results before 2016 products then it cant be the products that are the most important.

The products are always changing because paint it always changing. Products that gave best results in 2000 on a 2000 or older vehicle may not work the same on 2016 paint.

[VR8]

Although I rate them all VERY important to a great result, TECHNIQUE makes all of the others perform their best.

[Joe@NextLevelDetail]

Although I rate them all VERY important to a great result, TECHNIQUE makes all of the others perform their best.

Everyone keeps answering this question.

But the fact that abrasive technology is a option of choice, that automatically means if you choose another option that you are not using a quality compound.

You can have the best polisher, pad, technique, and if the polish isnt a quality one the job is going to be bad.

So i have to agree with Mike that abrasive technology is the number one most important in polishing.

With all the new awesome advancements in compounds sometimes we forget the older compounds how they were like Mike says "Caveman Compounds" rocks in a bottle type of abrasive.

Again you can have all the best of anything if you don't have a quality polish the paint isnt going to look good to modern day standards.

I will make an analogy: a race car driver is good at what he does and is a master at his craft and technique, however if his motor isnt fast and running on all cylinders his technique and skills mean nothing.

[Mike Phillips]

So i will reluctantly go with abrasive technology.

Well it is the stuff that actually "touches" the paint.

Just keep in mind products companies changed their formulas cause they had to due to changes in the paint.

Agreed. I was calling on body shops and detail shops starting in 1987 and back then the only really good abrasive technology that worked on clearcoats was the (new back then), Meguiar's #2 Hi Tech Fine Cut Cleaner and #9 Hi Tech Swirl Remover.

Holograms were a huge problem back then, still are but not due to a lack of good products.


There's still a wide range of abrasive quality on the market, that is good and less good, so test anything you're going to use if you've never used it before and black paint is the best color to test on.

[Jomax]

Abrasive technology. No matter what technique I do, if I don't have the right product it comes out sub par. I change the compound to something else, and bam. It's coming out amazing.

[dlc95]

Well it is the stuff that actually "touches" the paint.





Agreed. I was calling on body shops and detail shops starting in 1987 and back then the only really good abrasive technology that worked on clearcoats was the (new back then), Meguiar's #2 Hi Tech Fine Cut Cleaner and #9 Hi Tech Swirl Remover.

Holograms were a huge problem back then, still are but not due to a lack of good products.


There's still a wide range of abrasive quality on the market, that is good and less good, so test anything you're going to use if you've never used it before and black paint is the best color to test on.

I recently used the M02, and M09 combo. While the results were satisfactory, they were not quite able to be had as easily, or to the level the modern polishes give me.

Granted this is the original 1978 paint on this Dodge. I used M02, M09, and M20.

[Mike Phillips]

***Update***


This is my first day back in the office since doing the Competition Ready 3-Day Detailing Class Roadshow at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

We worked on some AMAZING cars both in the class and at the Museum for our TV show. We worked on both modern basecoat/clearcoat paints and old school single stage paints. More than ever I'm convinced that the MOST important FACTOR when it comes to polishing paint is the abrasive technology.

Technique is important (of course), so is using the right tool for the job as well as the correct pad for the procedure. But the thing that touches the paint first is the abrasive technology. It's either good and it works or it's bad and it doesn't work and you can throw GREAT technique at bad abrasive technology all day long but at the end of the day, it's not going turn bad into good.


Love all you guys that think technique is the most important factor but my experience shows otherwise.


Also just to note, at this class at the Competition Ready 3-Day Detailing Class Roadshow at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we used ALL SONAX products and SONAX compounds, polishes and cleaner/waxes use GREAT abrasive technology as as such, ALL the cars we worked on including two Dusenberg's, worth over a million dollars each and one with single stage and one with basecoat/clearcoat paints systems came out flawless. And the end results start with the the stuff that's actually touching the paint.

[Mike Phillips]

I recently used the M02, and M09 combo. While the results were satisfactory, they were not quite able to be had as easily, or to the level the modern polishes give me.

Granted this is the original 1978 paint on this Dodge.

Cool old truck.

I used M02, M09, and M20.

Back in the late 1980's through to the mid-2000's the #2 Fine Cut Cleaner and the #9 Hi Tech Swirl Remover were the best products in their class for AT THE TIME the NEW basecoat/clearcoat paints systems being introduced to the market.

These were the two first products that didn't simply scour the early clearcoat paints back then.


It's too bad all my old Meguiar's friends that like me were calling on body shops back then don't post online. I think I'm the only guy left that remembers all this stuff AND posts online. Not just Facebook, which everything disappears in a matter of minutes but in the forever forum world.


Now days they are better than nothing but there's better options available. Even in Meguiar's own line.


And I know this from first hand experience as I worked for Meguiar's when the #2 and #9 Tag Team were introduced to the market. I even have the catalogs that introduced this "new at the time" system.

I did THOUSANDS of demonstrations showing,

Nikken Finishing Papers
#2 Fine Cut Cleaner with wool and foam pads
#9 Hi Tech Swirl Remover with foam pads
#26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax

And again, back then it was the best and most consistent system on the market.