7 heavy cut compounds tested and reviewed on bad paint

[KirkH]

I had 7 compounds on my shelf to try on a 2005 Toyota Camry that is immaculate leather and carpet interior, but trashed paint. Tee car only has 60,000 miles on it, but was parked outside under a tree. It also looks like things were set on the hood and trunk and allowed to slide off and scratch them up.
I apologize for the pictures. It was super humid and my lens kept fogging. The pics may not be good enough to really tell, I'm not sure. I usually take good pictures but it had just stormed and it was wet and humid. You may have to just trust my descriptions. I hope you don't mind my quick descriptions.

Surface: bad, 2005 Toyota Camry black; scratches, chips, swirls, water spots

This picture of the panel is indicative of the type of bad paint I am dealing with. Let this picture be the picture to compare the finished panels to, since the entire hood looks about the same condtion.

Clean, unpolished section of the hood



Prep: Chemical Guys Clean Slate, Bilt Hamber auto clay medium

Machine: Flex 14-2 rotary buffer

Technique: Work polish according to directions with orange LC force 2 pad 5.5". At least 4 passes, slowly. I sectioned off the hood of the car into 7 sections of approximately equal size.

Polishes:



Chemical Guys V32-cut level 10. Directions say "work until clear"- works easily, turns satiny after a few passes. Removes easily. No hologram trails. Did not remove water spots, swirls, scratches, etc. V32 is going to the headlight polishing kit. 1/10

V38




Optimum Hybrid Compound- cut level 8. Directions say shake well, spray 2 sprays per 2' section. You need to shake well. Like paint machine well. After shaking for 5 minutes it still had the consistency of cottage cheese. It is supposed to be a spray, but none of my sprayers would not spray it. it was too thick. I put it in a squirt bottle. Still very liquidy. Easy to put on too much. Turns to powder. Wipes off easily. Removed almost all the water spots. Removed most of the swirling. I believe a longer work time would achieve even better results. Definitely left holograms. 8/10

Optimum Hybrid Compound




Optimum Compound II-cut level 8. Directions just say work at 1000-1400 rpm. Very thick like paste. Turns to dust. Moderately difficult to remove. Leaves hologram trails. Removed the swirls but did not affect the water spots at all. 6/10

Optimum Compound II



　

Wolfgang Uber Compound-cut level 10. Directions say
Apply 2-3 dime-sized drops, 1200-1500 rpm. Normal thickness. Turns to dust. Wipes off easily. Removed some of the water spots and all of the swirls. No holograms. Longer work time and more polish may remove the rest of the water spots. 7/10

Wolfgange Uber Compound



　

McKees Fast Compound- cut level 8. Directions say p
our several dime-sized drops of the product onto the pad and spread it onto a section of paint. Turn the polisher on and work the swirl remover into the paint until it begins to turn clear. Removed most water spots and swirls. Easily removed. Left a great gloss. Very light holograms. Very impressive 9/10

McKee's Fast Compound




Meguiar's Ultimate Compound- cut level 8. Generic instructions. Normal thickness. Works easily. More difficult to remove than the others. Removed swirls. Did not affect water spots much. Left a nice gloss. No holograms. 7/10

Meguiar's UC



　

Meguiars D300- cut level 9. Directions say made for dual action polisher and microfiber pads, but its on my shelf so WTH. Generic instructions. Works easily. Liquidy. Did a good job on the swirls but not great on water spots. Left a nice gloss. No holograms. 7/10

AND I lost the "after" picture of D300!

The McKee's Fast Compound was the most effective in my test. It is also the most expensive. I only have a sample bottle of McKee's so I won't be finishing off this Camry with McKee's! It looks like I will finish it off with my number 2, Optimum Hybrid Compound. I will post the finished pics in the Show n Shine forum. It is going to need a lot of chips filled also.

I will be glad to answer any questions. Thanks for following along!


　

　

[rlmccarty2000]

I believe you meant V32, not V38. But anyway I agree the V32 is good for headlights and nothing else. D300 on a microfiber is a great combo. I've never used it with a foam pad. I wish you would have had some Menz 400 to try out.

[WaxMaster1]

Nice comparison Kirk. I'm sure I'll try the McKee's as soon as I deplete my Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, HD Cut+, BOSS Fast Correcting Cream, Sonax EX 04-06 and Sonax Cut & Finish...............I'm sure a sale will motivate me to buy sooner.

[KirkH]

I believe you meant V32, not V38. But anyway I agree the V32 is good for headlights and nothing else. D300 on a microfiber is a great combo. I've never used it with a foam pad. I wish you would have had some Menz 400 to try out.

Yes nice catch! I will edit!

[dcjredline]

Looks like you took a bit of time doing this comparison, thank you. What I don't understand is using D300 totally out of it's element (as you yourself admitted to in your detailed review) I don't think anyone would have expected it to perform well as it's made for DA and Microfiber pads.

[KirkH]

Looks like you took a bit of time doing this comparison, thank you. What I don't understand is using D300 totally out of it's element (as you yourself admitted to in your detailed review) I don't think anyone would have expected it to perform well as it's made for DA and Microfiber pads.

I like to try products outside of their intended uses. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Mainly I tried D300 because of its cut level. This paint is so bad, I am trying anything I can.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Thanks for the comparison! I've always thought optimum hyper compound finished horribly, and you verified that.

[KirkH]

Yes the review should say "Hyper" Compound NOT "Hybrid" Compound.

[Paul A.]

Thanks Kirk. Good info!