Old Mirror Bright Auto Polish - 56k warning

[Mike Phillips]

I thought some of you might enjoy to see a couple of old bottles of Mirror Bright Auto Polish. I'll guess these are from the 1920's, possibly the 1930's



Second bottle






Here's a close-up of just the back label so you can read the directions.

[Mike Phillips]

I thought the lady looking into the mirror might make a good Avatar for anyone that wants to use it.



If you're not sure how to make this show up as your Avatar, just ask or PM me and I'll help you.

Mike

[Rockpick]

Very cool Mike! You always score some really neat bottles and those are no exception!

RP

[Larry A]

Is it safe to assume that the polish is a forruner of #7.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Rockpick
Very cool Mike! You always score some really neat bottles and those are no exception!

RP

I wish these were my bottle, my oldest bottle is a half-gallon jug of Machine Light Cleaner, which I think is the predecessor to #2 Fine Cut Cleaner.

If you look on the middle shelf, all the way on the left, you will see the half-gallon jug of Machine Light Cleaner. This is possibly from the 1930's, and likely from the 1940's.



The bottles in the above pictures actually belong to Barry. I would love to find some bottles of the earliest Mirror Bright products, but they're hard to find.

Mike

[Cam]

Somebody's gotta ask it, Mike...

What PC speed do I use to apply it?

[Rockpick]

Top shelf, three or four down from the old Turtle.... is that called LIFE INSURANCE?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Rockpick
Top shelf, three or four down from the old Turtle.... is that called LIFE INSURANCE?

Yes, I believe it was a consumer version of #20 Polymer Sealant in paste form.

Mike

[perry]

Neat!

When did Meguiar's become Meguiar's? I see that the Mirror Bright bottle says it was made by the Mirror Bright company.

[Larry A]

What was the first product that was made for automoble paint made by Meguiars ? Was it a polish or a wax ? I know the company started in 1910, what year did the first car product come out ? I think the history of Meguiars would be very interesting reading . Im a history buff and like to know the answers of When -Where - and Why.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Larry A
What was the first product that was made for automobile paint made by Meguiar's ? Was it a polish or a wax ? I know the company started in 1910, what year did the first car product come out ? I think the history of Meguiar's would be very interesting reading . I'm a history buff and like to know the answers of When -Where - and Why.

Hi Larry,

Meguiar's started business in 1901, their first product were furniture polish and cleaner. The first automotive product appeared in approximately 1923 or 1924, at least that's as much as I have been able to find out. It's hard to find these things out because there are only a few people left to ask, Barry being one of them.

Meguiar's didn't come out with any auto wax type product till 1951 when they came out with MGH-16,

Early can of MGH-16 (Later to become M-16)


Until then, everything was body shop safe as Meguiar's manufactured product for use on the assembly lines, or in body shops, they were also sold and used by consumers, but they were always formulated to not cause any problems for the finishing and re-finishing industries, (Just like the furniture products)

Old Furniture Glaze


Old Furniture Polish and Cleaner


Newer Furniture Cleaner from the 1970's or 1980's


Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by perry
Neat!

When did Meguiar's become Meguiar's? I see that the Mirror Bright bottle says it was made by the Mirror Bright company.

Do you mean, "When did Mirror Bright become Meguiar's?" (I think that's the question?)

I think sometime in the 1960's, Meguiar's changed from the Mirror Bright Polish Company to Meguiar's Inc. I'm not sure, I'll see if I can find out.

Meguiar's didn't introduce the Consumer line until 1973, this was brought about by word of mouth advertising, which resulted in a critical mass of customer demand.

Here's the first Consumer products Meguiar's introduced in 1973,

Cleaner/Wax Paste


Cleaner/Wax Liquid

[Larry A]

I remember when I first seen the red bottle , it was at the Chicago Auto Show. They were selling this stuff like crazy.

[Estranged]

Great stuff--I love vintage products!

About a year ago, someone on eBay was auctioning off 3 mirror bright glass bottles half full of polish. If I'm not mistaken, they sold for under a $100 I think...

I still think Meguiar's should do a few consumer lines with replica bottles/containers, though I do not know enough about the business of selling automotive detailing supplies to proclaim this as something the average consumer would be in to.

One other question that's intrigued me...how come #26 doesn't come in the tin like #16 does? I have to compress my applicators into the #26 unlike #16 in which an applicator fits perfectly, gets a twist or two, and is pulled right back out.

**its also strange that the #26 is shown as a tin in my Meguiar's catalog.

[Aurora40]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
I think sometime in the 1960's, Meguiar's changed from the Mirror Bright Polish Company to Meguiar's Inc. I'm not sure, I'll see if I can find out.

That tin of MGH-16 you have says "Meguiar's". But maybe the tin you have is not actually from the 50's?

Estranged, #26 used to come in a tin. I think the tin is "old-school". They introduced the plastic screw-top container as an easier-to-use package just a couple of years ago I think. You just unscrew it vs trying to find a nickel or a screwdriver to pry with.