Ultimate Polish

[Blazebro]

Re: Ultimate Polish

SwirlX is one of my faves to polish by hand, it has some corrective properties and will remove minor swirls.

However I'd only use it by hand, not by rotary, and this is why:

I find it very dry. Even 3M's own comparable polish is a bit wetter almost gel like and I can see if I hover over a patch of paint I'll quite easily strike through. It's for this reason I prefer using Menzerna polishes.

Going straight into rotary polishing I needed something fool proof, did my homework, talked to a few pro's and the Menz kit ticked all the boxes. I was told that it's the common theme with Megs polishes that they are a bit dry and are a bit difficult to break down.

Rather than calling the polishes different numbers, I think Megs need to simplify their polishes and perhaps go more along the lines of 3M and call them something like Final, low cut, med cut etc. Far easier to understand and then perhaps I'd make the switch.

[mattya802]

Re: Ultimate Polish

SwirlX is one of my faves to polish by hand, it has some corrective properties and will remove minor swirls.

However I'd only use it by hand, not by rotary, and this is why:

I find it very dry. Even 3M's own comparable polish is a bit wetter almost gel like and I can see if I hover over a patch of paint I'll quite easily strike through. It's for this reason I prefer using Menzerna polishes.

Going straight into rotary polishing I needed something fool proof, did my homework, talked to a few pro's and the Menz kit ticked all the boxes. I was told that it's the common theme with Megs polishes that they are a bit dry and are a bit difficult to break down.

Rather than calling the polishes different numbers, I think Megs need to simplify their polishes and perhaps go more along the lines of 3M and call them something like Final, low cut, med cut etc. Far easier to understand and then perhaps I'd make the switch.

Pretty sure SwirlX isn't made to be used with a Rotary. If you want something with cut similar to SwirlX for a rotary, you should be looking at M205.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Polish

SwirlX is one of my faves to polish by hand, it has some corrective properties and will remove minor swirls.

However I'd only use it by hand, not by rotary, and this is why:

I find it very dry. Even 3M's own comparable polish is a bit wetter almost gel like and I can see if I hover over a patch of paint I'll quite easily strike through. It's for this reason I prefer using Menzerna polishes.

Going straight into rotary polishing I needed something fool proof, did my homework, talked to a few pro's and the Menz kit ticked all the boxes. I was told that it's the common theme with Megs polishes that they are a bit dry and are a bit difficult to break down.

Rather than calling the polishes different numbers, I think Megs need to simplify their polishes and perhaps go more along the lines of 3M and call them something like Final, low cut, med cut etc. Far easier to understand and then perhaps I'd make the switch.

Pretty sure SwirlX isn't made to be used with a Rotary. If you want something with cut similar to SwirlX for a rotary, you should be looking at M205.

100% spot on. SwirlX was designed to be a very user friendly consumer product that can applied by hand or D/A. It is not a rotary compatible product. The product it is derived from, however, is an outstanding finishing polish on a rotary and you'll be hard pressed to make it dry out. That product is M205 Ultra Finishing Polish, and the buffing cycle is extremely long with it.

We aren't sure who told you that dryness and difficult break down is a common theme among our polishes, but it sounds like they don't have much experience with our line. Products like M105 Ultra Cut Compound and M205 Ultra Finishing Polish utilize SMAT (super micro abrasive technology) so you don't break them down at all. We even formulate products to meet specific market demands, so M95 Speed Cut Compound would be our "old school feel" alternative to M105 as an example. These very fine micro abrasives provide pretty long buffing cycles, as long as you don't over use them. And that is often one of the biggest challenges people face with them - they can't get used to using such a small amount of product as it seems counter intuitive to them.

But if the "pro's" you spoke with made specific comments about the behavior of SwirlX on a rotary, then they need to some light research on our product line before handing out advice. As we said, SwirlX is not even designed for rotary use. And for the record, neither is this new Ultimate Polish, even though it, too, is derived from M205. If you want to anything via rotary, stick with our Mirror Glaze Professional Line rather than our consumer line.

[Blazebro]

Re: Ultimate Polish

^ thanks for the reply.

It wasn't the pro's who told me not to use swirlx on a rotary, that's just me summising from my own experience with the product.

But as you say your polishes, so to speak, don't break down which I think is what they were getting at and so may not be the best choice for a newbie with a rotary.

I'm open to be corrected though

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Polish

Not all of our rotary compatible products utilize SMAT technology. Compounds like M84 and M85 and all the way down to cleaner polishes like M83 and M80 and even finishing polishes like M82 all contain diminishing abrasives so they do indeed break down as you use them. M82 and M80 both provide very long buffing cycles as well, so we're still not sure where these guys are getting the idea that our polishes are dry and hard to break down. Don't get us wrong, we're not saying that all of our products behave the same, offering similar buffing cycles, feel while working, etc. There certainly are differences with them, depending on what they're designed to do (compound, moderate cleaner or finishing polish) and in many cases they are designed for use on fresh paint rather than on older, drier paints.

[Blazebro]

Re: Ultimate Polish

There in lies the problem. There's so many numbers, which to a hobyist like my self, really only serves to confuse (please rememer I'm new to machine polishing too). If Megs made them more easily distinguishable, there might not be the miss-interpretation of the products.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Polish

Understood, and we know that's a common concern among new users. But you have to keep in mind that our professional line dates back many decades and was (and still is) intended for professional use - body shops, OEM factories, etc - where users have regular exposure to a vast range of paint systems and are familiar with the subtleties that can exist between them. And it's because of these subtleties that we have so many different products that all appear to do the exact same thing (at least when you read the labels they do!).

Consider this, from personal experience; I once had to do two cars in the same day, in the same shop - a Shelby Cobra replica and a Ferrari 360 Modena. The Cobra was new, the Ferrari a few years old and pretty neglected. The product combination that worked best on the Cobra - pad, liquid, power tool, etc - was a dream to use. The products stayed wet, giving me plenty of work time (buffing cycle) and yielded a flawless, deep, wet shine on this clear coated black car. Turning to the Ferrari I used the exact same combination of products, and it was a complete and utter disaster. The products gummed up almost instantly, and wipe off was darn near impossible. I was putting more defects in the paint trying to wipe the product off than what was already there. This is no exaggeration - what had been a dream on the Cobra was an absolute nightmare on the Ferrari. Since both cars were literally sitting side by side there was no weird fluctuation in temperature or humidity to account for the difference in performance - it was all down to the paint. Switching to a different liquid (still a Meguiar's product, of course!) ended up making the process a piece of cake. The paint easily came back to life with great depth, clarity and gloss, and not once did I have to fight the product at all. Wipe off was very easy throughout the process.

So, we have a wide range of products for a wide range of paints and, yes, it can be confusing for a new user just getting into this hobby. But that's why we have this forum and a call center staffed with guys who know our product line inside and out. We're always here to help clear up any confusion.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Polish

So, does this have more CUT than SwirlX? Or will it be less aggressive, like M205?

Very similar to M205 but with more polishing oils.

[Blazebro]

Re: Ultimate Polish

So, we have a wide range of products for a wide range of paints and, yes, it can be confusing for a new user just getting into this hobby. But that's why we have this forum and a call center staffed with guys who know our product line inside and out. We're always here to help clear up any confusion.

There's the best advice I think anyone could get

[smack]

Re: Ultimate Polish

With the new UP having more oils in it than M205, will using a pure polish like the DC polish provide any additional gloss?

[Alfisti]

Re: Ultimate Polish

I would doubt it.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Polish

With the new UP having more oils in it than M205, will using a pure polish like the DC polish provide any additional gloss?

I would doubt it.

Due the level of polishing oils in Ultimate Polish we'd have to agree with Paul here. Mike, on your black 3 Series you should really like what Ultimate Polish does when D/A applied before laying down your wax.

[smack]

Re: Ultimate Polish

Thanks Paul and Mike. Might do a little experimenting when the new products come out. How does UP on a yellow pad followed with it on a black pad before putting down the new UW? Then top that with a few layers of GCCP?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Polish

Given what SwirlX did for your 3 Series, we would expect fantastic results from Ultimate Polish being used as you described, then topped off with UW and a carnauba product like Gold Class.

[smack]

Re: Ultimate Polish

Great. Now the new products need to be released to the general market.