Polishing compound

dhutton01 said:
Ok so I did a side by side test of the 3D yellow wool pad versus the black twisted wool Presta pad with 5 day old SPI single stage and ACA 500. The ACA wool pad won hands down. It was so much faster it was amazing. Will be a huge time saver for me.

3dproducts.com

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Fast cutting – High efficiency 3D’s wool cutting pads with rotary polishers are the fastest and most efficient pad and tool combo for removing sanding marks, deep swirls, scratches, oxidation, and water spots. The fibers of wool cutting pads are forms of abrasives. These fiber abrasives offer...
3dproducts.com 3dproducts.com

Don
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Just ordered 2
 
Very interesting. They price is pretty crazy but if they are fast and last anlong time then its worth it.
 
Jim C said:
Very interesting. They price is pretty crazy but if they are fast and last anlong time then its worth it.
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I agree, I think it will save me several hours on a car. Will report back on how long they last.

I looked to see if I could find them online for less money without luck.

Don
 
I just did a test out of curiosity with the cutting compounds I have on hand.
I have DA'd the Euro clear with 2000. The clear is only 24 hrs. old.
I used a new Lake Country orange foam pad that I cleaned with water between each compound.
I Used 3D ACA 500/ 3D AAT 501/ Menzerna 400/ Meguiars 100.
PXL_20230506_012844622.jpg

PXL_20230506_013606735.jpg

My phone has a terrible camera, but I masked off a roughly 6"x6" box to buff. I did my best to apply the same amount of product on the pad and I timed the buffing process. All the compounds were finished at about the same time, 1:15.

This will probably be a shock, but the Meguiars 100 did the best for me. AND it is almost half the price of everything else I tested.
If I were to rate:
1)Meguiars 100
2)3D 500
3)Menzerna 400
4) 3D 501~I was not at all impressed with this product.
Just to clarify, I cleaned all the polished panel squares with 700, and the Meg 100 had the most scratch removal in its box.

Just one guys opinion.
 
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I was not impressed with the 501 either. I think it would be a great compound for a detailer but not so much for us who sand and buff whole panels. While i think the meguires is a good product, just watch for scratches coming back. It does have some fillers.
 
Jim C said:
I was not impressed with the 501 either. I think it would be a great compound for a detailer but not so much for us who sand and buff whole panels. While i think the meguires is a good product, just watch for scratches coming back. It does have some fillers.
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That is what I was going to say about the scratches.
Mustang, the test is not done!!
Clean all the panels with wax and grease remover and see if any scratches appear.
If so, glaze filled the scratches.
 
Mustang408 said:
I just did a test out of curiosity with the cutting compounds I have on hand.
I have DA'd the Euro clear with 2000. The clear is only 24 hrs. old.
I used a new Lake Country orange foam pad that I cleaned with water between each compound.
I Used 3D ACA 500/ 3D AAT 501/ Menzerna 400/ Meguiars 100.
View attachment 25275
View attachment 25276
My phone has a terrible camera, but I masked off a roughly 6"x6" box to buff. I did my best to apply the same amount of product on the pad and I timed the buffing process. All the compounds were finished at about the same time, 1:15.

This will probably be a shock, but the Meguiars 100 did the best for me. AND it is almost half the price of everything else I tested.
If I were to rate:
1)Meguiars 100
2)3D 500
3)Menzerna 400
4) 3D 501~I was not at all impressed with this product.
Just to clarify, I cleaned all the polished panel squares with 700, and the Meg 100 had the most scratch removal in its box.

Just one guys opinion.
Click to expand...
Would be interesting to see the results with a wool pad. It’s the only way to go in my experience and opinion.

Don
 
Is there a compound that doesn't have a lot of fillers in it? Years ago I worked at a shop that used meguiars 84 . Took a while but seemed to work ok. No longer made is what I've heard.
To me it's deceptive to use lots of fillers because it leads you to believe that scratches are gone because you can't see them. If you can't see them how do you know how much longer to keep going.
 
elwood said:
Is there a compound that doesn't have a lot of fillers in it? Years ago I worked at a shop that used meguiars 84 . Took a while but seemed to work ok. No longer made is what I've heard.
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The 3D ACA 500 and 510 do not seem to have fillers in my experience. 510 works a skooch better.

Don
 
i agree with don. never had much issue with the sonax stuff i used to use either. to date though the cleanest compound i have ever used is this stuff 3d came out with recently called I-Cut. doesnt cut as fast as 500 or 510 but its no slouch either. its one of those one step compounds. great for all around use. you can use it with wool or foam all day long and it doesnt build up on the pad and glaze over. its not real smeary and loaded with lubricants and filler. i never have anything come back with it. i like to use it if i have a missed dull spot when im done or on my little 3" buffer to cut in tight areas/touch ups or if i take my sanding to 8000 trizact. it works great for all those instances. its 1/2 the price of 500 also.
 
I did clean with 700 after the buffing was complete to check for fillers. Non of the compounds I used had any.
I do love my Flex buffer.
 
Oh my bad I saw the unmistakable flex handle and assumed it was the forced rotation 3401. I forgot the older 3403 rotary had it as well. The newer pe14 rotary is a pretty sweet machine as well. @Jim C it appears they still make the 3403. I still use my Makita rotary I bought new 20 years ago she still runs great lol. I love the flex polishers though definitely quality machines.
 
I have the 3403. I've started doing the polish with my foam pad with ACA 500 and M 100, and at this point I don't see the need to pay more than double for cutting compound. I did several more test, and results were the same or better with the M 100. Yet I knew my results would upset forum members. I can buy a gallon of M 100 for $ 65.00 and a gallon of ACA 500 for $200.00.
 
No one upset here. Like i said the m100 is good stuff but i just havent seen the same results as you. It has been awhile but i used the m100 along side the 500 at one point as well to see which i liked better. I would love to stop paying the 200 bucks for the stuff especially when i burn through a gallon a month. Maybe ill buy another qt of 100 to test it out. It was about 3 years ago last time i tried it. Maybe they made a change.
 
I agree, no one upset that I saw. There are so many variables here that the only real conclusion is that the M100 works well in your sanding/compounding procedure. Other folks that use different cutting and buffing procedure might see different results. I sand through 8000 for example. I know there is at least one other member here who is a big fan of M100.

I probably use a quart every couple of years so cost is not a main consideration for me.

Don
 
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I didn't see anyone upset at all. Everyone has a preference. Hell, I know there are tons of people that love 3M! Biggest thing is if you are happy with the results then that's all that matters.
 
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