Which Polisher to Use?

[jremitio]

My goal is to remove swirl marks on my new black Lexus (soft paint?) using a PC DA polisher. I'm planning to use Meg #9 with 8006 pad, however, as I read the forum, I see that many use #80 and/or #83. Rarely do I see #9 being mentioned. Is #9 the right product to use to remove minor swirl marks which already existed when I picked up the car at the dealer? When do I use #80 or #83? Thanks.

[Murr1525]

Re: Which Polisher to Use?

Well, here is the breakdown:

#9 & #82 - Very Mild cleaner/polishes

#80 - Mild cleaner/polish

#83 - Medium cleaner/polish

Basicaly, Meguiars goal is to always use the mildest product for the job. However, after so many people have used the products, most of your regular swirling and light scratches require #80 to remove them in a reasonable amount of time, so that is kind of the go-to product.

Now, some swirls will appear no matter how carefull you are, but if you are carefull, they will only be very light. If you have soft paint, or only these very light swirls, then #9 or #82 would be good.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which Polisher to Use?

This is so weird, all of these products were summerized in a similar thread just yesterday...

Let me see if I can find it?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which Polisher to Use?

however, as I read the forum, I see that many use #80 and/or #83. Rarely do I see #9 being mentioned.

Is #9 the right product to use to remove minor swirl marks which already existed when I picked up the car at the dealer? When do I use #80 or #83? Thanks.

M09 is so gentle as far as it's ability to remove paint goes that best results for removing swirls and scratches, (i.e. removing paint), is when applied with a rotary buffer because in this case you're adding the power of the rotary buffer which is gargantuan compared to the PC.

The PC/G100 is so gentle in it's oscillating/rotating action that besides the tool, you need,

• The right product
• The right pad
• The right technique

Anyway, here's what we posted yesterday that ties into your question, the below was taken from from page 2 this thread,

New Lexus (hologramming)

First off, you are dead on correct about starting with the least aggressive product, Meguiar's has been teaching this philosophy for over 100 years. It's also really great to see all of our competitors now parroting this philosophy,


"Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"


On a side note, other people often times use the word abrasive in the above statement instead of aggressive and there is a difference.

Second, the numbers on the bottles are just Quick Reference Part Numbers, they don't have anything to do with how aggressive, or non-aggressive the products are, and they have nothing to do with the order in which you use them.

(Somewhere on the forum this topic has been explained in detail, but hard to say where that thread is right now)


M80 is very, very different from M82 and M09, both M82 and M09 are very much less aggressive than M80.

In order of aggressiveness, from least aggressive to most aggressive, here are our cleaner/polishes,

M82 & M09 - Different formulas but similar in ability and function.
Meguiar's least aggressive cleaner/polishes, best results for removing swirls is with a rotary buffer. If your paint is soft and the swirls are shallow, then either of these two products with a W-8006 foam polishing pad on dual action polisher on the 5.0 speed setting should remove them and polish-out to a high gloss. Note, you never want to tackle to large of an area at one time when removing defects using dual action polisher, the tool is just to safe and non-aggressive to start with; about one foot to two food square is about as large as you want to go.


M80 Speed Glaze
In-between the above two products and M83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish. M80 started out as a product to be used with a wool cutting pad or wool finishing pad on a rotary buffer to prepare used car for wholesale auction. The goal was a product that would quickly remove defects using a rotary buffer and a pad with some cutting power and leave the car very glossy looking. At auction yards, it's not about a swirl-free finish, it's about shiny paint. (swirls can be there as this demographic group isn't as AR as they serious enthusiasts like found on this forum and other detailing discussion forums.

It's a rather wet and oily product which gives it a lot of play time when used with dual action polisher. When used with good technique it becomes a very versatile cleaner/polish in that it will tackle about 90% of most defects that the average person wants to remove out of their car's paint.

For some scratch-senstive paints it will remove the defects, (keep in mind that's the initial goal, removing below surface defects), but will leave micro-marring in the paint. Usually a coat or two of wax will mask this micro-marring and leave you a show car finish. If you want to do a second polishing step to remove this micro-marring then you can follow up with M66 Cleaner/Wax using a new, clean W-8006 foam polishing pad on the 5.0 setting, (very effective), or use a lighter cleaner/polish such as either M82 or M09.


M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
M83 a gentle cleaner/polish but that's relative to what you compare it to. It's gentle compared to an aggressive cutting compound like our M85 Diamond Cut Compound or our M84 Compound Power Cleaner. On the other hand, when compared to M09, M82 and M80, it's an aggressive cleaner/polish capable of removing serious swirls and scratches out of hard paint when applied using the correct technique with a dual action polisher on the 5.0 setting.

For many paint systems, you can use M83 to remove the defects and then go straight to wax. For some scratch-sensitive and softer paints, M83 will leave a haze in the paint which should be removed using M66, or M80, or M82/M09.

This is why if you decide to get into machine polishing, it's a good idea to make the investment into obtaining a number of different products because this give you options and enables you to test and then use the best product for the job.

Hope this helps...

[jremitio]

Re: Which Polisher to Use?

Thanks, Mike. I'll try the 09 first (least aggressive product).