Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

[The Wash Doc]

Please help me figure this out guys! I just got what pads I could afford today for my Meguiars DA polisher and need to know what pads I'm gonna associate with what product. Problem is....I have a product I've been using of another brand called Sealer & Glaze which is their second step in their 3-step waxing system. I know the second step in the meguairs 3-step system is the deep crystal polish. Are these two products really the same thing and if not, what role does the sealer and glaze product play, and does it go on after polish? before? And also, when applying polish, use the black soft buff 2.0 pad, correct? I only have one yellow polishing pad and one black finishing pad so I'm trying to figure out what products I'm going to associate with them first. One of the paint cleaners obiviously for the yellow pad and polish or sealer & glaze for black pad? (Will just use random orbital buffer to apply wax until i can afford more pads. Thanks guys, this will help out a lot.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Sounds like you're on the right track. Glazes and pure polishes are basically the same thing, so our Deep Crystal Polish serves basically the same as our M07 Show Car Glaze and the Sealer & Glaze product you have.

So, just as you suspect, use the yellow pad for your defect correction step with a paint cleaner (Ultimate Compound, SwirlX, M80, etc) and the black pad for your glaze/pure polish and then a fresh black pad for your wax application, unless you choose to wax by hand.

We do highly recommend that you not attempt correcting the entire vehicle with just a single pad though. It's going to start loading up with product, it will get heavy, and it will start to reduce the overall effectiveness of your correction process. Even if you clean it on the fly regularly, it's still a good idea to swap to a fresh pad at least a couple of times during a full correction project.

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Wow the cost of these pads are gonna add up on me to have it like I want it then! How about two polishing yellow pads per paint cleaner? Use one pad on the whole left side of the vehicle, cleaning it on the fly, then another fresh pad on the right side also cleaning it on the fly? Thanks for clearing that up for me michael!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Well, there's "best case scenario" and there's "what can I get away with inside my budget?" We understand that not everyone can go out and buy a whole collection of pads right away. Keeping pads clean as you go is always important, but it becomes critical as you work with a minimal amount of pads. There's no such thing as cleaning too often, so do it after every section if you need to use a single pad for half the vehicle.

Press a terry towel against the pad and switch the tool on, forcing product out of the pad and into the towel. Do this very regularly until you've gone half way around the vehicle, then switch to a fresh pad. A good alternative to this is to lay the pad on a terry towel, fold the towel in half, covering the pad, then roll the pad up very tightly in the towel and squeeze it tight. Don't wring it, just squeeze. That should remove the vast majority of product build up in the pad, and you really want to avoid that build up.

Take your time and be diligent about things and you'll get a lot more out of your buffing sessions.

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

alright sounds like a plan. I'm feeling more comfortable using this polisher now! So i know you said to switch yellow pads in paint correcting frequently, should I also do this with the black pad while polishing or waxing? or could i get away with using one pad for polishing and one pad for waxing?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

You should be fine with a single pad for polish and a separate, single pad for wax. The reason for this is that these processes require much, much less product than the defect correction process, the pads aren't used as vigorously (less speed, less pressure) and you aren't removing paint and collecting it up in the pad.

Just be sure to follow that concept of "use less product" for both steps here. No need to overdo it here, and in fact "less is more" not "if some is good, more is better". So many people make the mistake of overusing polish and wax - don't be one of them!

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Alright that clears it up for me! One last thing, Speed between 1 and 3 for paint correcting, Speed 5 for polishing and waxing?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Other way around!!!

Speed 5, very slow movements over the paint, moderate pressure on the pad, increasing pressure if you need a bit more correction power. Make sure to stick with small areas at a time, working no more than about 2' x 2' at a time and wiping off the residue as you go - don't let the paint cleaner dry on the paint.

Drop to speed 2 to 3 for applying the polish and ease up on the pressure. You can probably expand your work area a bit, but don't do half the hood. Again, wipe off before it dries.

Keep the speed at 2 to 3 and the pressure light to moderate for wax application. You can move more quickly over the paint now, and cover all the painted surfaces of the car at once (adding a bit of product as needed, of course). Just go over every square inch a couple of times to get a nice, thin, uniform coat. Once you've covered the whole car give it 20-30 minutes to fully dry before wiping off.

[The Wash Doc]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

whoops! Glad I asked! I have it written on the DA polishers instructional manual for quick reference! Thanks Michael!

[HealthyCivic]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

If you ever find yourself confused, just remember what you're doing: Polishing/paint correcting means you are removing paint. This, by definition, requires more power than simply putting a coat of wax/polish over the paint. So always use less power, less pressure, less force when you are applying a glaze/pure polish than when you are trying to remove scratches and defects.

[Jim Lucier]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Glaze question: Both #5 and #7 are polishing glazes with #5 specifically for humid conditions then why by the directions, is #7 to be wiped off before drying and #5 wiped off after being allowed to dry. Am I missing something here or simply misinformed?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Glaze question: Both #5 and #7 are polishing glazes with #5 specifically for humid conditions then why by the directions, is #7 to be wiped off before drying and #5 wiped off after being allowed to dry. Am I missing something here or simply misinformed?

You're not misinformed, it's just that #5 is sort of the odd man out in our lineup. #7 has potential issues when used in high humidity conditions as it will draw moisture from the air, or even from the surface being worked on, and that can lead to performance degradation including streaking and wipe off issues. #5 was formulated to dry much faster so it can take advantage of high humidity rather than be penalized by it. That faster drying also means it's easier to wipe off than #7, assuming you aren't globing it on, of course. Now, if you use #5 in lower humidity then wipe off may become and issue if allowed to dry so in that situation either wipe it off before it dries, or use #7.

And, since we know you guys so well, we know you're going to ask where the high humidity/low humidity threshold is. Problem is, it's sort of a gray area so the threshold is a pretty broad range depending on whether you're applying by hand or machine, how the paint is responding, etc. If you live in or near Houston, TX where it always seems to be hovering around 95% humidity, #5 is going to be your polish of choice. If you're in Las Vegas where humidity is usually in single digits, #7 is a far better choice. As you move closer to the center of that range things can become a bit blurry, but that's part of why paint polishing is often referred to as an art!

[Jim Lucier]

Re: Difference Between Polish and Sealer & Glaze?!?

Michael,

Thank you for the quick reply and adding some clarity to a cloudy issue. I was thinking of trying #5 but I will now stay with #7, no need to stray from a winner. I have not found a better combination that #7 followed up with an application of #26.

Regards,
Jim Lucier