Revisited an old friend today - Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish. This is the product I cut my teeth on when I first got my PC, and I remember getting good results from it... It never seems to get mentioned that much, and when it does it doesn't always get very good press, so I thought I'd revisit it to see how I got on with it after my experiences of some other polishes to compare it too.... So out with the scrap Peugeot door again, and away we go!! :lol:
By Porter Cable
I used to use this product at speed 3 to spread, the 5 for one pass and 6 for several passes... And it seemed to work well. But a quick test recently revealed better performance from just keeping it on speed 5. So this is how I applied it today...
First of all, a little steel wool was for the door to get some swirls:

Now, using a 6" Sonus SFX-1 pad, I spritzed with a little Last Touch and then applied an X of product onto the pad as shown...

Then dabbed this around an 18" square area on the door...

The was then spread at speed 3 for one fast pass with only light pressure...

Now upto speed 5 for several more passes. The key to #83 is to work it - it takes longer than other polishes to break down I find, so patience is required. I wokred this small area for about four or five minutes at speed 5 making slow passes with medium pressure until the polish went translucent...

The buffed off the residue with complete ease, not hard rubbing required, to reveal the finish after one hit: most light swilrs gone, left only with the deeper scratches...

A repeat of the above, and by PC, #83 has removed the vast majority of the steelwool marring...

Not the quickes polishof them all to use, but it certainlu does do the job if you are patient on the PC, and work the polish well until it is fully broken down. Removal of residue is a doddle too if the product has been fully worked. I remember why I liked this product so much - it works! :thumb:
By Rotary
Any excuse really at the moment for me to play with the new Makita!! :lol: :lol:
I decided to give #83 a go on the rotary. I just switched the primed SFX-1 pad across onto the rotary and gave the door another steelwool wash (dont worry, more scrap panels are on the way!! :lol: )...

Now, I applied a line of product to the door this time and picked it up with the rotary slightly tilted at 600rpm to prime the pad and then spread around an 18" square area at 600rpm. I then knocked the speed up to 1200rpm for a couple of passes with medium pressure and then finished off with several more passes at 2000rpm (the max for this product according to Megs) until the polish went translucent. Buff off the residue, here's the results:


And finally, just to show an older school product like #83 can still cut it in the reflection stakes, and final reflection shot...

It was nice to revisit this product, and confirm to myself that it really is a very good polish - effective at removing defects, and finishes very well indeed. By rotary I would rate it up there with the PO91L Menzerna IP, just a little slower in its work time. An excellent product, very underrated. I'll be ordering more soon! :thumb:
By Porter Cable
I used to use this product at speed 3 to spread, the 5 for one pass and 6 for several passes... And it seemed to work well. But a quick test recently revealed better performance from just keeping it on speed 5. So this is how I applied it today...
First of all, a little steel wool was for the door to get some swirls:

Now, using a 6" Sonus SFX-1 pad, I spritzed with a little Last Touch and then applied an X of product onto the pad as shown...

Then dabbed this around an 18" square area on the door...

The was then spread at speed 3 for one fast pass with only light pressure...

Now upto speed 5 for several more passes. The key to #83 is to work it - it takes longer than other polishes to break down I find, so patience is required. I wokred this small area for about four or five minutes at speed 5 making slow passes with medium pressure until the polish went translucent...

The buffed off the residue with complete ease, not hard rubbing required, to reveal the finish after one hit: most light swilrs gone, left only with the deeper scratches...

A repeat of the above, and by PC, #83 has removed the vast majority of the steelwool marring...

Not the quickes polishof them all to use, but it certainlu does do the job if you are patient on the PC, and work the polish well until it is fully broken down. Removal of residue is a doddle too if the product has been fully worked. I remember why I liked this product so much - it works! :thumb:
By Rotary
Any excuse really at the moment for me to play with the new Makita!! :lol: :lol:
I decided to give #83 a go on the rotary. I just switched the primed SFX-1 pad across onto the rotary and gave the door another steelwool wash (dont worry, more scrap panels are on the way!! :lol: )...

Now, I applied a line of product to the door this time and picked it up with the rotary slightly tilted at 600rpm to prime the pad and then spread around an 18" square area at 600rpm. I then knocked the speed up to 1200rpm for a couple of passes with medium pressure and then finished off with several more passes at 2000rpm (the max for this product according to Megs) until the polish went translucent. Buff off the residue, here's the results:


And finally, just to show an older school product like #83 can still cut it in the reflection stakes, and final reflection shot...

It was nice to revisit this product, and confirm to myself that it really is a very good polish - effective at removing defects, and finishes very well indeed. By rotary I would rate it up there with the PO91L Menzerna IP, just a little slower in its work time. An excellent product, very underrated. I'll be ordering more soon! :thumb:
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