1Z Paint Polish disappointment

R

rx280

New member
With my supply of Griot’s Fine Hand Polish running low, I decided to give 1Z Paint Polish a try, because of the favorable comments that I’d read about it here. If I’m remembering correctly, it was “nominated� when someone wrote to ask what the best hand polish available was. (I have a PC, by the way, but because I live on the third floor of a condo building, I only get to use it at away-from-home locations.)

Initially, I just used the 1Z PP for a little bit of spot polishing; there were some light scratches on the top of my black (Nighthawk Black Pearl) Acura’s rear bumper that I wanted to take care of. My first impression wasn’t favorable. The resulting finish seemed hazy. At some point I reread the directions for application and noticed that they say the polish should be applied “without heavy pressure.� That made me think I might have been pressing too hard.

When I tried the polish again, on the door jambs, I made a point of not pressing too firmly. Again, the results seemed no better than so-so. I expected a clearer shine.

I’ve used the polish a couple of additional times since then, most recently last weekend, when I clayed the lower half of the car – the rest didn’t really seem to need it – and then polished the areas I’d clayed. I applied the 1Z using a Griot’s orange polishing pad and, once again, avoided heavy pressure. I followed up the polishing by applying a coat of sealant. A couple of hours later, with the setting sun doing a pretty good job of illuminating one side of the car, I took a close look at that side. Once again, the paint that had been polished appeared hazy. I don’t think what I’m seeing is a haze that can be removed with additional MF wiping; I think it’s light marring. (I definitely got better results with the Griot’s polish that I bought the 1Z to replace.) That I’m still pressing too hard seems unlikely. That the Griot’s orange pad is too aggressive has occurred to me, but that, too, seems unlikely. (The pad worked well with the Griot’s polish.)

I don’t want to give up on the 1Z PP prematurely, but I’d rather go back to the Griot’s polish or try something else than continue to get results like these.

Anyone have thoughts or advice to impart? Responses from people who’ve been happy with 1Z PP would be especially appreciated, of course.
 
If you were polishing in cold temeratures perhaps the polish could not break down? i have read that the diminishing abrasive systems need some heat to break down. Using by hand and in cold temperatures perhaps did not aloow that to happen, and as a result you never got to the finishing stage?



never used that product, but based on my reading here, that is what jumped into my mind after reading you post.



I have also struggled with my black car, so I feel your pain!



Good luck.
 
Your problem is not 1Z-related, rathen Honda-related. NBP can be stupidly soft which is very hard to finish out crystal clear in certain cases.
 
rx280- Sorry to hear about your problems with the 1Z PP. As I recommend it so often, I'd like to help sort this out if possible.



First off though, I know *nothing* about the paint on Acuras/Hondas. But guys like Bence and themightytimmah *do* know about these paints and so I think they're onto something:





Bence said:
Your problem is not 1Z-related, rathen Honda-related. NBP can be stupidly soft which is very hard to finish out crystal clear in certain cases.
Click to expand...



themightytimmah said:
1Z Paint Polish is pretty aggressive - try finishing out with a softer pad and their Metallic Polish.
Click to expand...





Now for *my* $0.02:



I haven't used the Griot's Hand Polish since forever, but when I did use it, it seemed like a nearly nonabrasive product (which might be good in this instance) that did a lot of filling. So it might've been better on the presumably soft paint, or at least might've *appeared* to be better through the filling. While I'm not a fan of that stuff, it could still be the best product for a given application.



It sounds like you're using the orange Griot's pad by hand, correct? If so, IMO that pad is too large and too firm for this kind of work (I do really like it for fairly mild machine polishing). I usually apply polishes like this by hand using MF or maybe a yellow foam "wax applicator" pad.



It does take a bit of effort/time to break down the abrasives in the PP (which *might* be too initially aggressive for your paint). The "don't press hard" bit is mainly to ensure that you don't grind the not-yet-broken-down (hence sorta large and chunky) abrasives into the paint too aggressively; they could leave the hazing you're describing.



Also, I dunno about applying a sealant on top of 1Z PP. It leaves a natural/synthetic mix of waxes behind and it can be a little finicky about what you apply over top of it. When applying a sealant on top of 1Z polish, I use either their High Gloss or their Pro-Line Metallic Polish (different stuff from their consumer line Metallic Polish with Wax, yeah, it's kinda confusing).



SO...I too think you might oughta try their Metallic Polish instead. It's so mild that it sure shouldn't cause any hazing problems. Either the Pro-Line stuff (but it only comes in a 1-liter can) or the Metallic Polish with Wax (which comes in a smaller can but might not like being topped with sealant).



But if you simply wanted to go back to the Griot's that you were happy with, I sure don't think anybody could blame you. It's all about finding what works for *you* and if that means using something that people here aren't crazy about, so be it.



But I'd absolutely use a different pad. That Griot's-orange-by-hand just isn't a good idea IMO.
 
ditto,



Your issue was with the very soft acura paint, and choice of pads. Then not stepping down to Metalic.



Griots polish imho contains mostly fillers. which is why you had such good luck with it to begin with.
 
rx280- Another Q occurred to me: how did the Paint Polish work on the more severe marring? Was it useful for that or is the stuff simply useless for your situation?





Grouse said:
...[one].. issue was ... not stepping down to Metalic..
Click to expand...



Even on hard Audi clear, I always like to do a final pass with something mild like MP. PP works well for me on hard paint, but it seldom gives *quite* the final finish I'm after. Even when it looks OK, trying some finishing polish usually shows that there was room for improvement.
 
[quote name='Accumulator']rx280- Another Q occurred to me: how did the Paint Polish work on the more severe marring? Was it useful for that or is the stuff simply useless for your situation?

To be completely honest, Accumulator, I don't remember! (It was at least a year ago.) I just recall being disappointed by the haziness. However, I've got to think it must've at least met my expectations as far as effectiveness on the light scratches goes; if it didn't, that would almost certainly be part of my recollection. What I was hoping for the PP to be was a polish that, used by hand, would be at least reasonably effective on light scratches and marring but would leave the paint ready for wax or sealant. When I read Autopians' high praise for PP, I probably wasn't paying close enough attention to the specifics of that praise. It seems that I should have realized that, especially on this Honda/Acura paint, I was going to need a finer polish to get me to the LSP stage.

Can any of you polish experts recommend a polish to fill the niche I was expecting the PP to fill, i.e. a polish to use (by hand) after claying or if the paint just needs a little pre-LSP help? The 1Z MP has been mentioned here (in this thread) a couple of times. Think that's my best bet or is there another, or others, that you'd recommend over it (again keeping the NBP Honda/Acura paint in mind)?

One other thing about spot scratch removal (and I'm probably getting way off-topic here). Until recently, I always thought of Scratch-X as my go-to product for that, even though getting it to work has always taken more time and elbow grease that I hoped it would. What changed that was trying Quixx Scratch Remover, which I bought specifically to try on a deep, inch-long scratch I inflicted on my car with a shovel when I slipped while digging the car out after an 18-inch snowstorm a couple of winters ago. (This was right after telling myself that I'd better be VERY careful with the shovel.) Anyway, a scratch as deep as the one I made requires the use of touch-up paint, followed by wetsanding with a strip of sandpaper included in the Quixx "kit," then the use of the two Quixx polishes (Step 1 and Step 2). The scratch repair turned out better than I expected -- quite a bit better than the results I'd gotten when I used Langka on stone chips and the shovel scratch. I subsequently decided to try the Quixx polishes alone (no wetsanding) on a few much lighter scratches I found on the car after last winter -- the sorts of scratches I'd have ordinarily used Scratch-X on. Well, let me tell you, the Quixx worked much better and much faster. I'd say it's pretty much rendered my half-full tube of Scratch-X obsolete.
 
RX280- If you like the Quixx you might want to just stick with it.



I'd go to Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing, Auto Detailing Supplies, Auto Detailing Equipment, Auto Detailing Products, & Auto Detailing Accessories for all your Automobile Detailing and check out the 1Z MP and their WaxPolishSoft, another *VERY* mild polish that leaves wax behind.



There's also Menzerna's FPII (aka something like "87", forget the specifics) and 3M's Ultrafina.



Some prewax cleaners are just barely abrasive, and those might work OK too..Blackfire's stuff, P21s GEPC, etc. And Autoglym SRP is like KAIO only with a *tiny* bit of abrasive and better filling.



Those are what come to mind at present, but I'm sure no expert on how to finish polish soft paint.
 
what about waxpolish soft? 1z rate it as extremely mild abrasives and it fills well?



I polished a black Honda ITR and the paint was so soft, that buffing the wax off put light marring back in :wall:





oops: re-read above and its what was recommended.... :o
 
mixxer said:
i just used 1Z on a hard clear vette and it worked great i actually think i like it better than menzerna..
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I'm the same way, going 1Z instead of Menzerna. But I've heard that on some soft paints the 1Z HG has too much initial bite and that the Menzerna FPII is better in those cases.

Bigpikle said:
what about waxpolish soft?..oops: re-read above and its what was recommended....
Click to expand...



I like the WPS so well I bought a few cans of it back when I heard it might get discontinued. IMO it's sorta like a *VERY* good cleaner-wax. It's even easier/more foolproof than the 1Z MP, and that's saying something.
 
Just used 1ZPP followed by 106FF on a gold Lexus that's been sitting outside, abused, forever. After topping with UPP, it looks spectacular. Especially for a 7yo car. Not sure how hard the Lexus paint is though. Any thoughts?



Accumulator: Don't tell me they may discontinue WPS. As you mentioned, it works wonderfully as a cleaner/wax. I often top it with Souveran on my Lambo (which never needs serious correction as it doesn't get enough miles and lives covered.) Time for me to look for another can or two.
 
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