3M Perfect - It II Rubbing Compound

T

thecarguyGP97

New member
Well, i am awaiting the arrival of my AIO and SG, so i figured i'd try and attack some of my scratches and swirles before it arrived. When i went to buy some FI-II, they didn't have it, but they did have PI-II fine cut rubbing compound, so i got that. Will this be too harsh on the finish and will it produce a lot of hazing? I am also a little hesitant on using it with my orbital, will it be alright?
 
It will produce a good amount of hazing if you don't let the abrasives break down. If you are applying it to the car in your sig, yes you will probably have some hazing due to the color. In most cases the Perfect-It Rubbing Compound should be followed by a finer polish.
 
I have used it with a Porter Cable. Aside from it splattering around (my fault), it does work nice. I used it on black non-clearcoat. Followed up with 3M SMR, but didnt notice any hazing prior.
 
I've also used the Fine Cut RC by hand a few times, but it's extremely difficult to break down by hand. One panel will wear you out! Even though it says "excellent for hand applications" on the bottle, it's best used by a buffer IMO, unless you're a professional body builder and can work it down properly.



I like the product though, leaves a nice finish, but you must follow with a SMR and/or paint cleaner for best results.
 
How long does it take for the compounds to break down?? I just tryed it and i'm not happy with it. It didn't reduce my scratches that much and left fine swirls behind. I was ready for the swirles, but i thought it'd help the scratches. Maybe i'm not using enough pressure for long enough? Oh, and by the way, i am using an orbital.
 
Test the surface by using a small dab of product on a foam/cotton applicator and rubbing the area alot, then rub the area next to that spot alot less.



I did this over the weekend with alot of product, with hardly any product, with a little too much product, I tested specific ways of rubbing, amounts of rubbing and so forth. You can see what causes hazing, what causes swirls marks to be made and so forth. I know it sounds like a bad idea but you need to fool around and see what will cause certain problems so you know how to treat them as quickly and effectively as you possibly can.
 
I've used the same combination of PC and 3M compound with great results. If you use your PC at top speed long enough (i.e. until the polish/compound is almost dry) the panel will almost "buff out" as if you were using a rotary polisher. Just to be paranoid I always go over it with SMR but I honestly don't think that it adds that much luster.



Also, the Griots orange pad seems to speed things up quite a bit as it has more bite than the CMA white pad.
 
Speaking of 3M products...



I saw some 3M SMR but it said "For dark colored cars" on the bottle...I have a silver car btw. Do they sell "normal" 3M SMR or is it supposed to say that?
 
Yeah, they do, called SMR for Light Colored Cars. But the places I looked did not carry it, only the ones for Dark Colored cars. Others here may know, but I think the ones for dark colored cars may not be as aggressive, to prevent more swirl marks.
 
Oh, thanks. I was hoping someone would "fill me in" on that.:rolleyes:



When I picked up my bottle, I could not decide whether my car is dark or light. It is a medium greenish grey metallic (man, gotta get me a digital camera). Anyway, I got the dark, and it didn't seem to alter the appearance any.
 
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