3M Performance Finish

Marj

New member
I just noticed in my Westways magazine an ad from Napa on a new product called 3M Performance Finish. I was wondering has anybody tried it yet?

I don't think this is going to better than the best stuff we have all agreed is the best for our vehicles.
 
I saw the same ad and did a search and found this description:



A reactive silicone based product that bonds to the paint surface providing a durable, long lasting, high gloss finish with exceptional water beading qualities on painted vehicle surfaces.
 
Buster said:
Has anyone tried this product?



I picked up a bottle last week at my local CarQuest ( big end cap display )

They had it on sale for $12.99 and a free can of 3m Glass cleaner.



So that night I washed my Mazda and applied a coat to 3/4 of the vehicle.

From the doors back.

Leaving my previous test on the front of the car consisting of

Poli- Seal / #16 and the other half of Poli-Seal / Natty's.



Easy application and scent. Scent reminded me of Mothers Synwax.

Applied thin with a terry applicator. 1 coat only.

Buffed off very easily and left the finish smooth.

Cure time was fairly fast.

Could easily apply this monthly and not break a sweat.



The next day the product slickness seemed to improve slightly IMO.

Comparable to my current LSP on the car.

I did get some bird crap on both front and back this week, nothing a little SW couldn't remove. No noticable stains or blemish's from the doo doo.

Surface cleaned up nicely and remained slick to the touch.



Today it rained and comparing the 3m to the Wax on the front I'll tell you this.

The beads were smaller with the 3m. Roughly 1/2 the size of the beads on the waxed portion that was applied 2 weeks ago.



Comparing visually with other products.

Slightly brighter finish if anything, not as much depth my application of #16/ Natty's.



Overall, a decent product at a fair price.

Even better with the 3m Glass cleaner thrown in on the deal.

Which I do like this product as well. Loved the previous 3m Glass cleaner.



Slickness is still there after a week.

It's been dry here up until todays brief shower.

So I haven't had to wash the vehicle.



I wouldn't have a problem buying it again. $12.99 is a ok. But not retail of $19.99.

We'll see how durability/slickness are after a month or so.



Hope that helps .
 
I went to the 3M website and they show a newer updated bottle and label. I read in May 2007 Popular Science that they claim durability of 10 washings. I ordered a bottle off 3M website for $16.99. Intriguing nonetheless!
 
UPDATE



Thought I'd provide a update after two weeks.

We had rain on and off most of the week here in my area.



I noticed only some dirt on the sides of the vehicle, obviously from the roads.

But the roof and trunk remained fairly clean.



Beading was very good avg size drops. still smaller than the natty's and #16 on the front.



So today I woke up with a mission of stripping the wax off the front and going Danase Speed Glaze and SG to get a comparison of that to the 3m product on the other 3/4 of the car.



I heard SG looks good on Silver and I haven't used SG for a year or so.

( too busy trying other stuff )



I wash the vehicle with DG's wash - love this stuff and a little goes a long way.



Man was the beading incredible on the 3m as I fired up the hose and soaked the car!!!

I think it does a nice job of popping the flake and giving it some depth.

A nice, nice product... I haven't tried Werkstat or UPP to compare it too.

But it is a solid product.

Dried off the car with my Meg's drying towel and slickness is still there.

EX-P or EX didn't work this well IMO.

Drying the car took a few minutes, I was able to sheet some of the water off and the slight wind helped. Top took a little longer than the sides, nothing major.



Then, I proceed to strip off the LSP on the front with Speed Glaze ( instructions said minor cleaning ) So I gave it a try to see if it removed the wax. Seemed to work ok ?

No AIO was used. Surface was in good shape and the Speed Glaze seemed to do the job to prep the surface.



Noticable improvement in appearance from the 3-4 week wax.



After the Speed Glaze, I applied SG with a damp MF applicator - thin coats to the whole hood and front qtrs, let it sit 15 minutes and removed with a Meg's MF.

No problem's.

Comparison in looks: 3m vs. SG/Speed Glaze.

Slickness is comparable, looks comparable ( i'm no expert ) so far.

I do plan to hit the front with another coat of SG Sunday as time permits and the weather.



I'll pull the vehicle out of the garage Sunday after the rain passes tonight and review my work.



Note: It's been awhile for me using Klasse SG. I was not excite about it on my previous vehicles, but on this silver. It's not bad. Thanks to this board and previous posts that made me try it again.



The 3m for ease of use, performance so far, and looks make it a quality OTC product in my book.

I'd buy it again.



I'll try to update this in a few more weeks.

I'm tempted to apply an additional coat of 3m to see if it add's anything to depth and / or durability.



Hope my notes help guys......
 
Buster said:
Has anyone tried this product?



Hi guys,



I bought some of the 3M's new Performance Polish and the Cleaner Wax from my Carquest deal b/c it was on sale at 1/2 price. In the past, I've liked 3M products, and have used them but for the most part I've been a Klasse guy. When the emissions rules forced everyone to change their formula, nothing really has been very good......Until now!



I wasn't expecting much, but WOW! The cleaner wax works great almost as good as AIO and is much much much easier to use! Put on -- take off, no waiting to haze. 3M must have figured a way to put some of their Imperial Hand Glaze in the cleaner wax too. Nice! But the best is yet to come....the Performance Polish!!!



After applying the cleaner wax, you put on the polish and wipe it off no waiting. Easy as can be and it works great! Its sooo much better than Klasse polish. No streaking and it doesnt get stuck on like Klasse. It does not shine as much as a Zanos but it is soooo easy to use and not very expensive.



I just can't say how happy I am with the product. :clap: This is the best product I've used since the emission laws and I've tried alot of new products.



I've used it on a Mercedes - red non-metalic and a BMW - black , both older paint with some oxidation. They look like new now! I will use it on a new GM car soon and will post my results. As for durability, its been a month and it still looks new. I will keep everyone posted.



I highly recommend this product. Just one mans opinion.



:)
 
ssorange said:
Hi guys,



I bought some of the 3M's new Performance Polish and the Cleaner Wax from my Carquest deal b/c it was on sale at 1/2 price. In the past, I've liked 3M products, and have used them but for the most part I've been a Klasse guy. When the emissions rules forced everyone to change their formula, nothing really has been very good......Until now!



I wasn't expecting much, but WOW! The cleaner wax works great almost as good as AIO and is much much much easier to use! Put on -- take off, no waiting to haze. 3M must have figured a way to put some of their Imperial Hand Glaze in the cleaner wax too. Nice! But the best is yet to come....the Performance Polish!!!



After applying the cleaner wax, you put on the polish and wipe it off no waiting. Easy as can be and it works great! Its sooo much better than Klasse polish. No streaking and it doesnt get stuck on like Klasse. It does not shine as much as a Zanos but it is soooo easy to use and not very expensive.



I just can't say how happy I am with the product. :clap: This is the best product I've used since the emission laws and I've tried alot of new products.



I've used it on a Mercedes - red non-metalic and a BMW - black , both older paint with some oxidation. They look like new now! I will use it on a new GM car soon and will post my results. As for durability, its been a month and it still looks new. I will keep everyone posted.



I highly recommend this product. Just one mans opinion.



:)

I am wondering what the polish would be like with DA or rotary? Does it say on the container whether you can use a rotary?
 
Howdy, long time no post here but I stopped by to search for opinions on 3M Performance sealant. I got a free sample over the weekend and tried it out. My previous experiences are with Meguiars #6 or ZainoZPC for swirl removal, Zaino Z2/Z5 or Rejex for serious gloss and protection, and NXT for a quickie wax (no, not all on the same vehicle at the same time).



The 3M Performance stuff goes on an off at least as easily as NXT and drying time is very short. Gloss is decent, maybe not as outrageous as Zaino or Rejex. Swirl hiding seems comparable to NXT. If this stuff lasts "up to 6 months" as 3M claims on the marketing brochure I got with the sample, it will definitely replace NXT as my quickie product.



Sounds like this product is too new for much durability data, or did I just miss something in my search?

thanks

Jon
 
2nd Update



I decided to do a little comparison last week.

I now have 3 coats of Klasse SG over Danase Speed Glaze on the front 3rd of my Mazda.

So far I love the looks. great look x3 vs. a single coat.

Did 2 coats over a 48 hour period. The first coat was on for over a week ?

Fairly decent slickness. Should help with the bug splatters in iowa this time of year.



Then I moved onto the rest of the vehicle and applied a 2nd coat of 3m Performance Finish.

Wow, slickness was not bad before, slightly less than the 3 coats of SG.

But after applying the 2nd coat. The slickness is incredible. Very impressive.

Depth improved with the second coat. Wet look went up as well.



I would say since my first application, looks were decent and slickness was down some. Not bad , but i could tell. Still was beading well after washing and rain.

Now with the second coat I plan to ride out summer with my car as is for coats.

i'll only use some S&W and maybe some SG occasionally.



Comparison of 3xSG vs 3m x2 = close in looks, depth, and wetness.

I like both and I can see a slight difference in the two.

But SG is layered over Speed Glaze, so I think that is making it stand out slightly more in the depth/wetness look.



Metal Flake is popping on both. Real nice !!



Again, i'm impressed how SG looks on Silver....

Can't complain about the application either.



3m , super simple to apply thin and even easier to remove. keep it thin and it removes easily, leave allot of whiteness/polish and you will have to remove with more effort.

I'd like to see how it compares to DG#105. Someday I might buy that to try it out.



I'm betting 3m will hold up well for 2-3 at this point for me.

Hopefully longer if I can resist tinkering.



Back later with an update.
 
Slickness is down some, but gloss and depth are still great.



beading is good, not outstanding.

Dirt and grime remove easily.

Dust removes easily as well.



Looks between the SG and 3m are still on par.



Nice product !!!
 
i used 3m performance finnish on one of my detailing customers cars, a black late 90's mazda millenia) a little over 6 months ago... knowing she didnt wash it more than a time or two, it probably wont last as long for you if you wash your car as often as i do. but i saw her car at a party as i was leaving in the rain, and it was covered in little beads... she said she hasnt had it waxed since ive done it, so this is good stuff. especially considering its an OTC product and it less that 15 bucks. this is a great product, easy to use and long lasting, doesnt shine all that well though.
 
I think I may have some small sample size packets of the 3M perf finish product that they gave away at a local car show. Is it possible to mail the little packets?



If I can find them and it doesn't cost much to send, I'd send them out if someone wants to try it. (I gave a LOT of stuff away to a coworker, so it may have been in that box)



Randy
 
i bought my first bottle for like. 15ish bucks.. and now its only 10.00 at my local walmart :-)...i use this as a base (always top with sumthing nicer looking)

on some of my simple wash and wax customers.
 
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