3M Products???
- Thread starter cjbigcog
- Start date
Junebug
JAFO
Actually, most autobody shops use 3M and several detailers here use them too. They just came out with line marketed more toward the average car guy, I haven't tried them but I've good reports. The problem I have is trying to decide on what to get since they have a bunch of choices.
PRB
Still Plays with Cars
Some of their products are old school, but you'll find that with many lines that have established customer bases using a volume of product (think Meguiar's, Auto Magic, etc).
3M makes some very good paint care products.
If you're not sure about all the different choices, realize this:
Many of their Perfect-It and Imperial line products are repackaged for consumer use.
They are the exact same product, though the consumer bottled products aren't always named the same. This is not theory: various 3M reps I dealt with explained the products and marketing to me when they rolled it out in the late 90s.
If you're familiar with Meguair's, note this: The last 2 numbers of many comparable 3M consumer line products are the Meguiar's part number.
The consumer bottles allow you to buy a smaller quantity to try out or so you don't spend tons of money and just have it sitting on your shelf.
Whenever I need to do serious compounding, I use 3M Perfect-It products. I use their wool pads as well.
Their show car (paste and liquid) wax are very easy to apply and remove, though it's not very durable (typical carnauba). The last 2 digits of its part number are 26...comparable to Meguiar's M26. I found that it was not quite as durable as M26, but was even easier to use.
3M makes some very good paint care products.
If you're not sure about all the different choices, realize this:
Many of their Perfect-It and Imperial line products are repackaged for consumer use.
They are the exact same product, though the consumer bottled products aren't always named the same. This is not theory: various 3M reps I dealt with explained the products and marketing to me when they rolled it out in the late 90s.
If you're familiar with Meguair's, note this: The last 2 numbers of many comparable 3M consumer line products are the Meguiar's part number.
The consumer bottles allow you to buy a smaller quantity to try out or so you don't spend tons of money and just have it sitting on your shelf.
Whenever I need to do serious compounding, I use 3M Perfect-It products. I use their wool pads as well.
Their show car (paste and liquid) wax are very easy to apply and remove, though it's not very durable (typical carnauba). The last 2 digits of its part number are 26...comparable to Meguiar's M26. I found that it was not quite as durable as M26, but was even easier to use.
stuart hicks
New member
The perfect-it compounds in light and med. followed by the finesse-it and the SMR are all i'd ever use on the Ferrari for minor correction.
It's the industry standard and everyone who makes a polish or compound tries to compare it to 3m products.
It's the industry standard and everyone who makes a polish or compound tries to compare it to 3m products.
Junebug
JAFO
I know some of 3M's older products were discontinued - I'm not sure if it was the silica in the compounds that did it or not, but I think they wanted stuff with less of a health risk.
PRB- what would you say is the latest and best 3M products for the detailer?
PRB- what would you say is the latest and best 3M products for the detailer?
imported_rydawg1
New member
I really think the 3m 3000 series compounds are excellent compounds. The way they produce a deep gloss while removing medium scratches and rounding out the deeper ones to give the illusion that they are gone. You can literally watch the swirls dissapear. You do need to use a medium polish after to remove any of the hazing left behind.
PRB
Still Plays with Cars
JuneBug said:
VOC regulations forced change in some of the product lines, including Perfect-It III. They upgraded these products to Perfect-It 3000 that Rydawg mentions. There were also some old formulations that had been superseded several times over and were finally eliminated.
Pefect-It II Rubbing Compound is still readily available and contains silica as it always has. I wonder if this one will be phased out sometime in the near future for this or other reasons.
JuneBug said:
Sorry that I can't offer any personal experience on products newer than early 2006 from 3M. Since I'm not doing this professionally any more, I go through far less product and haven't had the need to update anything I'm using from them.
Ultrafina SE is the first one I'd grab if I had a choice of one new one to use. There is another recent 3M thread about this product specifically.
'I got a scratch when someone pushed his/her cart at my 2007 Maxima at one of the WalMart parking lots. Can any of you please suggest a 3M or any other do-it-yourself product that will help get rid of the scratch? I am not looking for a temporary solution, that is do not want the scratch to come back after a car wash.\r\n\r\nHere are some pics of my scratch.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n
'
PRB
Still Plays with Cars
bill57 said:
Are you talking about the "Cut and Fill" product for use on a rotary?
It's been a while since I've seen that one on the shelves and I never did use it, so I can't compare by experience.
I know they still sell Imperial Machine Glaze (filler) and Finesse-It II, which is an abrasive with some glaze/filler.
PRB
Still Plays with Cars
Invigor said:
Have you tried any of the Perfect-It 3000 machine glaze?
The PBE I go to still has P-III on the shelf. They said most of their customers do NOT like the P3000 version, so they found as much P-III as they could. They also still sell the P-III compounds.
EDIT: This is for US market...not sure how it works outside the borders