DACP vs. Perfect-It III: Which is better?

I picked up a quart of 3M 05937...

Whew! Even with the "garage" discount, it was $29.95 at CarQuest.



Been using SMR, and it's great. It just seems like I have to work it a long time, and sometimes apply it again to the same panel to achieve the results I'm looking for. Hopefully, this 3M Machine Glaze will do it better, faster.
 
Mmmph - - $29.95 seems way high to me. About a month ago I bought PI-III MG (05397) and PI-III FG (05941) at a local paint store. One was under $20 and the other was under $25 - but I don’t remember which price went with which item - and that was with no special discount.
 
The Machine Glaze would be around $25, and the finishing glaze around $20, and if needed the compound would be $20 or so.



I read about the Trizact MG but its meant for spot repair. don't know how it works.



I will be picking up some 3M pads for my Makita soon along with some PI III stuff.



Can't wait to try it and report back, expect lots of pictures.
 
I really prefer the DACP overall. It is more aggressive yet polishes out beautifully. Don't get me wrong, PI-III MG is great stuff and I have and use lots of it, but I think that if it was an either/or choice, then DACP would get the nod!:up
 
It seems I'm alone in my observations about both products.



To me, DACP makes the color a lot deeper and richer. Aesthetically, results from DACP would look far superior than PI-III MG. To my eyes at least. PI-III MG leaves the surface in a "like-new" state, or as if it were newly painted.



In terms of agressiveness, I would say DACP is more agressive than PI-III MG. Neither of them though are agressive enough (at least on a PC) to cause any worries. Both are great products and are very beginner-friendly.
 
I'm detailing a 2000 Volvo S80 as we speak, and I'm using PI-III MG. Without a doubt, this Volvo has THE WORST swirl marks I've ever seen. Unfortunately, due to the weather, I wasn't able to take any pics outside, but tried to capture some of the swirls on film once it was in the garage. The PI-III completely cleaned the hood of swirls. What I'm going to do is finish the top of the car with DACP, just for comparisons sake.



jduarte: I would agree with your description of PI-III MG leaving the surface in a 'like new' state. It's so clean that it literally squeaks. I'm going to follow the cleaning up with GEPC and P21S. The Volvo is Blue Metallic, and should really be stunning when I'm done. I'll be sure to post 'after' pics!



Oh well...back to the garage!



DavidM
 
In my limited experience with PI-III MG I don’t think that it is aggressive enough to deal with very bad marring.



There should be a way to measure and describe the severity of a swirl besides “I can or can’t feel it with my fingernail.�
 
NickT,



I'm just taking a break from the 1 a.m. Sportscenter, but I did want to tell you that the PI-III MG completely eliminated the swirls. I sincerely hope the few pics I took in the garage turn out. The swirls looked like holograms coming to life on the Metallic Blue paint. Now, all that's left is nice, smooth paint. I tried DACP on just a piece of the trunklid (also Swirl city!) and it did appear to work FASTER. But honestly, the results were the same as the PI-III, at least as far as I can tell at midnight inside the garage! I'll back the car out into the daylight around 8am and do a complete visual inspection.



At least as it stands now, I would TOTALLY endorse the PI-III MG. Quite impressive job on eliminating some pretty awful swirls put there by whoelse, the dealer!!



DavidM
 
I noticed a few posts earlier, that JMEL was having a hard time with PI III and a YELLOW pad.......isn't a yellow pad pretty aggresive for PI III? I've had very good luck using a white pad and PI III....very deep and dark finish.

What pads are people using on the PC for these tests?
 
ntwrkguy1 - - That’s great that the PI-III MG did such a good job! Let’s hope that the swirls don’t reappear in the sunlight. <IMG SRC=http://home.jps.net/~ntaylor/images/finger-cross.gif>



unclearty - - A white pad seems to me to be the best choice for PI-III MG, and a gray pad for PI-III FG. But, I don’t really have a lot of experience with these two products yet.
 
NickT: I'll let you know if the swirls do reappear......I hope not, since the owner of the car is coming back in to town at 8pm!



unclearty: I used a white pad with PI-III. Seemed to have the desired effect, and the finish was in good enough shape. I just felt the yellow pad would have been too aggressive.
 
David - - If you’re gonna do your detailing at night you may want to pick up a 500W halogen work lamp. About $10 at Lowe’s or Home Depot for a hand-held lamp.
 
NickT -- forgot to mention that in my post. I use one of the "Dual 500W" light stands. At times, a very sobering tool. Just when I think I have the right look, I turn the light on and "WOW!" :)
 
Ntwrkguy1

How many times did you apply and remove the MG?



I tried the MG on my swirls with a yellow pad and an orange power pad both with one pass with little effect on the dealer installed swirls.
 
2500Hemi,



I'll give you a quick recap. The car in question (Volvo S80) was purchased by a client of mine from a small specialty car dealer. Apparently, the 17-year old in charge of the 'vehicle prep' department used a rotary buffer and really burned some swirls in. It was much, much worse than any of the swirls I've seen from the typical dealer prep.



So, I decided to work the PI-3MG slowly, allowing the product to really work. I used a white pad and MF towels to wipe the residue off. I worked the MG so much there really wasn't much residue at all. The hood was the only body panel that I did twice. The swirls were by far the worst there, and I wanted the hood to be absolutely perfect.



I'm not sure why it didn't work for you, though maybe you should try it with the white pad. I've used MG with a yellow pad, but that was on a vehicle that had some other paint issues. If the sun comes out here in NC before my client returns from out of town, I'll definitely take some pics to post. This afternoon, I'm going to follow the MG with P21S GEPC and then P21S Carnauba.
 
ntwrkguy1 said:
NickT -- forgot to mention that in my post. I use one of the "Dual 500W" light stands. At times, a very sobering tool. Just when I think I have the right look, I turn the light on and "WOW!" :)
Click to expand...
When I used a halogen the first time it almost made me give up on detailing! All that hard work and my paint looked like [oops!] <IMG SRC=http://home.jps.net/~ntaylor/images/frustrated2.gif>



Now I have a dual 500W, a dual 250W, and a 500W hand-held - and wouldn’t be without them.
 
unclearty said:
I noticed a few posts earlier, that JMEL was having a hard time with PI III and a YELLOW pad.......isn't a yellow pad pretty aggresive for PI III? I've had very good luck using a white pad and PI III....very deep and dark finish.

What pads are people using on the PC for these tests?
Click to expand...
I use PI-III Machine Glaze with a yellow pad all the time; works great. It's a little more agressive than the white pad, but I still don't get any hazing (i.e., could go right to a sealant; doesn't need a final polish with something milder). As long as MG gets broken down thoroughly, I believe it leaves an excellent finish behind even with the more agressive yellow pad.



PI-III MG is my workhorse polish right now. It's gentle enough to be safe, but truly will knock down moderate swirls without filling.



Tort
 
I started at '3'....worked it until it started to flash, then jumped to 'about '4.5' and worked it until it was almost all gone. Then, for about 25-30 seconds, I turned it to '6'. At the end, there was just a trace of MG left.....barely enough to show up on the microfiber towel.
 
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