Mhmmm Which to Choose AIO or Ultrafine Polish ?

EdLancer

EdLancer

New member
As much as Autopians love polishing, we have to remember to save/preserve clearcoat thickness.
What do you guys use annually for well maintained paint, an AIO polish/sealant/wax product or a ultrafine polish followed by a LSP ?
I was thinking about 3D HD Speed or Drive Auto Appearance Victory Nano Polish & Seal for an AIO or Merzerna SF3800(4000) as an ultrafine polish followed by a LSP.
From the looks of it AIO products are less expensive than polishes when I only need very very minor correction abilities.
Product also has to be stable for at least a decade which means no separation when stored in it`s original container.
 
As much as Autopians love polishing...
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Heh heh..."as much as *SOME* Autopians love polishing..." ;) Sorry, just couldn`t resist.

Edlancer- Actually...my "Annual refresh" is seldom more than another coat of FK1000P. Yeah, seriously, seldom even clay (and claying recently, for the first time in years, resulted in next-to-nothing on daily drivers). But eh...OK, that`s just me. Just sayin` that sometimes you don`t need to go all Autopian about it after all.

I`d go with an AIO. Some of `em have really (*REALLY*) mild abrasives anyhow, not that I`ve ever noticed any correction at all from any of them.

And all the AIOs I`ve used are utterly Accumulator-proof, easy as can be if used properly. Can`t say that about every Finishing Polish I`ve tried. And no need to IPA/etc.-strip or anything like that before going to the LSP, which can even be delayed until after the next wash if need be. If you do notice any marring/etc. that you want to correct, you could do those spots quick and easy..well, Q&E compared to doing the whole car.

EDIT: Oh, and I have some AIOs that must be 20 years old (bought before we moved into this house). They`ve separated. They have some nasty blobs in them. They`ve "gone bad" (note scare-quotes) to an obvious extent. And/BUT...they work just fine, 100% satisfied with their performance even though I expected to try a test-spot and throw `em out.
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh..."as much as *SOME* Autopians love polishing..." ;) Sorry, just couldn`t resist.

Edlancer- Actually...my "Annual refresh" is seldom more than another coat of FK1000P. Yeah, seriously, seldom even clay (and claying recently, for the first time in years, resulted in next-to-nothing on daily drivers). But eh...OK, that`s just me. Just sayin` that sometimes you don`t need to go all Autopian about it after all.

I`d go with an AIO. Some of `em have really (*REALLY*) mild abrasives anyhow, not that I`ve ever noticed any correction at all from any of them.

And all the AIOs I`ve used are utterly Accumulator-proof, easy as can be if used properly. Can`t say that about every Finishing Polish I`ve tried. And no need to IPA/etc.-strip or anything like that before going to the LSP, which can even be delayed until after the next wash if need be. If you do notice any marring/etc. that you want to correct, you could do those spots quick and easy..well, Q&E compared to doing the whole car.

EDIT: Oh, and I have some AIOs that must be 20 years old (bought before we moved into this house). They`ve separated. They have some nasty blobs in them. They`ve "gone bad" (note scare-quotes) to an obvious extent. And/BUT...they work just fine, 100% satisfied with their performance even though I expected to try a test-spot and throw `em out.
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With the winters up here there is always going to be some marring on the horizontal surfaces from ice and snow contact on top of the paint and needs a gentle maintenance polish every summer. Also I don`t want to invest too much on products as I have too much already. The Optimum polishes and Poli-Seal taught me a good lesson not to stock up too much are they will all go bad in 2-3 years and money down the drain. From what I can tell my inventory of 3M and Meguair`s 8 series is still stable for over a decade even when opened don`t know much about all these newer water based products that either separate or develop mold once the banana oil solvents evaporate. Always wanted to try some Merzerna SF3800, but could never get myself to spend over $60+ for a 32oz bottle for fear it will go bad in 2-3 years. I am also itching to try out my two new 21mm long throw DAs that I recent aquired too ...LoL
 
Menz 3800 is really fine. So fine I just about have quit using it on my BMW paint. I have to use Menz 3500 to see some polishing action. Try some Britemax AOI, it’s very mild and leaves a great shine. As far as lasting 10 years who knows?
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
Menz 3800 is really fine. So fine I just about have quit using it on my BMW paint. I have to use Menz 3500 to see some polishing action. Try some Britemax AOI, it’s very mild and leaves a great shine. As far as lasting 10 years who knows?
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Menz 3800 is supposedly a 2 on Menz`s aggressiveness scale which is all I need, I normally use Meg`s #82 Swirl Free Polish which is a 3 on Meg`s aggressiveness scale and the paint always looks pristine, but #82 dusts. I still have a box of 32oz x 6 of #82 and another 32oz x 3 of #80 Speed Glaze in inventory.
 
EdLancer said:
As much as Autopians love polishing, we have to remember to save/preserve clearcoat thickness.
What do you guys use annually for well maintained paint, an AIO polish/sealant/wax product or a ultrafine polish followed by a LSP ?
I was thinking about 3D HD Speed or Drive Auto Appearance Victory Nano Polish & Seal for an AIO or Merzerna SF3800(4000) as an ultrafine polish followed by a LSP.
From the looks of it AIO products are less expensive than polishes when I only need very very minor correction abilities.
Product also has to be stable for at least a decade which means no separation when stored in it`s original container.
Click to expand...

Unless the paint is really thin for some reason, you`ll be fine with any of today`s solid polishes. Personally, I no longer really lead or work much with sealants and waxes. Polish and ceramic coat it. Enjoy the hardness and hydrophobic properties going forward.
 
pdqgp- Hey, I saw you`ve posted on a few threads lately, glad to have you back here. Seems like it`d been a while...unless I`m, uhm..wrong... But "hi!" anyhow.

EdLancer- Heh heh, reading about your Meguiar`s stash I can`t help but think "Oh gee, the guy`s as bad as I am" :D The #82 always did a bit of filling for me, but not as much as the old M09. And yeah...I keep a bottle of M80 just so I can sniff it every now and then for the WayBack Machine effect, as I do with some other their other stuff too. Wish those gave a sharper look, they just don`t leave things as "crisp" looking for me as my, uhm...hate saying this...more modern polishes.

Some pre-VOC Meguiars stuff simply doesn`t go bad IME. Somebody..can almost remember who it was, apologies if he reads this :o ...once used some Mirror Brite stuff from the `60s and it was still effective.
 
pdqgp said:
Unless the paint is really thin for some reason, you`ll be fine with any of today`s solid polishes.
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Well said. I completely agree that today’s abrasive has come a long way. I wouldn’t hesitate to polish once a year unless the paint is really thin like you stated.

Some AIO’s are more abrasive than some polishes. They just lack in the durability aspect.

I’ve moved on to coatings myself so polishing once every 1.5 -2 years is fine with me.
 
Some time this week I am going to try FK 215 One Step Cleaner and Surface Sealant for very light swirls and to clean the paint a bit then top it with FK 1000P. If that works well, I may try FKs 303 Foam Pad Glaze on paint in good condition and then try to lock that glaze look with 1000P.
 
Accumulator said:
pdqgp- Hey, I saw you`ve posted on a few threads lately, glad to have you back here. Seems like it`d been a while...unless I`m, uhm..wrong... But "hi!" anyhow.
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Thank you! Been traveling a lot for work and built a new PC over the past couple weeks in my spare time so I was "down" from online a bit. Detailing hasn`t slowed but it was a few weeks of unplugged time and it honestly does a body good :)
 
The FK215 is a really good AIO. Plenty of cut to it and is a deep cleaner. I have used it via rotary many times in the past.
 
The Guz said:
Some AIO’s are more abrasive than some polishes. They just lack in the durability aspect.
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Yeah I was considering Meg`s D301 "Finishing Wax" and then saw on the chart that it`s has an aggressiveness level of 3 rivaling some swirl removers !
 
Nothing wrong with 301 on a white pad. Now if you used a foamed wool or cutting MF pad each time it may take its toll over the span of the vehicle.

Hard to estimate how the products will be in 10-20 years. Not bad to buy the small 4 or 8 oz bottles depending on your needs abrasive technology is very good in some of these products right now and who knows could get better.


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dennis hiip said:
Britemax AIO is very mild abrasive.
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Recommendations are good, but most are not practical for us here in Canada when the shipping costs 2-3 times more than the actual product. Always trying to find a retailer that stocks what I need so I don`t have to pay individual shipping to separate merchants for different products.
 
MattPersman said:
Nothing wrong with 301 on a white pad. Now if you used a foamed wool or cutting MF pad each time it may take its toll over the span of the vehicle.

Hard to estimate how the products will be in 10-20 years. Not bad to buy the small 4 or 8 oz bottles depending on your needs abrasive technology is very good in some of these products right now and who knows could get better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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16oz or less bottles are for the retail market and is usually a rip off when a 32oz bottle is not that much different in cost and is directed at professionals.
 
EdLancer said:
16oz or less bottles are for the retail market and is usually a rip off when a 32oz bottle is not that much different in cost and is directed at professionals.
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Almost every product known to man costs less in volume that’s not the debate


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Heh heh, it`s not too frugal when a quart/gallon of product either goes bad (OK, mine hardly ever do) or is rendered an also-ran by some new development. I have all that [freakin`] M205 that I`ll *NEVER* use...and a fair bit of M105 too (even some of the great v1.0 stuff).

I bought bulk for *AGES* and still do for some stuff, but I`ve learned to be a little careful about stocking up on things in certain categories.
 
Bert said:
Some time this week I am going to try FK 215 One Step Cleaner and Surface Sealant for very light swirls and to clean the paint a bit then top it with FK 1000P. If that works well, I may try FKs 303 Foam Pad Glaze on paint in good condition and then try to lock that glaze look with 1000P.
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FK215 is awesome, but doesn`t get much talk around here - probably because it`s been around a while. I had the MUCH more expensive Wolfgang AIO and I liked my $11 bottle of FK just as much (but WG cuts more). Oddly, they are similarly colored.

To the OP`s question: One thing I like about AIOs once a year (as opposed to a polish) is the ease of removal. With 3800, I`m rubbing pretty hard with Eraser to prep for sealant and wax. With an AIO, it`s not only not necessary, but you get some protection for your effort.
 
WaxAddict- Yes indeed, pretty much every AIO I`ve ever used has been utterly Accumulator-proof (well, as long as I keep some of `em off the trim).

Wonder why I never tried the FK215...does it stain trim?
 
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