David Fermani
Forza Auto Salon
My 3M Rant – <span style="color:#ff0000;">Opportunists for failure
There are certain attributes & stereotypes that come to mind anytime the name 3M is mentioned in a detailing or body shop setting…
Some good (+)…..great abrasives & adhesives like Trizact & Scotch painters tape, purchasing of Meguiars & EDGE companies.
And some not so good (-)....Ultrafina aka the “durable filler�, terrible rocks in a bottle dusty compounds, buffer swirls, hand glaze and a lack luster line of wanna-be retail products that really haven’t made much headway into too many people’s arsenal. (in my opinion of course)
Now, after years of sitting back watching other companies pioneer the technology of a single cutting/polishing product, they now decide to throw their hat into the ring with their new 3M Perfect–It 1 Finishing Material product. According to this product’s label, it’s designed to remove 3000 grit (or finer) scratches when used with a finishing foam pad and finish out perfectly. Boy, if that doesn’t have filler written all over it I don’t know what does?
Regardless, I find it intriguing that a company like 3M is following the path that other companies initially blazed in another failed attempt to try and devour up poor innocent body shop compound slingers into thinking this new product is god’s gift to the body shop industry like before. It’s like all of a sudden they went into a warp drive going from their 3 product/3 pad Perfect It Paint Finishing System that pretty much every body shop still can’t seem to get right to a now 1 single product system that uses a foam finishing pad to cut through what use to require a cutting wool pad & heavy compound? If this doesn’t reek of failure I don’t know what does? This foreseeable failed effort might dig 3M deeper into the red with their body shop suppliers/distributors and weaken the low morale that painters, painters helpers & detailers already have in their current offerings. It will surely allow competing companies to gobble up even more lost market share that once was 3M’s feather in their hat. 
You would have figured that with 3M purchasing Meguiars that some of their technology would have trickled down to them by now, but it looks like they are keeping their trade secrets to themselves? I used to be a huge supporter of the Perfect It sanding/polishing system when it was 1<sup>st</sup> released. In fact not only did I coach several body shops how to use it, but I also promoted it quite a bit at the time when 3 buffing steps was the “in� thing. http://www.autopia.org/forum/machine-polishing-amp-sanding/90894-3m-perfect-3000-training-class-pictures.html?hl=perfect And I won’t hesitate to tell you that I still regularly use their Trizact 1500 & 3000 sanding discs. But, their paint correction technology is pre-historic by today’s standards and it’s sad to know that body shops are still struggling with the mastering of its finicky instructions which if not followed precisely will leave a huge void in the intended result. Being in the collision repair industry visiting body shops daily you would be amazed with the mess that I constantly see as a result of them not adhering to 3M’s strict instructions for their system. For example, I’ve seen people avoid using the 3000 grit refinement step and go right to compounding (leaving pigtails & sanding marks). I’ve seen people skip using the wool pad step and go right to medium foam/compound to attempt to remove the sand scratches (leaving sand scratches). I’ve seen countless technicians skip the middle polishing step and go right to Ultrafina thinking that the finish is good enough (only to have compounding swirls later appear). If there was a way to use this system wrong, trust me they would find it and still think that their final results are “good enough�! The sad thing is that 3M pretty much dominates the body shop industry and is more concerned with the meat & potatoe sales items in a body shop and fail miserably at the nickel & dime items like properly polishing paint. And if you’re a detail minded person like me, those little finishing details can make or break the overall quality of the job. How many times have you seen a car come from a body shop for repair and be riddled with buffer swirls? Truthfully it’s more of the rule then the exception. Chances are pretty great that those results were from a shop that used the 3M “system� (or lack of so to speak). So why are they trying to take such a huge leap forward without really having the ability to rectify the mess they have already created? All in all, I wish 3M luck with getting their act together in the paint correction side of the business. Based on my opinion, with a company this large and focused on innovation we should expect great things from them. Time will only tell…..
There are certain attributes & stereotypes that come to mind anytime the name 3M is mentioned in a detailing or body shop setting…
Some good (+)…..great abrasives & adhesives like Trizact & Scotch painters tape, purchasing of Meguiars & EDGE companies.
And some not so good (-)....Ultrafina aka the “durable filler�, terrible rocks in a bottle dusty compounds, buffer swirls, hand glaze and a lack luster line of wanna-be retail products that really haven’t made much headway into too many people’s arsenal. (in my opinion of course)
Now, after years of sitting back watching other companies pioneer the technology of a single cutting/polishing product, they now decide to throw their hat into the ring with their new 3M Perfect–It 1 Finishing Material product. According to this product’s label, it’s designed to remove 3000 grit (or finer) scratches when used with a finishing foam pad and finish out perfectly. Boy, if that doesn’t have filler written all over it I don’t know what does?
Regardless, I find it intriguing that a company like 3M is following the path that other companies initially blazed in another failed attempt to try and devour up poor innocent body shop compound slingers into thinking this new product is god’s gift to the body shop industry like before. It’s like all of a sudden they went into a warp drive going from their 3 product/3 pad Perfect It Paint Finishing System that pretty much every body shop still can’t seem to get right to a now 1 single product system that uses a foam finishing pad to cut through what use to require a cutting wool pad & heavy compound? If this doesn’t reek of failure I don’t know what does? This foreseeable failed effort might dig 3M deeper into the red with their body shop suppliers/distributors and weaken the low morale that painters, painters helpers & detailers already have in their current offerings. It will surely allow competing companies to gobble up even more lost market share that once was 3M’s feather in their hat. You would have figured that with 3M purchasing Meguiars that some of their technology would have trickled down to them by now, but it looks like they are keeping their trade secrets to themselves? I used to be a huge supporter of the Perfect It sanding/polishing system when it was 1<sup>st</sup> released. In fact not only did I coach several body shops how to use it, but I also promoted it quite a bit at the time when 3 buffing steps was the “in� thing. http://www.autopia.org/forum/machine-polishing-amp-sanding/90894-3m-perfect-3000-training-class-pictures.html?hl=perfect And I won’t hesitate to tell you that I still regularly use their Trizact 1500 & 3000 sanding discs. But, their paint correction technology is pre-historic by today’s standards and it’s sad to know that body shops are still struggling with the mastering of its finicky instructions which if not followed precisely will leave a huge void in the intended result. Being in the collision repair industry visiting body shops daily you would be amazed with the mess that I constantly see as a result of them not adhering to 3M’s strict instructions for their system. For example, I’ve seen people avoid using the 3000 grit refinement step and go right to compounding (leaving pigtails & sanding marks). I’ve seen people skip using the wool pad step and go right to medium foam/compound to attempt to remove the sand scratches (leaving sand scratches). I’ve seen countless technicians skip the middle polishing step and go right to Ultrafina thinking that the finish is good enough (only to have compounding swirls later appear). If there was a way to use this system wrong, trust me they would find it and still think that their final results are “good enough�! The sad thing is that 3M pretty much dominates the body shop industry and is more concerned with the meat & potatoe sales items in a body shop and fail miserably at the nickel & dime items like properly polishing paint. And if you’re a detail minded person like me, those little finishing details can make or break the overall quality of the job. How many times have you seen a car come from a body shop for repair and be riddled with buffer swirls? Truthfully it’s more of the rule then the exception. Chances are pretty great that those results were from a shop that used the 3M “system� (or lack of so to speak). So why are they trying to take such a huge leap forward without really having the ability to rectify the mess they have already created? All in all, I wish 3M luck with getting their act together in the paint correction side of the business. Based on my opinion, with a company this large and focused on innovation we should expect great things from them. Time will only tell…..
