Optimum polish fine enough for finishing?

R

ron231

New member
I have heard OP's cut is pad dependant, so can I go OP on orange to OP on white to wax or would I get better results with a finer finishing polish like xmt1?



Reason I am asking is I currently have none except for scratchx (which might I add, works nicely) because it was fast and otc but now I am ready to order a real polish meant for machine use and I would enjoy only getting one right now as the pads I still dont have are enough money already.
 
OP is not a great final finish polish. perhaps if you used a finishing pad or finessing. go with poli-seal instead. it won't cut as much as OP but with and aggresive pad you can get a lot done, and it is a much better finish polish than OP. XMT1 is a nice finish polish also, but poli-seal is more versatile.
 
I wouldn't use the OP as a final finish polish either. I would use OP for stage 1 polishing, but for a finish, I would something like Vanilla Moose or Blackfire...



Are you using a PC or doing this by hand?
 
Contrary to the others (except Patrick), I'd DEFINITELY USE OP as a final polish. If you use the correct amounts with the appropriate technique and pads, the finish will be GREAT. And, as Patrick says, on certain paints, you can have flawless finish even with an orange pad.
 
So far I've yet to get the final finish I was after with OP, but I haven't used it all that often either so user-error/ignorance might be to blame.



E.g., Audi clear via PC/4" white polishing pad- close, but 1Z Pro MP improved it enough that I could notice.
 
You mentioned XMT - I use XMT#3 on a LC orange pad via PC and it finishes down fine enough for me. It doesn't have a lot of correction, but it will get about 90% of most swirls out. XMT #1 is weak as piss in my opinion. When I finally use up my XMT stuff and the oily Meg's stuff, I'm trying Optimum - cost wise it looks good and most folks here have had positive results.
 
I've found OP to finish down quite nicely, and like others have said, on certain paints, such as metallics, you can finish down on an LC Orange Pad. Its a very versatile product and has given me great results!
 
Alright so if I get OP with yellow pad, orange pad, white pad, blue pad I will be good to go unless I need to do really heavy compounding work right?



Start out with orange, then switch over to white for finishing, then apply wax etc with blue and reserve yellow for badly scratched and neglected cars?
 
Bence said:
Contrary to the others (except Patrick), I'd DEFINITELY USE OP as a final polish. If you use the correct amounts with the appropriate technique and pads, the finish will be GREAT. And, as Patrick says, on certain paints, you can have flawless finish even with an orange pad.
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I'm with Bence & Patrick. OP is a great final polish whether worked by PC, Cyclo or rotary, but it finishes down especially well with a rotary from my experiences.
 
I like it a lot for a final step, however when you need that extra 1% out of your finish, Menzerna is the way to go. It will finish down fine on most paints via a polishing pad and PC.



Just a side note-I find that it works excellent on a light cutting or cutting pad, giving enough cut to remove a decent amount of defects, without having too much cut. I find it is awesome on cars in O.K. shape, removing most of the defects while finishing down nice.
 
Coupe said:
Im having trouble understanding why some of you are saying its not good for a final polishing step.
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good is a relative term. i have gotten "good" finishes out of OP. I can get "better" out of poli-seal, 106ff, fpII just to name a few.
 
Coupe said:
Im having trouble understanding why some of you are saying its not good for a final polishing step.
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I'm not saying that it isn't "good" persay, but I more or less prefer the shine that a few others offer. I like to see depth and shine, not just one or the other. I haven't had both of those results at the same time with OP.



It's a great polish though, and I have used it on a few cars within the past year...
 
In *most* cases it finishes out just fine. *I* couldn't get it to finish even decent on a black BMW that I did no matter what machine I tried. YMMV
 
SpoiledMan said:
In *most* cases it finishes out just fine. *I* couldn't get it to finish even decent on a black BMW that I did no matter what machine I tried. YMMV
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Thats cuz your a sick man Chris, SICK I SAY!!!! :geez
 
SubyDude said:
good is a relative term. i have gotten "good" finishes out of OP. I can get "better" out of poli-seal, 106ff, fpII just to name a few.
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I dont think poli-seal should be allowed in this convo. Obviously its gonna look "better", it has protection in it that is going to change the overall look. This isnt the purpose of a finishing polish, which is what we are talking about.







RyanDe680 said:
I'm not saying that it isn't "good" persay, but I more or less prefer the shine that a few others offer. I like to see depth and shine, not just one or the other. I haven't had both of those results at the same time with OP.



It's a great polish though, and I have used it on a few cars within the past year...
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I think people put to much thought into finishing polishes.

A painted surface can only get so "perfect". Once all the marring and imperfections are removed, well, thats it. Dosent matter what your finishing polish is, as long as the paint is imperfection free at the end. After that the rest of the look is gonna come down to what sealant/wax you use.



Some people will argue that there are "oils" in the finishing polish that give it a little something extra in looks. Yet almost everyone i see post use an AIO product anyways after their final polishing step and alot do an IPA wipe down, some do both. So alot of people cant even use this arguement.







Honestly, i like megs #82 over any other finishing polish ive used, thats only becuase i like the way it brakes down. The finished result is the same as any other finishing polish achieved for me though.
 
ron, judge yourself:



DetailedToyotaCamry5.jpg




Dunno, it looks good enough for me...



PS: camera is a SonyEricsson K750i
 
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