Which 3M product to buy?

JasonD

JasonD

New member
I was looking at the 3M website and see that there are quite a few different rubbing compounds to choose from like: Perfect It II, Perfect It III, Imperial, Super Duty, Perfect It 3000, etc. They all sound like great products but which one is the best for PC appliation?
 
I use and really like Perfect It III Machine Glaze and Rubbing Compound. They work great by PC and hand. Both remove defects, not fill them.
 
JDookie- As per my post on the other thread, I too would go with the PI-III RC 05933 and the PI-III MG 05937. They work great by rotary/PC/hand and compliment each other very well. *DO NOT* get the Super Duty or the Extra Cut compounds for use by hand/PC, they are truly "liquid sandpaper". Even by rotary I found them way more than I'll *ever* need for anything.
 
I'll second the advice on the Super Duty, it kinda horrified me :scared: Perhaps it's worth experimenting with as a metal polish only.
 
Okay, so Super Duty is completely out for use on anything we want to ever shine again and PI III seems to be a little less messy than the PI II, but what about the Imperial Microfinishing product?
 
Bill D said:
I'll second the advice on the Super Duty, it kinda horrified me :scared: Perhaps it's worth experimenting with as a metal polish only.
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Definitely, I don't think I'd ever use the super duty on paint. :scared It does work on metal though.
 
JDookie said:
..what about the Imperial Microfinishing product?
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Sorry, haven't tried it. Unless somebody chimes in with a strong recommendation, I'd just stick with the known quantities, the 05933 and 05937. They pretty much cover all the bases- not bad for two products.
 
It probably really depends on how much more work you want to do, but I could see following PP with the Pi III MG, a good substitute for, say, MP or Menzerna FP
 
The MP is still a unique product if for nothing more than that it contains wax, it's probably more user friendly than the 3m as a result as well. I don't see it not being compatible following the PP however.
 
Well this answered all my questions. I am going to use up the rest of my PI II RC and then switch to the PI III version. I'd love to go out and buy the MG but I am thinking that I already have products that will do the same job, like 1Z MP to name one. I hate buying stuff that sounds great and then finding out later that you have no use for it, like the 3M PI SMR. I bought this stuff six months ago and never used it once because I found out that I would prefer to fix the problem rather than hide it. Anyway, great responses. Thank you!:up
 
JDookie said:
I bought this stuff six months ago and never used it once because I found out that I would prefer to fix the problem rather than hide it.
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My experience and sentiments exactly. Maybe by rotary more of its light polishing characterisitcs can come out and can be useful as a final polishing step but even at that IMO there are still other polishes worth using more instead.
 
One last observation before we wrap this all up. The PI-III MG has a lot more cut than 1Z MP. The MG can really abrade away marring, while the MP is just *so* mild that I don't see it really doing any true correction, it's just more like a final follow-up after something like PP (it'll remove the finest micromarring but that's about it). Even the "pro" MP is a lot milder than the PI-III MG. See how the different combos work, but keep the PI-III MG in the back of your mind. It's possibly my most-used product of this type.
 
I wasn't thinking that MG had any abrasive qualities to it at all. I think this is why I usually skip the MP step that you like to use, I just don't see enough difference. Give me a scenario where you would use MG, if you don't mind.
 
That Audi clear, let alone the 15year old one, makes the MG seem like it has basically no cut,(at least without a rotary, which when I practice with it, seems to eliminate light marring a lot quicker) yep it is always good to experiment around to see which following polish suits your needs best
 
JDookie said:
I wasn't thinking that MG had any abrasive qualities to it at all. I think this is why I usually skip the MP step that you like to use, I just don't see enough difference. Give me a scenario where you would use MG, if you don't mind.
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Well, the PI-III MG does have cut, it's just pretty mild. It can *really* accomplish some things by rotary, and on not-too-hard paint it works well by PC/Cyclo/hand too. I was thinking earlier how it really is a good bit more aggressive than the 1z MP.



Back when I had the WRX, the PI-III MG was about all I ever used on it when I needed to remove marring (and I used that car year-round and washed it with a BHB, none too gently, either :o ). When I do the MPV (after a year of washes with the BHB and two years without polishing), I'll probably do 90% of the work with the PI-III MG, and there's no way that using something as mild as 1Z MP would accomplish anything significant.



The final pass with 1z MP is a pretty subtle improvement, but I find it so easy to do I always add that step when I'm using 1Z stuff. If you're happy with the way PP leaves things, then sure, skip the MP.



But IMO you'd be missing out if you don't get the PI-III MG because of a perceived similarity to 1Z MP.
 
Bill D said:
Accumulator,



Would something like this be accurate order?:



1ZPP, PI III MG, 1z MP
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Yeah, I'd put them in that order (not that I'd *use* them in that order- no need for MG between the two 1z products).



Something I get good results with is to use 3M PI-III RC (05933) by rotary (usually with first a cutting, then a polishing pad), then the PI-III MG by rotary (polishing pad). Note that these products don't have fillers/waxes, so what I see is what I have (without any alcohol wipedowns). Then I go *back up the abrasiveness scale* using the PP with the *Cyclo* (green polishing pads), then MP with either the Cyclo or the PC (usually with a finishing pad).



It's a lot of steps, and more than many with more rotary experience/skill would need to do. But I don't get any problems like holograms (and I don't have to pull the vehicle into the sun to check for them) and the resulting finish looks good to me. This is what I used on the S8 after the deer-incident repairs and more recently on the '84 Volvo. I'll note that on the Volvo I chickened out long before I removed all the marring....even the 05933/cutting pad/1750 rpms wasn't getting it all out. I did a few spots with the Extra Cut, which worked, but I just didn't feel comfortable taking off so much paint and scouring the finish so badly.
 
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