Review w/ PICS: Gloss it vs. Megs M105, 3M Ultrafina, Zaino and Lusso...

Smoke · #1 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008

I wanted to see how the gloss it line compared to my regular product stack, in this case I was correcting a heavily swirled panel so I used an aggressive compund followed by a finishing polish. I compared Gloss It's Extreme cut to Megs M105 ultra cut compund, Evolution polish to 3M Ultrafina and Gloss finish to Zaino Z5pro(sealant) topped with Lusso Oro carnauba wax....

I started with a scrap panel I use to test all my products on

LEFT SIDE IS DONE ALL BY GLOSS IT PRODUCTS

RIGHT SIDE IS DONE ALL BY MEGS,3M,ZAINO AND LUSSO ORO.

The panel was corrected a few times before so to compare the 2 cutting polishes (Megs M105 and Gloss It Extreme cut) I used a stiff bristle carpet brush to induce heavy swirl marks and marring.

After inspection with an Infratech CM5300 color matching light I saw both sides were evenly "trashed" and began my prep. No clay was needed so I proceeded with a quick detail spray followed by a thorough IPA wipedown.

First up, Megs most aggressive vs. Gloss It's most aggressive.

Now I use M105 only when I need to and its probably the most aggressive compound/polish around and it is very finicky. It has a super fast working time, I usually lay a bead on the panel, pick it up quick and start working right at 1500rpm, if you spread on low rpm first it will have already flashed. Work time is about 10-12seconds I'd say per small section. Its cuts very very well and leaves a great finish especially for such a heavy compund, the finish is almost LSP ready in most cases.

So I started correction with the left side using M105 and the megs cutting pad. It worked fast as usual at 1500rpm and cut very well leaving a fine finish. I gave it an 50/50 IPA wipedown to inspect the paint. If you look closely however there are still some RIDS and fine swirls left, I'd say after just one hit with M105 the finish was about 85%.

After M105

Gloss it Extreme cut worked IMO more like a polish compared to M105. I know these products are recommended for use on a dual action or random so finding the right setting on my rotary took a little time but I used it at 1200rpm and it worked well. First I spread at 600, then up to 900 then 1200 and back down to 900 for the last few passes to refine the finish and prevent holograms. It broke down smooth overall and was very easy to use, not as finicky as M105. And well the results really shocked me...

After Gloss it Extreme Cut
(Left side w. Gloss it Right side w. Megs)

I didnt think Extreme cut would come close to Megs M105 but it did amazingly well. Removing more swirls and deeper RIDS compared to the M105 after just one hit.

Heres the back to back

Extreme Cut

Megs M105 UCC

After correction I moved onto refining the finish of both sides one with Gloss It Evolution Polish and the other with and 3M Ultrafina SE. Both were used with Lake Country white ccs foam pads (light polishing pad)

Now 3M Ultrafina SE is my absolute favorite polish/finishing product. It works well on pretty much any paint, doesnt get grabby, doesnt dust, breaks down super smooth(its a wet polish so it finishes wet) and it leaves a great finish, especially after heavy correction work where holograms or fine swirls are left. It was designed as a follow up polish for the purpose of removing holograms.

Gloss It evolution polish worked nicley as well on this panel. It cleaned up some fine swirls left after M105 but those deeper RIDS werent effected, 3M UF wouldnt have made a difference on them either. Evolution polish broke down smooth and left a great finish. Couldnt really tell the difference bewteen it and 3M UF.

Half and Half

Evolution Polish

3M Ultrafina

Now that the paint was corrected and finished on both sides it was given another IPA wipe down to make sure any polishing oils or resudue was removed and the true finish was shown with no filling.

Now for LSP prep. I used Gloss It Gloss enhancer QD spray on the left before applying Gloss Finish and Zaino Z6 gloss enhancer spray on the right before applying Zaino Z5pro sealant. I am a big Zaino fan and Z6 is a great product, ultra slick and good before and in between coats of Zaino Z5 or Z2, plus the smell is awesome. Gloss It gloss enhancer spray worked in well with a soft MF and came off clean, no streaking at all.

So both panels were prepped for LSP.

The gloss it left side got Gloss Finish applied via Flex random orbital and a blue lake country finessing pad, left to haze a bit and then buffed off followed by a final Gloss enhancer spray wipedown.

The Right side got 1 coat of Zaino Z5pro enabled with ZFX'd curing additive applied by a zaino hand applicator in side to side motions and let to cure for 35minutes, it was buffed off and given another Z6 wipe before applying Lusso Oro carnauba wax via red ccs applicator. I gave it the usual 2 thin coats only letting a few minutes to cure before buffing off each coat.

I love the look of Zaino sealants but the 30+ minute curing times between coats is annoying and usually I like to apply 2-3 coats if im not topping it with a wax so its pretty time consuming. Gloss finish takes the cake when it comes to being user friendly. Quick on, quick off no long lag time in between. BIG plus for me.

Right side, Lusso Wax curing. I recently started topping Zaino with a wax and find it adds a little more depth and glow to the paint but again its another step in the process. I really now like Gloss finish because its just to be applied, hazed and buffed off before a final GE wipedown, thats it! Where as my regular process has been Apply Zaino, let cure for 30+ mins, Z6 wipedown, apply another coat let cure for 30mins, Z6 wipe and then top with a wax which again has to be applied and buffed off.

Left side, blue LC pad and Gloss finish

Gloss finish being worked in

Now I must say the gloss it system overall was easier and faster to use(with the exeption of M105's very fast work time). As a Menzerna user who doesnt enjoy the products long working times Gloss It was a pleasure to use, fairlyy quick work times and easy on easy off. I didnt experience dusting with the Gloss It line so far and thats also a plus because Menzerna can get a little messy with dust all over the place and I usually have to re wash the car after.

FINAL RESULT...

Remember the gloss it side has only 1 coat Gloss finish and a GE wipedown for LSP and the other side has Zaino Z5pro and 2 coats of Lusso Oro wax on it.

Both sides looked great and I had a hard time telling the difference initially, which is IMO a good thing because that means Gloss It held its own with some of the top brand products available. I inspected the finish closely with halogens and in natural garage lighting to find which side looked better and I am pleased to say GLOSS IT was the winner! I looked for clarity, depth and shine and it seemed that both were very similar but one side out performed the other just by a bit and it was thanks to Gloss It products.

Now seeing the correction capability and finish achieved by gloss it in the easier and less time consuming way made me very happy with my purchase of their products.

Gloss It left Megs, 3m, Zaino,Lusso Right

Gloss it bringing out the metallic flake..

Zaino and Lusso

These are bad pics but heres some reflection shots in my garage.

I flipped the panel so Gloss it is now on the right side and the other products used is shown in the left side.

GLOSS IT right Zaino Lusso Left

You can see in this pic how I was able to get rid of the deep RIDS with Extreme Cut on the gloss it side compared to Megs compund

Gloss it side 50/50 with another uncorrected part of the panel

Dramatic difference I'd say...

Outside.

Right- Gloss IT

Left -Megs, 3M, Zaino,Lusso

Overall Im very pleased and will continue to use the gloss it line in future details. I still love my other products and am not going to throw away my Menzerna, Megs and Zaino just yet but who knows maybe gloss it will be all I need. So far I am very very happy and the results speak for themselves. Thanks for looking.

Mrgloss · #2 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008

Wow!!!Nicely done...Fantastic write up smoke!! I'm very glad you put the gloss-it polishes to the test, and compared them against the leading competitor’s polishes.

Once you start to detail different vehicles from conventional to Ceramic to single stage paints you will find different gloss-it polishes will give you the ability not to have to switch back in fourth between 5 or 6 different companies. This is what led me to develop a unique polishing system over the past 20 years. I wanted to create a paint correction system that did not powder, was not to aggressive and supplied ample work time without drying to fast. The Evolution Polishes (Extreme Cut, Evolution Cut and Evolution Polish) work no matter what the paint condition or paint finish type.

I'm glad that you are pleased with our Paint Correction and Polishing System and look forward to your upcoming post and reviews on future detail work. Keep up the excellent work!

DetailWerkz · #3 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008

Great review Smoke!

You know I started detailing with Zaino about 7 years ago. In fact my company name was Zaino Mobile Detail for about 4-5 years. When I wanted to franchise my company my lawyers recommended that I change my name just in case Zaino Bro's came back and wanted royalties. So I did just that, I renamed my detail company to Detail Werkz. Now I had to build my reputation back up since everyone knew me as Zaino Mobile Detail. I continued to use Zaino for another 2 years till I got a call from Rich at Gloss-It one day and he talked to me for about 2 hours about his product.

I got the product and started using it here and there on some details, really not expecting to find something better than Zaino. But after test after test and detail after detail I was blown away at the results. The Gloss-It polishes would give me goose bumps when I was using them. A evil smile would come over my face as I thought how this stuff was going to make me an even better detailer. I finally used up my remaining Zaino product and exclusively started using the Gloss-It products on my details, and the results were just mind-blowing. I could not get over how much clarity was popping from the paint from just one application of the Gloss-IT Gloss Finish. I had been so use to mixing Z5 pro with ZFX, Z2 with ZFX and putting a coat of Z5 mixture on, letting it dry for 15 mins, wiping it off, z6 the car, then put on a coat of z2 mixture, let it dry for 15 mins, z6 the car again. This would add sometimes an extra 45 mins to my detail.

Now with the Gloss-It gloss finish I can have an exterior double washed, double clayed, dried, and a coat of the gloss finish in under one hour! This means I can pull in one maybe two more vehicles a day providing me up to $600 more dollars in a day!

I am glad you like the product. Keep using it on your details and take some photos of vehicles you have done with the Gloss-It Gloss-Finish. Next you need to try the Gloss-It Satin Leather Cleaner and Satin Leather Polish and the T.R.V. and let us know what you think about them.

Smoke · #4 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008

I was truly impressed guys and certainly look forward to using the full line in my upcomming details . Im getting to the point where I dont want to use Menzerna and Zaino anymore, yet they find their way into every single detail I do. The 2 are just to time consuming and Menzerna's dusting/powdering is such a pain.

Also I just want to make sure im doing everything correctly. For Gloss Finish when im using my Flex do I polish it until clear or polish until its broken down and spread thin across the paint and then let it haze? If so how long should I let it haze before buffing off? Also if I wanted to work Extreme cut or evolution polish at maybe 1500rpm is that okay or should I stick to about 1200rpm? And can I use my lake country foamed wool with extreme cut for heavy correction?