Gloss It vs. Meguiars and 3M using the high speed

Smoke · #1 (**permalink**) 09-18-2008

When I first tested the Gloss It polishes on my high speed rotary polisher I found that although I was able to get great correction, the finish was often left with holograms and micro scratches.

Rich (MrGloss) gave me some insight on what combos worked best when doing high speed correction so I gave them a test today.

The first test was a comparrison between the Gloss It Extreme Cut and the Gloss It One Step machine polish vs. Meguiars M105 ultra cut compound and 3M's Ultrafina SE.

Here is the comparrison: I wanted to see how much correction I could achive with a heavily swirled finish using only a 2 STEP correction/finishing process. For those who detail for profit using a 2 step process opposed to a 3 or 4 step process is not only a big time saver but it also increases profitability. You are able to polish out more cars, more efficently.

Side note - I will only use a 2 step process if I know the finish will be 98-100% perfect afterwards, if not I will add a 3rd step to get the finish to a perfect or near perfect level.

**In this test there are no variables other than the different products used. Each pad is the exact same and each speed used on the machine is the exact same in both cases. I felt this was important to prove a fair result.**

Left is: Gloss It products
Right Side is: Meguiars and 3M products

Here is the test panel. I spent over 10minutes getting the sides evenly swriled and scratched. Notice there are dozens of deep RIDS left in the finish.

Gloss It side:

Meguiars and 3M side:

Now onto the correction.

Gloss It process: Please take note of this is you are using the high speed polisher and gloss it polishes*

Step 1 : Gloss It Extreme cut w/ 8" white lambswool pad at 1500rpm which was then jeweled down to 1000rpm to refine the finish. The white lambswool is great for heavy cutting and moves smoothly across the finish. I sprayed the Gloss Enhancer spray directly onto the panel as the polish dried out so I could lengthen the work time. This not only allowed the extreme cut to work longer but it also helped eliminate most of the micro scratches and holograms because I finessed the finish on low RPMs using the wool pad before it completey dried out thanks to the super slick gloss enahancer spray in between.

Step 2 : Gloss It One step Machine polish w/ 6inch edge CCX blue polishing pad. (This pad has some mecahnical cut but is soft enough to leave a high gloss finish without holograms) I used the One Step polish at 1500rpm and slowly jeweled it down to about 900rpm. Again as the polish dired out I sprayed the gloss enhancer right on the panel and worked it a bit longer as I refined the finish.

Here is the wool pad and the extreme cut

Before correction

Using the gloss enahcer during correction

After correction using only the Extreme cut and wool pad..no finishing was done yet just a thorough IPA wipedown.

If you notice the finsih is completely defect free and left with very very minimal holograms. I took the pictures kinda far away because the CM5300 shows defects better at a distance. I only notice the holograms because the light is slightly defracted around the bulbs reflection its very hard to see up close.

So far after only 1 step the correction was just about perfect and the wool pad left a suprisingly nice finish with minimal holograms and no micro scratches. Using the gloss enhacner spray in between polishing really helps eliminate holograms and finer scratches left by the compound and wool pad.

Now it was time to use the One Step machine polish to finish out the paint. The One step is my favorite polish because its so versatile. It has plenty on cut when needed (using a cutting pad of course) but on a softer foam pad it really is able to bring out a high gloss when a light cut is still needed.

The blue CCX edge pad I used isnt really great I just thought it had the right density for this process so I used it.

This is the finish after polishing with the Gloss It one step polish

I took this picture using the CM5300 inspection light Far far away to show no swirls were hidden, here you can see the light is refracted perfectly. No holograms at all.

50/50

The uncorrected side

The corrected side

Now I moved to the right side of the panel this time using Meguiars M105 and 3M Ultrafina. Again I used the same speeds and pads for correction and finishing.

Here is M105 and the wool

Befores

After using M105

The finish left after 105 was very nice, a few deep RIDS remained but overall it was very closely matched to the gloss it extreme cut. The RIDS may have been deeper in the areas near the tape line and that why they werent removed completely.

M105 overall is more agressive than Gloss It extreme cut. The only problem is that it works extremely fast! There is no spreading this product on low RPM and then raising the speed for correction. I use the SuperBee method of laying down a 3 inch bead of M105 right on the panel and picking it up right away at about 1500rpm and just start working it. It takes some getting used to but its effective in defect removal. Now M105 as usual flashed very quickly, within about 6seconds I'd say! To be fair I also used some gloss enhancer spray when it dired out a bit to help jewel it down but it did very little to help.

I then Finished out the panel using 3M Utrafina SE on the same blue edge CCX polishing pad.

Here is the right side all finished

Ultrafina is a great polish, it does take a very long time to work though. I sometimes love using a slow breakdown polish so I can really jewel the finish but other times I feel it takes a little too long. The UF helped reduce some holograms left by M105 but it didnt really add to the overall gloss of the finish and I didnt expect it to. It just leaves a clean and LSP ready finish behind.

Now some comparrison shots between the 2 corrected sides

Gloss iT

Megs and 3M

Gloss It

Megs and 3M

Both products were able to achieve full correction but in very different ways. Gloss it extreme cut was able to work much longer than the M105 and left the finish with a few less RIDS. M105 really does take some getting used to but its still a top product. My personal choice would however be the Extreme Cut, no not because this is a Gloss It forum but because I liked the way it worked longer and finished out nice and easy. All you need to do is add some gloss enahcer and you can just keep working it! Also the Extreme cut doesnt dust at all, with wool at least.

I was able to work the heavy compound like a regular cutting polish with no problems, I was left with a micro scratch and hologram free finish after only the 1st step using extreme cut.

For the One step machine polish its main job in this test was to polish out any fine holograms left by the wool pad, I worked it like a normal polish and I really focused on jeweling the finish on lower rpm (1200-900rpm). Again the gloss enahcer allowed me to do this with no problems. The Ultrafina worked very smooth as usual and polished out the wool holograms left in the finish as well it just took much longer to work.

In total it was a faster process using both gloss it products, even with adding the gloss enhancer to extend the working times. I would say The extreme cut worked about 4x as long as the super fast cutting M105 but Ultrafina needed a lot of extra work time to finish out the paint properly compared to the One step.

I think I have found my new 2 step high speed correction process. Both brands performed very well and achieved almost identical results but gloss it was just easier to use.

Another thing I like about the gloss it products is that you dont have to jump from brand to brand. For example the place I buy M105 doesnt sell 3M ultrafina and the place that sells Ultrafina doesnt sell Menzerna. Why use 2 or 3 different companies to get the results you want when you can just buy the same brand?

Gloss It is a one stop shop for all things polishing. You can go from agressive compound,cutting polish, light polish, finishing polish all the way down to a sealant using the Gloss It line.

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One more little experiment I tried Ill admit I went a little nuts on this one

I wanted to see how bad a finish could be corrected using Gloss It..in only 3 steps.

I used steel wool and a stiff carpet brush to turn a once perfect finish into this...

So out with the wool pad and extreme cut, this time I up'ed the RPM to 1700 for a few passes, still using the gloss enhancer in between so I could work it for as long as possible. Again I jeweled the finish down to 1000rpm. I really kept working extreme cut with the gloss enhancer and even added a few extra beads of polish to get as much correction as I could in 1 step.

A quick spread of the extreme cut on low rpm (something you cannot do with M105, it will have already flashed by then)

After just 1 hit of extreme cut on the wool! You can see the color of the panel now and its clarity has been restored, not perfect but a hugh improvment

Now I followed up the Extreme cut and wool with a Meguiars 6.5inch cutting pad at 1500rpm again and then jeweld the finsih down to 1000rpm. This step was needed because the level of defect in the finish was too severe for just a 2 step. The PPI ration of the meguiars burgandy foam pad is identical to the gloss it (edge) yellow pad

I used the one step here because Like I said with a cutting pad it really can do nice correction and this panel needed every bit attention there was

After finsihng out the panel and then a IPA wipedown

Very impressive for only 2 steps

I went one step further and did a 3rd step using a black LC foam finishing pad (has very mild mechanical cut to help reduce holograms) again I used the One step and this time I left the speed at about 1200rpm before refinig the finish at 900rpm.

Afters

There are still some deep swirls and scratches left that would need 1550grit wetsadning to remove but for a non wetsand correction in 3 steps I think the finish achieved was remarkable!

So from this

to this...

in only 3 steps, not bad at all!

So in conclusion for those who though that gloss it polishes didnt work well with a high speed rotary, think again. With the right pad, speed and the use of gloss enhacer you can achieve superb results and very high levels of correction.

Hope this was a help to anyone who was curious. If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them.

Thank for looking

Mrgloss · #2 (**permalink**) 09-23-2008

Very comprehensive review. Well done! This really demonstrates that gloss it polishes perform very well with the hi speed not just the Cyclo or 7424 Porter Cable.

zoomzoom mazda5 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-23-2008

Wow, i'm very impress with this. Might have to order some in the near future.

DetailWerkz · #4 (**permalink**) 09-24-2008

Awesome work. Love to see more of this! I am using my high-speed more and more each paint correction and am getting pretty good at it. Thanks for the teachings!! Keep them coming!

VEPA · #5 (**permalink**) 10-13-2008

Thanks for the very comprehensive report.

Dream Shine · #6 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008

interesting info there

I dont believe in doing two step jobs unless they are a more basic job that I am doing

And your all focusing on correction but deep cleaning and burnishing with an orbital using a new technique I have co developed does so much more than just remove marks and give a mirror finish

If paint is dry it needs moisturising, no amount of polishing will completely fix a dry and porous paint finishj

So many shops/detailers are speed and time based
I dont care about the time it takes. I do as many steps before and after polishing to get superior results that I am able to charge up to $1500 for a vehicle detail (for that money it would be black, severly marred and getting up to 12 steps (non abrasive only or non abrasive and abrasive

My work is high end only at the moment.
A friend has contacted rich by email and we cant wait to sample the gloss it range

Smoke · #7 (**permalink**) 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dream Shine

interesting info there

I dont believe in doing two step jobs unless they are a more basic job that I am doing

And your all focusing on correction but deep cleaning and burnishing with an orbital using a new technique I have co developed does so much more than just remove marks and give a mirror finish

If paint is dry it needs moisturising, no amount of polishing will completely fix a dry and porous paint finishj

So many shops/detailers are speed and time based
I dont care about the time it takes. I do as many steps before and after polishing to get superior results that I am able to charge up to $1500 for a vehicle detail (for that money it would be black, severly marred and getting up to 12 steps (non abrasive only or non abrasive and abrasive

My work is high end only at the moment.
A friend has contacted rich by email and we cant wait to sample the gloss it range

The objective of this test was to show what can be accomplished with the gloss it products in the LEAST amount of steps. Please focus on the first "2 step only" test and not the last one which I did purely for fun to see how bad of a paint finish can be resurrected.

I thought a good way to compare the cutting and finishing abilities of Gloss It to other brands would be to do a test like the 2 step showdown. Both panels were evenly swirled and using the same pads and speeds (just with different products) I saw I was able to produce slightly better correction work and a finer overall finish w/ gloss it in 2 steps only compared to Megs and 3M products in 2 steps. Now in my eyes the gloss it side of the 2 step process is at least 98%, if not 100% perfect. No holograms, no fine RIDS or swirls remain and the paint reflects light perfectly, meaning it was properly leveled and jeweled. I honestly dont think much more could have been done to enhance the finish... but if this was a show car or the owner paid for my most exclusive service I may have gone for a 3rd step with a very fine pad and the Evolution polish to produce a further crystalline gloss, if I felt the paint would benefit. In this case that may not have been the case. IMO I think it looks pretty dame good as is, the flake is popping!

I pride myself on the quality finish I produce and I will do whatever I can, for customers, not so much for scrap panels, to get their paint finish to its maximum potential. Unfortunatley many customers do not have the time or $$$ to allow me to achieve perfect or near perfect results on their cars. Many times I do 1 step correction jobs for people who can only afford 80-85% correction work. Now that I found some polishes that allow me to correct and finish in less steps I am able to be a bit more profitable in my detailing business. A full correction job that would have taken me 12-14hrs of polishing using 4 steps can now be done (with the same or better reults) in 3 or possibly even 2 steps (soft paints) taking maybe only 8 or 9 hrs instead

...Time is money and as long as the production quality is the same why would I want to go for more steps?

Dream Shine · #8 (**permalink**) 4 Weeks Ago

there is no way possible that doing a wash, clay then two to four step correction will make it absolutely perfect. yes you will get 100% correction but correction and enhancement with a rotary, finishing (most do) with 85RD with the softest pad, still doesn't bring out all the fresh off the gun colour and then darken or brighten the shade and then glassify the clear so that it stands out above the colour even more

you may beg to differ and I respect your opinion and skills, I just believe that pre correction prep (deep cleaning) and enhancement after abrasive work is finished) with non abrasive products produces a far better result

max depth, clarity, colour shade improvement and not being able to see where the metal is on the body is what makes it better.

time is money to some but not me.

Smoke · #9 (**permalink**) 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dream Shine

there is no way possible that doing a wash, clay then two to four step correction will make it absolutely perfect. yes you will get 100% correction but correction and enhancement with a rotary, finishing (most do) with 85RD with the softest pad, still doesn't bring out all the fresh off the gun colour and then darken or brighten the shade and then glassify the clear so that it stands out above the colour even more

you may beg to differ and I respect your opinion and skills, I just believe that pre correction prep (deep cleaning) and enhancement after abrasive work is finished) with non abrasive products produces a far better result

max depth, clarity, colour shade improvement and not being able to see where the metal is on the body is what makes it better.

time is money to some but not me.

I understand your point about proper pre and post polishing prep but I want to show you the results you got using your very thorough and extensive process, with many many different brands and products and some results I got using a far less extensive process with the gloss it line. As you refer to it what I did On this carbon black (dark navy) M5 was a wash, clay, 4 step correction and 2 coats of gloss it sealant. I did get 100% correction and found the finish to really come to life after endless hours of correction and proper jeweling.

The Ford you did, overall a great finish. Of course the two paints we worked on were very different. See if you think the M5 I did could have been improved further with your methods and extensive process.

Here is the M5 I did, on the side the orange peel was kinda bad but the clraity and depth still came out.

Orange peel still present

after hours of jeweling and coated with Signature gloss from gloss it

True depth and clarity

Dream Shine · #10 (**permalink**) 3 Weeks Ago

Just wicked. thats a swimming pool, just like mine, if not better because the car would have better paint clarity from factory