Which Cutting Compound?

[GK]

Hi All,

I have tried Meguiar's Scratch X on my wagon, good results on very light (read very, very light) scratches, but limited results on the deeper ones.

I was thinking of a Kitten cutting compound, you know the ones in the round metal tub. I was wondering what your experiences with these products are and also which no 1, 2 or 3?

What are the implications for the clear coat with cutting compounds?

My paint is in very good nick.

If not Kitten, which product and do I need an electric buffer? I saw some on special at Autobarn, but have heard that these will just give me miles and miles of swirl marks.

An electric one would be handy though. Anyone else use one regularly?

Your thoughts and opinions are always appreciated.

GK

[bodes-sh]

i've used kitten no.1 polishing wax, and no.2 cut and polish...the wax i've used with an electric buffer and by hand, it came up much better with the electric buffer...had fairly good results with relatively deep scratches with just the no1 polishing wax...with an electric buffer that is...i only put a little bit of wax on the buffer pad, and worked it in very lightly, ie not pressing too hard otherwise i found it sort of 'burnt' the finish a bit...never had any problems with swirl marks either

[GK]

Originally Posted by bodes-sh

i've used kitten no.1 polishing wax, and no.2 cut and polish...the wax i've used with an electric buffer and by hand, it came up much better with the electric buffer...had fairly good results with relatively deep scratches with just the no1 polishing wax...with an electric buffer that is...i only put a little bit of wax on the buffer pad, and worked it in very lightly, ie not pressing too hard otherwise i found it sort of 'burnt' the finish a bit...never had any problems with swirl marks either

Thanks bodes,

How did you get rid of the 'burnt' finish? Have you used no 2 at all?

GK

[bodes-sh]

the 'burnt finish, i just put a little bit more polish on and went over it very lightly, that got rid of it. i have used no 2 a bit, but i don't think it polishes up as well as no 1, that could be because i only used it on a resprayed roof...a home job that is...i do have both of them, but find number 1 comes up pretty well

[GK]

Originally Posted by bodes-sh

the 'burnt finish, i just put a little bit more polish on and went over it very lightly, that got rid of it. i have used no 2 a bit, but i don't think it polishes up as well as no 1, that could be because i only used it on a resprayed roof...a home job that is...i do have both of them, but find number 1 comes up pretty well

Thanks again!

GK

[MRJUCY]

There are much better polishes around these days then old school aggressive compounds like Kitten.
It's hard to say without seeing the car but usually I would suggest after washing & claying using a decent random orbital sander as a buffer with either Menzerna Intensive polish, Poor Boys SSR 2.5 or Pinnacle XMT 3 with a foam cutting pad to get out all the marks. Then when most of the marks are out follow up with Menzerna Final Finish, SSR 1 or XMT 1 on a polishing pad to really make it shine & then when you're finished use your favorite wax or sealant to protect & add a touch more bling.
The chart on this website gives you an idea of the strengths of equivalent polishes you could try http://danosdetailing.com/products/

[MRJUCY]

To give you an idea of the results you can achieve with a bit of work here's a BMW I did a few weeks ago. (sorry don't have any good AU examples.
Yes it has been washed & clayed in this pic


Here is half way through the boot. You can see while the more aggressive polish has removed most of the oxidisation & scratches the shine still isn't that great.


But using a fine polish has smoothed the paint right out so you get an almost flawless finish.

[miitch]

Holy Crap, bet the owner was happy with that!

[GK]

That table was handy Juicy!

I'll cruise down to SuperCheap tomorrow for a look at some other Meguiar's products.

Many thanks,

GK