Meguiars and 3M product review

[ruthrj]

I had a couple of bad clear coat scratches on my car. Somebody else put them there of course. So! I figured it was time to try my hand at getting them out. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and liked the idea of polishing with 3000 then 5000 grit 3M stuff first, and then buffing the haze away with a polishing compound.

The 3000 grit was necessary for the long scratch that i could catch with my fingernail. Soap and water were applied and wiped away with a microfiber cloth to clean the area. More soapy water was applied and then the 3000 grit was applied several times. Polish with that until you can*t feel the scratch with your nail anymore. Continue wet polishing with 5000 grit until the scratch is no longer visible. You should be left with a hazy patch where you were working.

Clean with soapy water again. I then applied Meguiars Ultimate Compound using their Dual Action orbital attachment for a drill. I applied that, made a pass, wiped off with soapy water and repeated these steps several times until the haze was gone and everything looked good. I then applied Meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax to protect the area.

It was a lot of work polishing with the 3M paper by hand but it saved a ton of time with the compound. The compound alone is great for removing haze or swirl marks but is wildly insufficient on its own to remove a scratch. I give all of the products mentioned 5 stars. It looks incredible and anybody could do this. The Meguiars drill attachment saved me a ton of money too vs a dedicated orbital polisher.

 

[ralf11]

a random orbit sander makes a dandy dedicated orbital polisher

 

[ruthrj]

Thanks for the tip! I*m going to see how long this Meguiars attachment works. It seems really sturdy. I wish my drill was a little lighter but it*s really nice having something cordless vs applying compound by hand. I*m definitely going to pick up a cordless orbital sander when I can spring for it!

I*m going to remove some scratches on my second car when I have time. I*ve recently discovered the world of clay bar and paint sealants. Fixing the scratches some jerks put on my cars over the years provided just the motivation I need to give that stuff a shot! I don*t think I*m motivated enough to do a ceramic coat but a paint sealer and the Ultimate paste wax I just purchased would look awesome

 

[sm1ke]

Glad to hear it worked out! Any before/after pictures? Also, what colour is your car?

That power tool attachment looks interesting, I had no idea something like that existed.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Problem is, is it random orbital like a DA polisher would be? I'd worry about putting in holograms and such if I was using it for a polish job on the car. But that's just me. I'm not that confident in my abilities.

I'm planning on getting that 3m sanding kit along with some 3 inch pads and a backing plate for my Harbor Freight DA. Was then thinking of grabbing Meguiars Ultra Cut compound, and the Ultra Finishing polish. I'm sure I'll have to do some touch up too, sadly.

Going to see if I can at least do something to this, obviously through the clearcoat though so at best just hoping to hide most of it. The plastic trim is cheap and easy enough to replace.

 

[ruthrj]

Random? Nope. I wasn't too worried about that though. With how much this sucker vibrates all around while spinning, the dual action while trying to hold this steady was random enough for me XD

This is on my 2017 Odyssey. Paint is a dark gray color (between silver and black).

Before:

After:

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Good point!

And wow, came out great. Nice job!

 

[ruthrj]

Thanks man! I did it while my wife wasn*t home. If she saw the haze spot from manual sanding she would have thought I had lost my mind.

You do bring up a good point though with this Meguiars attachment. I*ll use it to do a one time paint correction on my Mazda. However, for more professional or thorough use (say 1x a year per car or you do many vehicles? Don*t overdo it) you*d be much happier with a dedicated random orbital. This attachment was perfect for knocking out scratches without breaking the bank.

 

[sm1ke]

Nice job! Looks brand new.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Thanks man! I did it while my wife wasn*t home. If she saw the haze spot from manual sanding she would have thought I had lost my mind.

You do bring up a good point though with this Meguiars attachment. I*ll use it to do a one time paint correction on my Mazda. However, for more professional or thorough use (say 1x a year per car or you do many vehicles? Don*t overdo it) you*d be much happier with a dedicated random orbital. This attachment was perfect for knocking out scratches without breaking the bank.

Makes sense. I don't have a drill, so guess it's a wash heh.