Difference between a glaze and a polisher?

[msanta]

Difference between a glaze and a polish?

For those gurus out there, what's the difference between a polish and a glaze? Can they be used together? or Does one replace the other? I found a great glaze that took off most of my swirl marks (Perfect IT III) by 3M. The truck looks great, very shinny, as good as when I use a polisher. I applied wax after the glaze to protect the coat. How often should I use the glaze, the polish?

 

[dcampen]

You will probably have to name specific products or carefully define your terminology to get any sort of decent answer. Different people and different manufacturers use the terms glaze, polish and wax to mean different things. When you say "polish" do you mean an abrasive compound?

If when you say "polish" you mean an abrasive compound then, though I don't know anything about the glaze that you mention, I could say that an abrasive polish removes scratches by removing paint down to the level of the scratch whereas a glaze is often something that fills in the scratch but does not remove paint.

 

[msanta]

I polish like S100 or Meguiars compared to a glaze like 3M Perfect IT III Machine Glaze.

 

[dcampen]

I polish like S100 or Meguiars compared to a glaze like 3M Perfect IT III Machine Glaze.

From the limited description on the 3M site it seems that the Perfect IT III Machine Glaze is an abrasive. Note that they use the term "fast cutting" in teh description which implies to me an abrasive.
"Fast cutting machine glaze designed to remove swirl marks, minor scratches and light oxidation from the harder finishes of today's automotive paint systems."
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/...us_aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html

Mequiar seems to _not_ mean an abrasive compound when they use the term "polish".

When Griot's Garage uses the term "polish" they _do_ mean an abrasive compund.

 

[dcampen]

Meguiar distinguishes between a "Cleaner/Polish" which contains abrasives and a "Pure Polish" which does not contain abrasives and which are both different from a "wax" or "paint protectant".
http://www.meguiars.com/faq/_index.cfm?faqCat=Paint Care&faqQuestionID=51&section=_51#_51

 

[dcampen]

When Zymol uses the term "glaze" they mean a wax with no abrasives unlike the 3M usage.
http://www.zymol.com/carfeed2.htm
http://www.zymol.com/fglaze2.htm

And here they have a "Cleaner/Wax" with both abrasives and wax:
http://www.zymol.com/onestp2.htm

 

[msanta]

So basically every company have a different meaning for their polishes and glazes, very confusing! Have anyone used either product for fine swirl marks? I have some fine swirl marks and don't know what to use!

 

[dcampen]

I have some fine swirl marks and don't know what to use!

Well, I am only a novice at this but since no one else has answered ...

If you have swirl marks that are still visible after waxing then you are probably going to have to polish with an abrasive.

Some companies make non-abrasive waxes or synthetic polymer paint protectants that are supposed to help fill swirl marks. I have tried the Zaino system and while I like the shine and ease of application I don't find it very effective at filling swirl marks.

Mequiar makes some abrasive polishes that should work to remove swirl marks. I haven't tried Mequiar products, one reason being that I find it hard to get past their marketing hype.

Griot's Garage is nice because they are much clearer about the intended usage of each product. They sell 3 grades of abrasive machine polish so you can start with the least aggressive grade of abrasive to try to remove swirl marks and move to a more aggressive grade only if necessary.

I thought you said that you had used the 3M Perfect IT III. Did you use it by hand or machine? I would be carefull with that stuff; from the limited description that I found it seems like it might be a very aggressive abrasive.

 

[dcampen]

Autopia links

http://www.autopia.org/
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/how-to.html

 

[msanta]

Excellent forum, I just took a look, it has a lot of info...