# Finish Polish?



## Jsf721 (Aug 19, 2012)

Its come time to replace my bottle of finish polish.

Wondering what you guys use as a final step POP polish before applying a coating.

I like the HD polish I'm using now, but wondering if there is any better?
The HD cleans up the Micro Marring and finishes nicely. Anything better?

I do wipe down with an IPA, but the less oily the better on the finish polish.

Thanks in advance.


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## FallenAngel (Oct 24, 2015)

Sonax Perfect Finish.


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## Jsf721 (Aug 19, 2012)

FallenAngel said:


> Sonax Perfect Finish.


Thanks for the suggestion. Have you used the HD polish before?


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## Joel79 (May 15, 2016)

Gyeon polish, Nanolex fine cut or Angelwax Redemption. Those all are amazing.


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Jsf721 said:


> Wondering what you guys use as a final step POP polish before applying a coating.


The gloss is meant to be amazing anyway, but particularly before coating Carpro Essence is worth a look. Gets a lot of love on here although I haven't used it myself.


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## derbigofast (Dec 6, 2011)

Autosmart evo1 and now that it has the chemical cut there is little abrasive so it finishes flawlessly


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## dchapman88 (Mar 17, 2016)

Koch Chemie do some nice finishing polishes 
Menz do also. 
Essense as SG mentioned is incredible also
Your biggest issue is there is so many to choose from it'll be hard to make your decision 



Sent by a phone of some description!


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

No brainer....... Menzerna SUPER FINISH PLUS 3800 (PO85RD)


Gonz.


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## MrRJ (Jul 15, 2017)

I was in this boat recently. After a couple of suggestions, I settled on Sonax PF and am very happy. Excellent results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

Sonax PF or Essence but panel wipe after Sonax PF:thumb: there's no need to panel wipe after Essence :thumb:


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## Soapybubbles (Feb 10, 2014)

I know it has some cut to it but M205 finishes beautifully


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## Sawel (Aug 5, 2016)

Scholl S40























































Just a few - I have loads more.


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## Speedy83 (Apr 25, 2017)

Sawel said:


> Scholl S40
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What did you use before s40? (compound, polish?)


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## Sawel (Aug 5, 2016)

Speedy83 said:


> What did you use before s40? (compound, polish?)


On those cars above, it was S3 XXL Gold.

It's not always S3 XXL Gold though. I used S17 on a Scholl purple spiderpad on the Honda Estate below because S3 XXL Gold was too aggressive and left too much hazing for my liking. S17 left a light hazing which was easily removed with S40 on the honey pad.


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## EG30 (Jul 8, 2017)

Jsf721 said:


> Its come time to replace my bottle of finish polish.
> 
> Wondering what you guys use as a final step POP polish before applying a coating.
> 
> ...


Since you are chasing a product used right before coating and less oily the better Carpro Essence is ideal for the job.

Advantages being SiO2 based, very little and very easy to wipe off, has durable fillers, very high gloss non oily and gives you the pop you are looking for.

Disadvantages: Less cutting ability by some margin compared to the HD polish you have been using. Buffing cycle also quite short so to correct even light defects on hard paints you can't simply keep buffing away till the defects are gone. More aggressive pads would help but it's best to correct with other polishes till almost perfect and let Essence deal with the mild haze left over.

This is my go to product now before coating, where I panel wipe the paintwork with a water based panel wipe such as U-POL water based panel wipe before buffing with Essence. I leave it cure for 24 hrs and blow off dust with a blower and wipe lightly with Carpro Eraser/ Gyeon wipe before coating ( this step is NOT strictly necessary ). This way if I induce micromarring during the panel wipe stage esp on dark soft paints the Essence would take care of that afterwards. Essence being an AIO leaving slickness post buffing further protects the paintwork from micromarring when wiping with the wiping agent.

I used a few of the products mentioned by the others and they are all very good products. Sonax PF used to be my go to for jeweling with a rotary and that gave me great results everytime. But now with the availability of Essence and many similar products popping up since I believe it's going to become part of the coating workflow for many. I haven't used PF for a while now, though I would still use it for jeweling prior to a traditional sealant like Wolfgang DGPS.

So in an scenario such as yours, I would use M205 which is my favorite all round fine polish to remove fine defects and prime the surface for coating with Essence.

Fine polishes I have been using to date:


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## Taxboy (Aug 23, 2006)

EG30 said:


> Since you are chasing a product used right before coating and less oily the better Carpro Essence is ideal for the job.
> 
> Advantages being SiO2 based, very little and very easy to wipe off, has durable fillers, very high gloss non oily and gives you the pop you are looking for.
> 
> ...


Looking at your collection what is the difference between the Sonax perfect finish and 04/06 please

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk


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## pawlik (May 16, 2011)

If You like hd polish, why not to try 3D aat polish 502? I just order myself yesterday so must get next week. Looks like this product is better in all aspects comparing to hd polish. And more expensive too


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## Frog (Jun 28, 2013)

Taxboy said:


> Looking at your collection what is the difference between the Sonax perfect finish and 04/06 please
> 
> Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk


Someone with more knowledge will hopefully jump in and add to this but my understanding is that 04/06 was developed specifically for large throw d/a machines where as perfect finish is designed to be used rotory but can also be used with d/a.


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## EG30 (Jul 8, 2017)

Taxboy said:


> Looking at your collection what is the difference between the Sonax perfect finish and 04/06 please
> 
> Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk


Here is a guru's intro on the 0406EX with comparision with the PF:






The PF is thicker by some margin, a lot denser too. Need to work it in to get the results ie working thru the buffing cycle properly and not bail out after couple of passes which you can get away with 0406EX.

If you take a closer look at my bottle of 0406EX it has totally seperated and only the bottom few percent is the active ingredient with the rest being water. No wonder the 0406EX is so much cheaper than PF. I won't be buying anymore 0406EX otherwise I could do a 50/50 shot on a test panel in the future.

PF I would buy again, as there is nothing exactly like it on the market. 0406EX I won't even if it didn't separate cos M205 performs extremely well in all areas and has a noticeable edge on 0406EX in every single area apart from price. M205 cost me more than 0406EX but less than PF and also the newer 3D 502, I will continue to buy it in gallon bottles.


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## EG30 (Jul 8, 2017)

Frog said:


> Someone with more knowledge will hopefully jump in and add to this but my understanding is that 04/06 was developed specifically for large throw d/a machines where as perfect finish is designed to be used rotory but can also be used with d/a.


Pls refer to the Esoteric detailing vid within my prev reply. Yes it was developed with only rotary in mind at the design stage as mentioned in the vid but you can most certainly use it to great effect with a DA. Just need to work it in, large throw machines would work the polish harder and preferable.

Many people use the PF with short buffing cycles which they have been achieving decent results with their go to polishes and blame the PF when the finish and cut is way below their expectations.


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## Taxboy (Aug 23, 2006)

EG30 said:


> Here is a guru's intro on the 0406EX with comparision with the PF:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great reply much appreciated

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk


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## bluegttdi (Jan 4, 2009)

EG30 said:


> Pls refer to the Esoteric detailing vid within my prev reply. Yes it was developed with only rotary in mind at the design stage as mentioned in the vid but you can most certainly use it to great effect with a DA. Just need to work it in, large throw machines would work the polish harder and preferable.
> 
> Many people use the PF with short buffing cycles which they have been achieving decent results with their go to polishes and blame the PF when the finish and cut is way below their expectations.


Could you please explain your buffing technique/cycle with Pf? And also which pad best works for you?


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## EG30 (Jul 8, 2017)

bluegttdi said:


> Could you please explain your buffing technique/cycle with Pf? And also which pad best works for you?


For Jeweling with a rotary, which is what I use PF for nowadays I use Rupes yellow and white pads, or Lake country , Shinemate red pads. A lot depends of the paint hardness and colour.

In terms of buffing cycle I start with medium pressure at 800-1200rpm for say 4 passes and then lighten up pressure and lower rpm to 600-800 for another 4 passes at least and then 2-4 passes at minimum pressure ie barely kissing the paint. The polish needs to break down fully, in this case not only the onset of going clear/flashing off like some other products where you can stop buffing and additional passes yields little improvements relatively to the first few passes. In this case you can keep buffing away for almost as long as you would like since this product has an abundance of quality polishing oils that doesn't gum up or dry up with time and heat ( within reason of course ). So long as you don't overwork it with excessive pressure or overheat it past its working range you can keep polishing away gently.

I spread the polish around the panel first by dabbing over the work area before my first pass and clean my pad after every section to rid off any spent polish, and paint debris however slight they may be.

For me I really enjoy the jeweling process with this product, I use Essence most of the time now with a DA in lieu of the jeweling step with a rotary but it's not as enjoyable with a short buffing cycle where 3 passes are all you need to get the job done with Essence.

You'll need to try longer buffing time via more passes, slower arm speeds, vary the pressure and see if that yields better results for you. And make sure you do an IPA wipedown to show the true condition of the paint also.


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