# T-Cut... anyone ever use it these days?



## jj9 (Jun 11, 2015)

Just wondering if anyone ever uses T-Cut, you know the stuff in the Red bottle.

Can you use it as a 1st stage cutting compound with a machine?

I've polished a lot of cars over the years all by hand and have had some good results using T-Cut, I've used it to remove scratches on solid and clear coat and have even polished headlights with it.



Cheers.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

Lolol


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## turbosnoop (Apr 14, 2015)

Being serious for a moment I'd like to know what makes tcut different than other abrasives that we might use? Ag paint renovator or megs uc or similar? Why is tcut seen as a joke?
I remember using it to restore my faded vx astra which was going pink, about ten years ago. Working by hand it did a great job at putting the colour back closer to how it should have been , red


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

I was told it had ammonia in it and was no good ?


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## gordonpuk (Mar 14, 2010)

Rundie said:


> I was told it had ammonia in it and was no good ?


I understood that it did but it only affected metallic, which T-Cut made a different version for in a blue can, ammonia free.

This was more in the cellulose days though.


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

I think the red bottle is for solid paints. Not really anything wrong with it, its just super abrasive (because its designed for use by hand). 

Dont use the red bottle on metallic paint though and defo don't use it with a machine unless the paint is really bad!


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

I used to mix it with some SRP back in the day :thumb:


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## adamangler (Mar 9, 2013)

why is t cut a joke?

its not its great for what its designed for. consumers who have limited knowledge can pick up a bottle and by hand can improve their vehicles paintwork. i can see no reason why you cant use it as a budget cutting compound


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## sunnydude959 (Jan 3, 2014)

The problem with T-cut on cars is that there are far more technologically advanced ways of dealing with a given problem for not that much more money. Plus, as someone mentioned above, its not a good idea with metallic paint which is what most cars seem to have nowadays.

For example, you have a bit of bird crap stained into the paintwork, or perhaps you have a mild graze or shallow scratches - You can use megs ScratchX which has diminishing abrasives in it (put simply, when worked into the paintwork, it automagically starts as big particles to provide some form of cutting action, and gets smaller and smaller to provide a glossy polishing action).


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## turbosnoop (Apr 14, 2015)

So if it doesn't diminish, it probably cuts quicker by hand than diminishing abrasives? 
So if you just follow it up with a light cut product, say m205? , its all good? Plus its a fraction of the price of some of the alternatives around, which is never a bad thing.
Is it fair to say if you have no choice but to work by hand, and can follow up with a light cut polish, and you are looking to restore/renovate bad paint, tcuts maybe not such a bad option?
Everything has its place doesn't it?
Awaiting being trolled now :lol:


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

I still have a bottle in my collection, a quick one stage process to get a decent gloss out of rattlecanned paint. Used to work wonders on my solid red BMW e30 too.

I'm sure there are more technologically advanced products, and definitely plenty which smell better! But as a simple abrasive polish it does the job.

I actually quite like working it, starting off feeling rough almost like a wet and dry paper, gradually smithing out until it starts to remove itself from the surface.

A quick once over with Srp for a final clean and you're left with a perfectly acceptable finish.

I think a lot of the bad press it used to get was because people saw it on the shelf in halfords and tried to use it like a wax, buff on, leave to dry, buff off which does virtually no cutting and leaves a mess that's a nightmare to remove.


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## sunnydude959 (Jan 3, 2014)

Well it certainly cuts, but the problem is that it can cut too much. Remember, once clear coat comes off, theres no way to put it back on again unless you get a full respray. This wont happen with one application of course, but over a few usages it will have taken considerably more CC off than other products. In other words you don't want to overshoot the amount of cc that you take off

In terms of finishing, im not really sure if 205 can be applied by hand- I presume that the human arm hasn't got the force required to correctly activate the abrasives' functionality - but I'll wait for someone else to clarify that. I haven't moved onto machine yet!!


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## turbosnoop (Apr 14, 2015)

I wasn't trying to make a statement about m205, just tcut, so please just think of some sort of light cutting polish which is ok for hand use, doesn't have to be m205, it just came to mind as I use it (by machine)


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## jj9 (Jun 11, 2015)

sunnydude959 said:


> The problem with T-cut on cars is that there are far more technologically advanced ways of dealing with a given problem for not that much more money. Plus, as someone mentioned above, its not a good idea with metallic paint which is what most cars seem to have nowadays.
> 
> For example, you have a bit of bird crap stained into the paintwork, or perhaps you have a mild graze or shallow scratches - You can use megs ScratchX which has diminishing abrasives in it (put simply, when worked into the paintwork, it automagically starts as big particles to provide some form of cutting action, and gets smaller and smaller to provide a glossy polishing action).


And you know this how??....because the manufacturer stated it on the bottle!

Is it maybe possible that T-Cut would produce exactly the same result but without the hype and name branding!

Anyone used T-Cut with a machine?

Cheers.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

jj9 said:


> And you know this how??....because the manufacturer stated it on the bottle!
> 
> Is it maybe possible that T-Cut would produce exactly the same result but without the hype and name branding!
> 
> ...


Yep a good few years back now but it worked damn well on single stage paint


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

The Gtechniq 'p' system seems to be well regarded for hand use. As mentioned, t-cut was from a time when the better stuff would have been limited to body shops. Far better stuff is now available. Scholl s3 gold for example can be bought quite reasonably in 250ml guise. And It works well by hand. There seems still to be a sort of fear towards using compounds on a car. However, ten minutes on YouTube or this site should allay any fears. I'm not against t-cut, you pays your money and all that. It's just that far better stuff is available for not much more money. You could get the Dog to lick you clean, or you could buy some Lynx for a quid and have a shower.


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## turbosnoop (Apr 14, 2015)

President Swirl said:


> You could get the Dog to lick you clean, or you could buy some Lynx for a quid and have a shower.


:lol: :lol:

I can see the tcut marketing dept using that analogy for a slogan

"Tcut - like being licked clean by a dog"

:lol:


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## sunnydude959 (Jan 3, 2014)

jj9 said:


> And you know this how??....because the manufacturer stated it on the bottle!


Err no, I've used Megs ScratchX quite a few times for various things


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## 11alan111 (Dec 29, 2011)

some years ago i bought an ex police omega estate and when the sun shone on it you could see where the stickers had been,i used t cut with a cheap mains polisher from halfords and it came up beautiful


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## asiangunner (Feb 28, 2013)

I've got a few very old colour specific t cut bottles in my garage.

next week I have a friend with ex Royal mail van he's looking for the ghosting of the letters to be taken out and the van to have the faded paint slightly restored so I'm thinking of you seeing the red bottle that I have


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## asiangunner (Feb 28, 2013)

It's not metallic


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## jj9 (Jun 11, 2015)

I've used original T-Cut (Red bottle) on metallic paint (clear coat) with no problems.

The metallic version of T-Cut is just slightly less abrasive.

http://www.t-cut.co.uk/index.cfm?page=167

Cheers.


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## Actrosman (Oct 23, 2013)

Tidied the shed over the w'end, few old boxes were sorted and stuff dumped....lurking in the corner of one of the boxes I came across some memories of my yoof!!


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