I know this is Richard's favorite stuff What is it comparable to (preferably in the Prima line) so I can figure out what pad to use it with? I just ordered the small bottle to try it out.

 

Richard would say it's not comparable to anything...

Actually, I asked and that's pretty much what he DID say...

I'm using M80 as a substitute for Prima Cut with the DP yellow "cutting" pad - not sure if this is "right" or not - but it seems to be working - polished out a really gnarly rear hatch on our minivan last weekend with this combo...

Then I followed with Prima swirl with DP Orange pad, and Prima Finish with DP White pad... again, not sure I really needed to do all this as it looked pretty good after just the M80 - but the results looked good.

 

Hmm...I'm thinking more for light-to-moderate swirling...

On my husband's car first, of course. Ha.

 

For light swirling - I'd use M80 and the DP white
For moderate - I'd use M80 and the DP Orange

Though I think Richard would say, "Always start with the least aggressive product and move to a more aggressive product if necessary."

So maybe start with the DP white pad and move up the the orange if the white doesn't seem to be gettin' it done...

I'm truly frightened for my eternal soul that I know this....

 

While I haven't tried either product, and I'm a newbie to deatailing, I was pondering that Prima Amigo might be comparable to M80? As a one step cleaner, scratch remover, polish? Thoughts?

 

Hmm...well I like Amigo...and I know it can be used for different things depending on which pad you use.

I don't know. I haven't even used my PC yet but I'm thoroughly confused...

 

Per OctaneGuy, M80 and Amigo are two "totally different products" - I asked the same question.

Amigo is a VERY mild polish with some fillers and a very gentle paint cleaner.

M80 has Meguiar's "diminishing abrasive" technology - starts out more aggressive (perhaps somewhere around Prima Cut or Swirl) and ends up fine (more like Prima Finish) with no fillers, but with an oil base that leaves a bit of a glaze (whereas I believe the Prima stuff is water-based). But as Richard often says - different products in practice work differently on different finishes / cars / situations. Else he'd just do it all with one or two products...

I'm sure he'll chime in here...

 

I haven't tried it yet but when I ordered my PC I told Richard I planned to ditch all my different numbered polishes & give the Speed Glaze a try. He told me to use the Meguiar's W8006 pad with it

 

Yeah - I really think you could use the Detailer's Paradise / LakeCountry orange pads with M80 for most things and be pretty happy - OG isn't into the whole "many pads for many purposes" concept - he likes the nice simple Meguiar's pad system - can't argue with his results. But I just have to be a little different. Otherwise I'd be like a OctaneGuy groupie...

 

The Meguiars forum talks about using the Lake Country pads. I found this interesting //http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16429
So I figure you should try M80 on the White Polishing Pad with at least a couple passes. Then go buy the Meguiar's m8006 pad if that's not working.
If the Meg's pad doesn't work you could go to the orange pad or step up to a more aggressive polish. That's what I am going to try anyways. I'll let you know how it turns out. I get my pc on the 14th

 

I'm interested in hearing your experiences with M80 using/comparing the DP/LC White/Orange and Meg's 8006 pads. This is definitely relevant to what I'm doing...

I've been getting very good results using M2 or M80 w/DP Yellow, followed by Swirl w/DP Orange, followed by Finish w/DP White. But it seems I'm doing a LOT more work here than Richard does when he's just able to use M80 and one pad...

 

That's how I felt after watching the DVD. Why do 3 polishes w/3 diff grades o/polish when I saw how they got amazing results using one product, the #80, & one pad so I am gonna give it a try. I would be thrilled to get it done that easily. Of course I'm not gonna be trying it til late February so I will have to see how it works out with you guys for now

 

Great thread guys and I'm glad to see I'm being quoted much more accurately from you guys--a few people on NAM constantly misquote me--fortunately they aren't in this thread.

The LC Yellow Pad is more aggressive than the Meguiar's W8006 yellow pad. They are not equivalent. I think that Meguiarsonline thread is a good place to start.

FWIW, I have the whole Prima line--Cut, Swirl, Finish, Amigo, Epic, Hydro, Slick, Clarity, Nero, hmmm what else...Clay...lol

M80 is comparable to Swirl not Cut.

Cut is more like M84 which is used with the rotary buffer, so Cut really has no comparable product for the PC in the Meguiar's line. You can really feel the grit in Cut versus in M80 or M83.

Heather told me the Prima line does use Diminishing abrasives like Meguiar's does.

For everyone that has a PC and is trying M80, I would highly recommend just buying one W8006 yellow polishing pad from Meguiars and see how that works for you. It's not expensive--around $9. Put a piece of blue painters tape over your paint like I do. Cover one side with a towel and tape that down. Then polish the other side, just about the size of the towel--very small area. Polish it slowly like in the DVD, and after a complete pass which might consist of 3 or 4 polishings in that area, wipe off the residue, and repeat that 1 or 2 more times. Wipe it all clean, remove the towel and the tape and compare the before and after.

Unfortunately none of the polishes in the Prima line have the same working consistency as M80. And even in the Meguiar's lineup, M83 which is the next aggressive step doesn't work as nicely as M80, so I prefer to use more M80 rather than go more aggressive whenever possible. M82 is the next step finer over M80 and is only used after you've thoroughly polished the paint with M80 and best used with black paints. M82 is a joy to work with as well but not needed very often.

Think of M80 as 2000 grit, M83 as 1000 grit and M82 as 3000 grit---that's of course not the true grit equivalents, but relative aggressiveness such that you can't use 3000 grit until you've gotten all the swirls and scratches down with 2000 grit. Hope that makes sense.

Richard

 

Cool - that's a helpful comparison as always OG - still learning, but a little stuff it starting to sink in...

 

Also remember that no matter what you use, start with a small test patch. Remember that no matter WHAT you use (and yes, I agree that less agressive is best and then work your way up), if whatever you're doing isn't making things LOOK BETER then it's best you not do that all over the car.

If you do use something that inadvertantly makes things worse, it's easier to repair a small test area than have to worry about reversing that damage on the entire vehicle. I usually do my test and walk away for a few minutes, then look at it with "fresh eyes" to get as objective an opinion as possible...

 

What do you guys do about the bonnet stripes. Mine are white & from the factory so they have the black pinstripe. I am scared to use the PC on them but also I am scared to tape them as that little black outer line seems kinda fragile.

Also how bout the A-Pillars. Mine are full of swirls. Should I just gently use the PC w/some Speed Glaze on it there?

 

I PC'd my pillars with the Griot's polish and they looked great for quite a while. Tape the trim though, to make your life a LOT easier.

I personally ran the PC over my bonnet stripes as well - I have the black ones and the OEM ones were getting sort of "blotchy" even after just a few months... I discovered that the PC pad became black almost instantly (so it was definitely pulling up some of the material), but they looked MUCH BETTER after polishing. When I polished them, I did not press down AT ALL - I just let the weight of the PC do the work and only left the mchine on that spot for a few seconds. I was personally much happier with my stripes after polishing them - I was honstly thinking of replacing the OEM ones before doing that. Fresh form the dealer the bonnet stripes had a slightly different finish than the painted areas, but after, they're so smooth that they almost look painted on.

NOTE: If you have dark marks in or on the white stripes, some people have reported good luck with Soft Scrub WITH BLEACH... but ONLY on white - I can report that using Soft Scrub on black stripes does nothing whatsoever.

I plan to PC my stripes the next time I polish in the spring, because, honestly, worst case scenario, if I DO get overnethusiastic and do something to them, they're very inexpensive to replace.