3M Imperial Hand Glaze

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Clay barred my car then used 3M product with a PorterCable random orbital. Worked really well but my goodness it required a LOT of elbow grease to buff this product off. Tenacious! Finished by putting good old One Grand Blitz wax.
 
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How much product did you put on the pad? a little goes a long way
cheers3.gif
 
Curious, why did you apply a glaze? My understanding is that glazes offer no protection, just shine. Are you using on a show car / garage queen?
 
Originally Posted by gregk24
Curious, why did you apply a glaze? My understanding is that glazes offer no protection, just shine. Are you using on a show car / garage queen?

I was wondering that too. I'm not that knowledgeable about claying-glazing-waxing really, only basic understanding here.
I've always just washed and waxed, no glaze;;;;; or just glazed with no wax.

Of course, all the cool kids these days are using "Hybrid Ceramic Wax", right? Doubt you'd want to put a glaze under that either.
 
If the 3M is anything like Meguiar's Show Car Glaze, then this is a product that really has no place in the regimen for a daily driver. The best explanation I have seen when it comes to glazes is that they go ON TOP of a waxed finished and serve as a temporary effect for car shows under bright lights. One guy who used to enter a lot of classic car shows explained how he would apply it by hand (his bare palm) and use a cloth baby diaper to wipe off the excess. The oils and fillers in most glazes hide imperfections (like swirls) that would otherwise be really obvious under lights in an arena.
 
2strokeNorthstar, If it goes on before wax, doesn't it keep the wax from sticking to the paint like wax should do?
 
Originally Posted by 2strokeNorthstar
Some bad information here. It doesn't go on top of wax. It is like a really mild polish. You put it on before wax to give it some extra depth and shine.


But a glaze is not a polish. Polishes have abrasives or cleaners in them. Glazes are supposed to be oil rich.

Putting a wax on top of a glaze would essentially remove the glaze, making it pointless to apply in the first place.

*Edit - It looks like it is common to wax after using this product, but the folks at MO also use it after wax for shows.

https://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?12236-SHow-Car-Glaze-Before-or-After-Wax
 
My concern would be that the Glaze, if put on first, would mix with a wax at the surface, reducing adhesion of the mixed oil-wax substance there to the paint itself. Maybe akin to applying paint over oil instead of a clean dry surface.
If there is one thing we all want in a wax, it is longevity. At least if its not a show car.

My original thinking about waxing longevity came from 1977's "DuPont Rain Dance" car wax which they marketed as a breakthrough. I thought the chemists at DuPont had formulated something that stuck to paint & modifying the surface with an oily glaze would mess that up. Seems reasonable I guess.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
If the 3M is anything like Meguiar's Show Car Glaze, then this is a product that really has no place in the regimen for a daily driver. The best explanation I have seen when it comes to glazes is that they go ON TOP of a waxed finished and serve as a temporary effect for car shows under bright lights. One guy who used to enter a lot of classic car shows explained how he would apply it by hand (his bare palm) and use a cloth baby diaper to wipe off the excess. The oils and fillers in most glazes hide imperfections (like swirls) that would otherwise be really obvious under lights in an arena.






Most likely it is the same exact product.
 
The car is a 2015 VW Golf Sportwagen, part of the dieslegate buy back program. It sat in AZ for a few years. Bought it used with 25K miles. The paint was oxidized in some areas and the surface felt scratchy. It is a red like guards red. I 've been advised years ago by the person who runs carcareonline and he told me to do the above routine. The car will not be a garage queen, but will be a daily driver, maybe in fair weather for the next few months.
The hand glaze definitely removed oxidation blemish.

https://store.carcareonline.com/3mimperialhandglaze-16ozbottle.aspx

Read the product details.
 
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Will likely not ever do the above routine again. I just did it to get the car looking nice. I'll be using those spray on spray off ceramic whatevers in the future.
 
I would put drops on imaginary target circles on the pad, staggered. Before I put the pad on I'll put 2-3 drops of the glaze and polish away.
 
Originally Posted by paoester
Originally Posted by gregk24
Curious, why did you apply a glaze? My understanding is that glazes offer no protection, just shine. Are you using on a show car / garage queen?

I was wondering that too. I'm not that knowledgeable about claying-glazing-waxing really, only basic understanding here.
I've always just washed and waxed, no glaze;;;;; or just glazed with no wax.

Of course, all the cool kids these days are using "Hybrid Ceramic Wax", right? Doubt you'd want to put a glaze under that either.



As I understand it, the claybar removes the gritty icky stuff from the finish. The glaze removes swirl marks etc, and the wax "seals" it. But I am no expert.
 
Originally Posted by whizbyu
Originally Posted by paoester
Originally Posted by gregk24
Curious, why did you apply a glaze? My understanding is that glazes offer no protection, just shine. Are you using on a show car / garage queen?

I was wondering that too. I'm not that knowledgeable about claying-glazing-waxing really, only basic understanding here.
I've always just washed and waxed, no glaze;;;;; or just glazed with no wax.

Of course, all the cool kids these days are using "Hybrid Ceramic Wax", right? Doubt you'd want to put a glaze under that either.



As I understand it, the claybar removes the gritty icky stuff from the finish. The glaze removes swirl marks etc, and the wax "seals" it. But I am no expert.





Generally speaking, glazes went out of style as clearcoats became the norm.
 
Originally Posted by whizbyu
As I understand it, the claybar removes the gritty icky stuff from the finish. The glaze removes swirl marks etc, and the wax "seals" it. But I am no expert.


Glazes don't remove the swirls per say, they fill them in so they're not noticeable. Applying before a sealant and it will last some time, but only temporary. To get rid of the swirls permanently you have to use an actual polishing compound. This takes a while on VW's hard clear coat, but the funny thing is as hard as the clearcoat is if you even look at it funny it'll swirl. I spent hours getting the GTI almost perfect, but it's super easy to mar. I eventually just gave up and just use a glaze meant for dark colors and then top it with a sealant. Super easy with a DA polisher. There's a good selection of them on the market depending on the finish on your car. Most contain paint cleaners so that's why it cleaned your car up.
 
Originally Posted by Delta
Originally Posted by whizbyu
As I understand it, the claybar removes the gritty icky stuff from the finish. The glaze removes swirl marks etc, and the wax "seals" it. But I am no expert.


Glazes don't remove the swirls per say, they fill them in so they're not noticeable. Applying before a sealant and it will last some time, but only temporary. To get rid of the swirls permanently you have to use an actual polishing compound. This takes a while on VW's hard clear coat, but the funny thing is as hard as the clearcoat is if you even look at it funny it'll swirl. I spent hours getting the GTI almost perfect, but it's super easy to mar. I eventually just gave up and just use a glaze meant for dark colors and then top it with a sealant. Super easy with a DA polisher. There's a good selection of them on the market depending on the finish on your car. Most contain paint cleaners so that's why it cleaned your car up.





This is a good point. Remember, glazes were popular before clearcoats became the standard. After constant waxing of your paint on your 50's or 60's car the swirls would appear. The wax back then was hard. We are talking Simoniz or old Turtle Wax then. Today's wax for the most part is much softer and not totally wax.

Today you are protecting the clearcoat. Any swirls you see are in that clearcoat. Polishes have taken over the role of actually removing swirl marks compared to a glaze which filled swirl marks. You didn't want to remove paint if you could avoid it.

This is why today glazes are used mostly in car shows. A old car with original paint or repainted according to original specs will not have a clearcoat. The glaze will give that body a lustrous shine and ready for wax. Those owners try to keep things the same way as they were back in those days.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
This is a good point. Remember, glazes were popular before clearcoats became the standard. After constant waxing of your paint on your 50's or 60's car the swirls would appear. The wax back then was hard. We are talking Simoniz or old Turtle Wax then. Today's wax for the most part is much softer and not totally wax.

Today you are protecting the clearcoat. Any swirls you see are in that clearcoat. Polishes have taken over the role of actually removing swirl marks compared to a glaze which filled swirl marks. You didn't want to remove paint if you could avoid it.

This is why today glazes are used mostly in car shows. A old car with original paint or repainted according to original specs will not have a clearcoat. The glaze will give that body a lustrous shine and ready for wax. Those owners try to keep things the same way as they were back in those days.


I still remember the days when I was a kid my father using Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze on cars he just painted, wetsanded, and buffed. I will say the old #7, while slightly reformulated, still is a decent product. It works well on the single stage Toyota white like my Tacoma. I initially had to do a deep polish, but #7 is a great pre-sealant product.
 
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