I just did an experiment using several products designed for these problems, and thought the results might be of interest.
Before I begin, I should mention that these are products I use for problems. When a finish is already in pretty good shape, and just needs some thorough deep cleaning and/or removal of rubber or tar marks, my "go to" product is Zymol HD-Cleanse, which is milder than these products and gentle for the finish. These other products are designed specifically for more serious problems such as those in the title.
There are a lot of products on the market for these problems. One of the distinguishing features of such products is how abrasive they are. Another is how smooth they leave the finish. Keep in mind that these two features (or objectives) are often in conflict with each other; the more abrasive a product is, the less smooth it typically leaves the finish (although there are exceptions). There's nothing wrong with that; it just means that you use that product when you want the benefit of a higher level of abrasion.
In general, the best approach with problems is to start out with the least abrasive product, then if that doesn't fix the problem, try something a bit more abrasive, and continue iteratively. Once you fix the problem, the finish may not be totally smooth, in which case you can step back through the same products, using less and less abrasive products to smooth out the finish before applying your favorite wax or finish protectant.
My product of choice for these problems has been Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Professional Swirl Remover 2.0. However, I've had my bottle of this product for quite a few years, and lately it has separated (with a thin liquid with small chunks of product in it, rather than the usual thick creamy consistency). So I bought some other Meguiar's products and decided to test them out on a single panel, side by side, applied by hand. The panel is a red faded plastic bumper from a '94 Integra. Here are the products I used, and my results:
Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Professional Swirl Remover 2.0 (brand new bottle) - This restored the shine and left the finish very smooth, smooth enough to wax. There was some red paint on my application/buffing towel. Creamy consistency.
Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Professional Swirl Remover 2.0 (old bottle) - This restored the shine and left the finish very smooth, smooth enough to wax. As noted above, the product had separated, and the thin liquid made it rather a pain to use. There was NO red paint on my application/buffing towel. But the results (at least, in terms of the smoothness and shine of the finish) seemed to work just as well as the brand new bottle. Go figure.
Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #2 Professional Fine Cut Cleaner - This is designed by Meguiar's to be more abrasive than the #9. They actually show a scale on the bottle, from 0 "light cut" to 10 "heavy cut" and whereas the #9 is rated 3, the #2 is rated 5. This restored the shine and left the finish reasonably smooth, smooth enough to wax, but it was ever so slightly less shiny than the finish after using #9. The difference was subtle enough that I wouldn't bother going over it with #9 before waxing. This product left significantly more red paint on the application/buffing towel. Creamy consistency. I will continue to use this on more severe problems (e.g. scratches or deeper swirl marks) but for a panel that's only faded a bit, I think the #9 is sufficient and better.
Meguiar's Scratch-X Fine Scratch and Swirl Remover - This is part of Meguiar's "consumer line" rather than their "professional line" so it doesn't state a level of abrasiveness. It comes in a tube rather than a bottle. This product left the finish less smooth than either of the other products; if I wanted the maximum shine, I would consider going over it with #9 before waxing. This product left as much red paint on the application/buffing towel as the #2 did, so I would assume it's significantly more abrasive than the #9, maybe even slightly more abrasive than the #2. Creamy consistency.
Before I begin, I should mention that these are products I use for problems. When a finish is already in pretty good shape, and just needs some thorough deep cleaning and/or removal of rubber or tar marks, my "go to" product is Zymol HD-Cleanse, which is milder than these products and gentle for the finish. These other products are designed specifically for more serious problems such as those in the title.
There are a lot of products on the market for these problems. One of the distinguishing features of such products is how abrasive they are. Another is how smooth they leave the finish. Keep in mind that these two features (or objectives) are often in conflict with each other; the more abrasive a product is, the less smooth it typically leaves the finish (although there are exceptions). There's nothing wrong with that; it just means that you use that product when you want the benefit of a higher level of abrasion.
In general, the best approach with problems is to start out with the least abrasive product, then if that doesn't fix the problem, try something a bit more abrasive, and continue iteratively. Once you fix the problem, the finish may not be totally smooth, in which case you can step back through the same products, using less and less abrasive products to smooth out the finish before applying your favorite wax or finish protectant.
My product of choice for these problems has been Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Professional Swirl Remover 2.0. However, I've had my bottle of this product for quite a few years, and lately it has separated (with a thin liquid with small chunks of product in it, rather than the usual thick creamy consistency). So I bought some other Meguiar's products and decided to test them out on a single panel, side by side, applied by hand. The panel is a red faded plastic bumper from a '94 Integra. Here are the products I used, and my results:
Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Professional Swirl Remover 2.0 (brand new bottle) - This restored the shine and left the finish very smooth, smooth enough to wax. There was some red paint on my application/buffing towel. Creamy consistency.
Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 Professional Swirl Remover 2.0 (old bottle) - This restored the shine and left the finish very smooth, smooth enough to wax. As noted above, the product had separated, and the thin liquid made it rather a pain to use. There was NO red paint on my application/buffing towel. But the results (at least, in terms of the smoothness and shine of the finish) seemed to work just as well as the brand new bottle. Go figure.
Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #2 Professional Fine Cut Cleaner - This is designed by Meguiar's to be more abrasive than the #9. They actually show a scale on the bottle, from 0 "light cut" to 10 "heavy cut" and whereas the #9 is rated 3, the #2 is rated 5. This restored the shine and left the finish reasonably smooth, smooth enough to wax, but it was ever so slightly less shiny than the finish after using #9. The difference was subtle enough that I wouldn't bother going over it with #9 before waxing. This product left significantly more red paint on the application/buffing towel. Creamy consistency. I will continue to use this on more severe problems (e.g. scratches or deeper swirl marks) but for a panel that's only faded a bit, I think the #9 is sufficient and better.
Meguiar's Scratch-X Fine Scratch and Swirl Remover - This is part of Meguiar's "consumer line" rather than their "professional line" so it doesn't state a level of abrasiveness. It comes in a tube rather than a bottle. This product left the finish less smooth than either of the other products; if I wanted the maximum shine, I would consider going over it with #9 before waxing. This product left as much red paint on the application/buffing towel as the #2 did, so I would assume it's significantly more abrasive than the #9, maybe even slightly more abrasive than the #2. Creamy consistency.
Last edited:
