Lush Daddy

I've been paying attention to a lot of the posts re: this product, and I've got an '89 Carrera (Guards Red) that has some very fine scratches in the surface. You guys seem to think that the Imperial Hand Glaze followed by a good carnauba is the best bet.

Well, I bought some of the 3m and proceeded to wash the car. Dried it off, and started to apply the 3m (cool surface, and in the shade). To make a very long story short....I got about a quarter of the way through the hood, and then went to go back and buff it off, and the crap simply doesn't want to come off!!! It took me literaly 5 minutes and a TON of elbow grease to get it COMPLETELY off where you couldn't see any residue left.

I then stopped the project all together and put the cover back on it until I figure out what could possibly be the problem!!! At the rate it was going, it literally would have taken about 4 or so hours to glaze this thing!

Any ideas?!!!!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

David
Atlanta, GA

BER

David,

I also have a Guards Red Carrera and have been using 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (good stuff!) for years.

How much of the hand glaze are you putting on the car? I do approx. 2 ft. square sections at a time. There is just enough hand glaze on the rag to lay down a thin haze on the paint as I polish the paint. I then immediately wipe off the haze with a clean cotton towel (I change towels frequently).

Sounds like you are doing everything right (cool surface in shade). Try doing a smaller area and using a little less hand glaze.

Bruce

Drew_K

Very strange. I use IHG on occasion and have never had any problems buffing it out. I can think of a few possibilities though.

1. You simply have a bad batch of product.

2. How did you prepare the surface prior to applying the IGH? Surface preparation is the key to good detailing. I know you washed it, but did you use car wash detergent OR use Dawn or similar household dish soap? Believe it or not, if you're going to polish (IHG) and wax the car, it's best to use Dawn to remove all the old wax residue. Even better would be to clay the car after washing but before polishing. This will give you a silky smooth surface to work from.

It's possible that you applied IHG over an existing layer of wax that made it hard to buff the IHG out. I wouldn't think this would occur, but just a thought.

3. Does you car have a clear coat? Perhaps IHG doesn't buff out well on non-clear coat paints.

Bill Gregory

You know, I ran across a similar problem. When I used it on my SC, which had paint in not good condition I put it on, let it dry, then buffed it off, no problem. On my C2 which has paint in excellent condition, first time I tried that it was like trying to take glue off (the thing I don't know is if the previous owner used a synthetic-based polish which may not have come off the first time I washed it). After washing it several more times, what I found works is to put it on a small area, rub it in as needed, and immediately wipe off before it drys. Works very nicely cleaning and oiling the paint.

Gus B.

I have never had this happen before with Hand Glaze. I wash the car with Meguiars or PS21, dry off, then do just like Bruce says. I use a small amount (about the size of a quarter) on a clean terry cloth and do about 1-2 square feet at a time. Wipe it off right away. I used it on my silver M Coupe, white 325is, and black Pathfinder without ever having any issues. Yes, all of the product has been from the same bottle. My guess would be using too much product and letting it dry for too long.

First time around with the M Coupe, I had a hell of a time to remove the water spots it had all over the place. In that instance, what I had to do was rub for hours (took me many days to do the entire car...) but the stuff came off easily.

I would re try doing this, using less product and wiping it off as soon as you are done applying the smaller area. For an idea of area, I would divide a door into maybe 4 to 6 parts.

Good luck and let us know. <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

pbs911

This happened to the rockers on my 78SC. SOme of the 3-M glaze dripped down and dried. I did nto notice till the next day. The rockers have the Wurth texture coating so it is really in the crevises. After 2 years it is still visible! Don't leave the stuff on for a long time.

I have used in on the smooth paint with great success, doing only a small section at a time.

I am not a pro, but these are my experiences.

zzopit

SOLUTION!!!

Remove the excess/hard to remove wax with hot water on a hot towel. This should also help to remove the wax from rubber trim and seals around tail lights and such. Wax melts.

Problem spots? try Mother's Gold Clay, rubs off almost everything that man+nature can think of (except rust), OK on paint, never had a problem.

<img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />

richard glickel

wash with dawn dishwashing liquid (i use the stronger version but either will do). dawn will remove all wax from the car. Rinse. wash again. Now you should have all the wax off the car. if the surface dosen't feel smooth (it will feel squeeky clean) then you can remove grit, etc., with a clay bar, mother's is as good as any.

Make sure that you use the spray stuff that comes with the clay bar kit so the clay bar will move freely over the surface of the paint. DO NOT drop the clay bar on the ground. if you get grit on the clay it's ruined . . . throw it away.

now you can apply the IHG (or the fine hand glaze first, then IHG. Buff out, then wax. 100 grand, blitz, P21s, mothers, their all good & all about the same. 100 grand lasts really well.

good luck.

richard
'87 carrera-3.6L

richard glickel

woops. forgot to mention, after the clay bar, wash again (no need to use the dawn this time). then, IHG comes next.

Jeff Curtis

If I remember correctly...you're NOT supposed to let the Imperial Hand Glaze dry?

I may have that confused with the Zymol wax that I use...but either way, the 3M IHG was difficult and annoying to get it all off! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

Wil Ferch

Hi:
Yes...read the instructions when all else fails!
Do a small area at a time, ...wipe off before it dries. You don't want to do a full or partial hood and then go back after it's dry. It'll be like baked-on flour.
Another application technique I've heard of ( and also tried with success) is to use a small amount of 3M Imperial Hand Glaze product on your fingertips ( no towels !), and use the heat of your fingertip friction to help work-in the glaze. Still...wipe it off immediately.
BTW...and I've said it before, I don't understand the nearly-religious hanging-on to old ways of doing things, when products like Dri-Wash are out there that are easy (and fast) to use, and promote a great shine, especially after a few applications where all the "old" wax is removed. It doesn't leave a wax build -up, and also has a UV protectant quality, very important especially for metallic paint cars. It has features that act both like a glaze and wax, but is not a wax. Like most of you folks, I too resisted at first thinking this was some kind of snake oil. It took almost 4 years of convincing from a renowned local body shop working on high-end cars, to win me over, but I guess old habits ( beliefs) are hard to break. This is not a slam, mind you, but is a curious state of affairs nonetheless. I understand how emotional topics like waxes ( and motor oils) are, so please receive this message in good faith as intended.
---Wil Ferch