Matt Lane

Have a 97 993 (silver) that has paint in very good condition. I installed 3M wrap on the front end as I do a number of track days each year.

Car has been washed a few times, but I made the mistake of leaving track rubber on the paint for a few months and just got around to cleaning it today. Crap. It's REALLY stubborn, especially on the plastic surfaces. Repeates soaking and rubbing with R3 and limited progress.

I bought a bottle of 3M hand glaze about 5 years ago, but never got around to using it. The initial plan was to use it to periodically prep the paint before waxing, as recommended at the time by Mr. Reynolds from CarCareOnline...

Fast forward to today. I gave the bottle a good shake, and tried it by hand on the lower rear fender guards (plastic). Wiped the rubber marks right off.

So here are my questions, before I go further and do (more?) damage:

Is this product safe for use on clear wrap if used gently? It has a silica compund, thus mildly abrasive, right?

in general, is it a useful tool, smilar to clay, to prepare the finish for waxing say once a year?

If so, what techniques do you use to apply it successfully?

Any caveats?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Best,

Matt

teamcrossworks

3M hand glaze has been a favorite of mine since I owned a 1985 Black Corvette. There are many new products I use instead of the 3M now-a-days (mainly Adam's Polishes) but there are definitely instances where the 3M still works the best. A glaze usually does nothing but "fill in" light feather scratches to achieve extra depth to the paint. 3M I've found has some properties that also remove certain contaminants.

My advise...you won't hurt anything and you might just have found the perfect product for your circumstances.

Matt Lane

Thanks for the reassurance. Not sure if this matters, but this is the older formulation in the clear bottle with simple red lettering. Since it contains the silicate, I assume there is a mild abrasion property. That must be why it made such quick work of the rubber marks (I doubt it was the solvent aspect).

Still curious how this aspect of the product compares in function to clay... and again, how safe it is to use on the 3M clear wrap.

Cheers!

Matt

Matt Lane

Gentle bump.

Lots of great, professional experience on this board - but no other ideas?

Still concerned about using this product on my wrapped front end... need to finish the job soon before snow!

Thanks!

Matt

Gator996

Hey Matt, you are correct that it is a mild abrasive.That particular 3M product was designed to be used on new/fresh paint. It is a glaze that will add shine while the new paint cures. It is not the best product to use as a cleanser as it just wasnt designed for that task. It is a temporary glossing agent for new paint.

Let me ask this: what are the issues on the clear bra that you want to address?

Claying would be the preferred method prior to waxing over an abrasive polish. If you want to use a pre wax cleanser I highly recommend Klasse All in One Polish. The Klasse (red bottle) is a chemical cleaner and not an abrasive cleaner. You may actually have better results on the clear bra with it. I use it for everything, ie water spot removal, pre wax cleaner. I even use it to clean the funk off the windows of my house. It is great stuff and a little goes a long way. Much more affordable than clay.

The less you abrade your paint the better you will be in the long run. Remember, most modern clear coats are thinner than a standard Post-It note. You need to preserve that clear coat layer for as long as you can.

Dwane

Call Dwane at Elite detailing 514-515-7570