Anyone use Mirka Polarshine polish?

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70SwingerGuy

70SwingerGuy

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So Ive had a autobody supply company trying to sell me on Mirka Polarshine polishes. They tell me that their customers love it, its fast, and leaves a beautiful shine. Personally, I dont know anyone who uses it, so I cant get an unbiased opinion.
Does anyone here use it, or know someone who does? Its cheaper than the 3M 3 step system, but money doesnt mean squat if it doesnt perform like they say it does.
Thanks FABO
 
I have been painting cars for almost 50 years. Not as a pro, but as an avid hobbyist. Over the years, I have tried a LOT of different polishes. About 20 years ago, I tried the 3M 3 step kit. It has 3 polishes (fairly aggressive, fine and very fine) and 3 foam pads (one white, one black and one blue. The picture below shows a wool pad. I'll get to that in a minute. The bottle with the white cap is the most aggressive. You use it with the white foam pad. Then you use the bottle with the black cap with the black pad. That gets did of 99% of all swirl marks. Then you use the bottle with the blue cap with the blue pad. It is a very fine polish that gets rid of the rest of your swirl marks. I have tried using the wool pad with the white cap bottle followed by the white cap bottle with the white pad, but I didn't see any difference, so I just stick with the 3 steps and the three foam pads. You can get a kit without the wool pad. I will mention that the first step (white) polish is the most aggressive of the three, but it is not real aggressive. To use this system, you will need to wet sand the paint. I put clear on everything, and I wet sand with 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and finally 3000. The shine I get is excellent.


3M-Perfect-It-System-Buffing-Kit_3m-kit_R_2d6fcf6f.jpg



85.JPG
 
harrisonm said:
I have been painting cars for almost 50 years. Not as a pro, but as an avid hobbyist. Over the years, I have tried a LOT of different polishes. About 20 years ago, I tried the 3M 3 step kit. It has 3 polishes (fairly aggressive, fine and very fine) and 3 foam pads (one white, one black and one blue. The picture below shows a wool pad. I'll get to that in a minute. The bottle with the white cap is the most aggressive. You use it with the white foam pad. Then you use the bottle with the black cap with the black pad. That gets did of 99% of all swirl marks. Then you use the bottle with the blue cap with the blue pad. It is a very fine polish that gets rid of the rest of your swirl marks. I have tried using the wool pad with the white cap bottle followed by the white cap bottle with the white pad, but I didn't see any difference, so I just stick with the 3 steps and the three foam pads. You can get a kit without the wool pad. I will mention that the first step (white) polish is the most aggressive of the three, but it is not real aggressive. To use this system, you will need to wet sand the paint. I put clear on everything, and I wet sand with 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and finally 3000. The shine I get is excellent.


View attachment 1716482600


View attachment 1716482602
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info! Ive used the 3M system (as well as many others when I was in the shop) and I agree, its very good, and that is what I am leaning towards using, unless I hear some very high praise about the other from others.
 
I haven't used that particular product, but everything I have used from Mirka has been excellent...

And yes 3M has good products as does Mequiars in their pro line...
 
harrisonm said:
I have been painting cars for almost 50 years. Not as a pro, but as an avid hobbyist. Over the years, I have tried a LOT of different polishes. About 20 years ago, I tried the 3M 3 step kit. It has 3 polishes (fairly aggressive, fine and very fine) and 3 foam pads (one white, one black and one blue. The picture below shows a wool pad. I'll get to that in a minute. The bottle with the white cap is the most aggressive. You use it with the white foam pad. Then you use the bottle with the black cap with the black pad. That gets did of 99% of all swirl marks. Then you use the bottle with the blue cap with the blue pad. It is a very fine polish that gets rid of the rest of your swirl marks. I have tried using the wool pad with the white cap bottle followed by the white cap bottle with the white pad, but I didn't see any difference, so I just stick with the 3 steps and the three foam pads. You can get a kit without the wool pad. I will mention that the first step (white) polish is the most aggressive of the three, but it is not real aggressive. To use this system, you will need to wet sand the paint. I put clear on everything, and I wet sand with 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and finally 3000. The shine I get is excellent.


View attachment 1716482600


View attachment 1716482602
Click to expand...


Totally agree Harrisonm!

I used the same process , wet sanding to 3000 and then the 3 step 3-M system.


The shine on ole Supercuda is excellent!



1764170314694.png
 
I think it depends on what you are trying to do. Mirka is a good name. Personally I think 3 step systems are designed for selling lots of product :)

I wet sanded 1500 (I only go that coarse to fix defects)/2000/3000 and polished a new base/clear paint job this summer that had orange peel and lots of small defects using 3M M105? and a 6" wool pad on a rotary polisher. I thought that stuff was pretty good and the car looked good after I spent 3 or 4 days. I wasn't too aggressive with it as I was being cautious. I then took it back to the guy that painted my car for some repairs (he recleared the trunk and hood as he wasn't happy with them). He was impressed with my cut and polish job but thought he could improve it and wet sanded a few more spots and then went over the whole car with 3M Perfect-It EX AC Rubbing Compound 36060 and an 8 inch 3M wool pad. I was a little shocked at how aggressive he was but he has a lot more experience and skills than I ever will. It looks really good now. I don't have any desire to go over it with a finer polish. One step. I certainly wouldn't use any of those products on a good paint job. A foam pad is much less aggressive. Perhaps a fine polish would suffice.
 
To add once again… you’re only as good as the machine you’re using also!

Now is not the time go Harbor Freight on something you’ve spent a lot of time and money on!

A good variable speed buffer/polisher is well worth the money in the long run because of not only are they balanced better… but for reliability!
 
I'm a former bodyman/painter and always used to use all the 3M stuff back in the day and up until 8 years ago when I painted my Barracuda. A very high-end custom painter friend turned me on to this CSI Ceram-x polishing compound. It absolutely blows everything I've tried right out of the water. It's pretty much a one step process that leaves an amazing finish and also cuts really fast! I won't use anything else as long as this stuff is available.
Give it a shot, I promise you won't be disappointed!


They also sell a complete kit that comes with pads and backer.

Ceram-X.jpg

Mopar-Showdown-Poster-Claudia-24x36.jpg
 
MobileCustoms said:
I'm a former bodyman/painter and always used to use all the 3M stuff back in the day and up until 8 years ago when I painted my Barracuda. A very high-end custom painter friend turned me on to this CSI Ceram-x polishing compound. It absolutely blows everything I've tried right out of the water. It's pretty much a one step process that leaves an amazing finish and also cuts really fast! I won't use anything else as long as this stuff is available.
Give it a shot, I promise you won't be disappointed!

[/URL]

They also sell a complete kit that comes with pads and backer.
[/URL]

View attachment 1716482716
View attachment 1716482719
Click to expand...
Is it a one step polish in that you only polish once, or do you use a few different pads in a few separate steps. How much wet sanding? I am always open to something new and better.
 
harrisonm said:
Is it a one step polish in that you only polish once, or do you use a few different pads in a few separate steps. How much wet sanding? I am always open to something new and better.
Click to expand...
Even just with a wool pad, it comes out really amazing. You can switch to a foam pad and give it light final polish. I've polished 2000 grit with ease but going finer would speed it up for sure. Different paint systems have different polishing characteristics and hardness, as well as how long it's been cured.
 
Agree. Sometimes I think the 3M looks good enough to stop after the first step. The speed with which you come up to a mirror shine when you sand with up to 3000 is amazing. You are right about 2000 grit. I have stopped at 2000 a few times, and I can come out the same in the long run, but it takes longer. I think I might try the stuff you use.
Call me crazy but I kind of like wet sanding clear. And call me really crazy, because I also really like rust repair, body work, spraying primer and block sanding primer. I might be in the minority here.
 
Last edited:
harrisonm said:
Is it a one step polish in that you only polish once, or do you use a few different pads in a few separate steps. How much wet sanding? I am always open to something new and better.
Click to expand...
Interested. Linky no worky.
 

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