what exactly is rubbing compound?

[emesnj]

What exactly does it do? And how do i use it?

[Greg]

It really depends, but basically it is a compound that is designed to remove paint defects- scratches swirls, but might dull the surface in the process. Like 3M Perfect It Fine Cut Rubbing Compound is fairly mild stuff. Most of the times, these are synonomous with polishes.

[exceldetail]

Another word for aggressive polish......

[TOGWT]

Quote: what exactly is rubbing compound?

~ One man’s opinion / observations ~

A: A rubbing compound (with various levels of abrasive) 1000 – 800 grit

Machine Polish:
Are formulated with lubricates, solvents and water, and an abrasive 0.3 micron mineral, that diminishes with use, buffered or cushioned in a rich, lubricating oil film, usually in a semi-liquid paste. They are available in many different grades (the ability to abrade i.e. to remove levels of paint) for detailing work they usually range from a 2000< grit polish (very mild) to a swirl mark remover (a medium abrasive) 1500 grit or a compound (various levels of abrasive) 1000 – 800 grit

When talking about abrasive polishing, "grit" is a reference to the number of abrasive particles per inch. It eliminates the risk of deep sanding scratches by providing a uniform grit size. The lower the grit numbers the more aggressive the polish and conversely, the higher the grit numbers the smoother the polish.

This make sense if you imagine how small the grit particles on an 1000-grit finishing paper would need to be to fit into a 1" square. Grit finishing paper is referred to by the size of its abrasives (i.e. 1500-grit paper) the grit you use depends on what you are trying to do.

~Hope this helps~

Knowledge unshared is experience wasted
justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ Jon

[kesslerbmw]

My teacher always would call it liquid sand paper for the first week of school, for the noobies in Votec, and i think thats a good way to explaain it, that 3M perfect it III is sweet.

[TOGWT]

Kesslerbmw "liquid sandpaper", a simple but effective description...thanks