Fillers or No Fillers???

[Beemerboy]

I know a lot of members here and experts in the industry, frown on products that mask or fill in minor to major paint defects.

However I feel that if used in the proper way it can be a life saver.

For instance I use FK1 pink hand glaze before the LSP..any minor defects that I have are masked by it...

I do this for some of my detail jobs..with some cars a filler product can really help..I do top that with a sealant and wax to get the best finish I can...

I'm not trying to get out of swirl removal but on some finishes , like my jet black BMW getting them all out is impossible...and in between polishing and the major details that I do it helps to keep the car looking good

So what's it going to be filler or no fillers???

[budman3]

This is a tricky one. When I think of fillers, I think of the el cheapo detailer slapping on a coat of heavy filler wax / polish and calling that a detail. So that type of filler gives detailing a bad reputation. People get mad when their freshly detailed car looks like junk again after a week or two.

However, using a filler after polishing to get the maximum looks out of a vehicle can't be frowned upon. That just shows dedication to get the car looking its best. Even if the filler did somehow get washed off in this case, the car will still look great because of the proper polishing.

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by budman3

This is a tricky one. When I think of fillers, I think of the el cheapo detailer slapping on a coat of heavy filler wax / polish and calling that a detail. So that type of filler gives detailing a bad reputation. People get mad when their freshly detailed car looks like junk again after a week or two.

However, using a filler after polishing to get the maximum looks out of a vehicle can't be frowned upon. That just shows dedication to get the car looking its best. Even if the filler did somehow get washed off in this case, the car will still look great because of the proper polishing.

I agree with you on the cheap detail syndrome...but as you stated, used in the proper fashion they can enhance the finish...I guess my reasoning is I can bring the car to near perfect...but that last little bit might run doing some damage to the clear...or require wet sanding...the glaze that I use can help in those areas...then with a good sealant and wax on top the filler / glaze is locked in for a period of time

[Pockets]

If there was a little in the product i was using than fine. I wouldn't want to use a product that was loaded with them. I picked no because i would care if there was a lot in the product.

[budman3]

Originally Posted by Beemerboy

used in the proper fashion they can enhance the finish...I guess my reasoning is I can bring the car to near perfect...but that last little bit might run doing some damage to the clear...or require wet sanding...the glaze that I use can help in those areas...then with a good sealant and wax on top the filler / glaze is locked in for a period of time

Agree 100%.

[Pander5]

I voted no, never on my ride because I try to take care of ANY defects on my vehicle and don't want to mask them. I strive for 100% on mine. Some of my customers might benefit from some minor filler type product but I still don't use them. I can understand and agree with the logic posted above though for those cases.

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by Pander5

I voted no, never on my ride because I try to take care of ANY defects on my vehicle and don't want to mask them. I strive for 100% on mine. Some of my customers might benefit from some minor filler type product but I still don't use them. I can understand and agree with the logic posted above though for those cases.

I concur that you want to strive for a perfect swirl free finish...with some cases you might be running the risk of doing more harm than good...that's when I use a filler type process, glaze...it dose two things for me...one fills in any minor imperfections and two adds a real wet look to the car that I can then top with something else..my jet black BMW is a 99 with just over 100K so there are some areas on the car that will not come out no matter what I do and I just feel that if I push it I run the risk of going threw the clear, and that's where the filler product comes in for me....is that cheating? in someways yes but then its my car and I know that its there

[BlueZero]

I voted yes. I am on the same page with BeemerBoy, I would rather have as much clear coat as I can protecting my paint. I do polish and remove swirls but I also use products that fill. I guess I am thinking swirls don't really cause a problem other than appearance, so what's so bad with covering them and not removing them. It's really end result that you are after. It's not like they will spread if left. It's not like rust where covering it up will cause more damage in the long run. Swirls vs more clear coat... I'm picking the clear coat.

[YNOT]

Lets see...I haven't voted yet, because I've never tried any of these 'fillers' or 'glazes'.

I do have to say though that with my black SUV, no matter how hard I try I still seem to see some swirls and spots that just irritate me. I want my car to look absolutely perfect after every wash and it hacks me off that it can't stay that way. Honestly, I wish there was a quick detailer that you could spray on and wipe off that would hide any swirls. I mean, after a few months of washing, I'd really like my car to still look 'perfect' until I could properly detail it to remove any swirls that have occured over time.

So...I suppose I'd vote yes...do the best you can and if there are any imperfections that you can't seem to get out, then "fill 'em".

Also...I don't do detailing for a living but if I did, I'd say that I would tell my customers that I'll do the best I can and if they'd like me to I can use a filler to further enhance the look...but I'd explain to them that in time the swirls will re-appear (as they will anyway if the customer is not properly washing/caring for their car.)

[Beemerboy]

YNOT

Get some hand glaze and after you have polished, before you go to the sealant or paste wax...apply a coat of glaze by hand...then when you are done have a look at the finish then....its something that I started doing about two years ago because I was the same as you with my black car...no matter what I did seems there was always some swirls....trust me on this one you WILL see the difference

[Happyman]

Just curious...what type of hand glaze do you use?

[audiboy]

I voted yes, but a year ago I probably wouldn't have. My brilliant black A4 is getting older and some of the defects are getting harder and harder to remove. I won't use a product that is just all filler and no other purpose though. I'll polish to the point where I'm happy with the results and then use a good glaze topped with a sealant and wax. Like Beemerboy said, I'd rather use some fillers than do damage to my finish by trying to get 100% of the swirls out.

[Pander5]

I am super meticulous with my wash and dry routine and have substantially reduced the chance of swirling my car. With that said I still accumulate enough imperfections to do my full exterior routine with my circular on my car twice a year and that removes 99% of the very minor marring I've accumulated since the last routine. I don't believe I'm removing any siginificant depth of clear on my car doing that twice a year. Again, I like to see what I want to remove but don't accumulate much in the 6 months between buff and polish.

Now don't misunderstand me guys. I do agree with your proposed use of fillers and again they are useful for masking some of the imperfections that may be just too much to get to on the first or even second buff out or there may be more serious flaws from road slung crap etc. When that happens on mine I touch them up almost immediately.

Don't take this as argumentative or contrary to what you're saying. I just don't use them on my car (and it's black). I use my car as my rolling advertisement and I like to keep it marr free.

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by Happyman

Just curious...what type of hand glaze do you use?

FK1 Pink hand glaze..look up finish kare car products they have it

[Stephan]

I used to use 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, and recently have moved to Menzerna Glaze. Both work well, and really add something to the final shine of the car.