The following is an excerpt of a 3-5-04 post made by the technical specialist at Meguiar’s, Mike Phillips.

…When you apply a Meguiar's polish, the trade secret oils found in all Meguiar’s polishes, (and even Meguiar’s compounds, cleaner/polishes and even some waxes), penetrate into the paint and replace the original resins, (or oils), that have been broken-down, leached out and/or deteriorated. These trade secret oils then act to fill the empty microscopic pores, air pockets and surface imperfections thus preventing unwanted substances from entering into these areas.


…2) They replace and replenish the oils/resins originally present in your car’s paint


…Meguiar’s unique background and close relationships with giants in both the automotive paint industry and new car manufactures, (for about as long as these two industries have been around), should give you the confidence you need to enable you to place your trust in Meguiar’s, the surface care experts.

Mike Phillips
Technical Specialist
1-800-854-8073 ext. 189
mphillips@meguiars.com

"Find something you like and use it often"

Jack Anderson
Paint Instructor for the PPG paint company

When I first read this article I thought, “Wow, these guys have products that will, in their words, replace and replenish the original oils/resins in my paint. Then I started thinking. Being a believer in Meguiar’s, my trusted surface care experts would never lead me astray or to educate me with twisted meanings or untruths. I would expect good clear and concise language. It seemed to me that some of the information in this article was a little far fetched.

My research started and the first call went to Dupont’s tech department, my second call to BASF’s tech department and third to PPG’s tech department. The questions: Can a wax or polish replace and or replenish the oils/resins in paint? Can a wax or polish penetrate the surface and replace the original oils/resins that have broken down, leached out and/or deteriorated? I then placed calls to the top wax and polish manufacturers and then to their raw material suppliers. My research and consulting background has given me a set of tools not available to most people. It’s amazing the amount of information available if you know where to look. Out of respect for the manufacturers I will not divulge very much specific information at this time.

Basically all three paint manufacturers came back with the same answer. The general consensus is wax or polish cannot penetrate into the paint surface. At best, a wax or polish can remove minor imperfections and lay on the surface to provide a semi-permanent coating that can fill minor defects but in no way can replace anything that has leached out of the paint. Materials that leach out of paint do so by design and are never to be replaced. If the items that leached out of paint were replaced you would not have a viable permanent coating.

PPG was the only paint company that asked why and where. When I told them I heard it from Meguiar’s and Meguiar’s apparently had an alignment with PPG they responded with, “we have no alignment with that company.” We recommend 3M products for color sand and buff for both refinish and OEM applications.

As far as the wax and polish manufacturers go. I received a number of interesting comments from my questions. A couple of them went into great detail about their product and what it was capable of. Some of it was so crazy you’d think they were trying to convince me that pigs could fly. My conversations were full of both good and bad information. So much so they need to be posted individually though most were a little self-serving and twisted information similar to Mike’s article.

This little project consumed me for some time since the 3-5-04 post. Generally I do not participate in these forums, I’m like Jimmy Swaggert and like to watch. But I think it time to join in the fun. I have learned a great deal about paints, how to care for them and a great deal about the raw materials that go into waxes and polishes. I am a car nut as well.

Through the years I have learned the strength of the written word and one thing we have to realize is that Mike Phillips has the power of the pen! He has a powerful brand behind him that automatically gives him, for the lack of a better term, God-like status in the wax and polish community. With this power he can choose educate and give to the greater good or not. The way words in this article are manipulated puts a big “?” behind the phrase, “Trusted Surface Care Experts!”


Giuseppe Pepperoni
Sometimes you’re the bug!
Sometimes you’re the windshield!

 

Could you provide a link for that 3-5-04 post? That 3-5-04 post wasn't made on NAM, so I'd like to read a little more of the context around why that post was made in the first place.

 

The post was originally on meguiarsonline.com under the thread "why you should polish your paint"

 

i just read mike's post over at meguiar's. it sounds like magic "secret ingredient" hype to me after my research regarding the mini oem paint from basf.

with regard to waiting to wax or sealing oem paint, basf said it's essentially fully cured a few minutes after leaving the oven - have at it as soon as you get your car.

but they also said that i wouldn't be helping the longevity of the paint very much with any coating or car cover. paints have made continuous technical progress over the years and modern ones (not just theirs) are well engineered to withstand weathering, including direct sunlight. they said there is a lot of hype surrounding the aftermarket finishes.

nonetheless , i use zaino and a cover.

so, who makes the most sense, mike or basf?

 

So are you disappointed with the results of Mequiar's products, or just the puffing of this online representative?

 

Hey Pepperoni, have you EVER met Mike Phillips? He's a buddy of mine, and if you've ever had a chance to spend some time with him, you'd realize he's a fantastic guy that's passionate about what he does. That's buffing out paint and making cars look their very best, but he's not a chemist. In person, he always talks about the cool things the Meguiars chemists are working on. The fact that you are picking on a point of marketing info, whether its fact or fiction leads me to believe that you have too much time on your hands. FWIW, I'm a Meguiars convert. I was all into Zaino and doing 12 coats on my bonnet, but not any more. Check out Showcargarage.com and you will see my MINI from one of the detailing clinics. NXT made my finish look super dark and glossy. I've now got a DA, and use Quik Detailer daily. My point is that, whatever explanation you want to believe, the bottom line is that their products rock no matter what the explanation, and that Mike Phillips is a very cool dude.

Richard

 

I'd have to agree with OctaneGuy on not taking the SALESMAN's literal word. Salespeople typically do not have the technical expertise to explain the particulars of a product's functioning, or cannot give out "trade secrets". To me, making claims "replaces oils/resins in paint" seems rediculous, and only a sales pitch to promote the resultant effect of a product, not so much the process of the product. While I cannot condone Meguiar's technical error on their forum, as a product line they are among the best in the industry.