ChemicalGuys GAPVKIT101 V36 Optical Grade Cutting Polish and V38 Final Polish (473.2 ml)

Ok. I got some pretty serious trail rash on my tundra and wanted to correct the paint to see if I could bring it back. I’m not really experienced with cutting clear coat so I opted for this medium cut product. The scratches were just deep enough that you could feel them with your nails, but not enough to hang a nail on it or anything. If you can feel the scratches, I wouldn’t suggest this product. I only opted for this because I was afraid of burning through the clear with a heavier product. That being said, here goes.I had the opportunity to use Meguiars and Chemical Bros products side by side during this project and hands down I like the chemical bros better. The meguiars product dries out really fast and then flakes off needing reapplication while the chemical bros product basically melts to a liquid and allows you to keep working for a good amount of time until you’re ready to check progress. The V36 cutting compound says it’s good for medium scratches, but I wouldn’t go any higher than light scratches otherwise you’ll work yourself to the bone trying to remove them and flatten them out. I ended up using meguiars m105 to cut everything out and it was more than twice as fast as the v36 and I had zero issues burning through or getting my project done with it. The v36 is a good product, I just wouldn’t recommend it for trail rash or anything below the surface of the clear.The v38 is absolutely amazing as a finishing compound. It brings the clear back to a mirror finish, melts like the v36 so you can keep working it and smells so good you’ll forget you’re even working. All in all I’m happy with my purchase and have nothing bad to say about these products because it was my mistake choosing too light of a compound. Hope this helps anyone trying to decide what product to use for their project and good luck to anyone trying to bring their plant back.Oh I used a DA polisher with Grants (harbor freight) compounding and finishing sponges to apply this and they are great products too I could use the sponges again if needed they’re still basically new after washing.

Good

First 2 photos are before and the last 3 are after. I used V36 with a compound hex pad followed by V38 with the same pad on a DA polisher. The results are amazing. This was done in my driveway in winter at minus 4 Celsius. Because Canadian, ya know. Cut through almost all scratches and eliminated the spider webbing/ swirls. Highly recommended. Car is a 2015 Chevy Cruze Diesel.This was followed by Chemical Guys jet seal (MUST HAVE) and Chemical Guys Bitter wet wax. Both amazing products.

The V36 is listed as a cutting polish, with polish being the operative word here. so be aware it's not a cutting compound and wont remove "moderate to heavy paint defects and imperfections" as listed in the description.On its own the V36 does a great job of polishing. When combined with the V38 they produce a mirror shine, even on my old work van that hasn't had anything beyond a handwash in the last 9 years. It also works great at restoring plastic trim.

I bought a used 2015 VW Golf Tdi Sport Wagon in red and who ever owned it before did not do a very good job of taking care of the paint, it was in need of some love. I had a couple Meguiars products that I had used in the past but this time I was not getting what I wanted out of them. I am using a Cyclo dual pad polisher.I bought the V36 and V38 and this stuff worked great. I was able to get rid of all the little scratches that look like they come from the driving through car washes and few larger scratches from something being dragged over the hood. I have people stop me and say what a nice looks car and how they love the color.I will defiantly continue to use Chemical Guys products. They are not the cheapest out there but then cheap is not always the best way to go when it come to something you care about.