QUOTE(dgman @ May 7 2008, 06:46 PM)

QUOTE(PJ S @ May 7 2008, 06:14 PM)

Link to the test you mention? - can't say I recall it, and would be surprised if they had AB as part of the candidates, so it'd need to be put in context with what's being discussed here, especially since I've said it outperforms SRP on the masking aspect.
Please see link below as to the autoglym test.
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=69078Ah, thank you.
From the link, and by one of the most respected members:
QUOTE(Dave KG)
I still think SRP would be your best bet though. The best equivalent I can think of would be Bilt Hamber Autobalm, worth doing a search for a few threads on this as it is reported to have a filling ability at least on a par with SRP though I have yet to personally test this in a controlled test.
So, not tested against AB, and the thread was actually about a hand polish rather than something which would hide swirls as a temporary measure.
I'll say this again, here, SRP is fine, but you would not want to deswirl a large portion of a panel or the car by hand. Small areas - yes, but even then, you're barely affecting the damage unless they're really fine. Any thing half deep, and you need to move up to something proper and better suited - like Menzerna 106FF, which incidentally Dave did a bit of a shoot-out of ones normally mentioned in the same breath as a machine polish, and it took some 3-5 hits to effect a reasonable result.
SRP also produces quite a bit of dust, and won't have the longevity of AB, not even with EGP or a carnauba wax over the top of it.
Therefore, given what the OP is aiming to achieve, AB is the most cost effective option, by the time a wax is factored into the SRP equation, and it will mask more of the swirls, last longer (weather and parking conditions being the determining factor on how long that actually is) and it will go further before a new tub is needed, since it requires so little per application.
Oh, and I have pulled Dave about his having a tub of unopened AB, and never having tried it out - especially with the extra press BH has been getting in the past month or so. He also has misrepresented AB by saying "on a par" - there's a number who've stated it trounces SRP for swirl masking, which I couldn't confirm since I'd only used it on good paintwork until recently at a local Jag/AM dealer, on the front wings of an X-type during my demo of it and the clay.
I find it most curious since he has a LOT of other products to put it up against, etc - but still it remains untouched.
Maybe he feels I do enough to "help" BH gain approval on the site, that he steers clear of it, and concentrates on the various others - I don't know.
Hopefully at some point in time, soon, he will get round to unscrewing the lid, and make his opinion known on it, and we'll see how that correlates with the other members who've already been getting stuck into using it.
It would seem the link I was referring to does back up the SRP being very good at swirl removal - more so than I remembered, and to which I gave more credit to Menz than it deserves.
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=10656Of course, nothing stopping one using both SRP and AB, but as they effectively do a similar thing, regarding masking, I'd go with one or other, unless I was prepared to use the SRP for polishing, then remove it using a paint cleaner like IPA diluted 50:50 with deionised water to leave the best possible surface prep for AB to adhere to.
Strictly speaking, the AB might not need it, given the chemical cleaning it seems to have - but I'd probably err on the side of absolute certainty.