First time w/ Menzerna - Lots of Dust

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encoder

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Hey guys, I'm a hobbyist, this weekend I started doing minor swirl removal and correction on my black 08 Mercedes.

I've got a Porter Cable DA with Edge pads. This was my first time using Menzerna products and I experienced a LOT of dust.

My process was fairly simple (and definitely open to critique, even if it has nothing to do w/ the dusting)

- Clay Bar
- Menzerna Super Intensive polish with a Green pad
- Menzerna Micro Polish (85RD i think??) with a Blue pad
- Meguiars #20 with a white pad
- Poor Boys Blue Liquid Wax

I usually do a compound coat of the poly seal (apply one coat, cure it 30 mins, apply a 2nd without wiping the first, then buff off both after curing).

I also used a Yellow pad with the SIP for a few specific problem areas.

I'm very happy with the results, I've got about half the car done this weekend. Two adjacent panels tell the story completely -- the car looks nearly 2 different colors, mostly due to hazing than swirls as I'm a fairly careful car washer.

But god DANG I had dust issues -- especially with the Super Intensive Polish.

Is this the nature of the product or did I over-work it? I certainly tried to keep my eye out for flashing to know when to stop but to be honest it's a little hard for an untrained eye. The coat of polish is so thin that going from opaque to clear isn't terribly noticeable. So it's possible I did over-work it.

Generally I moved quite slow across the paint surface. I'd apply enough pressure to slow down the rotation and used that as a gauge of my pressure, and when I did that the orbit of the machine kind of pulled it acorss the paint, half inch every couple seconds maybe, and for the most part that's the pace I kept.

Any tips on getting an even better result with this product, and any suggestions on reducing the dust?

Thanks!
Shane
 
I remember reading on here that Menzerna polishes dust more with DA polishers compared to rotary buffers. Cleaning your pad frequently and using a pad lubricant can also reduce dusting.
 
SIP will dust a bit no matter what, but if it's dusting that bad you are probably over working it. I would try to cut back on the passes and see if you still get the correction you are after.
 
S60R -- Beautiful car. Had an 03 T5 until it was paid off and I went into the Mercedes family.

Would definitely consider another Volvo -- they're fantastic cars.
 
Hey! That's my name too! :dblthumb2:


Did you clean your pads at all? Did you use only one pad or did you switch to a fresh pad when the old ones got saturated? Either one of those issues will cause major dusting.
 
In my experience SIP is the most dusting compound I ever used. I would say that what you experienced is normal for that specific compound. I love Menzerna, especially the PO85 RD which if you used you shouldn't have any dusting issues .

There are other products that you could use in terms of a compound. I thought to give a try to the Optimum Hyper Compound but I havent used it yet to give you a solid opinion.
 
Yeah, I was fairly sure the dusting came from the SIP but obviously using one right after the other, it was hard to be sure how much the micro polish was responsible.

Thanks for weighing-in.
 
SIP, in my mind at least, is more of a medium polish than a compound. It can get out some pretty nasty stuff, but I don't think of it as a true compound like M105, Powergloss and so on.
 
Honestly, if you are getting a lot of dust with SIP, you are using too much product. I hardly ever have SIP dust. I spray the pad with Pinnacle pad conditioner or something similar then only use 2 or 3 pea sized drops. I also only prime the pad very lightly. Keeping the pad clean between each section is also very important to help prevent dusting.
 
Really? That little? For how big of a section? What are we talking here for the "2 or 3 pea sized drops"? 2x2?

Obviously less product is easy all the way around if I am indeed using too much.

Usually, for a 2x2, I tend to make a circle on the pad with like a 1" to 2" diameter. So definitely more than 2 or 3 pea sized drops.
 
encoder said:
Really? That little? For how big of a section? What are we talking here for the "2 or 3 pea sized drops"? 2x2?

Obviously less product is easy all the way around if I am indeed using too much.

Usually, for a 2x2, I tend to make a circle on the pad with like a 1" to 2" diameter. So definitely more than 2 or 3 pea sized drops.
Click to expand...


Yes, 2 or 3 drops for a 2x2 section. You really don't want to work a bigger section then that with a DA or you will see the correction ability drop drastically.

I hope that helps solve your problem!
 
Flannigan said:
SIP, in my mind at least, is more of a medium polish than a compound. It can get out some pretty nasty stuff, but I don't think of it as a true compound like M105, Powergloss and so on.
Click to expand...

Yeah, according to Menzerna it's about dead-middle in it's cut.

So here's a semi-followup: All I have in my arsenal currently is the SIP and the PO-85RD, as well as consumer-line Meguiars Ultimate Compound ad Swirl Remover 2.0.

I haven't touched the latter two, I had trouble working with hazing last time around using them, and that's why I purchased the Menzerna products.

I have the most serious (still cosmetic) scratching on my rear bumper, stuff sliding in and out of the trunk. Suppose the SIP + Yellow Pad doesn't yield results, should I even consider using one of those Meguiars consumer products? Or should I just pony-up for something else with more cut? I'm reticent to do so because these polishes run about $50 and I literally would use it for just a couple square feet of paint surface.

Left to my own -- without any advice here -- I'd leave them on the shelf and just get the best result I can with the SIP + Yellow pad and accept it and move on. Not worth it to me, from a "first, do no harm" aspect.
 
Dr Oldz said:
Yes, 2 or 3 drops for a 2x2 section. You really don't want to work a bigger section then that with a DA or you will see the correction ability drop drastically.

I hope that helps solve your problem!
Click to expand...

What do you mean? Just that by the time it would take me to work the polish in on a bigger panel it's already breaking down / drying up? I mean, suppose I spent n minutes on a 2x2 and 2n minutes on a 2x4 section?

FWIW I think the only section I've done anywhere near 2x2 (let alone bigger) is the hood -- which I did in 2 halves. So I've been following that advice but the engineer in me is curious to the reasoning behind it?

Actually, here's a picture from Sunday!
20120110-qyhjjty5c8qmjgfjx7dx2ejysk.jpg
I tend to do the doors in halves, and go for entire panels when possible.
 
Shane, IMO moving 1/2" every couple of seconds is too slow. Try 1" per second with 15lbs of pressure.:buffing:
encoder said:
Generally I moved quite slow across the paint surface. I'd apply enough pressure to slow down the rotation and used that as a gauge of my pressure, and when I did that the orbit of the machine kind of pulled it acorss the paint, half inch every couple seconds maybe, and for the most part that's the pace I kept.
Click to expand...
 
encoder said:
20120110-qyhjjty5c8qmjgfjx7dx2ejysk.jpg
I tendto do the doors in halves, and go for entire panels when possible.
Click to expand...
That's your problem..too big of an area. Cut it down to 2X2 or even 18"X18". Doing an entire panel (trunk) moving 1/2" per 2 seconds will cause the panel to dry out before you complete 1 pass.
 
@Rsurfer thanks man, appreciate the feedback.

Look forward to applying all of it next weekend -- Have the passenger side of the car, the rear bumper, and the roof left.
 
As Ron said, you are working too big an area and the polish is drying inturn dusting. A smaller section will allow you to be more concentrated thus working the polish properly and removing defects in the most efficent manner.
 
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