If my Menzerna and makita had a face Id punch it!

Kris R

Kris R

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Hey guys,

Been a busy week. Lots of learning and experimenting. Watched a body shop friend do some amazing touch up with rattle can and wet sanding. Then he let me buff the scratches out. Had no idea just how effective wet sanding is and how much time it could save on a really screwed up paint job. Theres just certain things that polish and pad isnt going to remove or smooth out. And wet sanding (2000 or 1000) is an amazing tool that I finally got to see for myself. Excited to try it out on test vehicles...

So I was detailing my mother in laws mercury cougar and my 3 year old UDM died in my hands. Out of no where. smelled burning plastic and the motor burned up. Plain dead. I freaked because Im as comfortable as a fish in water with my UDM. Fortunately I had my makita in the bag as well. i get frustrated trying to use this thing. I have the 7.5 LC pads and I dont like it. When I throw a wool pad on its much easier to use. Or I throw a smaller backing plate on and just use the 5.5 low profile LC pads and that seem to work great. But I cant seem to get down using these larger pads!

Now lets talk about my menzerna polishes. I have Powergloss, SIP, 85rd and one more. cant remember. I got these because everyone swears by it. But it dusts like crazy. More than any other polish ive used. And thats with the PC. On the rotary forget it. It dries out in less than 4 inches. I dont think I should have to use half the bottle priming the mad for this to work. spray a little mist of QD and it works better but only for a few seconds. And Menzerna is a PITA the remove.

I am using my rotary with smaller pads that were not intended to be used for a rotary. Im getting good results but I just feel Im missing the point of it. Im beyond frustrated.

On a lighter note I replaced that UDM with a new PCXP. I have to say I absolutely love everything about it. Its MUCH smoother than the UDM. Doesnt make my arm go numb. I love the huge button. I like the speed setting on top, Its way easier to hold. Its just an awesome machine. Although Im not sure about my pads. Again Im using LC 5.5 low profile pads.

Thanks for reading.
Feed back please
 
What is your process with the Menzerna? I have never seen it dry that quickly and it has always been an easy product line to use both applying and removing. Are you polishing in the hot sun or under shade?
 
A rotary has a steep learning process. I tried using a makita for about 2 hours. A bunch of holograms later, I decided it's not a tool for me. I'll stick to my Griot's DA.
 
I have never seen Menzerna dry up that quick. What speed do you have your rotary on? Menzerna will work for a very long time with a rotary.
 
ASPHALT ROCKET said:
I have never seen Menzerna dry up that quick. What speed do you have your rotary on? Menzerna will work for a very long time with a rotary.
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:iagree: It must have been your environment. Menzerna is very temperature and humidity dependent. Menzerna and Optimum polishes are the ones I find that you can work forever.
 
Lasthope05 said:
:iagree: It must have been your environment. Menzerna is very temperature and humidity dependent. Menzerna and Optimum polishes are the ones I find that you can work forever.
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Even when it is very humid the polish still doesn't dry up like that. It has to be technique, speed of the rotary or how the pad is being primed.
 
So how do you go about priming your pads Dana? inquiring minds want to know!
 
I've use the menzerna products this past weekend (83, 106 and 85) and experienced a bit of the same problems as the OP. I did get better results following TOGWT posts. Search for "Menzerna Methodology" and you'll find a couple of stickies by him. The distilled water priming did make a world of difference as well as not using too much product. Read both Methodology I and II. I also found out that the pads (I was using CCS) do load up and my experience is that after about 12 to 14 "cycles" of priming the pad with one spray of distilled water and then applying product and polishing, the pad had to be cleaned. Symptoms included (for me) heavy vibration of the polisher and dusting (after 12 to 14 cycles).

Hope that helps.
 
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well like i said Im used to a DA polisher. I put the same amount or more on the rotary pad. I havnt been priming the pad with anything other than a mist of XMT pad conditioner. I just dont get those large even lays of polish on the paint as i do with a DA. the pad seemingly spins dry and leaves some traces of polish behind. Next thing I know the big foam pad is sticky and hopping all over the place. I dont take the rotary above 2.5-3 and sometimes it leaves some dried up polish on the paint that the pad wont pick back up. I have to use a MF cloth.

I can glide Menzerna across a LOT of paint with the DA. I get it on the rotary and Im using half the bottle just to see product behind the pad. And then theres the dusting.

When I use a smaller pad and tackle a smaller area its fine.

There are too many dang videos on how to use a DA polisher and there are next to none on the rotary.
 
Oh and Im in the shade and the temp is 75-80
 
Kris R said:
well like i said Im used to a DA polisher. I put the same amount or more on the rotary pad. I havnt been priming the pad with anything other than a mist of XMT pad conditioner. I just dont get those large even lays of polish on the paint as i do with a DA. the pad seemingly spins dry and leaves some traces of polish behind. Next thing I know the big foam pad is sticky and hopping all over the place. I dont take the rotary above 2.5-3 and sometimes it leaves some dried up polish on the paint that the pad wont pick back up. I have to use a MF cloth.

I can glide Menzerna across a LOT of paint with the DA. I get it on the rotary and Im using half the bottle just to see product behind the pad. And then theres the dusting.

When I use a smaller pad and tackle a smaller area its fine.

There are too many dang videos on how to use a DA polisher and there are next to none on the rotary.
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Sounds like to me that your not priming the pad to the edge.One of the reason the pad walks on you and you can't control it is the pad being to dry .What size backing plate are you using also.I would also reduce the speed 3 is pretty high for a rotary i rarely go above 1500 rpm .
 
JonMiles said:
What is your process with the Menzerna? I have never seen it dry that quickly and it has always been an easy product line to use both applying and removing. Are you polishing in the hot sun or under shade?
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Harleyguy said:
Sounds like to me that your not priming the pad to the edge.One of the reason the pad walks on you and you can't control it is the pad being to dry .What size backing plate are you using also.I would also reduce the speed 3 is pretty high for a rotary i rarely go above 1500 rpm .
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great tip Harley guy. The pads I have are 7.5. They are form fitting to one size backingplate which I think is like 6.5.

Can anyone post pics of a process for priming a rotary pad? It makes sense that this is the reason I'm having issues. On smaller pads I control the machine just fine. Although I have been creating some awesome holograms. I finish with the pcxp to rid those. But again there are people that finish with no holograms so I'm sure my technique is at fault.

I'd like to be good with this tool. I feel it could be a Great asset.
 
So the Menz 85rd dusts a lot ?

What do you do afterwards ? Blow it off ? Wash it again ?

I'm getting the feeling that for Black Paint that Meg's 105/205 is not enough and that Menz 85rd puts the final touch on Black... but if it dusts like crazy... how do you deal with it ?
 
2003 GMC Denali said:
So the Menz 85rd dusts a lot ?

What do you do afterwards ? Blow it off ? Wash it again ?

I'm getting the feeling that for Black Paint that Meg's 105/205 is not enough and that Menz 85rd puts the final touch on Black... but if it dusts like crazy... how do you deal with it ?
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It dust a little bit, any polish is going to dust to a little. The reason a lot of people get a lot of dust is either they are dry buffing, or the pad is caked up and all the dried polish is coming out while polishing.

The dust is very easy to wipe off, and yes 85rd after the Megs twins will amp your finish up.
 
2003 GMC Denali said:
So the Menz 85rd dusts a lot ?

What do you do afterwards ? Blow it off ? Wash it again ?

I'm getting the feeling that for Black Paint that Meg's 105/205 is not enough and that Menz 85rd puts the final touch on Black... but if it dusts like crazy... how do you deal with it ?
Click to expand...

No No....if fact the 85rd and the 106 or sip...whichever one is the least cut, works great. Its the medium cut and the powergloss that dusts. But all of them except the 85rd is a beech to get off opposed to the dozen other polishes ive tried. Im just not seeing the hype. Even if my technique is flawed (and im sure it is) doing the exact same thing with other polishes and now with menzerna (meaning all things equal) menz is a pain in my butt to work with. great polishing ability but not very user friendly to ME. Again im sure there are better rotary users that will disagree.

ASPHALT ROCKET said:
It dust a little bit, any polish is going to dust to a little. The reason a lot of people get a lot of dust is either they are dry buffing, or the pad is caked up and all the dried polish is coming out while polishing.

The dust is very easy to wipe off, and yes 85rd after the Megs twins will amp your finish up.
Click to expand...

that makes sense. But why is the pad caking up so fast?
 
Kris R said:
No No....if fact the 85rd and the 106 or sip...whichever one is the least cut, works great. Its the medium cut and the powergloss that dusts. But all of them except the 85rd is a beech to get off opposed to the dozen other polishes ive tried. Im just not seeing the hype. Even if my technique is flawed (and im sure it is) doing the exact same thing with other polishes and now with menzerna (meaning all things equal) menz is a pain in my butt to work with. great polishing ability but not very user friendly to ME. Again im sure there are better rotary users that will disagree.



that makes sense. But why is the pad caking up so fast?
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Because you are using way too much polish. You only need a few pea sized dots on the pad.
 
Ok then... I've added a bottle of Menz 85rd to my wish-list.

I always thought that Meg's 205 would be the last thing I used before WG 3.0 and Souveran Paste Wax... but it will be good to have something in case M-105/205 doesn't pan out.

I was just reading up on the comments about the Menzerna 85rd... would it be good for the Scratch-resistant Self-healing Paint thats on my Wife's Infiniti EX35 as well?
 
How large of a section are you working at a time?
 
Ok rocket this is what confuses me! First I was told Im not using enough polish and thats why it hops around, then Im being told that Im using too much. I flip the pad over and and place dots in a star pattern. 5 dots in all around the edge of the pad. Its not enough. I cant even get a 2 foot section of coverage. Its like im dry buffing right off the bat. I need someone to point me to a video or post a video of themselves with a makita because Im about to put it away and only use it to remove wet sanding marks and polish the rest out with the XP no matter HOW long it takes. its almost more trouble than its worth. :rant:
 
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