My technique concerning the 3401, Menzerna products, and Hybrid pads

Thank you very much for sharing your advice! I've tried Meg 105 with a hydrotech L.C pad 5.5" (Blue) on a Flex 3401 on an Audi but it took SO long to correct, usually having to go over the same spot twice!

Next time I will certainly try your technique with the same hydrotech pad and see how that goes. Hoping to get some Hybrid pads but shockingly UK doesn't stock any.

Thanks again,
Will
 
Wxc said:
Thank you very much for sharing your advice! I've tried Meg 105 with a hydrotech L.C pad 5.5" (Blue) on a Flex 3401 on an Audi but it took SO long to correct, usually having to go over the same spot twice!

Next time I will certainly try your technique with the same hydrotech pad and see how that goes. Hoping to get some Hybrid pads but shockingly UK doesn't stock any.

Thanks again,
Will
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Sure thing Will! I enjoy doing what I can to help.

Try switching out to FG400 and using my technique and see where that gets you.

Im sure others can vouch for me on the using the hybrid pads on the 3401. IMO, the hybrids on the Flex is a match made in heaven.
 
smack said:
Sure thing Will! I enjoy doing what I can to help.

Try switching out to FG400 and using my technique and see where that gets you.

Im sure others can vouch for me on the using the hybrid pads on the 3401. IMO, the hybrids on the Flex is a match made in heaven.
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M105 what is that??? Seriously, not trying to knock M105 but IME, FG400 + LC Hybrids + Flex = :buffing: heaven :props:
 
I'm one more that gave up m105, but I'm always interested in trying M101... too bad I have to order 32oz (only size available), just for testing purposes...

I plentiful agree with comment (by James) above, FG400 + hybrids are the way to go, however my new 'all-time-favorite' menzerna product is SF4000, I mainly use technique described on this thread ('Smack's technique) and it goes from 'pale paint' and fine swirls to a high mirror glass shine.

I use it mainly on white hybrid...

Thanks Smack for sharing your experience and this wonderful technique.

Kind Regards.
 
I would also recommend SF4000 with a yellow hybrid - for paint in good condition with light micro-marring - and the finish & gloss are crazy good.
 
rms64 said:
:whs:

Can't beat it!
Click to expand...

281 said:
M105 what is that??? Seriously, not trying to knock M105 but IME, FG400 + LC Hybrids + Flex = :buffing: heaven :props:
Click to expand...

Tato said:
I'm one more that gave up m105, but I'm always interested in trying M101... too bad I have to order 32oz (only size available), just for testing purposes...

I plentiful agree with comment (by James) above, FG400 + hybrids are the way to go, however my new 'all-time-favorite' menzerna product is SF4000, I mainly use technique described on this thread ('Smack's technique) and it goes from 'pale paint' and fine swirls to a high mirror glass shine.

I use it mainly on white hybrid...

Thanks Smack for sharing your experience and this wonderful technique.

Kind Regards.
Click to expand...

addysdaddy said:
I would also recommend SF4000 with a yellow hybrid - for paint in good condition with light micro-marring - and the finish & gloss are crazy good.
Click to expand...

Thank you for checking in with your positive results Gentlemen. It is always nice to hear of others positive results on the Smack Technique.

:props:
 
Wow.. After reading this, I totally use my pads way to long.. I would normally use a pad for about half of the vehicle. I'd normally clean the pad with it going while on the PC and a pad brush 2-3 times per half the car.. Wow.. I've been doing this way wrong.
 
Iamonaboat said:
Wow.. After reading this, I totally use my pads way to long.. I would normally use a pad for about half of the vehicle. I'd normally clean the pad with it going while on the PC and a pad brush 2-3 times per half the car.. Wow.. I've been doing this way wrong.
Click to expand...

When doing any kind of correction or polishing work ideally you would want to have 5-6 pads each to get you through a car. Say 5-6 cutting and 5-6 polishing pads if you dont have a pad washer. At this point switch to a clean pad after every second panel. Do the fender and door, then switch to a fresh pad. Also brush the pad off no later than the second pass to remove built up residue.

Let me know if you have further questions. :xyxthumbs:
 
Smack i used your method on recent job i did, and i must say it worked out great. i got this customer and needed to do some major clean up on his brand new 2014 accord that he hit a concrete post with. although i wasn't able to get all the scratches out completely as they were down to bare metal, the customer was pretty impressed with the results.

thanks for all your help.
 
refreshauto said:
Smack i used your method on recent job i did, and i must say it worked out great. i got this customer and needed to do some major clean up on his brand new 2014 accord that he hit a concrete post with. although i wasn't able to get all the scratches out completely as they were down to bare metal, the customer was pretty impressed with the results.

thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...


Sounds good! Thanks for reporting on your success. Glad it worked out for you.

Very nicely done.

Mike
 
Wow this thread is increasing in size every time I come here to check details about this wonderful technique.

This week something interesting happened.

Short story long, I've wrote to Menzerna in Germany asking information about a product and also shared some of my Menzerna + Flex pictures at AG with them, and they immediately put me in contact with a Brazilian distributor who gently called me some days later.

Coincidentally, the guy was coming near my city the week following our talk, and we scheduled a meeting.

He came by my garage and I was working on a '13 Civic using Menzerna, which I mainly use based on Smack's Technique.

I've made a 'demonstration' of my polishing step with Flex, Hybrid pads and Menzerna polishes using this technique and the guy was amazed by immediate results.

Not so long ago, since I've started using Menzerna, I've faced a hard time with caked polish on pad, on paint, difficult to remove, and inconsistent results.

After reading this method and trying by myself, I was able to get great results every time. I admit nowadays to make minor adaptations to each situation I'm facing, but that's always recommended, not to only reproduce blindly a technique, but understand better what you are doing and how to do it better on every occasion. The #1 post of this thread is the foundation base for everything I'm to polish.

The flawless of this technique (from polishing passes to a very easy residue removal at the end) made the Menzerna distributor ask me to demonstrate Menzerna polishes usage to potential customers on his next trip to my city!

That said, I just came here to thank you (again!) for sharing your methods so I could improve (a lot) the way I work, and being able to use it consistently the way even professionals now recognize my work as top notch.

This technique was a game changer for me.

Here's the thread I've placed on the car I was working when I received the representative's visit:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-full-detail-pbl-coating-coating-booster.html

Best Wishes,

Rafael.
 
Excellent work on that Civic, Raphael! No wonder the Menzerna rep was so impressed! He knew his product was good but apparently had never seen how well it works with the "Smack" technique! :dblthumb2:
 
Tato said:
Wow this thread is increasing in size every time I come here to check details about this wonderful technique.

This week something interesting happened.

Short story long, I've wrote to Menzerna in Germany asking information about a product and also shared some of my Menzerna + Flex pictures at AG with them, and they immediately put me in contact with a Brazilian distributor who gently called me some days later.

Coincidentally, the guy was coming near my city the week following our talk, and we scheduled a meeting.

He came by my garage and I was working on a '13 Civic using Menzerna, which I mainly use based on Smack's Technique.

I've made a 'demonstration' of my polishing step with Flex, Hybrid pads and Menzerna polishes using this technique and the guy was amazed by immediate results.

Not so long ago, since I've started using Menzerna, I've faced a hard time with caked polish on pad, on paint, difficult to remove, and inconsistent results.

After reading this method and trying by myself, I was able to get great results every time. I admit nowadays to make minor adaptations to each situation I'm facing, but that's always recommended, not to only reproduce blindly a technique, but understand better what you are doing and how to do it better on every occasion. The #1 post of this thread is the foundation base for everything I'm to polish.

The flawless of this technique (from polishing passes to a very easy residue removal at the end) made the Menzerna distributor ask me to demonstrate Menzerna polishes usage to potential customers on his next trip to my city!

That said, I just came here to thank you (again!) for sharing your methods so I could improve (a lot) the way I work, and being able to use it consistently the way even professionals now recognize my work as top notch.

This technique was a game changer for me.

Here's the thread I've placed on the car I was working when I received the representative's visit:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-full-detail-pbl-coating-coating-booster.html

Best Wishes,

Rafael.
Click to expand...

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story Rafael. That is pretty cool that the Menzerna rep was impressed with my technique. I am glad to hear about your positive results using my technique.

I too had a big learning curve when I first started with Menzerna. I first started using the Kevin Brown method as I did when using SMAT products such as Meguiar's. I had the same experience with caked up pads and throwing dust everywhere while running FG400 as speed 5-6.

I decided to think outside the box and use a pad conditioning as my primer and then add my working product. Also while reading over FG400 and SF4000 I found that these products like to be worked backwards from the norm. Slower speed for the compound and faster speed with the polish. I tried this and the worlds aligned and my technique was born.

I look forward to hearing more about your experiences with the rep.

Mike

Angler said:
Excellent work on that Civic, Raphael! No wonder the Menzerna rep was so impressed! He knew his product was good but apparently had never seen how well it works with the "Smack" technique! :dblthumb2:
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Thank you for the kind words Richard.
 
I'll admit, I used this method over the weekend on a 2013 Kia Optima is Cherry and a 2013 Dodge Charger in metalic flake blue. I used hydro pads and 2500, one on a Flex and the other on a Rupes and got similar results on both!






 
parttimer said:
I'll admit, I used this method over the weekend on a 2013 Kia Optima is Cherry and a 2013 Dodge Charger in metalic flake blue. I used hydro pads and 2500, one on a Flex and the other on a Rupes and got similar results on both!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your positive experiance. They both look incredible. Really like the look of the Cherry red Optima. What LSP was used?

As I dont have a RUPES polisher and you mentioned the same pad and product was used, could I ask you to share your experiance on how the Menzerna product acted between the two machines?
 
I finished both with Pinnacle Black label paint coating.

I used the thin hydro's on the Kia and thick on the Dodge, both Cyan. Perhaps i have not mastered pad loading or it was just the different machines but I found I was getting lots of little cake bits while using the Rupes 21 with the 5.5" plate. I tried cleaning the pad with a brush and spraying some rinseless then rubbing with a towel but the next section would end up with little bits. I went through 5 pads with the rupes vs three on the Flex. The Flex I was using the 6.5" pads so that MAY make up the difference. I also used speed of no more than 5 with either unit.
Just FYI on loading the pads, I used to quarter sized drops to prime, then 2 dime/nickle sized drops after that. I found the Flex to be able to "cover" more panels between re-application.

Thanks again for the tips on using the product!
 
parttimer said:
I finished both with Pinnacle Black label paint coating.

I used the thin hydro's on the Kia and thick on the Dodge, both Cyan. Perhaps i have not mastered pad loading or it was just the different machines but I found I was getting lots of little cake bits while using the Rupes 21 with the 5.5" plate. I tried cleaning the pad with a brush and spraying some rinseless then rubbing with a towel but the next section would end up with little bits. I went through 5 pads with the rupes vs three on the Flex. The Flex I was using the 6.5" pads so that MAY make up the difference. I also used speed of no more than 5 with either unit.
Just FYI on loading the pads, I used to quarter sized drops to prime, then 2 dime/nickle sized drops after that. I found the Flex to be able to "cover" more panels between re-application.

Thanks again for the tips on using the product!
Click to expand...

Pad loading? You mean priming?

Did you experience the little cake bits with the Flex or was it primarily on the RUPES?

Also when running the FG400 keep the speeds no higher than 4 at an absolute maximum. I usually compound on speed 3 when my technique is dialed in. I have experienced bad dusting when running FG400 on speed 6. I have made 2-3 passes before it dusts up like crazy and becomes useless.

The reason I ask is because from what I know the Menzerna is more or less a rotary only product. That's not to say it can not be used elsewhere (as my technique is geared more for the 3401 and works equally as well on my PE14)

No problem

:)
 
Yep, priming the pad! I only experienced it on the Rupes, not the Flex. I did get some light dusting with the Flex, but this was also with 2500 and not 400. I also noticed that if it was caking up and I dropped the speed, it went away? Weird.
 
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