Need help choosing polishes

Thejoyofdriving

Thejoyofdriving

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I am going to be working on modern exotic cars like Ferrari, maserati, and even lambos. But i am also going to be doing run of the mill sports cars like bimmers, Porsches, and benz's. I am trying to look for some high end polishes (more than one)for my DA(random orbiter). I need polishes that are not too strong, but strong enough to get the job done. preferably polishes that do not leave micro maring. Also they need to break down at a good speed, not to fast, not too slow, so i dont have to work them in forever, most of the cars i will be doing have medium to Moderate to minimal swirls, i dont think i will be encountering much oxidation. And as always i want polishes that will only remove just enough paint to do the job, not burn it away. Aslo a really important thing i forgot to mention is that i want a polish that will not leave huge amounts of dust every where. And the polishes have to be designed to work with random orbitals.Any suggestions
 
Eh, special cars do not require special polishes.

Your pretty much lookin for a miracle product it sounds like lol
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
I am going to be working on modern exotic cars like Ferrari, maserati, and even lambos. But i am also going to be doing run of the mill sports cars like bimmers, Porsches, and benz's. I am trying to look for some high end polishes (more than one)for my DA(random orbiter). I need polishes that are not too strong, but strong enough to get the job done. preferably polishes that do not leave micro maring. Also they need to break down at a good speed, not to fast, not too slow, so i dont have to work them in forever, most of the cars i will be doing have medium to Moderate to minimal swirls, i dont think i will be encountering much oxidation. And as always i want polishes that will only remove just enough paint to do the job, not burn it away. Aslo a really important thing i forgot to mention is that i want a polish that will not leave huge amounts of dust every where. And the polishes have to be designed to work with random orbitals.Any suggestions
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Ummmmmm.... Run of the mill beemers, Porsches???????
Feed back please
I have been away still detailing! I have a Makita 9227 arriving tomorrow
 
Suggestions include:

Meguiar's
Menzerna
Presta
Optimum... Etc etc etc etc

I would listen to killr and use Menzerna... SIP and 106ff would probably be enough for you with yellow, orange, green and white LC pads
 
menzerna is the way to go...and you are going to need to step up to a rotary if you want to minimize dealing with micromarring as it is easier to one step polish with a rotary and get great results...and save yourself hours per detail...if you want to stick with the PC menzerna is still the way to go...and go with the ceramiclear polishes like everyone else recommended
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
Menzerna .... FP, Nano, and SIP !!
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I double that!!! Final Polish, Nano polish PO106FF (is a must), and Super Intensive polish.
I'd get some XMT 360 too.
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
I thought menzerna polishes are designed to work with rotarys?
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hmmm?! this is like the second time I hear that. I hope it hasn't become a fact by now... :confused:
No, you can still use menzerna with a PC; obviously better results can be had with a rotary, but in my own experience it works real nice with a PC
As for choices...menzerna, menzerna, and menzerna! :)
 
I have heard that the menzerna polishes need the high speed and heat provided by a rotary to work properly, i also heard that if you use menzerna polishes with a pc it will take a real long time to break them down.
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
I have heard that the menzerna polishes need the high speed and heat provided by a rotary to work properly, i also heard that if you use menzerna polishes with a pc it will take a real long time to break them down.
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Any polish used with a PC will take longer to break down than with rotary.
I have had good experiences with Meguiar's stuff since that's what I use 95% of the time
It doesn't take much longer to break down than with the rotary and works great with Lake Country 6.5" pads... one example I can give you is a 2'x2' area, using #80 and LC orange pad on speed 6, I go with 6-7 passes and feel that I get the best results that way... the 6-7 passes take about 3-4 mins at most and I do go pretty slow with it... I have used Menzerna FPII with LC orange pad and pc on speed 6 and it took about the same time to break down (well to give me results I was after) as the Meg's #80 did... hope that helps
 
on the menzerna website it says that their finishing polish can remove 1500 grit sanding marks!!!!!!!!, that is insanely too abrasive! I dont even think any of my current heavy polishes could take out 1500 grit sanding marks. If menzerna polishes are indeed that harsh i wont touch them, a finishing polish should be very very mild, not act like a heavy cutting compound. Me and my customers want our paint finishes to look good for a long time, i can only imagine that if you use a product that can take out 1500 grit marks your clear coat is going to go bye bye in no time.
 
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Which menzerna are you referring to?
On the scale 0 to 5; 5 being the highest, the PO85RD3.02 is a 3.5 in cutting
It has a creamy texture. You could not feel any abrasives in it. The menzerna micro-abrasives are as fine as 0.3 micron. (A human hair is ~100-micron)

I still can finish LSP ready with the 3.02 with a PC. I doubt I will take 1500-grit swirls with my PC on my Corvette, but I'm sure it can be done with a rotary. From there, I got the PO106FF (2.5 cut) and the PO85RD (1.5) they all have high-gloss ratings
 
Thejoyofdriving said:
on the menzerna website it says that their finishing polish can remove 1500 grit sanding marks!!!!!!!!, that is insanely too abrasive! I dont even think any of my current heavy polishes could take out 1500 grit sanding marks. If menzerna polishes are indeed that harsh i wont touch them, a finishing polish should be very very mild, not act like a heavy cutting compound. Me and my customers want our paint finishes to look good for a long time, i can only imagine that if you use a product that can take out 1500 grit marks your clear coat is going to go bye bye in no time.
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I'm unsure where you are getting that info but it is incorrect, the chart on AG's Menzerna page Menzerna of Germany shows that the final polish is set for 2500 grit sanding marks, while the chart at Menzernas website. menzerna: Feste und Flüssige Poliermittel says the same thing http://www.menzerna.de/files/e_polish web.pdf
 
Joyof driving, no offense to you, but I really think you should do a little research on a few different brands of polishes, what pads they're used with and what results they yield... every polish line has a more abrasive polish that will take out reall rough stuff from the paint... the only choice you have here is to research as much as you can and buy whatever you think fits your detailing style best, or simply buy a bunch of polishes, a paint gage and go at it on a scrap panel to see what each is actually doing.. good luck to you
 
I agree with the Menzerna, you can use Final Polish II, 106FF, 85RD3.01, 3.02 oh and if you can get your hands on 106FA that is some good stuff. I haven't tried it my self but I've seen others use it (on line that is) and it's incredable...well at least that's what I've seen. I'm hooked on Menzerna. If your going to be doing some Mercedez, BMW's I'm sure you will enjoy Menzerna.

I'm just curious though, what products polishing and pads do you currently use? Lets say on the Saleen S7 what polish/pad combo did you use? Please don't take my questions the wrong way my friend I'm just curious as to what you have used...I know you said you use a PC (DA) but maybe I missed it on the products. Hope you don't mind me asking.
 
on the S7 i used XMT #1, but the clear on that car is like diamond. I also used a light orange edge 2000 da pad. i think the guy that gave me the info about the menzerna was using a rotary with a med cut pad. I guess i am going to go with menzerna, but i need help choosing which product to use. they have these terms like repair coatings, and aged coatings and oem coatings. which one my car paint fit in to, 2003/bmw i am guessing my clear coat would be aged/ weathered? if so is it best to only use menzerna products ment for aged/ weathered coatings.
 
Menzerna Power Gloss - allows you to remove 1000 to 1500 grit paint defects in light colour paints with very little or no follow-up polishing. Black, red and dark colour paints may require minimal polishing with Menzerna Final Polish to restore surface gloss

Menzerna Intensive Polish - removes 2000 grit sanding traces, swirls and paint defects. It's labelled a "polish" because it removes defects with minimum or no loss of surface gloss. Not only that, it can be used on freshly painted surfaces with, or without a clear coat.

Menzerna PO106FF Polish was designed to remove very fine (3000 grit) swirls from the new, super-hard, ceramic clear coats. These are the BASF clear coats being used on the Maybach and 2004-5 Rolls Royce Phantom and PPG's CeramiClear* which is being used on the 2005 and newer Mercedes. (Check the paint code on your Mercedes. If it begins with a "C", you have a car with the new, ceramic clear coat.)

Menzerna Final Polish ll - This is the finishing polish used by Mercedes Benz in Germany.This polish can be used after compounding or anytime as a preparatory step to waxing. Menzerna Final Polish II removes old wax, minor spider webbing and creates a clean, smooth, highly reflective surface.
Final Polish II contains no wax, glaze, fillers or silicones. Minor spider webbing is removed, not just covered-up. Paint gloss is improved by polishing the surface to a micro-smooth, highly reflective finish, not by adding a glaze of silicone oils.

FWIW- This is a 'cheat-sheet' on M polishes. They can all be used with a ROB (that's what the production finishing guys use (albeit that it has a longer 'throw' than a P-C)

If you want to get into the exotics detailing I would suggest a rotary and a paint gauge + the Menzerna line of polishes (but become proficient on an scrap hood, don't practice on a Ferrari :cheers:
 
Good info there TOGWT, by the way it's good to see you again. You disapeared for a few months.
 
Thank you for the compliments...I've been busy with a few other detailing related projects, but now its back to what I really like doing...imparting experience and knowledge gained from four decades of detailing
 
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