Noobie detailer, help me pick a polish.

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Mark89

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Hello everyone,

I finally bought my first nice car. It's a 2015 Mercedes GL class SUV in Iridium silver. I plan on owning this vehicle for 10+ years so I need to maintain the paint. It currently doesn't have a garage so it's facing the northeast weather.

I'm going to buy my first polisher and this is going to be my first time polishing. I decided on getting the harbor freight polisher. I've read I need to get a new backing plate because the one it comes with is garbage.

I would like to purchase a menzerna polish. Plan on doing only one step. Should I get super finish or super finish plus? Which color pad should I get as well? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Pick up a Groits garage 6" and save the need to buy additional parts. Is a few bucks but add up to the same with time and energy. If you plan on keeping it you might as well get one with a lifetime warranty. Considering your new to this and have decided on only a one step approach I'm not sure I'm able to steer you in the right direction with that.

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I've ways liked Menzerna MC2500 for one step polishing.

3D One has been getting that job done for me lately.

Either polish with the Buff and Shine dark blue heavy polishing pad would be my choice.

Be careful not to confuse that pad with the blue heavy cutting pad in the same series. The blue heavy cut is very aggressive and extremely coarse. Great pad, but might have more cut than you want.
 
McKees37 360 is a great all-in-one that you really cannot screw up. You can even apply it in direct sun. Huge fan.
 
As a long term owner of the Harbor Freight Polisher, I'd say spend a little more money and going with the Griots polisher. The HF isn't bad and has served me well, but it is a crude tool and you must swap out the backing plate. Might as well get a good polisher from the start.

When looking at pads, be sure to get a healthy number each of at least two cut levels. Having a stock of both medium and heavy cut pads will allow you to take on anything you might encounter and also gives you a little flexibility to lock in pad/polish process which works for you. You'll need multiples of each in order to swap out/rotate pads while polishing to avoid saturating and overheating them.

If Mercedes paint is similar to other German auto makers, the paint will be pretty hard. A good medium polish/swirl remover might be what you need to do annual polishes of your vehicle. On my VW which has really hard paint, I actually use a milder compound paired with a medium cut pad to do a one-step polish which isn't too aggressive.
 
Let me fix your thread title:)

Noobie detailer, help me pick polishes.

I’ve never been disappointed with Menzerna polishes. However I’ve never relied on one polish, unless using an AIO. I would recommend buying a Menzerna compound, medium polish, and finishing polish. Also, look at any of AGO’s AIO polishes. You will probably only need an AIO for an annual/biannual polish once you get the initial correction done.

Let me make a suggestion on the polisher, get a high quality polisher. Flex, Rupes, or Griot’s Garage. Reason being is that you are keeping this car for 10 years, invest in a quality tool. The improved performance, user experience, and comfort are worth the extra couple hundred dollars.
 
Thank you all for your advice! I was looking at the Menzerna MC 2400 polish. It says that it’s formulated specifically for the Mercedes hard clear coat. I would like to buy this polish but would I be able to use this on my Prius first as a practice vehicle?
 
I've not used that polish, but I will tell you not to expect the same results between the two cars.

Toyota paint, like many Japanese car makers, is very soft and can often be corrected with nothing but a finishing polish. German paint is quite hard and takes more effort to correct. For the best results its better to have a different technique for each. That is why LEDetailing made the recommendations in the above post. Having at least a couple different grades of polish will allow you to adjust to any situation on any car. The same can be said for pads.

You don't need to go overboard with tons of pads and dozens of bottles of polishes. However, making a smart choice in the beginning will set you up for success for a long time.
 
I would be curious to know the condition of the MB paint as it's a 2015. This being the primary vehicle of concern, that's the focus.

Without seeing it in person I would suggest Menzerna HCC 400 along with either an orange or white LC thin pro pad. HCC 400 can finish down incredibly well and you might be satisfied with just adding an LSP especially on silver.

My favorite Menzerna refining polish after HCC400 is the Super Finish Plus (SF-3800). This polish MAY be all you need for the Prius as well.

I would get 8 oz. bottles of each.

Having said all that, you might want the Menz 3-In-1 product and be done with everything with just one go around. I am a cut, buff/polish then protect guy but certainly understand that takes more time than a good AIO or cleaner wax effort.

Go with the HF da if you are budget crunched. Many here use it and are happy with it. If you can spring for the Griots machine BY ALL MEANS jump on that!

If it were me:

GG DA, OR
LC backing plate for 5" pads for the HF
6 pack of LC Thin Pro's in 5.5", 3 orange, 3 white. Better yet, 2 6 pax, 6 orange, 6 white.
8 oz Menz HCC 400
8 oz. Menz 3800, OR
Menz 3-in-1

And by all means, practice your machine technique on the Prius. Try the 3800 and white pads as a 1st test. Watch Mike's video's here until you're sick of watching them! Machine polishing is NOT very difficult and once you "feel" it you get it.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!
 
Thank you for your post. If I do the 3-in-1, can I top it with a sealant after then a coat wax? Reason I’m asking is because the 3in1 puts a thin layer of wax on, I just don’t know if I can put a sealant on it.
 
Paul A. said:
I would be curious to know the condition of the MB paint as it's a 2015. This being the primary vehicle of concern, that's the focus.

Without seeing it in person I would suggest Menzerna HCC 400 along with either an orange or white LC thin pro pad. HCC 400 can finish down incredibly well and you might be satisfied with just adding an LSP especially on silver.

My favorite Menzerna refining polish after HCC400 is the Super Finish Plus (SF-3800). This polish MAY be all you need for the Prius as well.

I would get 8 oz. bottles of each.

Having said all that, you might want the Menz 3-In-1 product and be done with everything with just one go around. I am a cut, buff/polish then protect guy but certainly understand that takes more time than a good AIO or cleaner wax effort.

Go with the HF da if you are budget crunched. Many here use it and are happy with it. If you can spring for the Griots machine BY ALL MEANS jump on that!

If it were me:

GG DA, OR
LC backing plate for 5" pads for the HF
6 pack of LC Thin Pro's in 5.5", 3 orange, 3 white. Better yet, 2 6 pax, 6 orange, 6 white.
8 oz Menz HCC 400
8 oz. Menz 3800, OR
Menz 3-in-1

And by all means, practice your machine technique on the Prius. Try the 3800 and white pads as a 1st test. Watch Mike's video's here until you're sick of watching them! Machine polishing is NOT very difficult and once you "feel" it you get it.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!
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Having a selection of 400, 2500, and 3500 is a nice set up for a wide variety of situations.
 
Mark89 said:
Thank you for your post. If I do the 3-in-1, can I top it with a sealant after then a coat wax? Reason I’m asking is because the 3in1 puts a thin layer of wax on, I just don’t know if I can put a sealant on it.
Click to expand...

A lot of people like to do that. I don't hear many bad experiences.

I used to top Meguiar's ColorX with NXT 2.0 about ten years ago.

My personal preference is to just use a dedicated polish and finish with a dedicated sealant.

But by all means, do what ya like.
 
Mark89 said:
Thank you for your post. If I do the 3-in-1, can I top it with a sealant after then a coat wax? Reason I’m asking is because the 3in1 puts a thin layer of wax on, I just don’t know if I can put a sealant on it.
Click to expand...

Good question and I'm not sure about a sealant on top. The reason I say that is because the 3-In-1 leaves a wax behind as the LSP. It's one of the detailing "rules" to never apply a sealant over a wax for bonding issues with the paint. It IS ok to wax over a sealant but that's for pure waxes, not cleaner waxes. It would also certainly be ok to add another layer of Menzerna based wax on top.

I like to continue within the "family" of products to keep it safe for compatibility. With Menzerna you have a few options for compatibility...Menzerna, Jescar and Wolfgang products are all (I believe) Menzerna products.

Here's how I would look at it. If you are going to go with 3-In-1 and then add another layer of LSP that's kind of like 2 steps. For the GL and depending on paint condition I might want to go Menz HCC 400 for paint correction and shine, then Jescar PowerLock for protection.

Then add another layer of PowerLock in October.

I understand how you want some substantial protection for the Northeast climate.
 
Now that Autogeek sells P&S I would officially recommend using P&S Ultracoat Polish(pink) then finish with a sealant or good wax. I’ve used Ultracoat for a long while now and have always been glad I did! Happy polishing.
 
I like the low dusting polishes and Menzerna and HD (now 3D) are good choices.
 
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