Observations w/ 106, questions.

A1monky

New member
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
293
Reaction score
0
Ok, so I used 106 on my hood yesterday. Just a test panel, because I wanted to know what to expect for the full detail on sat. I clayed the hood, and then started polishing 1/4 of the hood with the 106, and a white 5.5in pad.
It worked in very easy, It did not dry out early at all. I made 4 passes front to back, mixed with 2 passes of side to side. Very slow, because the hood has the most visible swirls. The polish looked just about broken down, so I let of the pressure and started speeding up the PC. I noticed that the polish became very tacky. My pad skipped when I tryed to gloss the polish.

> Does this mean that the polish was broken down??

> Or should I have given it more time??

It was also very hard to remove, even with a indigo towel and 50/50 alcohol/ water mix. Is all this normal? It was still a dream to use, other than the hard to remove part.

Thanks for your help, Mike
 
BUMP... wow this makes me sad:( , my first bump ever on AG...
 
I'm sure what you experienced all Menzerna users have experienced. I know I have. The thing with 106FF is that it's very picky, I'm sure you noticed that it also seemed to gum up your pad as well? Well that happens to me, but what I found that helps is the heat from the rotary. I tends to want to hop and skip a bit but once you get pat the hopping and skipping your good to go as for the removal I've always used an alcohol wipe down and it removes it no problem, mind you I sometimes have to give it a few sprays and let it sit for a bit then wipe it. When I say let it sit for a bit, no more then a minit.

Hope this helps, the draw back with Menzerna is that (in my opinion) it's very temperature dependent. When the temperature is right it will work incredibly well but if the temperature, humidity or surrounding environment is not that great Menzerna tends to act up like the way you described. I've had this happened a few times now. Doesn’t bother me, I just keep going and always love the results.
 
Thanks Nica, I checked the results in the sun this morning, and it looks incredible. All the swirls are gone, and the paint is very glossy. I will try your suggestion to let it sit for a minute. Then wipe off. No gumming on the pad, but I was using a PC, and I only did one panel.

Posted my Nica- I tends to want to hop and skip a bit but once you get pat the hopping and skipping your good to go as for the removal
So, when it is tacky it is not fully broken down?

Thanks for the help.
 
A1monky said:
So, when it is tacky it is not fully broken down?

Hard to say, some times if it's acting up it will do this and the polish wont even do anything for you. But when it's fully brokend down it will look nice and clear just like all the other polishes. You should see nice paterns too as your polishing, if it's drying up quickly either you need to prime the pad, I prime my pad with the product it's self. Another thing I've noticed is that once the foam pad is saturated with product, not gummed, it seems to work even better. Before, when I saw the pad get all saturated I would go and clean it and then come back but one day I just kept going and loved the results. Seems that the when the pad is all saturated you use less product and I feel that I get really nice results. Oh and sometimes you will see chunks of polish fly out, don't worry about it just keep going...again this is just me and my experiance with Menzerna.

When it's "tacky" that's a sign that it's acting up but ignore it and continue using it, it seems (again just me) that it corrects it's self. I use the rotary and when Menzerna starts to act up a bit on me I just keep going and it seems to correct it's self. Like I said I think Menzerna must like the heat from the rotary or something because as I keep going it gets better and better...but that could just be me.

Well I hope this helps a little and let me know what you find out from your own dealings with Menzerna. Always enjoy reading the experiance, weather good or bad or better yet what you experimented with and found out, with Menzerna.

The Power Gloss by far the best Compound I've used...just amazing compound can't say enough about it.
 
Maybe it's designed more for a rotary than a pc. i only use a rotary and all menz products have worked flawlessly for me.
 
Nica said:
When it's "tacky" that's a sign that it's acting up but ignore it and continue using it, it seems (again just me) that it corrects it's self.

Well I hope this helps a little and let me know what you find out from your own dealings with Menzerna. Always enjoy reading the experiance, weather good or bad or better yet what you experimented with and found out, with Menzerna..

Thanks, tommorow I will work through the tackyness. It was very very very humid yesterday, it gets more humid throughout the day in Orlando. And, I used it at 6pm. Tommorow I will be using it in the morn. that might help. I still loved using it. I just never had a polish behave like that before. It did not dry up at all, and it did not dust alot or throw polish balls. All the swirls are gone with one pass w/ the white pad. Cant ask for more than that.
I have only tryed FP and 106 w/ a PC, but I have found that both work well with the machine.
 
Last edited:
Sounds good, look forward on hearing how it goes and if at all posible looking forward to the pictures :D

Unfortunetly as great as the Menzerna polish is it's cryptonite is the temperature/humidity, heck I don't even know if sea level elevation effect it for all I know but it is picky. Still love it though and I'll continue to use it...untill I find something better to replace it....so I keep my eyes and ears open to try something new.
 
I just realized that I can show you how Menzerna should look when it's all borken down, like I said it's just like any other polish but instead of me trying to explain it to you I'll show you.

Picture 1: On this picture I'm basically just spreading Final Polish II with a Menzerna polishing pad. Oh sorry for the lighting.
DSC01820.jpg


Picture 2: Still spreading but had increased the speed a bit.
DSC01821.jpg


Picture 3: Now running at about 1500rpm and the idea is to break down the polish, remember I mentioned over laping paterns, well here they are.
DSC01824.jpg


Picture 4: On this picture you can see the polish just starting to flash, but not quite done yet.
DSC01826.jpg


Picture 5: Almost done but not quite, but notice how it seems clear and not at thik as in picture 3.
DSC01828.jpg


Picture 6: Now, this one prity much shows the polish completely broken down. See how it looks nice and clear well that's when the polish has completely flashed over and you should be good to remove and inspect the results.
DSC01831.jpg


One thing to keep in mind that I'm using the rotary so this process, of the polish braking down, happens fast...some times less then two minuits...but one thing about Menzerna products, well in this case Final Polish II, is that you can work it in for some time because of the oils it has. Others like Power Gloss Compound flash faster and turns to dust.

Oh another thing to note is the size of the working areak, don't take to large of an area, about 2 x 2 is perfect, specially with the PC. The pictures show a reasonable working area but as I kept spreding the polish the area got a bit larger. Well my experiance with the PC was that I couldn't take a large surface areas as compared to the rotary, with the rotary I can stretch it lots but with a PC it's limited...just my experiance.

Well I hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
Thank you Nica, for taking the time to take pictures and the detailed write up.:applause: I can't wait for my 106ff to arrive from AG hopefully in time for the upcoming three day weekend.
 
A1monky said:
It was also very hard to remove, even with a indigo towel and 50/50 alcohol/ water mix. Is all this normal?

Hummm..... thats weird i have never had to use a 50/50 mix to take it off. I comes off harder than IP, with a indigo it should come right off with a little bit of buffing. I usually polish about 1min with all of the menzerna polishes(mixed with OPT polish) thats about how long it takes for it to turn clear on my car, but then again its silver, i hope i am working it in enough.....
 
Being a long time user of 106ff I can tell you what you need to know. you more than likely used too much product and need to slow the speed down if you are having gumming up issues. I use IP and 106ff all the time when I detail customers cars. I do not have a garage and I am at the mercy of the weather. when using it in warmer temps please keep in mind that that warmth of the panel will make it more difficult to use. use less , slow the pc down to start and work a small area. once the product is spread evenly ( that is the key even) you can speed it up and as it goes clear slow the speed and reduce pressure. do those things correctly and you will be fine, no removal issues at all, even in full sun. it will take some practice to get the feel of it as you will be working much slower but think of all the time and effort you saved with easy removal. Menzerna produces some awesome results and there is a learning curve, so keep in mind less is more. hope this helps you out .
 
Thanks guys, I didnt even notice all the replies. The pics are great nica, that will really help. The more I read the more I learn. I only have to change a few things, and I think I got it. I think I used alittle to much. Thats most likely why it got really tacky, and was hard to get off.

Thanks again, Mike
 
mmmm...oh I do have a picture of that too..hang on...but my method is different, I don't put it on the pad I place strands of polish on the surface of the paint and pick up with my rotary as I polish along...hang on you'll see what I mean....give me a sec.
 
Well here is one picture of how I stratigecally place the lines of polish and work my way from one end of the vehicle to the other end, this way I don't have to turn off the rotary and just keep going that and it's much faster then stoping putting some polish on the pad and then proceding to polish.

DSC02034.jpg


I'll keep checking to see if I have a picture of polish on the pad but I very rarely do that.

Not sure if this is going to help but I hope it dosen't confuse you any more...if it does let me know and I can remove it. Mean while I'll keep looking for a picture with the amount of product that should be used on a pad.
 
Last edited:
dude, that is a sick idea!! Putting the polish on before you start. When I (if I) ever start using a rotary I will have to save this post. I am going to E-mail this to a friend of mine who uses a rotary.
 
I got the idea from a video I purchased and I thought it was a wicked idea, the video opened my eyes to many, many possibilities to polishing...well there is a down side to this method though and I haven't experienced it but there is. The downside is that you need to be careful as to how much product you put on the surface of the vehicle, because you can waist it, and the other thing to remember is that you need to use a product that won't dry up fast. The product on that picture is 106FF and so far I haven't had a problem with any of the Menzerna products. What I do now though is that I take smaller section. Take the hood for example (oh and I do have a picture of this but can't post it right now but I will post it for you), I split it in half and lay out the polish and polish away. Once I'm done that I wipe it down, inspect the results and move on to the other half or repeat if necessary. Works great, the reason i break it down in section is because I've been using Power Gloss Compound and that stuff can dry up rather quick if you leave it on the surface for to long, that and if you do lay out on a large surface the tendency is to polish faster and not properly break down the product that could result on the famous holograms rather then any correction...again just wasting product.

As soon as I get a chance I'll post the picture of how I split the hood and how I lay the product, again this method works for me and I'm sure others use it too so just my personal opinion that's all.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top