USPS should deliver my quart of M101 tomorrow!!!

Having tried this product it is a great product, but it is nowhere near good enough to make it worth $75 for a quart. Just my .02
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I have no idea why it's not carried here, but that doesn't mean it's for a negative reason.
Click to expand...


You're right Mark, it's not about a negative reason, but it is about formulating a product for a specific market and thus a specific reason.


Actually, after working as both a writer and and Instructor for Meguiar's for over 10 years I'm here to tell you there's a reason for everything they do and everything they don't do.

Jason Rose, the Product Manager for the Professional Line has already chimed in on tis topic and explained why "Meguiar's" currently doesn't offer this product or a version of it in the United States,

From this thread, (I added a little bold and italic for emphasis to key points...)


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/44060-holy-grail-compound-m101-3.html


Jason Rose said:
Fuzzy headed sometimes, but not thee fuzz. Haha.

M101 Foam-Cut Compound is part of a system (foam cutting pad, backing plate, and compound) specifically created for the automotive paint refinish industry in Europe.

Interesting note for the history buffs...this is the first compound developed by Meguiar's for a specific international market and purpose (rotary, foam cutting pad, on Europe fresh paint.) AND! It is the first time Meguiar's actually did the development work outside of the United States...to the extent of setting up a temporary lab in Switzerland. Our development team flew to Europe and did the formulating while on European fresh paint in actual paint shops. Fun, fun. And we nailed it! The Foam-Cut System works incredibly well in Europe.

Refinish paint chemistry, sanding, and buffing techniques in Europe are different than in the United States. Paint could have been sent over to California for the compound testing, but it would not represent the paint surface exactly as in Europe. European paint sprayed in a California shop by a California painter in a California paint booth with a California paint gun...would result in a paint surface other than what you would find in Europe. And sending over painted panels from Europe would mean the fresh paint would be out of the sanding/buffing window by the time it arrived. More importantly, detailers sand and buff differently in Europe. So the best development option was to formulate and validate the product in Europe. The strategy worked big time!

So why is it not offered in the United States?
VOC compliancy is not the problem. The formula is VOC compliant globally.

The main reason is that the system did not work too well in the United Sates. We did field testing and results were not up to Meguiar's standards. I know this statement contradicts what you are hearing/reading...but both what I am saying now and what you are hearing are true. Here's how...we developed a system and tested a system. The compound was used on fresh paint in the U.S. and applied with the foam cutting pad and backing plate in the system. Shops rejected the system profoundly. The compound (which remember is rock star in Europe) had a jacked up buffing cycle on fresh paint in the United States. And shops rejected the use of the foam pad and backing plate. How many body shops in the United States do you think use a small 6 inch x 1inch foam pad with a cushy soft backing plate for cutting out sanding marks? Switching to other pads and backing plates improved overall performance slightly on domestic fresh paint, but not well enough to justify this expensive formula.

So why are some people saying M101 works so well here?
Any performance of this compound, either good or bad, that is discovered when used in the United States, on fully cured or OEM applied paint, with any other pad, any other backing plate, or any tool other than rotary...is unintentional and not validated by Meguiar's at this time. So if you acquired M101 and are using it in the United States, you are in undiscovered country...and you are on your own. I have seen and experienced what some people are talking about. Cuts like crazy in some situations (I have to be purposefully vague here, but you don't have to.) So, although not being used as designed in the system, there is some pretty remarkable performance being experimented with out there.

So will Meguiar's be launching a M101 like product in the United states? Or perhaps apply the formula to a different application method?
I will not confirm or deny.



But from the makers of M86 Cut & Polish Cream, M105 Ultra Cut Compound, M205 Ultra Finishing Polish, and the D.A. Microfiber Correction System...I can tell you this much...we are NOT sitting around twiddling our thumbs and letting grass grow around our feet!
Click to expand...


I have M101 sitting right in front of me as I type this but until it or a version of it is on the shelves for resale there's not much point to me promoting a product that's not available for the reasons Jason Rose outlined above.


Keep in mind that Meguiar's manufactures and formulates products for specific markets,

Professional = Refinishing industry
Detailer = Reconditioning industry
Consumer = Enthusiast market
Marine = OEM, Reconditioning and Enthusiasts
Plastics = OEM, Reconditioning and Enthusiasts
Fiberglas = OEM industry


The M101 product is formulated for and marketed towards the overseas refinishing industry. That's the reason it's sold (at this time in this version), overseas and not here in the U.S.




:xyxthumbs:
 
2old2change said:
People are paying a premium for it because it works plain and simple. Longer work time and quicker correction come to mind first. Finishes down better then M105 IMO. Seems strange when it comes to some items (take the Flex machines for example) members say pay a little extra and get the best you won't regret it. But mention M101 and wow thats too much to pay, go figure. It doesn't take a ton of product and some are experimenting with mixes of d300,m105 plus m101. As with m105, every correction doesn't call for m101. But when it is called for its nice to have it available. I applaud those that are taking the initiative to bring this product stateside and making it available to us.Nobody is having their arm twisted to purchase the product.IMO if Meguiars policy remains the same toward opening the US market to M101 then its just a matter of time till somebody else offers a similar product.
Glad to see you like the product Mark. It is some good stuff.:D
Click to expand...
:iagree: Thanks for speaking my mind. :D

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
You're right Mark, it's not about a negative reason, but it is about formulating a product for a specific market and thus a specific reason.


Actually, after working as both a writer and and Instructor for Meguiar's for over 10 years I'm here to tell you there's a reason for everything they do and everything they don't do.

Jason Rose, the Product Manager for the Professional Line has already chimed in on tis topic and explained why "Meguiar's" currently doesn't offer this product or a version of it in the United States,

From this thread, (I added a little bold and italic for emphasis to key points...)


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/44060-holy-grail-compound-m101-3.html





I have M101 sitting right in front of me as I type this but until it or a version of it is on the shelves for resale there's not much point to me promoting a product that's not available for the reasons Jason Rose outlined above.


Keep in mind that Meguiar's manufactures and formulates products for specific markets,

Professional = Refinishing industry
Detailer = Reconditioning industry
Consumer = Enthusiast market
Marine = OEM, Reconditioning and Enthusiasts
Plastics = OEM, Reconditioning and Enthusiasts
Fiberglas = OEM industry


The M101 product is formulated for and marketed towards the overseas refinishing industry. That's the reason it's sold (at this time in this version), overseas and not here in the U.S.




:xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...
Good stuff, Mike. :props:
 
IOMCAMARO said:
Umm the price is so high because of shipping. It cost a lot of money to ship it over there. Meg's doesn't make as much on it as people think. Shipping expenses are rediculous in this day and age. The prices to ship it back over here makes it even worse and Meg's doesn't make any money off of that because they're only getting $$ off of what it is sold for.
Click to expand...

A simple google search will show that it sells for $75/quart before shipping.
 
VW 91 said:
A simple google search will show that it sells for $75/quart before shipping.
Click to expand...
Keith meant the original shipping from overseas to the distributors, not from the distributors to the consumer.
 
Ay ay ay...if Meg's thinks they can sell enough here to justify the "set-up" costs of distributing it, then they will do it. I think they've already said they can't justify it.

"Set-up" might be US-specific labeling, doing a mixing/bottling run for that labeling, updating catalog/distributor info, educating reps and customers about the features of the product, working with stores on their planograms, etc. etc.

Just like when AG brings on a new product they have to create shelf space, build the web content (description, ordering info), get the tech staff up to speed on the product, and Nick has to promote it...there is a back end that the mfr. has to do in the same manner...the people who interface with AG have to be trained, pricing has to be established, sales forecasts, etc. etc.
 
I hope they bring it here and the price of 105 drops to $12 a quart as a result. Thanks to Kevin Brown my 105 is doing twice the work as it used to already so wouldn't that be like $6 a quart? Oh if we only lived in a perfect world...
 
Setec Astronomy said:
The explanation was that it was for the European refinish market...don't think we have too many cars here that were repainted in Europe. I guess if it costs $75/quart and it's designed for a specific paint condition we don't have here, they didn't think it was worth any regulatory hoops to sell it here for the limited market it would have at that price. Or maybe it was their master plan to work up enough pent-up demand here in the US for a good launch.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct sir. M101 was 100% made for the refinish market in Europe/Asia. They do in fact have very different paint chemistry, appllication methods, and expectations than USA.

No one is saying that M101EU will not be launched in the USA. And no there was not a master plan to crank up demand for a stealth domestic launch.

So what is gonna happen with M101EU in the USA? Though we may not be smart enough to have master-minded the current domestic hype around M101EU, I think we are smart enough not to reveal our strategy on a pulic forum (to our competition.)

Jason Rose
Meguiar's, Inc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top