A detailing supplier who I purchase a lot of product from is considering bringing Menzerna pads to the UK, so sent me a couple to try out as a sample. So trial them I did, and I thought I would share my personal findings. Out with a scrap panel, a door from a Peugeot 307. I always keep scrap panels lying aorund for testing out products like this!
These pads I have not seen in the UK before, they may be popular in the USA? Or elsewhere?
There are two pads in the Menzerna range - a white cutting pad and orange polishing/finishing pad. This white pad feels very coarse and hard and on first feeling the pad I wondered if the PC would cope with it without inducing bad marring and also whether it would be hologram city on the rotary or not. They feel much coarser and harder than the LakeCountry yellow pads for example and Sonus SFX-1s which suggestes they have more bite too. The orange pad feels kind of in between a LakeCountry orange and LakeCountry White, definitely has a bite to it so not suitable for waxes or sealents, but looked good for light abrasive polishes. Also, these pads a 5" diameters, not 6". The fall right in the middle of the normal 4" and 6" pads available.
I decided to trial these pads on a blue Peugeot 307 door, using both PC and rotary.
Using Porter Cable 7424
First of all, come nice swilrs were infliced into the panel:
Now, they looked quite bad swilrs, so I decided to attack them with Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD3.01 on the white cutting pad. Put a cricle of product on the pad, dabbed around (the pad had no "give" at this point) and then spread with a fast pass on speed 3. Then made three passes at speed 5 and then four passes at speed 6, all slow with medium pressure until the residue of the IP was clear. No need for water with the PO85RD3.01, its perfectly lubes to thoroughly break down. Wiped off residue easily with a Meguiars Ultimate Wipe, the results:
The finish really impressed me here, as the vast majority of the marks were gone, even some of the deeper scratches - yet the finish was not covered in micromarring and the finish would pass as LSP ready. An impressive pad this one, coupled of course to an impressive polish. Decided to repeat the above to tackle the other deep marks:
Sorted. :thumb: Now, while this finish would pass as LSP ready (impressive given the coarseness of the pad), I still decided to trial the orange polishing pad. This time with Menzerna Final Finish PO106FF. Spread on speed 3, three passes at speed 5 and four at speed 6 till the residue went clear. Remove resiude:
A lovely clear looking finish, defects well removed. This pad and product combination seemed to work very well on these initial trials. A half and half shot:
Using Makita 9227CB Rotary
Now, I did wonder here whether these pads may be a little small for the rotary but went to try them anyway. Given the success of the marks removing by PC, I really went at the panel this time with gusto with the steel wool, maybe a little overenthusiastic...?:
So, back out with the white pad and PO85RD3.01 Intensive Polish. Spread at 600rpm, three passes at 1200rpm and then six passes at 1500rpm till the residue started to go clear and then step down to 900rpm for two final passes. The pad was easy to control on the rotary. The results:
Again, despite a coarse pad and abrasive polish, the finish was LSP ready and hologram free. Defects thoroughly removed too. I was very impressed with this pad and polish combination on the rotary, seemed very effective. Clear removal 7+/-2um.
Now, onto the polishing pad with the PO106FF to refine the finish a little more, applied as the PO85RD3.01 above. The results of this:
Lovely finish, ready for an LSP.
Half and half:
My thoughts on these pads: well, they in8tially felt very hard and coarse, especially the white pad but they surpassed my expectations in their ability to finish the polishes well without marring, espeically on the PC. The 5" white pad seems to bridge the gap nicely between the medium abrasive Intensive Polish on a 6" cutting pad from say Sonus, and the harsh attack of Power Gloss on a 4" LC cutting pad. Fills what I would consider to be a hole here for working by PC, the Menzerna white pad certainly having better "bite" than either the Sonus or LakeCountry cutting pads. The polishing pad was also very good, and worked with finishing polishes better than its hardness suggested it would. Both excellent pads... the only thing I would like to see is perhaps a finer polishing pad, and most certainly a finishing pad in the range, but intialy impression of the current two are excellent. :thumb:
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