Menzerna 5" Pads Trial (DA & Rotary)

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imported_Dave KG

New member
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. 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:
 
martinager said:
very nice. i hope to purchase some soon after seeing this review :)
Click to expand...



Stay tuned, as I have a sneaking suspuscion that the extra bite of the white cutting pad may aid in the effective breaking down of Power Gloss by PC making it more effective. Test to follow soon, tomorrow if the Scottish weather holds!
 
Having recently seen excellent performance from the Menzerna 5" pads earlier in the week both on the PC and rotary, I decided to trial the 5" white cutting pad up against a 4" cutting pad when using Menzerna Power Gloss to remove severe defects.



Now, previously, a 4" cutting pad has been the best way to go for applying Power Gloss by PC I have found, as it seems to break down the products most effectively and generate the best cut. But I had not tried a pad as agresive as the white Menzerna 5" by PC, so two big questions I wanted to answer:



> Does the Menzerna pad give increased defect removal power?

> Which pad, 4 or 5", leaves the worst micromarring?



You know the score by now with me... out with a scrap panel!! :lol: :lol:





4" Sonus SFX-1 Cutting Pad

First up, the traditional way of applying Menzerna Power Gloss by PC: a 4" spot cutting pad:







The panel (Peugeot Agean Blue) was swirled up with some steel wool, put my back into it this time as I wnated deeper marks as well to challenge the Power Gloss:







So, Power Gloss by PC I always apply using a slow-cut technique. Spread on speed 3 with one fast pass, and then 5 passes at speed 3 with no pressure at all, just the weight of the PC. Switch off and spritz pad with water. Now, speed 5 for five passes with no pressure. Spritz pad, and then another five passes at speed 5 with no pressure. Then spritz pad and finish off with three passes at speed 6 with medium to firm pressure. Wipe off residue, and the results:























I took many pictures with a few different light styles to try and highlight the finish as best as possible as the effects of micromarring are subtle and hard to photograph. Above, we can see that some of the deeper marks remained, which has come to be expected from severe swilrs when working by PC. Another hit here woud reduce these marks still further. If you study the pictures closely, you can also make out micromarring very faintly - small circular scratches, and many of them very close together. This again has come to be expected when using harsh compounds with a PC - easily removed using a lighter abrasive such as Intensive Polish.
 
5" Menzerna White Cutting Pad

The new boy in town, and sparring for a fight! :lol:







The panel swirled up:







The Power Gloss was applied using the 5" pad using the same slow-cut technique as desribed above. After each set of five passes the residue went clear, but spritzing with water and re-polishing brought the polish straight back to life allowing for further working. The results of the 5" pad:



















Studying the above pictures, we can see that more of the deeper defects have been sucessfully removed using this 5" cutting pad over the 4" pad, only the odd random mark remains. So we see an increase in defect removal power from the Menzerna pad here. This comes at a small cost though, as closer inspection of the pictures reveal. The micromarring left by the coarser 5" pad using Power Gloss is increased which results in a slightly cloudier looking finish. This is quickly cleared using a lighter abrasive polish such as Intensive Polish however. :) Whereas the 4" SFX-1 pad would require a second hit of the PG, the coarser 5" cutting pad has got there in one. :thumb:





Summary

So to answer to two questions above:



> The 5" pad gives incresed cutting power with the Power Gloss over the 4" spot cutting SFX-1 pad.



> The 4" pad gives the least amount of micromarring.



For me, this represents the power of the Menzerna 5" Cutting pad nicely, and for those with hard paints such as those found on VAG group cars, BMW, Lotus, this pad and product combination is well worth considering if you are struggling with swirls. Its aggressive for sure, and leaves micromarring, so should be enterred into with care but as a powerful defect removal combo by PC, this is hard to beat. :thumb:
 
Briliant write up! I have been checking this pads out but then I have been told that the Menzerna head instructor always uses wool pads for compounding. And that he have a special technique when polishing. Special but effective.
 
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