Application and Removal for my new arsenal of products: Need your experiences!

A

ahheck01

New member
Tried this in the Detailing forum, and got no response. Perhaps this is the appropraite forum?



My Menzerna products just arrived, and today the rest of my new arsenal arrive. What I'd like to do is get the commonly accepted best application and removal techniques for the following products:



Optimum Compound

Menzerna IP

Menerna FP2

Red Moose Machine Glaze

Vanilla Mouse



I have a PC with yellow (medium cut) orange (light cut) and white (polish) pads.



Just FYI:



I have four different processes planned: Really really super good (ie: my car) ; Very nice customers dark car ; very nice customers light car ; cheap customers delight



Really Really Super Good (my car's process)



Wash

Clay

Wash

Dry

IP (OC if necessary)

FP2

AIO

RMG

KSG X 2 (with 12+hrs in between)

Natty's Blue, Souveran, or S100 (depending on mood)





Very nice customer's Dark Car:



Wash

Clay

Wash

Dry

IP

FP

RMG

Nattys





Very nice customer's Light Car:



Wash

Clay

Wash

Dry

IP

FP

VM

S100





Cheap customer's delight:



Wash

Dry

IP

VM

S100
 
Out of your list, the only one I've used is VM. I just use it like a cleaner-wax. It doesn't seem to matter if you let it flash before you buff it off.



I have used FPI, but not the FPII. Just like any other mild polish, work it for a while but not until it flashes; I didn't let it dry on the surface. I'd only use it with a mild pad and I wouldn't expect a lot of correction from it.



Does KSG bond to RMG? I only apply KSG to vehicles I'm not using the Glaze approach on and I put it over AIO.
 
Well, I have KSG and my waxes (just ordered nattys blue), and I'd like to lock in the "makeup" properties of the glaze for as long as possible. Suggestions?



-Evan
 
Couple of general comments, as I have extensive experince with all those products.



No reason or need to wash after claying, especially if you will be polishing...just a waste of time.



OC is not stronger than IP, in fact, it is less aggressive. The Optimum polishes are great for long working time and when you don't want to make a dusty mess, but the Menzerna polishes are still unmatched by any other polishes with respect to cut and finish ability.



I see no benefit (or very little) of following FPII with AIO.



Following IP with VM only is questionable. I assume you will be using a PC, in which case IP can sometimes leave marring deep enough (most noticable on black) so that it cannot be corrected with VM alone. For cheap customers, just clay and then polish with OP (nice cause no mess) or FPII (my 1-step choice for black).
 
Ahheck01 said:
Well, I have KSG and my waxes (just ordered nattys blue), and I'd like to lock in the "makeup" properties of the glaze for as long as possible. Suggestions?



-Evan
Click to expand...



I'd just top the glaze with a long-lasting carnauba like Collinite. People are often impressed by the way Collinite beads anyhow.
 
Ive been researching the locking sealant over glaze here on the forum for a few weeks now, supposedly KSG is not a big fan of playing nice.. People say it "floats" or doesnt bond on top of anything except for AIO. Usually people go straight to KSG and layer for max protection. If you want a glaze sealant combo, the most used here on the forum seems to be the UPP over RMG method. Some people have also said that Megs#7 can be gone over with NXT.



Also this is a bit off topic, but could you tell me how much Better Souveran is over Natty's blue. And how much better S100 is over nattys blue over light colors. I chose natty's because my car is dark and its a good bang for the buck.. but i also have 2 lighter cars in the family.
 
AIO+KSGx2-3+Pinnacle Signature Series II for metallic silver Passat W8. Looks pretty good for a novice.



Based on advice from other members, I'm going to give either FK1 pink or Collinite 476 a try next time I put a coat of wax on.
 
I agree with RAG - if you're using IP on anything but a light polishing pad it's going to leave behind enough micromarring that VM will probably not be able to clean it up. Better to move to FPII to clean it up, or OP.



I use VM quite a bit, but not for correction - only for haze cleanup and because it's a nice "kick in the butt" for dark paint (plus it looks great under CMW).



Un-related, but part of your process, I would not use KSG over VM. I've not tried it, but VM is very oily and like others I suspect it may not work properly over VM. On that note I have used Zaino over VM and it was fine, so /shrug. Just not sure if it's worth it to try on a customer car. Better to go from OP or FPII to (or AIO, of course).



So I guess what I am saying is your "very nice customer" car process look good. The super uber looks good but I wonder about RMG and KSG (or even about RMG after AIO - does it really do anything?), and for the cheap customers delight I'd definitely take RAGs advice and go with FPII/OP/Megs 80 (or something similar) and just do one polishing step. If you want a little more corrective ability you could get away with Opt Compound and probably wouldn't get noticable hazing on anything but black. For my "one steps" I almost always use OP or Megs 80 and vary the pad depending on how much correction I want to get done (which is usually dependant on the paint color).



Cheers.
 
Well, concours is past now. Here's what I did to my car:



Wash

Dry

Clay

IP

FP2

VM



pause to do other areas of car (wheels/tires, engine bay, glass, wheel wells, interior, etc)



VM again

RMG



at this point it looks brilliant. I showed the car with only this done. No swirls. Slight micromarring. I only have a polish pad and not a finishing pad, so the FP2 did mar very slightly. Under the VM and RMG it is unnoticeable. Time to get a few pads, though.



The natty's blue comes today. It'll be interesting to see how that looks over another layer of RMG?



-Evan



PS> Thanks for the help, btw.
 
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