Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
New Menzerna FG 400 - One-Step Show Car Makeover
New Compound!
Menzerna USA just introduced their brand new Fast Gloss 400, part number FG 400), to their line of compounds and polishes and this new compound is supposed to be able to cut like a compound but finish out like a polish. Now that's a lot to ask from a single product but it looks like they have a winner on their hands and this new compound blew me away.
Here's the highlights...
Restored 1957 Chevrolet Belair
Here's my project car, a very beautiful 1957 Chevy Belair with a paint job in dire need of decontamination, polishing and waxing.
While the owner had a lift, for the higher horizontal panels I opted to work outside with the car part in the shade and part in the sun and the Menzerna FG 400 worked just as well in the sun as it did in the shade. Good news for mobile detailers.
Here's the process I used with pictures and comments...
First step, wipe the exterior clean
Just moved the car off the lift and out of the garage to wipe it down and remove any
loose surface dust. As a practice I don't wash classics and antiques as it's not a good practice to introduce water into places you cannot reach to dry as this can cause a rust issue.
Baggie Test then Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads
After wiping the paint clean I did the baggies test and the paint literally felt like #120 grit sandpaper. The contaminants were on all the body panels so I used a Nanoskin Autoscrub pad on a Porter Cable 7424XP to decontaminate every square inch of the paint. For a lube I used Pinnacle Clay Lube.
Test Spot = Menzerna FG 400 with the Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid White Polishing Pads on the Flex 3401
I did a Test Spot using a tape-line on the front of the hood and then inspected using my Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light and the results were a clear, high gloss finish that was silky smooth to the touch and all swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation was removed. After confirming the combination of the Menzerna FG 400 with the Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid White Polishing Pads on the Flex 3401 on speed 6 was giving me the results I wanted I proceeded to buff out the entire car using this combination.
Embedded Dirt - Paint Staining
You can see the white pad is now a brownish gray color and that's the embedded dirt coming off and out of the paint. When paint is stained with embedded dirt it blocks your view of the true color of the paint. Compounding and polishing remove embedded dirt and restore a bright looking finish.
Moved the car inside
After buffing out all the higher portions of the body panels we moved the car onto the lift to make buffing out the lower portions of the vertical panels easier.
Cleaning your pad often
After each panel I buffed, I would clean my pad to clean off,
Holding a microfiber towel into the face of the pad while running the polisher to remove residue off the face of the pad
Forced Rotation = Working faster and more effectively
With the Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher you can tackler larger sections than you could with a PC style tool and thus do a better job faster. Plus no risk of swirls like there could be with a rotary buffer.
Speedy Prep Surface Towel
After I buffed out the entire car I then used a Speedy Prep Surface Towel to remove the contaminants off the fender skirts as these also felt contaminated.
Menzerna FG 400 + a 5" Hybrid White Polishing Pad
Next I machine polished the paint on the fender skirts using a 5" Hybrid White Polishing pad with the Menzerna FG 400 on the Flex 3401. The smaller pad on the smaller backing plate made it much easier to work the long thinner panel that makes up these classy looking skirts.
More to come...
Menzerna Fast Gloss 400
New Compound!
Menzerna USA just introduced their brand new Fast Gloss 400, part number FG 400), to their line of compounds and polishes and this new compound is supposed to be able to cut like a compound but finish out like a polish. Now that's a lot to ask from a single product but it looks like they have a winner on their hands and this new compound blew me away.
Here's the highlights...
Long buffing cycle - the product stays wet on the surface as long as you're working it.
Zero dusting - I experienced zero dusting while buffing out a 1957 Chevy which is no econobox.
Easy wipe-off - This product wipes off incredibly easy which is important because if a product wipes-off hard this tires you out plus increases the risk of re-introducing toweling marks via struggling to get the residue off the paint.
Excellent defect removal - I used this compound with only a foam polishing pad and achieved 98% defect removal out of what appeared to me to be a fairly hard clear coat finish.
Super clear, high gloss finish - I saw no DA Haze or micro-marring from this product.
Zero dusting - I experienced zero dusting while buffing out a 1957 Chevy which is no econobox.
Easy wipe-off - This product wipes off incredibly easy which is important because if a product wipes-off hard this tires you out plus increases the risk of re-introducing toweling marks via struggling to get the residue off the paint.
Excellent defect removal - I used this compound with only a foam polishing pad and achieved 98% defect removal out of what appeared to me to be a fairly hard clear coat finish.
Super clear, high gloss finish - I saw no DA Haze or micro-marring from this product.
Restored 1957 Chevrolet Belair
Here's my project car, a very beautiful 1957 Chevy Belair with a paint job in dire need of decontamination, polishing and waxing.
While the owner had a lift, for the higher horizontal panels I opted to work outside with the car part in the shade and part in the sun and the Menzerna FG 400 worked just as well in the sun as it did in the shade. Good news for mobile detailers.
Here's the process I used with pictures and comments...
First step, wipe the exterior clean
Just moved the car off the lift and out of the garage to wipe it down and remove any
loose surface dust. As a practice I don't wash classics and antiques as it's not a good practice to introduce water into places you cannot reach to dry as this can cause a rust issue.
Baggie Test then Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads
After wiping the paint clean I did the baggies test and the paint literally felt like #120 grit sandpaper. The contaminants were on all the body panels so I used a Nanoskin Autoscrub pad on a Porter Cable 7424XP to decontaminate every square inch of the paint. For a lube I used Pinnacle Clay Lube.
Test Spot = Menzerna FG 400 with the Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid White Polishing Pads on the Flex 3401
I did a Test Spot using a tape-line on the front of the hood and then inspected using my Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light and the results were a clear, high gloss finish that was silky smooth to the touch and all swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation was removed. After confirming the combination of the Menzerna FG 400 with the Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid White Polishing Pads on the Flex 3401 on speed 6 was giving me the results I wanted I proceeded to buff out the entire car using this combination.
Embedded Dirt - Paint Staining
You can see the white pad is now a brownish gray color and that's the embedded dirt coming off and out of the paint. When paint is stained with embedded dirt it blocks your view of the true color of the paint. Compounding and polishing remove embedded dirt and restore a bright looking finish.
Moved the car inside
After buffing out all the higher portions of the body panels we moved the car onto the lift to make buffing out the lower portions of the vertical panels easier.
Cleaning your pad often
After each panel I buffed, I would clean my pad to clean off,
- Removed paint via abrading it with the compound
- Compound residue
Holding a microfiber towel into the face of the pad while running the polisher to remove residue off the face of the pad
Forced Rotation = Working faster and more effectively
With the Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher you can tackler larger sections than you could with a PC style tool and thus do a better job faster. Plus no risk of swirls like there could be with a rotary buffer.
Speedy Prep Surface Towel
After I buffed out the entire car I then used a Speedy Prep Surface Towel to remove the contaminants off the fender skirts as these also felt contaminated.
Menzerna FG 400 + a 5" Hybrid White Polishing Pad
Next I machine polished the paint on the fender skirts using a 5" Hybrid White Polishing pad with the Menzerna FG 400 on the Flex 3401. The smaller pad on the smaller backing plate made it much easier to work the long thinner panel that makes up these classy looking skirts.
More to come...
...great write up mike...im ordering :thumbup:
