Polishing Question

[11Silverado]

Soon I'll be purchasing the Wolfgang swirl remover combo (total swirl remover and finishing glaze). Together, they come in 8 oz. bottles each. How many cars will I be able to do with an 8 oz. bottle? For reference, first I'll be working on an '09 Chevrolet Malibu and then a '11 Chevrolet Silverado quad cab with a painted bed cover. The paint isn't that bad on the truck, but there is a lot of truck to polish and I'm thinking 8 oz. of each would't be enough for both cars. I'm also looking at purchasing Menzerna super finish (SF4500). If I use the total swirl remover, can I finish with SF4500 or do I need to use the finishing glaze and then SF4500? This will be my first time polishing so I'm new at this. Thanks in advance!

[Paul A.]

For what its worth, i generally use about 1 - 2 oz of polish per moderately sized vehicle.

[EVOlved]

It should be more than enough.

Yes you could definitely finish with SF4500, although I don't think you will need it as WG FG is actually made by Menzerna and very close to the same.

Just remember you only need a few dots after priming the pad and doing your first section pass.

[11Silverado]

Thanks for the responses. So I should get the same results using the finishing glaze or SF4500? I thought SF4500 was a finer polish than the finishing glaze.

[conquistador]

Sf4500 and WG FG are too similar to see any real difference. I would skip the sf4500

[Paul A.]

:iagree: I would pick one or the other but wouldn't waste time or money using both. Do 2 test spots, 1 for each of the 2 finish polishes you have and compare the results. Then go with the one you like better.

[cardaddy]

Sf4500 and WG FG are too similar to see any real difference. I would skip the sf4500
:iagree:

To add to that however, unless you're working with crazy soft paint (which those two ARE NOT) I'd get SF4000. SF4000 has more cut but finishes just as well (same gloss) as SF4500. Sure..... on SOME paints SF4500 will give you that nth degree of gloss (with a jewelling pad and the associated process) that SF4000 *may or may not* give. Overall though SF4000 is as much as you'd ever need.

In fact, it'd be easy to go from 400, to 2000 to 4000 and never need anything else. Lots of (paint) systems will be fine just going from 400 to 2000 and calling it a day. Heck, even 400 has been used all by itself as an excellent AIO. You can start with a orange pad, work it halfway through it's process, then switch to a blue pad and finish it down. YES it's THAT good!

Oh, and as was mentioned, the WG trio is made by Menzerna (for AG) so it's pretty similar (just works longer, and cost's more). ;)

[11Silverado]

If I got the menzerna polishes instead, which ones would you recommend? Only problem I see with choosing menzerna over wolfgang is that menzerna quantities are much greater and I do this as a hobby so it won't get used that often. Maybe a few times a year at best.

[allenk4]

8oz of WGTSR should be plenty for your two vehicles

8oz of WGFG will last even longer

[parttimer]

Pictures would really help to determine which menz product to go with. What pads do you have? What color vehicle are we working on? You might be able to to go wg Uber and finishing glaze.

[cardaddy]

If I got the menzerna polishes instead, which ones would you recommend? Only problem I see with choosing menzerna over wolfgang is that menzerna quantities are much greater and I do this as a hobby so it won't get used that often. Maybe a few times a year at best.

Yes, the Menzerna products come in bigger bottles, but they are MUCH less expensive. (And Menzerna makes/bottles Wolfgang products.) ;) For instance, 16oz of FG400 is $33.99 - ($1.06 per ounce) where 8oz of Wolfgang Uber Compound 3.0 is $24.99 - ($3.12 per ounce).

As for what you could use, take a look at this chart
http://www.menzernausa.com/productrange.jpg

Notice how big of an overlap FG400 and SF4000 have?
With the two of them you can pretty much do anything out there. If you have heavy swirls you might start FG400 with an orange pad, then move to a white pad to finish it down. Then take another white pad (or blue) and work the SF4000 and call it done. :D

The Wolfgang products are very similar, just that there are not so many, with so many different overlaps and gloss ratings. Basically you have compound, swirl remover, and finishing glaze. And you can easily get away with using only the first two, (just as you can with only two from Menzerna).

(There is of course the AIO product, but that's a different thing all together.)

[11Silverado]

The car is a darker red. Not sure of the name. The truck is called blue granite metallic or something like that. I have Lake County CCS pads in orange, pink, and white. I don't have any pictures at the moment. I'll have to decide when I order as it'll cost more upfront for menzerna and most likely it won't get used very often. Thanks for all the help.

[11Silverado]

Also, do the menzerna products have an expiration date? Not sure if any detailing products have one or a point where they really don't work well.

[Zubair]

FG400 followed by SF4000, that is all

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/87306-has-modern-compounds-finishing-polishes-made-medium-cut-polishes-obsolet.html

[Paul A.]

I agree with Zubair, those 2 products would most likely be all you need. Of course that depends on what you are correcting.

As it relates to Menzerna expirations, i still have a bottle of Menz PO106FF that is about 4 years old. I have shaken it up aggressively and used it lately without any degradation of results.