~*Menzerna~* best combo cut/Polish? ( Sealant)

[EuroTech]

So I need a cut and polish , at least thats what I understand. I will be working on a new Toyota with white paint, 2 year old mecedes white ( heavy oxidation/ color distortion) , and a 4 year old Mazda with black paint ( hard water and swirls)
I am looking for two product I can use safely with relatedly new fairly well kept paint, to older paint with moderate correction needed. ( I'm sure having 5+ products would be ideal to really custom any type of paint condition, but as a beginner I'm looking for the most simplistic and some what cost efficient method)

From my reading and research I've consistently read recommendations on Menzerna FG 400 to start with orange LC pad. Followed by Menzerna SF 4000 with white pads...
My question are
1) Do I need something as strong cutting as fast gloss or should I go down a notch to super intensive or intensive polish orange pad ? Can I find my self damaging paint with Flex and Fast Gloss, or do I stick with fast gloss too ensure I get the correction needed that i'd be unable to create with the intensive?

2) There are three finishing products in Menzerna line up. What are the main differences, and with newer paint that doesnt' require major correction do I just start here?

3) Lastly sealant, I've read nothing but good things about Wolfgang & Blackfire ( Menzerna comes up but not nearly as much as the other two ?) . What are main differences between these three products. Pro's cons of using one or another? ( Ex. one depth , or more shine, durability or one lasting longer etc.

4) Lastly what would be the minimum number of pads you would recommend starting with in each type ex. 4 cut , 4 polish, 4 finish. Possibly do I need more cut less for finish?
Thank you once agin for your incredible knowledge & help!!

[Rod73]

For starters you want to be mindful of the Detailer's maxim the least aggressive approach necessary. So if you have a panel filled with swirls but they seem light yoy might want to test a spot with a less agressive polish pad combo then FG400 and a Orange pad.

Menzerna is a good choice in part because of its diminishing abrasive technology meaning it starts out more agressiveness than it finishes especially true for FG400 , Super Intensive, PF2500, SF4000.

Probably most popular package is the FG400, PF2500 , and SF4000. I have FG400, PF2500, SF4500.

If you are getting only two I recommend SF4000 with Super Intensive or FG400.

More detailers prefer SF4000 because of more cut and finishes on par with SF4500. Considering I have 1steped with PF2500(white pad) and been impressed with the gloss I'm quite sure you'll be extremely happy with how it finishes. But Mike Phillips does swear by SF4500 as ultimate jeweling polish (grey pad).. On my last detail which I posted on the forum I did SF4500 with a white pad to get a little bite and OMG blown away... so I have no regrets their either.

PF2500 is a great one step option even with a Orange pad when time is a issue.

I use Wolfgang sealant. My roommate has Blackfire. We both love them. + on everything you would check off on a sealant.

In terms of Pads it's a lot like quality microfiber towels. .you can't have too many. With all of the minimum amount advice out their all I would add is whatever you decide is the right number get one more of each pad. 2/3 into your detail is not the time you want to have regrets on this getting diminishing returns on your last overused pad.

[lawrenceSA]

Given you are going to be working on a white toyota there is a strong chance it will be single stage paint, and hard to boot. I think the pigment is Titanium Dioxide and this makes the paint very hard to correct - FG 400 will be a 'must' in this case, and you will probably need a wool or at least a foamed wool pad or even a MF pad to tackle swirls on it (you also haven't mentioned which machine you will be using?). If it isn't single stage, then definitely use the approach of conducting a test spot with your LEAST aggressive combo first, and slowly increasing the cut until you obtain the desired level of correction.

The Mercedes will probably also be on the harder side where FG400 would come in handy, especially if it has sever oxidation. The Mazda will probably be on the softer side. But, you really should be conducting the test spots on all your vehicles using the least aggressive approach.

If you only want 2 polishes from their line up, it would have to be FG400 and SF4000. You could probably cut with FG400 on the Merc and Toyota and do a second polish (if desired) with the SF4000 to maximize clarity. If the Mazda paint is as soft as they typically are (well over here in South Africa anyway), then you may be able to get away with SF4000 for a decent one step correction.

In terms of the difference between SF4000 and SF4500, both of them finish at a gloss level of 10/10.... the difference is in the amount of cut they have.... SF4500 cuts at 2/10 while SF4000 cuts at 4/10.

I have not used the Wolfgang sealant, but use a lot of Menzerna Powerlock and it really goes on VERY easily and comes of just as easily. A little goes a long way and it is quite durable too.

In principal you will need more of the heavier cutting pads compared to light finishing/polishing pads, as the former will be removing more paint off your car, which will embed itself in the pad and thus 'clog up' the pad quicker.

As for how many, the only advice I can give you is - as many as your budget will allow you - clean your pad on the fly after each section and then swap to a fresh clean (and dry) pad as often as you can [this is where more pads is better as you can just grab a clean one more often].

Of course the conundrum is that once you have done all the initial heavy cutting this time around, going forward you may not need to do heavy cutting again, and so in that case, more polishing and finishing pads makes sense...

So initially maybe something like:

6 cutting
6 polishing
4 finishing

Its really hard to say for sure and I am sure others will chime in with their thoughts.... :dblthumb2:

[Rod73]

Given you are going to be working on a white toyota there is a strong chance it will be single stage paint, and hard to boot. I think the pigment is Titanium Dioxide and this makes the paint very hard to correct - FG 400 will be a 'must' in this case, and you will probably need a wool or at least a foamed wool pad or even a MF pad to tackle

That's very interesting you mentioned that. I promised a friend of mine I would do some paint ccorrection on his Toyota Corolla which I believe is 2014 or 2013. The possibility of new model Cara having single stage paint is something I wouldn't think about but I have heard of white cars being a exception

[lawrenceSA]

That's very interesting you mentioned that. I promised a friend of mine I would do some paint ccorrection on his Toyota Corolla which I believe is 2014 or 2013. The possibility of new model Cara having single stage paint is something I wouldn't think about but I have heard of white cars being a exception

Yeah look I am not sure that it is all white Toyotas, but I know for sure that their paint code 040 for 'Super White' is definitely single stage paint - well at least over here in South Africa it is... It may be worth your while to establish the paint code of your friend's Corolla beforehand and try obtain some local info on the paint used in your part of the world:xyxthumbs:

[EuroTech]

FG 400 followed PF 2500 then SF 4000. How can you tell if you don't need as much cut or need more. Ex. If I start with FG400 how would I know I could just jump too PF2500 or visa versa?
I have Menzenra that is 5+ years old. Intense and final polish II. Its been years sense they've been used. I don't recall Menzerna products having specific Cut/Gloss ratings when purchasing them in the past.
Now I can see all the products that have been recommended have the highest gloss rating in their given category. Any thoughts or experience on how long polish products stay good for, and Did Menzerna change the actual products or just packaging?
I don't want too waste money, however I really don't want too waste time detailing, so best bet Is too just oder new.

"I use Wolfgang sealant. My roommate has Blackfire. We both love them. + on everything you would check off on a sealant."

In terms of durability, protections, & gloss where Do Blackfire and Wolfgang stand? Is one better than other with the color, metallic paints? How many layers do you put on? Do you put top it with caranuba, if so what are results?

"use a lot of Menzerna Powerlock"

How does polerlock differ from color lock? What other sealents have you used in past, that you could compare it too? How many layers do you put on? Do you put top it with carnauba, if so what are results?

[Ccrew]

How does polerlock differ from color lock?

Powerlock is a polymer sealant. Colorlock is a liquid Carnauba.

As far as Powerlock is concerned I don't know what I'd compare it to, because it's about the easiest on/off of any sealant I've ever used. Colorlock I'd compare largely to something like Meguiars Gold Class.