# Farecla G3 vs. Menzerna Power Gloss



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

It was a lovely afternoon so decided to try out these two abbrassive compounds against each other, using the rotary, to remove severe swilrs marks from paintwork.

So, I washed a red bonnet with some steel wool to get some nice swilrs:





Nice deep swirl marks to challenge the abbrassive compounds....

*Farecla G3*
Applied using a Sonus SFX-1 Restore pad by rotary. This stuff needs water and plenty of it!! :lol:

First of all, the pas was soaked in water and squeezed out. A line of the G3 was applied direct to the panel. Then at 600rpm, with the rotary slightly tilted, this lines picked up to "charge" the pad and then spread out over an area. Then it was up to 1200rpm for one pass with medium pressure, then 1500rpm for two passes with medium pressure. Stop the rotary, water on the pad, then another two passes at 1500rpm. Then up to 2000rpm and two passes. More water, then a final two passes at 2000rpm. Then, the speed was wound back down to 900rpm for two final passes with light to medium pressure to attempt to refine the finish...

Alas, the result was hologram tastic! The worst holograms I have ever had from the rotary, I got with the G3! :lol: :lol: Here are the results:









Deespite the holograms however, the severe swirl marks were removed successfully from the finish. Naturally a finishing polish would now be required here to refine the finish and remove the holograms.

All in all, I found G3 to be an effective compound for removing severe swirls from paintwork, doing what it says on the bottle... And its also pretty inexpensive this product. However, there were severe holograms left which doesn't compare favourably with the Power Gloss below and also the mess made by the product in terms of sling was quite annoying.

*Menzerna Power Gloss*
Applied using a Meguiars W7006 Burgandy Cutting pad, and regular spritzes of water to keep the dust down.

First of all, a line of product was applied to the paintwork, and the pad charged the same way as for the G3 above at 600rpm. The polish was then spread at 600rpm. Next up, two passes at 1200rpm after which the residue was starting to go clear - no where near broken down though, so a spritz of water, then two passes at 1500rpm. Another spritz of water and then two passes 1500rpm (the max speed I'd take PG up too, it doesn't require any more to work it). The slow the machine down to 900rpm for a final two passes to refine the finish as best as possible.

The results, espeically after the G3 above, were excellent IMO. The severe swirls were removed and also the finish was virtually hologram free, which was impressive for such an abbrassive compound. The rotary really thoroughly working Power Gloss, and nothing like the micromarring it gives by PC! The results:





Obviously this finish would be followed with a finishing polish to refine the finish more, but in honesty you could pass this for LSP ready in comparison to the G3 above... This has further increased my liking for the Menzerna products.

In summary, for me, I much prefer the Power Gloss for its ability to remove severe defects without leaving holograms everywhere... However, that is not to say G3 is a dreadful product, its not - it does exactly whats its meant to, removes severe swirls and it isn't pretending to be a finishing polish so it can be forgiven for the hologramming it leaves.... at least, forgiven until you compare it to Power Gloss.


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Very very nice Dave, I always found Powergloss to give an almost LSP ready finish and this thread just makes that extra clear for me.


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## blr123 (Oct 26, 2005)

Here Dave that is EXACTLY what I had on Stuart's bonnet.......and I mean exactly :thumb: 

Bryan


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Those are wicked holograms, haven't seen many as bad as that!


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## Refined Reflections (May 12, 2006)

Nice write up, however personally I don't thinks its a totally fair test as you used different pads, would have held better in my mind if you'd have used the same.

Don't know what you did with the G3 as I can't remember the last hologram I got with it, though I never work at more than 1500 and always finish at that speed too. Maybe worth a try, but as we all know different people get different results.

Nice to see PG working well though :thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

shooter said:


> Nice write up, however personally I don't thinks its a totally fair test as you used different pads, would have held better in my mind if you'd have used the same.
> 
> Don't know what you did with the G3 as I can't remember the last hologram I got with it, though I never work at more than 1500 and always finish at that speed too. Maybe worth a try, but as we all know different people get different results.
> 
> Nice to see PG working well though :thumb:


The SFX-1 and W7006 pads are a very similar cut, though I take your point that its not an entirely 100% fair test... I tinkered around on the blue door with G3 trying a whole variety of methods to try and eliminate the hologramming, but I personally couldn't get a hologram free finish with it, while the Power Gloss was a cinch to get a near LSP ready finish from. Perhaps the G3 is just better suited to your technique and methods than mine.


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## Mr OCD (Apr 18, 2006)

Dave

I used G3 today on my workhorse via PC with a light cutting pad / plenty of water which resulted in a near lsp finish - no swirls / holograms evident... I then went over it with Megs #80 on a polish pad to give an excellent finish!

G3 is pretty messy but its manageable via PC and I was impressed with the results - might be worth a try on the pc?

Scott


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

I'm quite sure that with much altering of my techniques to suit the G3, I wiull get a good finish from it... However, I only bought it to test out as I do all my defect correction with Menzerna and Meguiars as I can personally get cracking finishes from these products. Different products suit different people, though - many peaople swear by Poorboys SSRs for example, I just swear at them! :lol:


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

dave have you tried the g3 on a pc? from the one try i had with it , it seemed to work pretty good

and is that tube g3 liquid or compound?? i think they have a few seperate ones now?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

steveo3002 said:


> dave have you tried the g3 on a pc? from the one try i had with it , it seemed to work pretty good
> 
> and is that tube g3 liquid or compound?? i think they have a few seperate ones now?


Tube G3 Compound Paste - I will try it out by PC as well and see what happens. I was exceptionally messy by rotarym thats the main thing that annoyed me about it - the holograms, though they look bad are easily cleared with a very mild polish and the G3 did do an excellent job of removing the swilrs... I can see me sticking with Megs and Menz though, as I find them easier and cleaner to use and I personally get significantly better results with them.... But still, I have a nearly full tube of G3 so I aint going to waste it, lots more trialling with it to come for me - thats what the scrap panels are for.


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## db_abz (Jan 19, 2006)

I'm just happy to see that you are human after all!
I was beginning to think you were some sort of detailing android that could use 80 grit sandpaper with extra sand thrown on and still get an LSP ready, hologram free finish!

Dave
p.s. aren't you supposed to be fixing your dad's car?


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

where would you say it fits in against other polishes? like the megs chart


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

db_abz said:


> I'm just happy to see that you are human after all!
> I was beginning to think you were some sort of detailing android that could use 80 grit sandpaper with extra sand thrown on and still get an LSP ready, hologram free finish!
> 
> Dave
> p.s. aren't you supposed to be fixing your dad's car?


LOL, yeah - I get holograms too when I try a new product... Its my aim to loose them with the G3 though, watch this space! :lol: And my Dad is away for the weekend, but he's away with a three pen kit I got him so he's starting the painting while he has the car. :thumb:

Steve - it removed the swilrs slightly quicker than the Power Gloss (ie, in less passes) - I'd say its comparable too, maybe slightly more abbrassive than Power Gloss - so between 8/10 and 9/10 on the Megs scale.


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## Timmo (Mar 21, 2006)

Blimey dave! what on earth did you do to get those marks matey! 
bit more practice, bit less paste and lsp finish here we come! 
(my tube is still about half way and its done half a dozen cars and a 34ft yacht hull!)


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## Roc (Jul 20, 2006)

Is that the new formula G3 though? The newer stuff is far better. It will says on the tube if it is. It breaks down better.

In my opinion the liquid is better, I've had nothing but perfect results with it.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Timmo said:


> Blimey dave! what on earth did you do to get those marks matey!
> bit more practice, bit less paste and lsp finish here we come!
> (my tube is still about half way and its done half a dozen cars and a 34ft yacht hull!)


Probably because, despite adding plenty of water, I treated the G3 the way I would treat the other harsh abbrassive compounds by rotary and it likely did not effectively break down properly - primary cause of holograms. I will perservere with the G3 on the old bonnet, but I can get crystal sharp finishes with Power Gloss, and very close with SSR3 so I will far more inclined to use these products as for me, they are significantly better. I will alspo try stepping the G3 down off a cutting pad and onto a polishing pad, this may also make a difference - my SFX-1 pad dies after I washed it lst night anyway in that (its been well used) it lost its spring back, so that may have also contributed...

The mess the product makes though, in comparison the Power Gloss, is unforgiveable in my book though - I'd be cleaning a car up for ages with the splatter, and it needs the water to stay alive - I'm sure with plenty of playing around with the G3 I'll improve the above finish but I dont ever see me changing over from Power Gloss simply because its far cleaner to use.


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

great practise and post Dave. Since buying my rotary it hasn't even seen a panel yet  

With regards to products I do believe if you have found the puppy you like using, and you can get the best from it, why change?

I too have tried otehr products, and find I alter back to old favourites from time to time.

I think as detailers we need to keep a shelf of products, as each detail you find reacts slightly differently with some defect polishes reacting to one car better than others. so many variables: car, paint, age, condition, weather.....


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Very true YG, I just got the G3 to try out as its slightly less expensive than Power Gloss, but I got no where near the results from it that I get from Power Gloss... I will continue to tinker around with G3 but I cant ever see it being part of my detailing supplied long term - not because of the holograms, these are easily fixed with a finishing polish, but beacuse of the mess it makes aplatter wise and the pest it is to be always adding water - for me there are less annoying products to use out there.

Have also been looking into the Meguiars compounds recently - #85 and #84 - as I can get these in gallon sizes which works out very cheaply on an oz per ££ basis, which takes away the one advantage G3 had for me...  

As I've said guys, I'm in no way dissing the G3 here - just for me, I can get far far superior results using a product that is nearly as abbrassive (Power Gloss) without the splatter and holograms. This is probably because I have taught myself how to use the rotary using Menzerna, Meguiars and Poorboys products and the Farecla ones require a significantly different style perhaps. I'll be sticking to my Menzerna and Meguiars though. :thumb:


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Nice one Dave:thumb: 

I oes lok like Timmo said, that you used a bit too much product with the G3, and didn't break it down evenly.

On your next play with the G3, try a little less product, and less water but more often. This should keep the sling down, and stop you instilling most of the holograms shown. You look to have been splattering off sharp abrasive, then picking it back up later on in your set, when the rest of the compound has broken down to a much smaller size.

I know when using the Menzerna Intensive Polish PO91L with a slow cut technique on the rotary, that splatter can be controlled to almost zero by spritzing often, but lightly as you work the polish. Perhaps look at dropping the speeds slightly as well, to keep the spatter down.

Once you've got the spatter under control, try looking at your pad before going for the final couple of passes, and spur if necessary. Removing any spurious unbroken polish from the pad and then final polishing with just a water spritz should improve the finish no end.

It would be interesting to compare how much material is removed by using a compound like G3 in comparision to Power Gloss.

Have you tried the Meguiar's coarser product? #84 & #85 and also #1 & #4?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

L200 Steve said:


> Nice one Dave:thumb:
> 
> I oes lok like Timmo said, that you used a bit too much product with the G3, and didn't break it down evenly.
> 
> ...


Hi Steve, I havent tried the #84 or #85 yet, but am looking into giving them a shot very soon as tehy are easier to buy large quantities of. :thumb:

Thank you for the tips, I will give these a go later on and see if I can reduce the hologramming from the G3 - thinking abot it, it probably was splattering off abbrassives and then picking them up later thats done it which would explain why I dont get holograms from Power Gloss as that doesn't splatter.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Cracked it! Hologram free finish with G3!  Will put up a separate post about it, many thanks to L200 Steve, Timmo and Shooter for the advise and tips. :thumb:

See here from vastly improved G3 results: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12644


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Good post Dave!

#84 and #85 are really worth a shot too, indeed when ysed with wool ads they break down quickly and cut very well :thumb:


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2008)

That link for the G3 cracked dosnt work.

But nice to see we all need practice lol

:buffer:


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## NN1 (Nov 11, 2006)

link doesnt work dave, how about doing a comparison between megs#85 and powergloss?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

I'll dig out my compounds and re do the test for that thread, as once cracked, G3 did impress me.


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2008)

Willing to send some other bits for you to try if you want.

Black Top for instance.

Its an intresting range which might have been over looked.

:buffer:


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## dodger (May 20, 2006)

For the link to work and this goes for any other link that doesn't work just add *forum/* after the co.uk/ but before showthread.php in the link like this :thumb:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=12644


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