# Big Test - M101, S17+, S3 Golf, Fixer, 85RD3.02 & Gliptone Compound Vs Swirly Bonnet



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

*Big Test - M101, S17+, S3 Golf, Fixer, 85RD3.02 & Gliptone Compound Vs Swirly Bonnet*

I have this Mk5 Golf at home at the moment, getting it ready for sale and as you will see the paintwork is not in the greatest shape, although very well cared for the car has obviously seen a lot of bad wash techniques, and I dare to say a few of the automatic style car wash looking at the obvious brush type marks.

Anyway, I had some spare time today to start work on it so thought with a big black swirly bonnet in place I could use this as a great test bed to try a few different compounds/polishes on the one panel and see how they stack up against one another in as fair a test as possible.

The bonnet was cleaned, iron-x'd, de-tarred and clayed before drying and taping off into 6 pretty identical sized areas.

The polishes in test would be:

Scholl S17+
Scholl S3 Gold
Meguiars M101
Menzerna PO85RD 3.02
Gliptone Stage2 Clearcoat compound
Carpro Fixer

All would be used with 3M yellow pads, mainly because this is one pad I've got lots of, although I did have to break out 3 new ones too but at least I knew this way it would be fair, not expecting to get 100% correction with any of them due to the soft nature of a 3M Yellow Vs a rock hard clearcoat on a VW golf! Each was used in the same way, same method and speeds on the same machine (3M rotary) and each wiped down with Eraser before any after pics taken.

I placed the polishes in this order below so i knew which order they would be used on the bonnet, simple but it worked for me and I made sure I then kept it straight forward.



















Here's the pics of the bonnet before so you can see just how bad this is, and it is right up there with some of the worst I've seen























































The contenders









So here are the results after one set of each polish on the same 3M pads

Top left of the Bonnet (S17+)









Very good results but close up you can still see a few light marks









S3 Gold









Not bad at all, hardly anything left to be honest









Few light swirls still present


















CarPro Fixer Results









Pretty disappointed to be honest


















Gliptone Stage2 Results









Again not in the same correction level as Scholl


















Menzerna PO85RD 3.02 Results









Somewhere inbetween the Gliptone and S3 Gold really, pretty decent correction for a 1 pass / single set on such a soft pad 



























Finally M101 from Meguiars













































Have to say these are purely to give you an idea, it may not be considered overly fair in that some polishes are far better with certain pads, but I just wanted to do a completely unbiased test while I had the time, kit and car available to me without the pressure to get it done quickly.

I would rarely use a 3M yellow pad for correction work, especially on VW paint as it's just not firm enough in my opinion but this should hopefully give you all some idea of how each of them work on the exact same pad on the same panel (Paint depth all 130-140 and no sign of any painting)!

After this i concluded that the Meg's M101 was a very impressive product, and even on a soft 3M pad gave a huge amount of correction. I stepped up to a Hex Logic White pad and did the whole bonnet, after this it was refined with Scholl S40 on a Black Scholl waffle pad.

These are the final results


























































































































































What awaits me on the wings....









Hope this may be some use to a few people, it's something I rarely get time to do when working on a car for a day as time is of the essence so this was also pretty useful to me :lol: :thumb:

Thanks for reading!


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Nice test Nick. I've been using 101 for months and its got to be one of the best via Rotary and works well on DA too.


----------



## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Good one mate, thanks for taking the time :thumb:


----------



## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Impressive cut from the S17+! Or was that impressive filling?


----------



## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

-Raven- said:


> Impressive cut from the S17+! Or was that impressive filling?


Mate,youre walking on holy ground here :devil:..no filling for scholl polishes,no silicone,its not megs..


----------



## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Without wanting to be over critical and take away from the test, so firstly many thanks for taking the time to both do and record the results, but did you work with say fixer the way you do with scholl? And megs the way you did with fixer? I know you use scholl a lot and personally find fixer and m101 require a different aproach. As does menzerna in reality. You are totally right, megs is very impressive, way more lubed than 105 that's for sure!


----------



## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Noticed that the 101 from Meguiars was quite oily more akin to the microfibre compound. Seems that as stanglang has said, different approach is needed to gain best from the product however, from what I had seen of 101, S17+ would of stepped up to the plate and done the same if not better adapting the correct technique though megs would be less dusty. Good old faithful Menzerna will always be up there with the best. Nice to have a dabble and compare a few items.


----------



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Thanks guys, as I say it may not be the fairest way to test these as they should probably be used with their own recommended Pads but I know a lot of people read up on what the latest greatest polish is, and then only have a couple of pads to use so thought this would at least be interesting to see just how they all work on the same pads but on a typically very tough clear coat.

I didn't get time to do much more on the car but will crack on over the week and post up the final results...

Scholl S40 left a lovely finish too though, really brought out the metallic flake.


----------



## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

Got to love 101, absolute work horse! Great correction on a that pad! Lovely afters too! Good job! :thumb:


----------



## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Nice test :thumb:


----------



## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

ronwash said:


> Mate,youre walking on holy ground here :devil:..no filling for scholl polishes,no silicone,its not megs..


which fanboy told you Scholl doesn't fill?


----------



## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Sorry DetailMyCar, nice test! Just goes to show that you need a variety of polishes (and pads!) in your kit. :thumb:


----------



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

-Raven- said:


> which fanboy told you Scholl doesn't fill?


S17+ does fill in my opinion... but I did do a thorough wipedown with Eraser to ensure this was reduced as much as possible.


----------



## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

-Raven- said:


> which fanboy told you Scholl doesn't fill?


That what the Megs/Menz fanboy told me..
all scholl polishes exp A15 doesnt fill,i workwd them all a few times..
i must say i like the test!.


----------



## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

All fill if they are used incorrectly. Take Scholl. There polishes are designed to work with closed cell structure pads as are Menzerna. Most folk dont use the pads set for the product ( me included ) It is all down to what you want from that said polish at the time. Generally, most find certain polishes ( Scholl being one ) to fill as they have over cooked the product thus not having the correct technique for using it. Ive even come across S17+ to fill on the odd occasion but that is purely by running at a slightly higher speed which drys the polish out and causes the filling ability. Considering Scholll make Menzerna im surprised there hasnt been more talk of Menz filling as well


----------



## [FIN]Dani (May 20, 2011)

M#101 is very easy and aggressive product with foam and wool pad, one of the best product I have tested.

Nice test!


----------



## Phat Pat (Mar 1, 2012)

My go to products are #105 and #205 (I get good results and know the products traits); of late I’ve been playing with S17+ and S40, but I find S17+ a little dusty and I’m not all that keen on the dust. S40 works well though and appears to be a lovely product (my testing is limited if I’m honest).

Now that I have seen #101 and heard favourable results from a few people, I’m inclined to give that a try. Presumably, I can use #205 to refine down afterwards?

One thing I will mention is that I echo Nick’s thoughts on using same manufacturer pads with polishes; to me that makes total sense. Although I have to admit I use CG Hex pads with #105 and #205, as I couldn’t get on with Megs pads. And the only pad I use with the SC range is the orange pad.


----------



## Porta (Jan 3, 2007)

Very nice test and I am very interested of Megs #101 and I have been since the first time I have heard about it.

I understand the discussion regarding the use of proper pads(IE the pads that the manufacturer is recommending) for each compound; they all work a little bit different. But as we all know it's far from everybody who is using the assigned pad to polish X. We are using the pads we like; some like reticulated(open cell) foam pads and some one is prefering non reticualted (closed cell) foam pads and others prefere wool and microfiber pads. So therfore I think this is a great test; we can now see how the compounds works with a well known and popular pad on a dark and, as I presume, hard paint. 

As we could see, it's not necessary to hit the paint with, for example, Megs #101 and its designated pad, the 6006 soft buff compounding pad, who is designed to cut trough P 1200-1500 sanding marks on this paint. Or, we could but would the result be any better? The only thing is that we would probably remove more clear then necessary. 

Since I am a polishaholic, I love tests like this. Keep up the good work, mate! :thumb:


----------



## WRC 98 (Nov 22, 2011)

Nick, would you say the Fixer is the worse in this test, or with the lowest cutting power??
How long did you spend per area and at witch rpm did you work??
Thanks


----------



## pete001 (Dec 21, 2006)

Great test thanks for sharing.


----------



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

WRC 98 said:


> Nick, would you say the Fixer is the worse in this test, or with the lowest cutting power??
> How long did you spend per area and at witch rpm did you work??
> Thanks


I wouldn't really say that, I think it just highlights that Fixer would definitely be best used with a recommended Pad, I believe they do their own range of cutting pads that are designed specifically to work with it, and as others have said it maybe takes a slightly different technique to get the best from it so I would need to do more testing (Which I do plan on doing)!

I spent probably 3-4 minutes on each section, spreading on low speed then building up to around 1300rpm (3M Rotary), doing 4-5 passes then back down to 1100 and 900 to finish it down nicely.


----------



## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

I'm pretty sure S17+ fills. Eraser doesn't seem to show this even with couple of wipes, though 1 week after in variation of rain/sun certainly shows a break down of it. It seemingly takes alot less effort compared to other grade polishes, but I always add a small pea size of S40 just to reduce some of the dusting. 

I'm keen to test M101, but S17+ really has been my go to polish as of recent.. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt till my own mini test is concluded.


----------



## maesal (Nov 24, 2005)

Mr Singh said:


> I'm pretty sure S17+ fills. Eraser doesn't seem to show this even with couple of wipes, though 1 week after in variation of rain/sun certainly shows a break down of it. It seemingly takes alot less effort compared to other grade polishes, but I always add a small pea size of S40 just to reduce some of the dusting.
> 
> I'm keen to test M101, but S17+ really has been my go to polish as of recent.. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt till my own mini test is concluded.


I agree.
Einszett Acrysol, Prepsol, etc... are your friends for checking if a polish fills or not. And also it's very important checking the filling with a nice led torch, it shows the defects much better than a lamp.


----------



## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Which is more aggressive compound M101 or S17+? Does these work when used them in soft paints if I like to get 1-step polish?


----------



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

sm81 said:


> Which is more aggressive compound M101 or S17+? Does these work when used them in soft paints if I like to get 1-step polish?


I'd say M101 has more cut and can be worked longer to get the desired results... S17+ can be used as an AIO if you finish nicely, even if it means swapping it to a softer pad to finish with...

As nice as M101 finished I still refine after anyway as it's pretty hardcore on the cutting front I'd be worried about holograms, even if you can't see them straight away.


----------



## Junior Bear (Sep 2, 2008)

Great thread

Glad I've got some m101, nearly bought done of the others


----------



## mikeydee (May 4, 2010)

Many thanks for doing the test. very helpful.


----------



## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

I am yet to find a compound/polish that doesn't fill to an extent, no matter how it is worked or what combo is used. Under close scrutiny, they all fill. More the nature of the oils/carriers left on the panel after wiping, cloths won't remove everything..


----------

