# Malco/Presta -v- Menz



## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

*Malco/Presta -v- Menz (pics)*

I have for a few weeks now been playing around with the Menz 3.02 & Final Finish with a Chicago Pneumatic Rotary, mainly on BMW's and Audis of which i do quite a few. I have to say i have been struggling to achieve good paint correction results compared to my tried and trusted Malco/Presta products.

Well today the first job was not so much of a paint correction but to improve a 538i (Cosmos Black) paintwork with minor paint marring and to finish off with Onyx wax.
I worked on this exclusively with the Menz products. After completion i rolled her out into the sunshine and was not impressed. This said, the customer was ecstatic, but then i am a bit critical i admit.

Last job of the day was to start paint correction on my new toy - BMW 328i coupe in Cosmos Black.

Out with the presta/malco products that i had a top up delivery earlier on in the week.









Decided to mask up a section of roof and half a boot spoiler. Now as some of you know BMW paint is rock hard and takes some working. Car was parked in direct sunlight in this afternoons full sun.
Decided to kill or cure and hit it with the 'Presta Strata 1000' which is aimed at removing 1000 grit scratches etc. Thought this might dry up quick and perhaps burn considering the heat of the paintwork....but to my surprise it didnt. It stayed fluid and well workable, in fact a pleasure to use. I continued working it until it went clear and here are the results. Bear in mind this is 1000 grade compound only at this stage

Roof








I was pretty impressed
The active ingredients in Strata 1000 are MICRYCRYSTALLINE SILICA and KAOLIN CLAY

Boot Spoiler









After doing a few 50/50 test pieces around the car i decided to do a whole panel so onto the bonnet and the drivers side wing. These panels i also applied Malco's 'Plum Crazy Glaze' by hand (smells of plums) and then a coat of AG UDS. After that i decided 5.30 was time to come home (pub to go to ) SO PUT THE CAR BACK INSIDE FOR THE WEEKEND.

W O W










I was amazed especially considering i didnt apply any fine grit polishes between the '1000' ad glaze as it was just an experiment.

So - conclusion. Either

a. Strata is far superior to Menz but not many people have tried it

b. I cant work Menz to save my life
or
c. I am missing something else completely.

I am leaning towards a.


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

*Round 2*

Sunday. Up at 8am. Hangover. Nurofen+Red Bull+half hour=sorted.

Might as well go and fetch the Beemer from the yard and do some paint correction at home.

Weapons of Choice








BTW. Not in the pic are the other foam pads i used. £m orange and ??? red polishing head. Pic taken at end of day.

First i masked up with the trusted blue tape. Got fed up with neighbours walking by and commenting that it was a bit windy to spray a car....whatever.
Had a play around with the 'Strata 1000' and 'Ultra Cutting Creme'. Decided on this amount of cut because of the hardness of the BMW paint. Eventually decided on the UCC. As i started to get up close and personal there was quite a bit of evidence of a respray at some stage. Not a bad one but a bit of orange peel here and there, with that i decided i might as well go the whole hog nd get the 2000 wet n dry out on the front wing just below the swage line










Ten minutes later with the UCC and 3M orange pad










That was probably the worst bit there was apart from the drivers door thats going to need the paint shop due to crazing starting to show through. Everywhere else looked fine apart from the odd dirt nib that will need sorting when it gets back from the paintshop next week. Onwards with the rotary. The Presta was still working well even though the panels were warming up in the sunshine. Clogging started to show after about a third of the way round so out with the 'conditioning brush









Forgot to mention that i had already removed the side repeaters from the front wings and also the number plates (new ones to fit anyway). Then decided to mremove the 328i badge from the boot (pain in the backside to polish round. So a plastic filler spreader and a bit of Tar and Glue and off she came. Swapped to a small head for the narrow and small areas around the car









Once the car had been finished with the UCC it had a quick wipe round with a microfibre.

Swapped head for a red polishing head and then round again with the 1500 polish. Still continuing to stay very workable even in the sun and also the 1500 has no dust.

Once that was finished and another wipe down it was round again with the 'Plum Crazy' glaze. Easy to use yet again with a soft polishing black waffle pad. Then on with the Swissvax CF, Onyx for 10 min and then buffed up with Swissvax polishing cloth. gave it half hour then on with Swissvax Detail Spray.

Well impressed...started at 11:30 am and finished at 6:00 pm. Not perfection but i couldnt wait till next weekend. So now all i need to do is get it off for the door to be painted and then i can start all over again. Hopefully by next weekend i will have my Dodo waxes to try out on it.

All in all i am finding it very difficult to be prized away from the Malco/Presta range. It never fauls in any conditions and delivers everytime.

Thanks for looking:thumb:


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

Ooops...nearly forgot these. Sun had gone round the back by now so couldnt really get the full effect., but here they are anyway


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

*Another Success*

Today was another day for testing the Menz. Range Rover in black and two panels tested with Menz, still not producing what i expect of it and getting frustrated. So a quick once over with 'Presta 1500' and then onto 'Plum Crazy glaze' with a bit of UCC on some bird lime markings to the bonnet. Did intend to take detailed photos but only managed 1 before shot before batteries gave out (forgot to charge last night). Partial charge for a couple of afters.

Still trying to find what i am missing????????????????

Before










Afters

































:buffer: :buffer: :buffer: :buffer: :buffer: :buffer:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

I would say that its likely that your working method is best suited to the Strata products that you use as clearly you are experienced with their break down and methods... How long have you spent with the Menzerna products? What was your working method for the polish? (Speeds, no. of passes, pressures?)

By contrast, I've spent a while with Menzerna and Meguiars and can get these products to work wonders for me, both in terms of correction and in terms of the clarity and sharpness of the finish which is arguably more important. I've never used the Strata and would imagine that on first efforts my results with it would nowhere near match my results with Menz, though given time it would likely improve to being on a par or thereabouts...

I'd be very reluctant personally to rank any particular polish as being far superior to any other, given the huge number of factors at play, not least the user of the machine doing the polishing and the large variances in methods used. Also, the large variances in paints: both types, and conditions. Clearly both ranges are capable of producing excellent results (Menzerna and Strata), as this is displayed on this and many other forums.


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

A lot of food for thought in your comments and as you say many, many factors.
I have tried with the menz everything from 2 passes to multiple passes, light pressure to moderate pressure and also just allowed the weight of the rotary to do the work. I know that Menz MUST be good because of the amount of people here who are extremely successful with it producing perfection time after time. I think it is something i am just going to have to stick with and be patient when time allows (thats not easy with my workload). Time will tell.

One point that i found interesting today whilst 'playing' with my collection of polishes was the similarity in performance, colour and smell of Presta Plum Crazy Glaze (PPCG) and CG Ez-Creme Glaze. Both looked and smelt exactly the same with only a slight thickness difference.

One benefit of the Presta/Malco is that it can be used in direct sunlight on a hot panel and performs excellent

The range Rover i was doing today was for the owner of a bodyshop. They were obviousely very interested in the products i was using and asking alot of questions regarding them. So i just gave them a selection to try on the roof of a Mk1 Golf roof (Black) they had just wet flatted down. They were totally amazed at how fluid it stayed and how easy to work with and that was with the P3 (a thick oily paste) that is designed for 800 grit scratches.
So impressed they bought all my spare stock of Presta. Off to get some back up stock in morning......................mind you they were using Farecla and Finesse:buffer:


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## johnniemac (May 26, 2007)

Presta gets quite a bit of use in the States especially the Strata Ultra Cutting Creme Light and the Chroma 1500. Designed/color coded to work the wool pads made by Edge.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

I think if you find something is working really well for you, then I would stick to it. Familiarity about the characteristics of a product help to hone your technique to perfection and give the best results. By all means try new products, but you may find you initially take several steps backwards as you have to relearn a technique that suits that particular product.
The Menz products work well and can produce fantastic results, but they can also be tricky and very picky of what weather conditions suit them. The Presta/Malco products that you use may be a good alternative for those who don't get on with the Menz.
It is interesting that you commented on the similarity of the Plum Crazy Glaze to CG EZ-Creme Glaze, as just by looking at the photos I thought they looked the same. I know CG manufacture products for a number of companies; one wonders whether their polishes may be made by CG too?


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

are these the ones you got from the states?


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

ianFRST said:


> are these the ones you got from the states?


It is an american product that has to be imported here. All of their bottle sizes are american also


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

johnniemac said:


> Presta gets quite a bit of use in the States especially the Strata Ultra Cutting Creme Light and the Chroma 1500. Designed/color coded to work the wool pads made by Edge.


I have some of their pads. The velcro ones and also the quick fix ones. I do however have problems using their pads as i seem to get quite alot of hopping with them. I usually use 3M and farecla pads and have good results.

I didnt realise they were made by edge though


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## charger17 (Mar 28, 2006)

GlynRS2 said:


> It is interesting that you commented on the similarity of the Plum Crazy Glaze to CG EZ-Creme Glaze, as just by looking at the photos I thought they looked the same. I know CG manufacture products for a number of companies; one wonders whether their polishes may be made by CG too?


Malco are one of the biggest manufacturers of detailing chemicals in the US. All of their products are made at their plant in Ohio, where they also produce their bodyshop range (Presta) as well as several other lines geared towards the automotive industry. 
Chemical Guys, however, are manufactured by Warner Chemicals of Inglewood Ca. Warners also private label for other retailers, which is why it seems that some companies have similar products.


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## Dream Machines (Mar 13, 2006)

Their is definately nothing wrong with presta. 
While I won't be using malco bulk stuff, some people I know sware by presta polishes

Dave's post probably summed it up best.
I've used menzerna and a tonne of other brands and even modify some of them for a longer working time as I like to sit on 750 rpm for a minute or more for maximum results

I just stock as many as I can and will be adding presta to the lineup once I have finished purchasing brand new towels and liquid products to sell.


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## charger17 (Mar 28, 2006)

Who's the supplier of Malco/Presta in the UK right now?


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## stevek (Aug 16, 2007)

not sure if any of you guys are aware of this. but EDGE makes the PRESTA pads. they are exact same pads just PRESTA name is a couple dollars cheaper than the EDGE name pads. and i got that info from an EDGE rep. i have used the MALCO products when i worked at car dealerships and had good luck with them. i am also struggeling with the MENZ line. i may have to give PRESTA another try.


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## Dream Machines (Mar 13, 2006)

that's correct, your spot on mate. presta=edge
What trouble are you having with menz stevek?


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## stevek (Aug 16, 2007)

about the same problems alot of people have with the MENZ line. very tempermental with the weather. 1 day works great next day works like crap. i have seen alot of people complain about the same problem


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## Mucky (May 25, 2006)

charger17 said:


> Who's the supplier of Malco/Presta in the UK right now?


i have a new local suppier who sells this range,meeting him on monday morning


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## Dream Machines (Mar 13, 2006)

Well it must be the UK weather, the only time it doesn't work for me is when the paint just doesn't like it.
I never buff outside, always in the shop or fixing a few panels in someone's garage or carport

It gets damn hot here but not that often does it get really humid.


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