Menzerna FG400 vs Meguiar’s M100
by Ivan RajicI recently decided to compare two of the more popular compounds on the market today, the Menzerna FG400 and Meguiar’s M100. We normally use these two, along with M105, for corrective polishing, so I wanted to do a demo on soft black paint and show how they stack up against each other.
The testing was done on a hammered jet black Tesla S… You can even see the horrible marring and spotting on the edge of the trunk without any spotlight on it. It was that bad!
As you can see in the photo above, I used the Flex 3401 Polisher and an Orange Lake Country Pad. The FG400 accomplished great correction with the orange pad and made a huge improvement overall with only really deep scratches remaining.
As expected, the polish left some micro-marring in places…
Some heavier defects and micromarring showing in the paint…
M100 also did a great job. Comparing the two, I think M100 corrected more of the deeper swirls…
But it also left more micro-marring compared to FG400 from what I could see…
Overall, both products are great and I will keep using both products. I think the FG400 finishes down better and will have it’s use over something like M100 or more aggressive compounds. Similarly, M100 can usually correct better due to the abrasives that you can work longer, but still leave a fairly decent finish. The micro-marring shown in the photos above can easily be removed by a finishing pad/polish combo, such as a Crimson Lake Country Pad and M205 or SF4500. Also, to properly correct the paint above (probably with only 2 stages of polishing), I would’ve most likely ended up using a more aggressive pad for compounding so as to correct a bit more of the deeper defects before finish polishing.
I think at the end of the day it will depend a lot on personal preference as well as paint type when choosing between the two products, but I can’t say either one is better than the other. We have run into paint such as this Tesla that’s extremely sensitive where using M100 with an aggressive pad may cause so much marring that it would require a middle step between compounding and finish polishing. In that case, FG400 is a better option due to it’s finer finishing ability. The opposite can be true for harder paints.
Bottom line, as I said above, both products are great and come highly recommended.
Interesting results. I, too, tried this comparison using the same polisher and pad and on the vehicle I was working on, the FG400 gummed up almost instantly and would smear and pigtail all over the paint…it was simply unusable. I found it very odd…went to M100 and it cleaned up the FG400’s mess. The FG400 on a MF pad, however, worked well on the same car.
Greg I have been using Menzerna for 10 years and have found that less is more.I have watched the “experts” say to prime and pour the product on the pad to be sure its covered.Doesnt seem to work for me.Try putting a very small bead around the outside edge . Polish a small area and when you need more put two to four very small pea size dot and go some more. I have read where so many detailers start with something else and then say how great Sf4500 finishes.Its even better when starting with Menzerna. Good luck
Thanks for the reply, Kevin. I did prime the pad as I usually do for M100, perhaps the diminishing aspect of the FG400 requires a different pad application, I’ve give your method a try, thank you!
Kevin, I do almost the exact same thing.
I never prime pads by pouring product on the face and smearing it on – except for microfiber. Even then I’m on the light side.
I find that it just loads the pad up with a ton of abrasive, and leaves me with a ton of dust.
I usually start with four peas around the circumference, or the ring, and reload with two drops.
Menzerna has a bit of a learning curve, but once dialed in – is incredible!
Thank you for the comparison Ivan. Two very popular compounds that have their places in our arsenal.
Being in the Detail business for over 39 years I retired due to medical circumstances. but I still can handle a polisher and a Port Cable DA just like yesterday. I keep reading and keep in touch with new technology in polishers and DA polishers, let along the complication of the new harder clear coats and polishing out spider marks and other evasive paint problems. I do not know if some retarder realize that what they are polishing is the clear coat of paint not the color, and God forbid they fine them selfs burning through to the color coat.
It takes a genital touch today to remove defects with the right tools and chemicals. I have my wifes Mercedes-Benz 300-E sport line yet to polish out the poor car got kick to th side of our back yard covered up
when I put another correctable ford Cobra Mustang -R in side besides my other cars. unfortunately my lifts and ceiling will not accommodate two cars on the four post lift the size of the MBZ. So I had to choose which was difficult. I am just stinger back to detailing only my family cars. I need to know what new products will work on soft single stage black paint? I been following the fours and it is very interesting what is said.
Happy Christmas to all and a Safe New Year 2015
Sincerely
Bob Geco
I have used both m-100 and fg400 and have noticed application use is different as is with any meguiars and menzerna. I notice that I end up using less menzerna to achieve the same results as meguiars and get less dust with a little longer working time. I’m now ready to test F300 and see how it finishes down.