Product Review: Meguiars M101 Foam Cut Compound
#1
06-25-2013, 01:17 PM
Product Review: Meguiars M101 Foam Cut Compound
To start with this in not another recently released hyped up NEW "Product of the week" . This product has been available in Europe since 2010 and was not available in the US.
It is body shop safe and contains no silicone. The product worked so well that there actually was a "black market" for shipping this product to detailers in the US. Imagine that! So before I start my review here is a little blurb from the Meguiars forum.
Product Name: Meguiars M101 Foam Cut Compound
Product Container: 32 oz plastic bottle
Product Labeling: The front of the bottle appears similar to all the other Mirror Glaze products. The back is a multi-language booklet. Clear instructions for use on label.
Product Application: The instructions state to use it with a rotary and a foam pad. I used M101 with both a Flex P14-2-150 Rotary Polisher and Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher.
With the rotary I used a 5.5" LC orange flat pads. With the 7424xp I used Megs DMC5 DA Microfiber (MF) Cutting Discs set at speed 4-5. This stuff works amazingly well with a MF disc and a DA polisher. Just two dots about the size of a dime are all you need for a 24” by 24” section. A small QD mist can increase the work time.
NOTE: It is it very important to keep your pad(s) clean! After each section and during, if needed, clean you pad(s). For the foam pads I use a Foam Pad Conditioning Brush No on-the-fly cleaning here. The brush removed dust. For the MF discs I use a safe scrub bug sponge or compressed air. Keeping the pad clean is a must!
Product Performance: M101 has a much faster rate of cut and a more intense leveling action than M105. M101's dusting is slightly more than D300 bu a LOT less than M105. I always loved the cutting action of M105 but hated the flashing, splatter, cleanup etc. I love polishing paint but hated cleaning up that M105 splatter.
Additional thoughts: I've always liked M105's cut ability but hated the "mess". With M101 I found excellent cutting with minimal dusting and no "mess". So far, I have only had the opportunity to use M101 on a silver metallic vehicle.The weather was 75 degrees with perfectly clear skies so it was perfect for examining for paint correction.
M105 for me has always left an apparent matte haze that polished out to nice clarity with M205. IMHO M101 finished out so well that it was difficult (if not impossible) to tell where M205 had been done or needed to be done. Now remember this vehicle was silver metallic so I will update this thread as I use it on darker colors red, black etc.
Product Price: $57.99 and well worth every penny. A little goes a long way.
I believe I have found a new one-two go-to combo.
It is body shop safe and contains no silicone. The product worked so well that there actually was a "black market" for shipping this product to detailers in the US. Imagine that! So before I start my review here is a little blurb from the Meguiars forum.
Originally Posted by Michael Stoops
This is the first product that Meguiar's actually developed outside the US. It was still created by our chemists here in Irvine, CA, but we actually shipped our lead man for the project to Europe, along with a mini lab set up, so that he could quickly respond to testing and inputs and tweak the formula as needed. Pretty cool stuff, actually.
* What is M101 designed for? Rotary buffing with a dedicated foam pad on European aftermarket (ie, body shop) paint.
* Why "European" aftermarket paint? Because, unlike factory paint which is the same whether the car is sold in Europe, North America or Asia, aftermarket paints vary in different parts of the world. It's a high solids versus low solids situation with these different paints, and that can require different compound formulations to achieve maximum results. Oh, and for the record, factory paint is vastly different from a chemistry standpoint than the paint used in a body shop. If a body shop, whether in Europe or North America, were to shoot factory paint it would virtually never cure due to a body shops inability to bake it at sufficient heat and for sufficient time. It's just not economically feasible for a body shop to have that sort of equipment.
* Why "dedicated foam pad"? While use of a wool pad is commonplace here in the US for sanding mark and swirl removal, in European body shops they almost never use wool. And rarely do they compound the entire vehicle - it's mostly spot repair following a repaint, and it's almost always with a foam pad. They also tend to run the rotary at fairly low rpm. So we've developed a dedicated foam pad to use with this compound, taking into account the cultural toward low speed rotary and anti wool bias.
* Why did we send a chemist and mini lab to Europe? Lead time, really. Imagine if we sent product over there, had it tested, then had to tweak and send a new batch across the pond, repeat, repeat, repeat? It would have taken months. And we couldn't do the testing here because the aftermarket paint used in Europe is very different from that used here, due to environment regulations.
So basically what we have here is a product developed for a very specific type of paint system and a pretty specific work flow. That a handful of guys have imported this back to the US (it is made domestically, just like all the rest of our products) and are finding success with it using either wool or microfiber pads is interesting, to say the least. At the moment we have no solid plans to introduce this product to the US market.
* What is M101 designed for? Rotary buffing with a dedicated foam pad on European aftermarket (ie, body shop) paint.
* Why "European" aftermarket paint? Because, unlike factory paint which is the same whether the car is sold in Europe, North America or Asia, aftermarket paints vary in different parts of the world. It's a high solids versus low solids situation with these different paints, and that can require different compound formulations to achieve maximum results. Oh, and for the record, factory paint is vastly different from a chemistry standpoint than the paint used in a body shop. If a body shop, whether in Europe or North America, were to shoot factory paint it would virtually never cure due to a body shops inability to bake it at sufficient heat and for sufficient time. It's just not economically feasible for a body shop to have that sort of equipment.
* Why "dedicated foam pad"? While use of a wool pad is commonplace here in the US for sanding mark and swirl removal, in European body shops they almost never use wool. And rarely do they compound the entire vehicle - it's mostly spot repair following a repaint, and it's almost always with a foam pad. They also tend to run the rotary at fairly low rpm. So we've developed a dedicated foam pad to use with this compound, taking into account the cultural toward low speed rotary and anti wool bias.
* Why did we send a chemist and mini lab to Europe? Lead time, really. Imagine if we sent product over there, had it tested, then had to tweak and send a new batch across the pond, repeat, repeat, repeat? It would have taken months. And we couldn't do the testing here because the aftermarket paint used in Europe is very different from that used here, due to environment regulations.
So basically what we have here is a product developed for a very specific type of paint system and a pretty specific work flow. That a handful of guys have imported this back to the US (it is made domestically, just like all the rest of our products) and are finding success with it using either wool or microfiber pads is interesting, to say the least. At the moment we have no solid plans to introduce this product to the US market.
Product Name: Meguiars M101 Foam Cut Compound
Product Container: 32 oz plastic bottle
Product Labeling: The front of the bottle appears similar to all the other Mirror Glaze products. The back is a multi-language booklet. Clear instructions for use on label.
Product Application: The instructions state to use it with a rotary and a foam pad. I used M101 with both a Flex P14-2-150 Rotary Polisher and Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher.
With the rotary I used a 5.5" LC orange flat pads. With the 7424xp I used Megs DMC5 DA Microfiber (MF) Cutting Discs set at speed 4-5. This stuff works amazingly well with a MF disc and a DA polisher. Just two dots about the size of a dime are all you need for a 24” by 24” section. A small QD mist can increase the work time.
NOTE: It is it very important to keep your pad(s) clean! After each section and during, if needed, clean you pad(s). For the foam pads I use a Foam Pad Conditioning Brush No on-the-fly cleaning here. The brush removed dust. For the MF discs I use a safe scrub bug sponge or compressed air. Keeping the pad clean is a must!
Product Performance: M101 has a much faster rate of cut and a more intense leveling action than M105. M101's dusting is slightly more than D300 bu a LOT less than M105. I always loved the cutting action of M105 but hated the flashing, splatter, cleanup etc. I love polishing paint but hated cleaning up that M105 splatter.
Additional thoughts: I've always liked M105's cut ability but hated the "mess". With M101 I found excellent cutting with minimal dusting and no "mess". So far, I have only had the opportunity to use M101 on a silver metallic vehicle.The weather was 75 degrees with perfectly clear skies so it was perfect for examining for paint correction.
M105 for me has always left an apparent matte haze that polished out to nice clarity with M205. IMHO M101 finished out so well that it was difficult (if not impossible) to tell where M205 had been done or needed to be done. Now remember this vehicle was silver metallic so I will update this thread as I use it on darker colors red, black etc.
Product Price: $57.99 and well worth every penny. A little goes a long way.
I believe I have found a new one-two go-to combo.
#2
06-25-2013, 01:18 PM
Addendum:
Bottom line - I found Megs M101 to work excellent & finish down very nice.
I'd say there was "no mess" with M101 & only a minimal amount of dusting.
In My Humble Opinion M105 vs M101 are at opposite ends of the bell curve.
They both cut great. M101 is no mess, longer work time and a sweet finish.
NOTE:
I have not tried using M101 on a DA with LC 5.5" Orange foam pads yet.
I only use the QD mist tip to increase the work time with the foam pads.
Prime Pads:
Prime the pads/discs before using. Make side-by-side lines on the pad.
On the foam pad push M101 into the pad with your fingers until it's wet.
On the MF disc make sure the entire MF disc surface has M101 product.
I like using the self-cleaning spout that prevents clogs dispenser bottle.
Cleaning pads:
Clean the pad after (or even during) each panel section that you polish.
I use the Foam Pad Conditioning Brush when using the orange flat pads.
I use the Safe Scrub bug sponge to clean the MF discs between panels
Megs has recently come out with some game changing detail products.
Before it was Microfiber discs & D300. Now M101 leads in cut and finish!
So far I have used...
Rotary:
Flex P14-2-150
Speed 3-4
5" Backing Plate
5.5" LC orange flat pads
Foam Pad Conditioning Brush
Orbital:
Porter Cable 7424XP DA
Speed 5, KBM pressure
5" Backing Plate
Megs DMC5 DA MF Discs
Safe Scrub bug sponge
Bottom line - I found Megs M101 to work excellent & finish down very nice.
I'd say there was "no mess" with M101 & only a minimal amount of dusting.
In My Humble Opinion M105 vs M101 are at opposite ends of the bell curve.
They both cut great. M101 is no mess, longer work time and a sweet finish.
NOTE:
I have not tried using M101 on a DA with LC 5.5" Orange foam pads yet.
I only use the QD mist tip to increase the work time with the foam pads.
Prime Pads:
Prime the pads/discs before using. Make side-by-side lines on the pad.
On the foam pad push M101 into the pad with your fingers until it's wet.
On the MF disc make sure the entire MF disc surface has M101 product.
I like using the self-cleaning spout that prevents clogs dispenser bottle.
Cleaning pads:
Clean the pad after (or even during) each panel section that you polish.
I use the Foam Pad Conditioning Brush when using the orange flat pads.
I use the Safe Scrub bug sponge to clean the MF discs between panels
Megs has recently come out with some game changing detail products.
Before it was Microfiber discs & D300. Now M101 leads in cut and finish!
So far I have used...
Rotary:
Flex P14-2-150
Speed 3-4
5" Backing Plate
5.5" LC orange flat pads
Foam Pad Conditioning Brush
Orbital:
Porter Cable 7424XP DA
Speed 5, KBM pressure
5" Backing Plate
Megs DMC5 DA MF Discs
Safe Scrub bug sponge
#4
06-26-2013, 12:18 PM
I have actually spoken to Jason Rose @ Meguiars about different size bottles.
I wanted to purchase a gallon. He said " Megs is only going to make one size."
He smiled and looked at me and said "If you want a gallon then buy four quarts."
You definitely need to keep the pad clean! Clean the pad after each section.
I use a dry hard bug sponge for the mf pads & a pad brush for the foam pads.
I wanted to purchase a gallon. He said " Megs is only going to make one size."
He smiled and looked at me and said "If you want a gallon then buy four quarts."
You definitely need to keep the pad clean! Clean the pad after each section.
I use a dry hard bug sponge for the mf pads & a pad brush for the foam pads.
#6
06-27-2013, 04:06 PM
As posted on 6/24/2013
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/12...k-truck-2.html
"That Profection polish was much easier to use than the Meguiars wax I had been using. I bought a few yards of flannel like you recommended and it worked very well for removing the wax. I put it on and took it off by hand and it wasn't as much work as regular wax. I did a double coat on the front grill area and the bugs wash off real easy"
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/12...k-truck-2.html
"That Profection polish was much easier to use than the Meguiars wax I had been using. I bought a few yards of flannel like you recommended and it worked very well for removing the wax. I put it on and took it off by hand and it wasn't as much work as regular wax. I did a double coat on the front grill area and the bugs wash off real easy"
#7
06-27-2013, 05:17 PM
Originally Posted by beechkid
"That Profection polish was much easier to use than the Meguiars wax I had been using.
Megs polishes for polishing the paint before your Last Step Product (LSP) are IMHO the gold standard.
Preparation is the Key! Megs M100 and Megs M101 are compounds for polishing the paint before LSP.
Now as far a LSP's go there are waxes, sealants, coatings & recently sprays but that's another subject.
Have you ever tried M101 with a DA, M100 with a rotary or M100 with Megs microfiber discs & a Bigfoot?
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#8
06-28-2013, 10:33 AM
#9
06-30-2013, 08:53 AM
#10
06-30-2013, 11:02 AM
#11
07-01-2013, 08:57 AM
#12
07-01-2013, 12:29 PM
My understanding is that the compound was originally developed for European Refinishers (body shops). The body shops of Europe tend to favor foam pads and use paint systems that are unique to that market. Meguiar's set up temporary labs in Europe and did field testing in order to tweak it to that specific need. My chance, happenstance, or Jason Rose's careful planning (I would suggest the latter) they created a compound that has huge levels of cutting and leveling action when applied with most tools and pad systems. Trust me, this stuff works amazingly well with a microfiber disc and a DA polisher.
Did I mention that (in most cases) it finishes so well that I don't need M205?
#13
07-04-2013, 10:57 AM
After Rick at ADS made up the 12 oz sample for me, he added a 16 oz size of M101 to their catalog @ $24.99. I guess the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
http://www.autodetailingsolutions.ne...1-sampler.html
Jim
http://www.autodetailingsolutions.ne...1-sampler.html
Jim