Super Intensive Polish Review...

[picus]

I am going to write this later. I am putting this so I don't forget. I will preface by saying; wow. More later.

[picus]

OK, so here goes. I will try to keep it in the review layout set forth by thine master, Derek.

Picture of Product :
I don't have one of my bottle, so here:



Product Name :
Menzerna Super Intensive Polish, aka 3.01 aka PO83 aka SIP

MFG Claim :
Menzerna Super Intensive Polish is designed for the removal of scratches, swirls, and oxidation on the scratch-resistant clear coats used by Mercedes Benz. Concentrated, specially milled abrasives remove 2000 grit sanding scratches to leave a brilliant shine with little or no hazing.

Price / Price per application :
$49.95 for 32oz, about 1oz used per car, or ~$1.50.

How I used :
I have used this twice. The first was on a 2006 VW GTI, flat red with moderate to hard paint. Surface imperfections were light to moderate. Too much for 106ff but too light for HTHC. I used SIP on an orange LC pad via Makita rotary @~1500rpm.

I also used it on a repainted '39 Plymouth, imperfections were severe, used on orange pad in some places, white in other. ~1500-~1800rpm.

Overall thoughts :
The things I look for in a polish are basically, how well does it cut and how well does it finish based on that cut? If a product cuts like mad but finished terribly, it isn't worth it. I also pay attention to how workable it is, some products are so difficult to use they can slow you down in a big way. My current "go to" for moderate marring has been Hi Temp Heavy Cut, which has a cut of about 6/10 in my experience. On moderate to hard paint it will finish LSP ready with some cajoling (pyramid rotary'ing), I'd say the finish is about 6/10 (10 being best). SIP has a cut of ~5/10, however the beauty of it is the finish is easily a 7-8/10, even on soft paint.

Workability is very good, similar to 106ff. It is oily but not nearly as much as the hi temp products. A pad will not get bogged down for 3-4 panels. Dusting is extremely low and working time is long, about the same as the hi temps. It requires no mixing and once the pad is primed the amount of product needed is small.

This would be, in my opinion, an almost perfect "one step" polish for average to hard paints with average marring. HTHC is often "too much" cut, and 106ff is often too little, this fills the gap nicely and finishes so well on all but very soft/flat paints it will not require 106ff after to clean up.

Pics of result :
OK!

I will start with the GTI, I have no befores (sorry), marring about about a 4/10; mostly light swirls, some slightly deeper marring. Nothing too concerning. Just in that trouble spot between 106ff not being quite enough and HTHC being a little too much. After SIP on an orange @1500, nice and clean:









Now on softer paint. Not "omg" soft, but soft like Honda soft. This panel was orange pad @1600-1400. This was *ONE* pass, no editing, straight up results.





white pad, @1700-1400





Tips / Other notes :
I like it a lot, in case you can't tell. One tip, that I always give, is don't let the pad get saturated. Use a new one *before* you need too, because like all polishes the finish degrades as the pad gets bogged down.

[Dogged]

Great review. Very interesting and informative. As typical with your posts, great photos.

Have you tried SIP with a PC, the buffer of choice for us mortals? I like the idea of a medium cutting polish that can be applied with a PC and finishes without the need to follow up with a finishing polish. It saves a LOT of work. I am waiting on Greg and George to stock SIP, which I understand is forthcoming.

[derek80]

Finally a review from Kevin, and a very good one with pics
Tip/how-to for PC users please???

[picus]

Originally Posted by Dogged

Great review. Very interesting and informative. As typical with your posts, great photos.

Have you tried SIP with a PC, the buffer of choice for us mortals? I like the idea of a medium cutting polish that can be applied with a PC and finishes without the need to follow up with a finishing polish. It saves a LOT of work. I am waiting on Greg and George to stock SIP, which I understand is forthcoming.

Good idea. I thought about that then forgot. I will do it tomorrow for sure, I have the Plymouth for a few more days and have 3 panels left to tackle. I have a good feeling this will be a good polish via PC, but don't quote me yet. I know with regular IP it was almost mandatory to follow with a finishing polish, but the same can be said for IP via rotary, so SIP might eliminate that need.

[stiffdogg06]

Awesome job Kevin!

I love reading your reviews on everything.

[George @ DU]

Excellent review Kevin. I have been excited about Super Intensive Polish for quite some time now. It will be nice to see some PC results as well.

Super Intensive Polish has been ordered, looking forward to trying some myself!

George

[skiboard06]

How much more of a cut does the SIP have compared to the more common Menzerna IP?

[picus]

Originally Posted by skiboard06

How much more of a cut does the SIP have compared to the more common Menzerna IP?

It's about the same, maybe a tad less, almost not worth mentioning. Really though, that is the only similarity.

Alright, so I tried it via PC and I am less impressed. It's still ok, but here are some notes.

- It takes a long, long time to break down, not surprised. The PC almost doesn't have the guts.
- The cut isn't as good, no surprise.
- The finish isn't as good, no surprise... I'll explain in a second.
- It is a bit harder to remove.

Compared to HTHC it is similar via PC, but with less cut and a slightly better finish. I only used it on soft black paint, so odds are it *will* finish clean on *MOST* paint, specifically non-flat colors that are a little harder. Here is what I did:

A panel with some serious rotary holograms.



I put some SIP (about 2 nickel sized drops) on an orange pad and did the top 1/3 of the door. I worked it for a good 3 minutes at speed 6, then dialed it back to 4 and finished. It was broken down, but just. It was slightly difficult to remove. Here is an after.



You can't see it because I suck, but there was some marring left - and (you can see this), slight hazing.. see how the lights look a little "glowy"? That's a very light haze. Remember, this is soft black paint. I would not do more than 2x2 area with SIP via PC.

I then hit the entire panel via rotary (whole door) white pad @1400, and as you can see it cut much better and left a much, much cleaner finish.



Closeup, super clean.



So, via rotary, 9/10. Via PC, 6.5/10. As I mentioned, on harder paint I can see it being a lot better via PC.

[Dogged]

Originally Posted by picus

So, via rotary, 9/10. Via PC, 6.5/10. As I mentioned, on harder paint I can see it being a lot better via PC.

Great review Kevin, thank you. Very informative.

Your report on use of SIP with a PC peaks my interest in trying my hand at a rotary buffer. When you use SIP with a PC on a car with harder paint, or medium hard paint, I am sure a lot of us would be interested in your comments. Also, do you think using SIP on an LC white pad with a PC would work to break down the polish?

My understanding is that in general German made vehicles tend to have relatively hard paint, particularly Mercedes and BMW, Italian made vehicles tend to have softer paint, and Japanese made vehicles tend to be in the middle. Is that correct? What about cars made by GM, Ford and Chrysler?

[Silverado07]

"YOU DA' MAN!" Excellent review as always. You have peaked my interest in learning more about a rotary! Thanks for the detailed information! Enjoy!