Probably the most honest/in depth review of FG400, M101 and M100 you will find

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I've been wanting to do a comparison of what I call "The big 3" for a while now but haven't. I feel that I have finally reached a point were I can give an accurate, honest account of each compounds performance.

I have read many reviews on each compound but each was lacking something; either proper pad priming, work time or pad selection. In each review I felt if something was done just a little different it could have improved a particular compounds results.

From my experience and reading FG400(like most diminishing abrasives) doesn't do well with microfiber pads. Yes it cuts but the work time is short. However if you do use a MF pad use a finishing pad because the amount of heat FG400 generates on a cutting pad is down right dangerous on the Rupes 21.

I have also found that M101 and M100 work very well on Meg's MF finishing discs. With SMAT heat doesn't seem to be as much as an issue as micro marring is.

It wasn't until about two weeks ago I found a foam pad that I absolutely loved. A pad that was on the same level as a MF pad. It was then I felt I could do a really good comparison between "The big 3". Thanks to Corey Caruth and Wes Walz I found the Scholl Concepts white Spider pad. It's unlike anything I've ever used before which I think will be shown later.

The hood on my 2000 Firehawk will be repainted soon due to paint adhesion problems thanks to SLP's crappy paint program, so I had a test panel.

(I forgot to take an over before pic of the hood, this is after)


The entire hood looked like this.



The test was setup up as scientific as I could get it, lol

Car was washed with car shampoo/dawn/APC to strip any LSP's, Iron X, clayed. Hood was wiped down twice with Eraser. That's when the previous pic's were taken.

Products

Rupes 21 was used on all sections
1. Scholl Concepts 5 1/2 white spider pad and FG400
2. Meg's M100 and Meg's 5 in MF finishing disc
3. Meg's M101 and Meg's 5 in MF finishing disc

Priming

One of the biggest problems IMO with some of the reviews I've read is proper pad priming. Priming a pad using diminishing abrasives is completely different than using non diminishing abrasives or in this case SMAT.

This is how I primed the spider pad with FG400. If I were to continue to use this pad after this section I would use three pea size drops only.


For SMAT I use the Kevin Brown Method on both microfiber and foam. Kevin has been a great assist to me and is always there when I have a question. Using the "KBM" drastically reduces dusting and increases work time. This is the way I prime the MF pad using both M101 and M100.


Work all of the compound in and you get this.


Blow that out with compressed air and put three good pea sized drops on. I find I normally have to add a little bit more when using M100.

Polishing

1. Spider/FG400: 3 passes on speed 4, moderate pressure. 3 passes on speed 3 light-moderate pressure. Compound should be completely broken down.
2. Meg's MF finishing disc/M100. 3 passes on speed 3. moderate pressure
3. Meg's MF finishing disc/M101. 3 passes on speed 3. moderate pressure

When using the methods above I get zero dusting from any of the compounds. I know some people have problems with M101/M100/M105 dusting even on MF. I have found using anything higher than speed 3-3.5 will cause dusting due to the extra heat and cause the lubricants/transport agents in the compounds to dry out.

Due to the design of the spider pad and how it stays cool the work time especially with FG400 is insane. I had no idea that FG400 could break down as fine as it does. It's an absolute joy to watch and work with.

Results

1. spider/FG400


2. Meg's MF finishing disc/M100


3. Meg's MF finishing disc/M101


M101 and M100 did not show any more heavy defect removal than the spider/FG400 combo did. However M101/M100 showed a tremendous amount of micro marring compared to the spider pad/FG400.

I've been a huge fan of Meguiars and their SMAT products and MF pads. For me to say that I'm really impresses with the Spider pad and FG400 is a really big thing for me.

I'm sorry I don't have any better lighting shots but I'm by myself tonight and all I could use as my Brinkman.

The products and process listed above are things that work for me. In no way do I think or claim these are the only way to do things.
Feel free to post any comments positive or negative.

Jason
 
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I've been using FG400 with MF pads for 3 years never a problem. It's not a real comparison unless all products at used the same way.Not sure where your getting your information on FG400 it doesn't have a short work time. It has a long work time and you have to give FG400 time to break down for it to work well.
 
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Pureshine said:
I've been using FG400 with MF pads for 3 years never a problem. It's not a real comparison unless all products at used the same way.Not sure where your getting your information on FG400 it doesn't have a short work time. It has a long work time and you have to give FG400 time to break down for it to work well.
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Thanks for the reply Pureshine. IMO you can't use these products the exact same way because one is diminishing and the other two aren't. What kind of work time are you getting out of FG400 on MF and what machine? I'm always up for learning something new.
 
Jason - the Spider & FG400 combo looks amazing on the test hood. I have not seen much information on the Spider pad and have been wondering what kind of results it yielded.

Thanks for the detailed write up and speed/pressure settings that you shared. Have you tested any Scholl Concepts compounds with the Spider pad or MF finishing discs?
 
I have been using FG400 a lot lately and find it works amazing for me. It finishes down very nice, and is perfect for single-stage correction jobs.
 
Wors said:
Jason - the Spider & FG400 combo looks amazing on the test hood. I have not seen much information on the Spider pad and have been wondering what kind of results it yielded.

Thanks for the detailed write up and speed/pressure settings that you shared. Have you tested any Scholl Concepts compounds with the Spider pad or MF finishing discs?
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The spider pad is awesome. I'm going to do a write up on it where I used it and FG400 on a freshly painted hood that was wrecked with sanding marks from the body shop. I ordered Scholl Concepts S3 compound a few days ago.
 
I changed the thread title from accurate to in depth. I read it this morning and though, wow that sounds kinda arrogant, which wasn't my intent at all. In depth better decscribes what I was trying to say.
 
I will agree with your pad selections for each product... I have always told people that I love FG400, but only when used on foam.... and I typically prefer to use the M105 or M101 (haven't used M100) on MF, although they work fine on foam too.

The finishing ability of FG400 + foam on softer paint is where the product really shines. My first time using it was on a jet black BMW and I was so happy... it is my go to compound on softer paints. Sure it requires a lot more working time to break down, but the results make it worth the added time.

Thanks for the write up!
 
Just yesterday I was working with my Rupes on soft paint switching between the Scholl Spider Pad and Meg's MF pads with both FG400 and Scholl S3. For years my go-to has been the FG400 and Meg's MF pad combo, but on this S2K soft paint I have in right now it's a nightmare and leaving marring and hazing all over. I switched to the CarPro finishing Foam and Scholl S3 and it came out great.

In my testing yesterday I didn't see much of a difference between the Scholl S3 and FG400, they both have long work times however I found the S3 to dust less and slightly longer work time. As for the pads the white Spider pad is insane. I prefer it now over the Meg's MF pads as you can work for much longer on the spider pad before you need to switch out for a new one. HOWEVER, I do still use the Meg's MF pads for curves as the Scholl Spider Pad isn't great on those. One tip I found that helps is to wet the Scholl Spider Pad first then spin dry on the buffer and it will be a lot softer to work with.
 
I need to try the Spider pad on the 3401 this weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jason, I really enjoyed that write up! Thank you so much for the comparison and review and for taking the time to document everything involved and post it here for everyone!

The spider pad and S3 were the defining items that pulled me into bringing Scholl concepts into the store. Amazing products - both of them
 
Corey said:
Jason, I really enjoyed that write up! Thank you so much for the comparison and review and for taking the time to document everything involved and post it here for everyone!

The spider pad and S3 were the defining items that pulled me into bringing Scholl concepts into the store. Amazing products - both of them
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No problem Corey. I appreciate you letting me know about the pad. What I'm going to test this weekend is the pad with a little less aggressive compound so see how well it finishes down. I have a black 2013 Tundra I'm going to one step and coat. I've never worked on Toyota paint so I don't know what to expect. Regardless I will post up the results.
 
Corey said:
Which polish? You have S3?
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Yeah the S3 should be here tomorrow. I have some Menz 2500 but I don't know if that will be too fine. I use the tangerine LC pad w/ 2500 a lot on hard paint but on softer paint the tangerine pad seems too aggressive.

Your thoughts?
 
Detail2Correction said:
Yeah the S3 should be here tomorrow. I have some Menz 2500 but I don't know if that will be too fine. I use the tangerine LC pad w/ 2500 a lot on hard paint but on softer paint the tangerine pad seems too aggressive.

Your thoughts?
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One step the VERY first thing I would go to is S3 on Spiderpad. I have never seen anything do a better job at a one step. Chris had a bad run with it on some paint today but I would thats a very rare and unlikely scenario.
 
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