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Menzerna 2000 Medium Cut Polish Tested & Reviewed

A medium cut polish can be a useful tool for a detailer. Heavy cut compounds are unnecessary in many situations as they remove large amounts of clear coat. A medium polish is handy when medium to light defects need to be removed.

Menzerna MCP2000 is rated as having 5/10 for cutting ability and 6/10 for gloss and should be used with a medium-cut foam pad. The cutting ability is consistent across the medium cut range, but 2000 has the lowest gloss rating.

Menzerna 2000 would typically be used as part of a multistage paint correction. A typical process might be Menzerna 1000, 2000 and 3000. If it is not necessary to use a heavy cut compound, 2000 can be a good starting point but it will need further refinement from a finishing polish. Menzerna 2000 contains no waxes, fillers, or silicon.

Prepmycar Rating: 6.4 / 10

Menzerna Heavy Cut Compound 1000 x 250 ml, Medium Cut Polish 2200 x 250 ml, & Super Finish 3500 x 250 ml

Menzerna 2000 Medium Polish

  • 5 Ease of Use
  • 5  Cut
  • 6 Gloss
  • 8.5 Value for Money
  • 7.5 Residue Control
  • 6.4/10 OVERALL TEST SCORE

Pros

  • Good cut levels
  • Low residue after long periods of use
  • Good value for money

Cons

  • Struggles when it comes to gloss
  • Better Menzerna alternatives

Menzerna 2000 Application and Usage

I used a Vertool Forced Drive polishing machine with a yellow Menzerna medium foam pad to test 2000 on a scrap bonnet. Menzerna claims 2000 can remove down to 3000 grit sanding marks, so I sanded a piece of the panel using 3000 grit wet and dry paper to test this. Before this, I had used tar and fallout remover, as well as a clay bar to remove all contamination from the paint.

I first prepped the pad by spreading a small amount of polish around the surface of the pad. The purpose of this is to eliminate dry spots, which can rub and cause marring on the paint. With the pad prepped I added 5 drops of polish roughly the size of a 5p.

With the machine on a low-speed setting, I spread the polish over the working area before increasing the speed of the machine to just below the maximum. Five passes were pad applying very light pressure and I noticed the polish beginning to dry up, at this stage, I increased the machine to maximum speed and reduced the pressure on the machine to a minimum and made one final pass.

Finish Achieved

After wiping away the residue, it was immediately noticeable that the sanding marks had easily been removed, leaving a reasonably shiny finish under room lighting, but under inspection, it was seen that clarity was lacking from the paint. This would also be the cases if swirl marks were the target for removal.



The paint does however still have a visible haze to it, which would be easily removed with a refinement stage.

How is this polish best used?

This polish would not be of any use by itself, but rather should be used in conjunction with heavy cut compounds and finishing polishes. This would be a good polish to use at the start of detail, as it will indicate the hardness of the paint.

It could be to remove deeper scratches on very thin or soft paint, as using a heavy cut compound on such a surface would present a high risk of burn through.

Residue

The residue left after polishing was not a major challenge to remove using a plush microfibre. Using panel wipe can make this even easier and there were no issues with dusting.

What needs to follow this polish?

This polish is not suitable for use by itself but should instead be followed by a finishing polish. This polish will leave behind some hazing and the paint will lack clarity overall.

Menzerna has three polishes in the finishing range, 3000, 3500 and 3800. Of the three 3500 and 3800 will give the highest gloss with 3500 giving slightly more cut. I tested following up with 3500 on a soft foam pad and was very pleased with the finish. As a final step adding a quality wax or sealant will help maintain the finish.

Value for money

This polish comes in 250 ml and 1000 ml bottles, which usually cost around £15 and £30 respectively, but this price can vary. The larger bottle represents the best value, with four times as much polish for only twice the price.

I weighed how much polish I might need for a 40 cm x 40 cm, this was around 7 grams. As a rough estimate, there are 25 sections this size on a medium-size car. Based on this estimate you would need 175 grams of polish. This polish has a density of 1.1 kg/litre. That means that the 175 grams would translate to 160 ml of polish.



This amount of polish would cost £9.60 from a 250 ml bottle or £4.80 from a 1-litre bottle. This polish is good value for money, even if a smaller bottle is purchased. The cost of a finishing polish will also have to be considered.

Level of cut

It can be hard to quantify how much cut a product will give when it is only given a score out of 10 by the manufacturer. To help with this I took measurements of the paint depth before and after a polishing set and averaged them to determine how much cutting ability this polish had.

The average depth of the paint before polish measured 121 μm (1 μm = 1/1000th of a millimetre). After the polishing set was complete, this measured 119 μm. This level of cut is consistent with measurements I took with the other Menzerna medium-cut compounds. With this level of cut, swirl marks, oxidisation and fine sanding marks can easily be removed, it would require a more aggressive polish to remove deeper scratches.

Results

The polish easily removed the 3000 grit sanding marks that were present in the paint. The final finish was unsatisfactory, however, with the paint lacking clarity and gloss, as shown below.

Before
After

FAQ

Will Menzerna 2000 remove swirl marks?

Yes, it can reduce swirl marks, but a finishing polish will need to be used afterwards.

Will Menzerna 2000 remove sanding marks?

Menzerna 2000 can remove sanding marks as coarse as 3000 grit. This will need to be finished with a finishing polish.

What is the difference between Menzerna 2000 and Menzerna 2500?

There is no appreciable difference in terms of cut. Menzerna 2500 provides slightly better gloss, but 2400 is the ‘glossiest’ of the medium cut range.

Menzerna 2000 – Final Thoughts

This product is part of Menzerna’s standard product line up. While using the product I have to say I am struggling to think of a scenario where it would be useful. It provided the same level of cut as both 2400 and Menzerna 2500, but yet the quality of the finish was noticeably worse than with 2500 and considerably worse than with 2400.



This would not be a product I would choose to buy again, rather I would probably opt to go for Menzerna 2400, given the superior finishing capabilities.

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