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Menzerna 2500 Medium Cut Polish Tested And Reviewed

There are often times when polishing a car that it’s not necessary to reach for the most aggressive polish first. In fact, the rule should always be ‘least aggressive first’.

Menzerna’s medium-cut range comprises of three polishes: 2000, 2400 and 2500. Of these, Menzerna 2500 Medium Cut Polish is, somewhat confusingly, the middle ground in terms of cut and gloss. Menzerna rates it as having a cut of 5/10 and a gloss of 7/10.

Medium cut polishes are intended to remove light to medium defects from paintwork, while also producing a reasonably high gloss finish. It can be used in conjunction with medium and heavy cut foam pads, or with a lambswool pad.

Menzerna 2500 is typically used as part of a multi-stage correction. This polish would work well on a vehicle that is known to have a softer paint system, such as cars manufactured in Japan. It could also be used as a first step to correct light defects on cars with a typically harder paint system, such as those manufactured in Germany.

Regardless of the paint type, I usually find that a final refinement stage is needed using a finishing polish. As you would expect from a specialist company like Menzerna, 2500 contains no silicon fillers to mask imperfections.

Prepmycar Rating: 7 / 10

menzerna 'Medium Cut Polish 2500' I Abrasive Polishing Compound for Medium Scratches and Signs of Use I Buffing and Polishing Compound for Scratch Repair & a Glossy Finish I Silicone Free I 250ml

Menzerna Allroundpolitur Medium Cut Polish 2500

  • 7.5 Ease of Use
  • 5  Cut Levels
  • 7.5 Gloss Levels
  • 8  Value for Money
  • 7 Residue
  • 7/10 OVERALL TEST SCORE

Pros

  • Good gloss levels
  • Best used as part of a multi-stage process
  • Amazing value for money
  • Great soft paint or clear coat

Cons

  • Cut levels aren’t great
  • Struggles as a one-step process

Menzerna 2500 Medium Cut Polish Application and Usage

For all tests, I use a Vertool Forced Drive polisher and a 150 mm Menzerna Medium Cut foam pad.
As is good standard practice for any polishing work, this product should be used out of direct sunlight on a dry day, or better yet indoors. For best results, the surface to be polished should be fully decontaminated, which should include a hand wash, tar and iron removal and if needed, use of a clay bar.

Check out our full guide on full paint decontamination here.



I find one spritz of water on the pad helps to lubricate the pad when polishing with Menzerna products. Priming the pad with product to begin with helps to reduce friction between the foam and the paint, which in turn can reduce holograms.

With the pad primed, 3-5 drops of polish the size of a 5p are applied, and the polish spread over the paint on a low-speed setting. Bumping up the speed on the machine to about 80% of full power, I completed around five polishing passes on an areas roughly 40 x 40 cm until the polish began to turn clear. I then bumped the machine up to full power for a final pass to improve the clarity of the finish. I was very happy with the work time of the product.

Menzerna 2500 Finish Achieved

A good improvement is immediately noticed when polish residue is removed with a microfibre towel and panel wipe solution. The vast majority of swirls have been removed, which in turn greatly improves the gloss of the paint.

Deeper clear coat scratches were not removed, but this was not expected from a medium polish.

Despite the steps taken to minimise them, as well as changing my technique to get the best results, I still could see visible holograms in the paint under inspection, meaning further refinement is needed after this polish.

How is Menzerna 2500 Best Used?

As mentioned, this polish should be used as part of a multi-stage correction. It is not suitable to use as a one-step polish, as the level of refinement it provides are simply not good enough in my mind.

I think its most practical application would be to use it as an initial cutting compound on very soft paint, where using a heavier compound is unnecessary. For harder paints, it will only serve to correct swirl marks and not any deeper scratches. I think for a harder paint type, Menzerna 400 would be a better choice to remove deeper marks.

Residue

I did not notice any major issues regarding polish residue or dusting, with brushing the pad of polish before reapplying playing a big part here. It was not the easiest polish to wipe off, but removal was made much easier with the use of panel wipe, so this is not a deal-breaker for me.



Following Stages

Menzerna is not intended to be used as a final step in paint correction, although it would be possible on a light-coloured vehicle. On darker paints, however, a refining step should be used. This will remove any fine abrasion marks left by the first polishing stage and also remove any holograms or marring present. This should consist of a finishing polish combined with a finishing pad.

Products that I have found to work well within the Menzerna system include 3500 and 3800, both low cut, high gloss polishes. If working on a soft paint I would say go for 3800, but if on a harder paint finishing with 3500 may be more appropriate.

During testing, I polished an entire section with 2500. I then split this section with detailing tape and polished one side with 3800. It is hard to capture the difference on camera, but I noticed a real improvement in clarity after using 3800.

Menzeran 2500 Level of Cut

To try and give a more quantitative score for the cut of this polish, I used a paint depth gauge to measure the paint depth before and after the polishing set. This will give a rough estimate of how much clearcoat has been removed from the paint. 

My testing and averaging showed a very insignificance difference between the before and after depth readings. Approximately 2 to 3 microns of difference (1 micron = 1 thousandth of a millimetre). This is why it will take a long time to remove deeper defects in the paint, but swirl marks can be removed effectively. 

Depth of clear coat can vary greatly from car to car, which makes having a paint depth gauge a great help in determining how much polishing can be undertaken.  

Value for Money

250g of Menzerna 2500 usually can be purchased for around £15.00, or a 1 kg bottle for around £30.00. It is hard to predict how much polish will be needed for a whole car, as the condition and the hardness of the paint will all cause variation in this.



I weighed how much polish I would normally use to correct an area of approx. 40 cm by 40 cm. As shown, this ended up being about 7g. I did add a bit extra in the photo below to account for priming the pad. I estimate there are between 20 and 25 sections on a medium-sized car, meaning up to 175g of polish may be needed.

Here the benefit of buying the larger bottle can be seen. 175g from a 250g bottle will cost around £10.50. If a 1 kg bottle is brought, 175g of polish will only cost £5.25, bear in mind another finishing polish will also need to be purchased for the best results.

FAQ

Is Menzerna 2500 a one-step polish?

Menzerna 2500 could be used as a one-step polish, as the product does give a good level of gloss, while also correcting a reasonable amount of damage. On a darker vehicle, you may notice the defects left behind more than you would on a lighter vehicle.

Does Menzerna 2500 contain wax?

No, this is purely an abrasive product and contains no waxes or fillers. Menzerna 3 in 1 contains Carnauba wax that adds a layer of protection to your paint.

Will Menzerna 2500 remove scratches?

This will depend on many factors, as a general rule, Menzerna 2500 is not abrasive enough to remove deeper clearcoat scratches, however, it will easily remove swirl marks from paint.

Does Menzerna 2500 create a lot of dust?

No, the dusting produced by this product is negligible and is also easy to wipe away any polish residue.

Menzerna 2500 Results

As mentioned, this polish does a good job of removing swirl marks from the surface of the paint. In the photos below, you can see a before and after. Looking at the light source you can see how many swirl marks have been removed, but it is also clear that some haze remains in the surface, hence the need for further refinement.

Final Thoughts – Menzerna 2500 Medium Cut Polish

Menzerna 2500 is a product I have owned for a while but yet have not had many occasions when it seemed appropriate to use it. Having had the opportunity to play around with it a bit more for this review, I have a greater appreciation of its uses, but it would not be the first polish I would buy.



It does however come in at a very competitive price and as mentioned, would be useful when dealing with a softer clear coat or single stage paint.

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menzerna 'Medium Cut Polish 2500' I Abrasive Polishing Compound for Medium Scratches and Signs of Use I Buffing and Polishing Compound for Scratch Repair & a Glossy Finish I Silicone Free I 250ml
854 Reviews
menzerna “Medium Cut Polish 2500” I Abrasive Polishing Compound for Medium Scratches and Signs of Use I Buffing and Polishing Compound for Scratch Repair & a Glossy Finish I Silicone Free I 250ml
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