Product names very confusing

[jeffsford]

I talked to 2 different autobody shops and the owners said the same thing about Meguiars.... "great stuff but very confusing on which products to use".

Then I got into detailing my own cars a couple of weeks ago. I choose Meguiar's from there recommendation and I admit they are right. It is very confusing on which ones to use.

My recommendation would be to list everything seperate then from least aggressive to more aggressive. Also list stuff to be used only by hand and stuff only to be used by a machine.

Example... meguiars recommends to wash, clean, polish, wax.... Ok then you should list which products to use for each one of them.....

Want to remove swirls... again list from least aggressive hand products then move to the most aggressive by machine....

Maybe its a stupid idea, but I feel it can help a lot of newer people just starting out in detailing.... all those numbers are very confusing

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Product names very confusing

Mike Phillips will be able to answer this (and Mike Pennington for that matter) far better than I ever could, but I believe a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that there are multiple product lines that are intended to be marketed separately to different markets.

To further confuse things, some products have been out for almost eternity, where as some are new...and product lanes have changed, making it impossible to make it fully linear.

Even more confusing yet is the fact that MANY products can be used with more than one method...so you couldn't just list "hand use" products by themselves as some products (M105 for example) work by hand or rotary, but not DA. The applications and uses make it very complex to try and name them in a "basic" way.

...and the cherry on the top would be if they changed everything NOW to a new single system, it would create mass confusion for everyone with the old stuff and knowledge.

Hope that helps a little...

[Ryan L.]

Re: Product names very confusing

I and a lot of others understand your frustration, but it would be extremely hard to do that because most of the products are extremely versatile.
Let’s just take BSP Speed Glaze (#80) for an example. M80 is a Cleaner/Polish, which means it can remove defects, produce a great shine and get your paint looking great in one step. M80 can be used by hand, rotary or DA. For most people, this product is great on their paints in their weather conditions with whatever tool you’re using.

But say your paint is micro-marring with M80, maybe you'll have to switch down to BSP Swirl Free Polish (#82) which is a little less aggressive, but for the most part it does the same thing M80 does. You ask why are there two products that do essentially the same thing, because there are so many different variables and paint systems out there. Think about how many different manufactures there are out there, almost all of them have a slightly different paint system, which means they all require a slightly different product to use on their paint. Real life experience here, our F-150 will micro mar with almost anything you use. I have to use M80 with 2 different pads on 2 different speed settings to get rid of all micro-marring. Now for the everyday Joe (sorry Obama) that works, one more step to remove the micro marring. I don't have all the money in the world to buy M80 and M82 just for 1 car so it doesn't micro mar, while somebody who does detailing for a living does. If you can change products and eliminate doing the same thing twice, you've cut your time in half.

So while to the average person it might seem like there are 5 products that do the same thing, that could mean the difference of using 5 products to get the job done, or just one product to get the job done. There are dozens of different paint systems out there and dozens of different pads and tools as well. Meguiar’s has products across the line to fit almost everybody’s needs.

[benhui86]

Re: Product names very confusing

when in doubt start w/ 80.... if 80 doesnt work 83......if 80 too much then maybe colorX

unless you using a rotary.... w8027/w8006 pad is the one u'd use for most if not all paint cleaning on the PC..... 80//83/151/scratchX/colorX etc

W9027/w9006 pad for waxing and polishing..... NXT/21/26/7/DC2 etc.....

[Murr1525]

Re: Product names very confusing

Seems like the internet has given people access to products they weren't meant to have. I certainly wouldnt have found all of this without it.

Guess there is good and bad points to that.

[Johnson]

Re: Product names very confusing

I guess the confusion comes in to play with me when I see all these #80 and so on products. I dont know what they are unless it is stated. Is there a list of all of this somewhere?

[Murr1525]

Re: Product names very confusing

Yeah, you want to check out the "The Numbers" thread on the main page, right hand side in the Navigation Panel.

[gb387]

Re: Product names very confusing

When I first started using Meguiars I had some of the same questions - why all the numbers, how come so many products? Well now that I have been part of MOL since it started I have a much better understanding of all Meguiars products. As mentioned its not as simple as listing by aggressiveness also your application method (hand/PC/rotary) will change how 'aggressive' a product is.

I have to agree with Murr as well, the pro line is marketed and intended to be sold to the 'pro' who is very familiar with the products but we now all have access to the products via the Internet... Now, IMO thats also where the Internet and MOL comes in, we have access to the products now and we now also have access to the knowledge of Meguiars, their employees and the end users to help anyone who uses the products and help clear up the confusion.

That said we are here to help if you have any questions!

One more thing this might also help, the list the 'Method of Use' and nice detailed descriptions: 2008 Professional Products Catalog (PDF)

[Mikejl]

Re: Product names very confusing

I and a lot of others understand your frustration, but it would be extremely hard to do that because most of the products are extremely versatile.
Let’s just take BSP Speed Glaze (#80) for an example. M80 is a Cleaner/Polish, which means it can remove defects, produce a great shine and get your paint looking great in one step. M80 can be used by hand, rotary or DA. For most people, this product is great on their paints in their weather conditions with whatever tool you’re using.

But say your paint is micro-marring with M80, maybe you'll have to switch down to BSP Swirl Free Polish (#82) which is a little less aggressive, but for the most part it does the same thing M80 does. You ask why are there two products that do essentially the same thing, because there are so many different variables and paint systems out there. Think about how many different manufactures there are out there, almost all of them have a slightly different paint system, which means they all require a slightly different product to use on their paint. Real life experience here, our F-150 will micro mar with almost anything you use. I have to use M80 with 2 different pads on 2 different speed settings to get rid of all micro-marring. Now for the everyday Joe (sorry Obama) that works, one more step to remove the micro marring. I don't have all the money in the world to buy M80 and M82 just for 1 car so it doesn't micro mar, while somebody who does detailing for a living does. If you can change products and eliminate doing the same thing twice, you've cut your time in half.

So while to the average person it might seem like there are 5 products that do the same thing, that could mean the difference of using 5 products to get the job done, or just one product to get the job done. There are dozens of different paint systems out there and dozens of different pads and tools as well. Meguiar’s has products across the line to fit almost everybody’s needs.

Very well put Ryan. I was thinking that someone wouldn't need M82 if they had M80. Now I understand where M82 fits in as another useful tool and how to determine when I would need to use it.

Thanks,
Mike

[yalerd]

Re: Product names very confusing

When I first started using Meguiars I had some of the same questions - why all the numbers, how come so many products? Well now that I have been part of MOL since it started I have a much better understanding of all Meguiars products. As mentioned its not as simple as listing by aggressiveness also your application method (hand/PC/rotary) will change how 'aggressive' a product is.

I have to agree with Murr as well, the pro line is marketed and intended to be sold to the 'pro' who is very familiar with the products but we now all have access to the products via the Internet... Now, IMO thats also where the Internet and MOL comes in, we have access to the products now and we now also have access to the knowledge of Meguiars, their employees and the end users to help anyone who uses the products and help clear up the confusion.

That said we are here to help if you have any questions!

One more thing this might also help, the list the 'Method of Use' and nice detailed descriptions: 2008 Professional Products Catalog (PDF)

Very well put, I agree

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Product names very confusing

Here's a related thread,

Why the dual marketed products ?