Consumer vs Professional

[1990ss]

What's the difference between the Consumer line products and the Professional line products?

For instance, each line has a cleaner/wax. Then there's the Show Car Glaze and the D.C. polish.

What's the difference?

[CieraSL]

Re: Consumer vs Professional

I think the best answer to that question comes from meguiars.com:

1. Why does Meguiar's have so many products?

For a number of different reasons.
Here are a few:
Different markets require different packaging and more importantly, different formulas matched to their specific needs. A good example is Meguiar's Detailer line of products. Most of the products in the Detailer line are available in:

• 1 gallon
• 5 gallon
• 30 gallon
• and even 55 gallon drums

We offer that incredible range of sizes because a successful detailing business goes through a lot of product very quickly and the owner knows the best return on his investment comes when he purchases his supplies in volume, which justifies the availability of high-use products in 55-gallon drums. (Can you imagine a 55-gallon drum of Glass Cleaner in your garage? Now that’s car crazy!)
Another example is our Professional line of products. Many of the products in our professional line are Body Shop Safe. This means they contain no ingredients that will negatively affect surface adhesion when spraying fresh paint, or - just as important - that contaminate the paint shop environment. This is important because introducing some waxes, silicones and polymers into body shop environments can cause both surface adhesion problems (instances where the paint doesn’t stick to the panel like it’s supposed too), or cause the dreaded Fish Eyes problem.
Another example would be our Marine line of products. Boats and other types of watercraft, including things like Jet Ski's, surf boards, canoes, etc., are constantly exposed to water whether they are being used, or even out of the water as they are still exposed to high humidity climates. In some areas, the water contains salt, which is highly corrosive under the proper circumstances. To help fight corrosion, Meguiar's can include anti-corrosion agents, which dramatically help to protect the surface from corrosive attack and deterioration.
The materials and surface coatings used for boats, marine craft and even many RV's are very different from the clear coat paints common to modern car manufacturing. Meguiar's chemists take all of these factors into consideration when formulating products for the Marine and RV market. Contrary to common misconception, the Meguiar's Marine line of products is NOT simply Meguiar's automotive products packaged into blue bottles. They are distinctly different formulas. Attempting to use Meguiar's Marine Line of products on an automotive clear coat could be detrimental to the finish.
Just as a master mechanic's tool chest holds many tools each designed to accomplish a specific task, some of which are only subtly different, Meguiar's products should be thought of in much the same way.
For example an open ended 9/16^th wrench is very similar to a 9/16^th 6-point closed-end wrench but the 6-point closed end wrench is far better suited for removing extremely tight and even stuck nuts and bolts than is an open-ended wrench of the same size.
In the same way, products like Meguiar's Consumer Cleaner/Wax, work exceptionally well on clear and non-clear coated automotive finishes, however it's cleaning action is not as aggressive as Meguiar's One-Step Cleaner/Wax featured in the Marine line. That's because many marine finishes are harder and more prone to oxidizing. This requires a more aggressive cleaner to remove the oxidation and restore the original color, gloss, and shine. While these two Meguiar's products are very similar, they are formulated for very different situations.
Unlike most manufactures in the broad category of "Surface Care Products", Meguiar's is one of the few companies that provides a comprehensive range of products to optimally satisfy every surface care need. This includes all types of current automotive paints:

• Traditional Urethane and Polyurethane clear and non-clear coat finishes
• High Solids paint finishes
• Traditional Acrylic Lacquers and Enamels
• Older, antique finishes like Nitrocellulose Lacquers
• Epoxy paints like Imron Polyurethane
• Linear Polyester paints
• Powder coats

As well as future paint technologies like:

• UV-Cured clear coats
• Ceramic paints

Meguiar's also manufactures professional quality products for cleaning, conditioning, and protecting:

• Vinyl
• Rubber
• Fiberglass Gel coat finishes
• Epoxy and Polyester resin molds
• Fabrics and Upholstery
• Glass
• All finished metal surfaces, such as chrome, aluminum, brass, stainless, etc.
• Finished wood furniture and components
• Un-finished wood furniture and wood components
• Musical instruments
• Model Cars
• Deodorizers – For removing unwanted odors
• Specialty products like Quick Detailers, Water Spot Removers, Bilge Cleaners, Black streak and non-skid surface cleaners, etc.
• All types of plastics
  • This includes clear flexible plastic windows, rigid plastic windows, and colored plastic trim and components such as the cladding on a lot of the popular new cars, trucks, and S.U.V.'s.

This list is always growing because even as your reading this right now, chances are very good that Meguiar's chemists are busy developing new formulas for materials and surface coatings that are not currently available or in use… but soon will be!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Consumer vs Professional

For instance, each line has a cleaner/wax. Then there's the Show Car Glaze and the D.C. polish.

If you think about this further, you actually run out of directly correlating products pretty quickly, so there isn't as much of a crossover as you might think.

Looking strictly at Mirror Glaze vs Consumer (NXT, Gold Class, A-Line combined) the primary differences tend to be:

• Mirror Glaze products are usually rotary compatible while none of the consumer products are (M21 is, NXT is not - M06 Cleaner Wax is, A12 Cleaner Wax is not - M80 Speed Glaze is, SwirlX is not, etc)
• Mirror Glaze products (with the exception of sealants and waxes, of course) are body shape safe, ie they contain no silicone and as such are safe in an environment where fresh paint is being sprayed. Consumer products generally contain some level of silicone, primarily as an aid in application, removal, etc.
• Mirror Glaze products tend to be offered in larger sizes, 64oz or gallon, as the target market tends to be volume users. Consumer products are available in only one size per product (not accounting for format variables, such as paste or liquid wax)

The Detailer Line is a whole different ball of wax (that may be an intended pun, but it's still early!). Virtually all of these products are geared toward high volume users, evidence the fact that many are available in 55 gallon drums. Commercial car washes, high volume reconditioning facilities, large detailing centers, etc often have special requirements that may dictate things such as a car wash product with a certain dilution ratio, low foam cleaners that are extractor compatible, etc. There is very little direct crossover between Detailer Line products and Consumer products when you look at the entire Detailer Line and their specific dilution ratios, etc. There are even some odd quirks surrounding different regional preferences with products.

In neither case does it mean one is necessarily "better" than the other. They are simply manufactured to meet certain requirements dictated by their target markets - size, ease of use, strength, compatibility with equipment or environment, etc - while always striving to give the best possible results, regardless of market.