FEYNLAB A50 Compound
FEYNLAB® A50 SUPER HEAVY CUTTING COMPOUND is a high-performance, body shop-safe correction compound engineered for maximum defect removal and very high clarity on the hardest automotive clear coats. Formulated with cutting-edge ceramic aluminium-oxide abrasives – alpha ceramic alumina would be my guess as to the type – a A50 delivers rapid results on even the most stubborn defects—such as heavy oxidation, swirl marks, and up to 1000 grit sanding scratches.
It was designed for use with rotary and DA polishers and what I’ve found so impressive about it is the level of clarity that it can achieve on automotive paints and the gloss level reachable with it and a wool pad is so darn good for something so aggressive.
There are not many products more aggressive than this one. The only flaw this product has is that it tends to turn to little dried balls of residue when using it with a DA and a microfiber pad in a very short period of time. It doesn’t have the best lubricating properties and I’m not a fan of the colour and viscosity of the product – it’s a little too blue and too dry but this can be modified with a little hint of nanolex optimizer every so often or add it to a small sample bottle of the product – about 20 ml per 250-500 ml of A50 or other products
Discovering A50
Back around 2021 or 2022 I think I met Brad from Flawless Finish detailing here in Adelaide as we were both going to the Derrimuts Gym and I saw his business card one day in there and seeing that he was a Feynlab coatings installer I was wondering if he had some some of their rinseless wash in his collection. So I gave him a call and we met up eventually. Anyhow one day he showed me the Feynlab A50 product he was using most of the time and I thought well why not give this a try, it’s just another brand of the one hundred and sixty other brands I have tried so why not.
I’m always open to trying new things and most definitely it has a few flaws such as it’s formulation could be better, it is a little dry in terms of it’s spreadability on the surface and working time with microfiber seems very short or did at the time but supplimental wetting agents can improve that. However besides those few flaws it most certainly does work so well and has a big place in my arsenal for R & D testing any new prototype polishing pad designs or materialsI get
The results you can achieve
Here we have a test panel that I was using to train one of my students who was here in Adelaide from Victoria for a three day training session. He managed to achieve this result using a foamed wool pad with his Dewalt cordless rotary polisher which starts at 800 rpm – a little faster than I would like them to start but the results were superb. If there were holograms in there they were mega fine. The paint was medium hardness so not the most difficult to finish out but certainly not super easy like hard paints are.
The ideal uses for A50
Get out your bottle of this product when you have to deal with these situations
Oxidation – light to moderate or slightly heavier – try it with a very course foam to rip the oxidation off the surface with it’s course sharp foam cells rather than wool which does it by larger surface area but can cake up with the yellow oxidised paint and reapply it to the car or it looks great and then you hit it with foam and the finish goes dull and hazey again
Sanding mark removal and random isolated deeper scratches and paint that has a frosted glass appearance or excessive orange peel plus hard paint that’s really messed up
PRO TIP: If you want longer working times or at the least some improvement in it’s filming abilities (always having a nice film on the surface), mix some of the Feynlab with Menzerna Super FInish 3500 – at least 20% menzerna. I find that it does improve the workability of the A50 and perhaps it could improve the finishing ability somewhat too though A50 is pretty extraordinary at that for a semi levelling compound.
Also get yourself some Nanolex optimizer and add 20 ml per 250-500ml of any compound or polish that isn’t staying moist or doesn’t spread evenly when machine polishing.
Cut: 10/10- This stiff has cut like shark teeth but don’t fear it. The key is refining the finish by increasing your arm speed and reducing machine speed and pressure till your at 400-700 rpm with 2-3 inch arm speed and no pressure. At least on rotary anyway.
Finish: 8/10 – The clarity of reflections, wet rich colour finish this achieves is astounding for a compound
Ease of use: – 7.5/10 – It’s not perfect but try out the pro tip for a better experience. I find it works best with natural wool. With microfiber and foam it tends to dry up into little balls of white residue so stick with wool if you can.
GLISTEN
The Glisten range is the brand name from the team at Grace Chemicals (SA) and Auto Shield (WA) and features the three products which I believe are made in Germany
Initially given these polishes to try by Nick at Grace Chemicals, I was very impressed with the way the Heavy Cut was spreading and filming on various painted surfaces. it’s cut rate whilst not the highest is certainly still very good. The One step polish is really nice too though I’ve not tested how it’s inbuilt protection lasts in real world conditions but my guess would be three to six months lifespan or nine at absolute best
The main thing I really want from compounds, polishes and single product correction systems is a very consistent watery and oily combined film not one that’s dusty or ultra greasy. The best attributes of the Heavy Cut for me were how wet the film stayed on the surface, how the polish actually lubricated the foam pad and kept it moist during use and the same goes for the natural wool pads I tried with it. Some products do not remain moist on the surface and the foam can become dry and get torn out which is known as dry buffing which can shorten their life though CNC machining them down fixes it. These products stayed wet on the pad and the surface reducing surface temperatures, not allowing the residue to dry or clog up killing the ability for the abrasives to do their job and I could quite easily rub the pad face and move the residue around if it built up in any one area.
Those attributes gave me a much better user experience. So many compounds and polishes are either dry and dusty or super greasy and tacky. Also some clog the pads up and wipe off is more difficult.
Now a few people here locally have stated that the Glisten polishes have fillers in them. My answer to that is that I have tested them, wiped the surfaces down with a blend of windex and acetone, 100% IPA, prepsol and thinners and seen absolutely no filling. It is possible that with the popularity of dual action polishers with pros and enthusiasts today that some people are not working the products enough and the lubricating oils are hiding some defects then after their washed off the same marks are showing up again or they are creating too much heat on the painted surface with the products which means the paint swells which gives a botox like effect so the paint looks flawless and amazing but give it a few days or a week or two to fully outgas and all that solvent, lubricating oils and other ingredients in the polishes are released and the paint defects show up again giving the user the idea that the product has fillers.
PRO TIP: Any abrasive polishes that contain calcined kaolin clay you should stay away from as that is a filler used in 3M Imperial Hand Glaze for decades to deliberately hide paint defects. You will find it listed in the hazardous ingredients or composition of ingredients section of a safety data sheet with the CAS (Chemical Abstracts service) number 92704-41-1.
CUT & FINISH Performance
Heavy Cut
Cut – 8.5/10 Finish 7/10
One Step
Cut – 6.5/10 Finish 8/10
Super Finish
Cut – 4/10 Finish 9/10
Ease of use with all three – 8/10 – A really good readily available product line that won’t change the world but will definitely do the job and would be ideal for car dealerships and production detailers who don’t need the pinnacle of polishes to get their work done.
The next blog should start with Koch Chemie so stay tuned for that one
Happy polishing
Matthew
