Product Line Questions

R

regard

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Mike:

I am the owner of a 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Sedan. The exterior color is Melbourne Red Metallic.
I am not in the auto detailing business. I am an everyday guy that uses my car for daily commuting. I love working on my car to keep it clean and looking great.

However, there are quite a few product lines of car care products (i.e. Black Label, Pinnacle, Wolfgang, Blackfire, XMT etc...) and I would like to know your recommendations on which product line would be best for my car.

In addition, there are slight scratches and swirl marks on the hood of my car. The paint is in excellent condition as the car is only 10 months old. My goal is to detail the car myself.

Thus, I am looking at car polishers and comparing the Flex and Rupes lines. I am leaning towards the Rupes LHR 12E Duetto Random Orbital Polisher for the large areas and the Flex PE8 Kompakt Rotary Polisher for the smaller areas. I would like your feedback on the choice of polisher.

I have viewed all the videos on autogeek.net and they are very informative. Some great information.

Thank you for your time.

David Drager
[email protected]
 
David,

I'm not Mike Phillips but I'd like to share some information.

First I have two jet black e9x series BMW's.

Second, I prefer German car care on my vehicles. With that said Wolfgang has a great product lineup for your needs. Although others will work well from other manufactures.

As mentioned before, my preference is German quality. Go with the Flex 3401, Lake Country Hybrid pads, and Wolfgang or Menzerna products.

Best Regards,
Mike
 
Hi David,

Yesterday I wrote this article, kind of a new version of an article I wrote back in 2005, so 10 years ago.

Instead of the Porter Cable you can get the Flex 3401 and Lake Country Hybrid Pads. The 6.5" Hybrid pads fit the stock Flex 5.5" backing plate. My latest how-to book shows with lots of pictures all the pads and backing plate options for the Flex 3401.

In my how-to book I STRONGLY recommend the 6.5" Hybrid pads and as your budget allows, get the Lake Country Backing Plate Adapter Kit so you can get the 4" backing plate and you want this so you can turn and burn the 5" Hybrid pads that fit thinner body panels better.

If you get the Flex I highly recommend getting a copy of my Flex book and read the book cover to cover before you even take the Flex 3401 out of the box.



On Autogeek.net

How to use the Flex XC 3401 VRG Dual Action Polisher
For both Production Detailing & Show Car Detailing


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And "yes" I did buff out the car on the cover and only used the Flex 3401 to take the swirled-out, scratched finish on this wicked 1941 Chrysler Business Coupe to how it looks today....


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See all the before and after pictures here,

How to use the Flex 3401 for Show Car Detailing


I teach a class at Mobile Tech each year and Detail Fest each year on how to turn the Flex 3401 into a money making machine if a person wants to detail cars for money. If you just want to take care of your own cars you can do that too.


As for chemicals, the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to use products that use great abrasive technology as it is the abrasives that are touching the paint.

For most of the show car work I do I use Pinnacle compounds and polishes. I also switched Wayne Carini's shop over to Pinnacle and he works on some very expensive cars.

My Flex how-to book shares 7 brands on page 28 that I trust with the Flex 3401 and Pinnacle is one of them as are Menzerna, Meguiar's, Blackfire, SONAX, Optimum, Mothers, Wolfgang.


:)
 
This Porsche was de-swirled using only the Rupes Duetto 12mm polisher. I actually used 1 of 4 prototypes in the world that Rupes sent out for testing.

Lady in Red - 1986 Porsche - 4-Step Process

1986_Porsche_Mike_Phillips_046.jpg



Click the link above to see the BEFORE pictures.


The Rupes line of orbital polishers are VERY different than any other polisher on the market not counting all the Chinese knock-offs.

Instead of pressing firmly against the paint with these tools you only use light pressure and let the LONG ORBIT STROKE LENGTH do the work for you. The results you can get with Rupes tools are simply amazing.

In fact, I demonstrate how great their tools, pads and chemicals work on BLACK paint at SEMA under EXCRUCIATING lights and from this experience I wrote this article.

Mind Blowing - Rupes Blue Foam Cutting Pad and Zephir Gloss Coarse Gel Compound

Mike_Phillips_Demonstrating_Rupes-Duetto_at_SEMA.jpg





My recommendation is if you want to go with Rupes then go with their entire system including tools, pads and chemicals as Rupes TRULY engineered all of these things to work as a SYSTEM.

I also teach classes on the Rupes System in my Detailing Boot Camp Class. I don't think you can find another thread or blog, of Facebook page or even a website that has more fully documented write-ups of the Rupes "SYSTEM" in action on not just mundane daily drivers but the real deal in the car world.



How to use the Rupes Bigfoot Polisher - Detailing Class

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Rupes Bigfoot Polishers Detailing Class & Extreme Paint Restoration

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VIP Guest Marco D'Inca from Rupes at Autogeek's Detailing Boot Camp Class

Andrea_Marco_Mike_02.jpg




The point being I've taught myself how to make any of the Rupes polishers dance on a pinhead no matter what the shape of the body panel and you can do it too but it requires doing what I've done and that's put the time in behind the polisher to really learn how to make it perform.

The Flex requires less talent, just turn it on and the pad rotates and paint gets buffed.

I've learned when it comes to tool it's a real Coke vs Pepsi world. Some guys love Rupes and some guys love Flex and others something else.

What I say is this,

If the tool works... I can work it and show you how to work it too...

If the tool doesn't work then it's a non-stater as far as conversation goes.


Don't know if any of the above helped or not...


:)
 
@ mike Phillips@autogeek, thanks for your video on YouTube ,I study them , took notes, achieve great results, thanks mike
 
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