3D HD Adapt and Poxy Review - 1940 Studebaker Streetrod detailed by Mike Phillips

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

3D HD Adapt and Poxy Review - 1940 Studebaker Streetrod detailed by Mike Phillips

3D Detailing products - HD Adapt & HD Poxy

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Blast from the past
This story actually start a few years ago when I met Vincent and he brought me the 1940 Studebaker streetrod he had recently purchased.

At the time it has a very old single stage paint job and it was time to stick a fork in it because it was done.

I document that encounter with Vincent and his Packard in this thread. Note these pictures were taken in the old Show Car Garage before we blew out the walls and doubled the size to where it's at today.


Past the point of No Return - Some paint just cannot be saved


Fast forward to the year 2015 and one day at a local car show I run into Vincent and I "thought" I recognized the car but it looked different. The reason why was because Vincent had it repainted.

Problem being... who ever did the buffing finished with a rotary buffer and left holograms everywhere in the paint.


First I need to shine a little light on the problem using the Flex Swirl Finder Light.

Holograms
As you're looking at the below pictures, not only will you see circular scratch patterns that are swirls but you'll also see LINES in the finish and these lines are the holographic appearance of the scratches put into the paint by the direct rotation action of the pad against the paint.

The lines mimic the direction the rotary buffer was moved over the paint.

Trunk lid

This is the hood....

Passenger side front fender

Passenger side door...

This car has a beautiful paint job but the swirls hurt your eyes and take away from the beautiful color.

3D is going to fix this.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Prepping a streetrod for machine polishing
This car was pretty simple to prep but here's a few things I did.


How to protect convertible tops
Convertible tops tend to have a weave design to the fabric and if you get compound or polish splatter onto the top it will impact into the weave and be almost impossible to remove.

I insected the top when the car arrived and it already had some compound/polish/wax residuse creamed into the top and I wasn't going to be the guy that added more so I ran a strip of tape around the perimeter of the top to protect it.

Fender welting
Classic cars used a strip of vinyl between body components like fenders and lights called fender welting. I'm going to tape these off with 3M Blue Vinyl Tape to protect them.

Rubber running board faces
Classic streetrods like this have rubber faces on the running boards but I'm not going to cover these as I'm simply going to be careful when buffing.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

First step - Do a test spot

I wanted to do a 2-step to the paint. I had been filming video all day and didn't start this project until 6:30pm.

First I tested HD Polish using a Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid White Polishing Pad with the Flex 3401 but it wasn't aggressive enough to remove the swirls.

Next I tested the HD Adapt using a Lake Country 6.5" Hybrid White Polishing Pad with the Flex 3401 and it removed the swirls and left the paint looking flawless. So I simply used this process over the rest of the car.

Check out the clarity and reflections in the paint after wiping off two spots of HD Adapt...

Here's the entire car with the HD Adapt removed and note I've also removed the 3M Blue Vinyl Tape but left the 3M Green Painter's tape on the convertible top.

Ready to machine wax!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Machine waxing
In my opinion and experience, machine waxing is the only way to treat a car like this. Working by hand will never do as good a job.

Wax is on... now it's time for wax-off!

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here's the end results....

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Wow, that came out great, Mike!

 

[silverfox]

What a great result, and if anybody is still sitting on the fence about the versatility of HD adapt...this should erase all doubt.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

My take on these two products....


HD Adapt
Excellent polish. In my how-to book I list 4 categories for compounds and polishes and ANY companies products can be placed into one of the four groups.

1. Aggressive compound
2. Medium cut polish
3. Fine cut polish
4. Ultra fine cut polish

and I'd place HD Adapt into the Medium cut polish category. It was aggressive enough with a foam polishing pad to remove the holograms and then finish out like a fine cut polish.

There was zero dusting and the play time was eternity. I purposefully left the compound on each panel I buffed until I had buffed out the entire car to see if the product was difficult to remove and the answer is no. It wipes off easy and clean.

If you've been sitting on the fence about trying this polish I give it two thumbs up. :dblthumb2:


HD Poxy
Kind of a funny name for a hybrid wax/sealant but it's a really nice product in the way it applies and wipes off and the finish it leaves is clear, wet and glossy.

The directions state to let it dry for 30 to 45 minutes and I'd say this is accurate. It's a very wet product and that makes application a breeze but it does need it's own time to dry before removing.

If you've been sitting on the fence about trying this hybrid wax/sealant I give it two thumbs up. :dblthumb2:



3D is all about keeping car detailing simple and I say they hit their goal.

I started this project at 6:30pm and finished at midnight. That's 5 1/2 hours from start to finish and in part my speed came from the ease of use for both products plus the Flex 3401 is a BEAST.

(That's how I sign my Flex 3401 how-to books if you get one autographed)


Process
(Car arrived freshly washed by owner)

1. Clay paint using Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay and DP Universal Clay Lube.
2. Polish paint with HD Adapt with Flex 3401.
3. Machine wax with HD Poxy and Porter Cable 7424XP.
4. Gold Plush Jr. microfiber towels for wiping off clay lube residue and polish.
5. Rolled edge green microfiber towels used for removing the wax.

Total time: 5.5 hours



On Autogeek.com

3D HD Adapt 16 ounce

3D HD Poxy - Montan Wax & Sealant

All 3D Professional Detailing Products

Flex 3401 VRG Dual Action Polisher

Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 6.5 Inch Pads

Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay

DP Universal Clay Lubricant

Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels 12 Pack

Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges - 6 Pack

FLEX Swirl Finder Light

Foam Pad Conditioning Brush


Thanks for looking and comments and questions appreciated.

 

[The Guz]

Great job Mike.

 

[whavens]

Wow, Mike. That Studebaker looks great now. I'll have to try the Adapt and Poxy. I have used the Speed and really like it. As a matter of fact I just got my second bottle of Speed.

Walter

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk

 

[conman1395]

I've never, ever found HD Adapt easy to remove if left to sit on the car... I wish it was for me.

HD adapt is the only product that I've gotten to cut at a high level and finish at a high level in on soft paint. I also find it an amazing product in that I've used it in as little as 2 passes.

 

[Jaretr1]

This is why, Mike: :urtheman::urtheman::urtheman:

 

[EDG89]

Beautiful work Mike !! I've heard that Adapt is very elastic and good working time, approximately how much product did you used?

 

[Recon 4th 502nd]

I've never, ever found HD Adapt easy to remove if left to sit on the car... I wish it was for me.

HD adapt is the only product that I've gotten to cut at a high level and finish at a high level in on soft paint. I also find it an amazing product in that I've used it in as little as 2 passes.

When Mike first posted, and he was talking about the wipe off and to check the 2 spots with Adapt. I was like ...have I Missed Something???....looked like a Wax Haze all over the car...Possibly a New Technique Polish while Waxing :laughing:

I will have to try HD Adapt, since I have Polish :dblthumb2: but...

Can't speak to this personally, but I heard it from a Very Reliable Source that Scholls Concepts S20 with their Spider Pads is "Other-Worldly" 1-Step on Soft Paints...wipes off like a dream. He was Gushing :drool: profusely...so I MUST HAVE IT lol.

If you're interested, PM me for that source.


hope it helps

 

[FrankS]

Excellent job Mike on the car and the write-up :dblthumb2:

You got that paint the way it should be looking...beautiful!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Wow Mike, the transformation displayed on Vincent's Studebaker is inconceivable. You attention to paint work is extraordinary.

Thanks for sharing good sir.

 

[mudman]

Beautiful work Mike. Mighty nice car too.

 

[Craig Parker]

Excellent work Mike, car looks awesome, curious that you used clay instead of nanoskin.:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Beautiful work Mike !! I've heard that Adapt is very elastic and good working time,

That's what I experienced. When I type,

Long play time

That means you can buff for a long time without the product drying up on you. The zero dusting characteristic is another great feature and benefit.

approximately how much product did you used?

Enough to buff out a 1940 Studebacker convertible.

Seriously... the bottles I used had already been opened and used by some of the guys here at work and I didn't take time to weigh them. I do have an article on how to do that though....


How much Menzerna FG 400 to buff out a car?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I've never, ever found HD Adapt easy to remove if left to sit on the car... I wish it was for me.

I think when it comes to some things related to car detailing the word easy can be a relative term. I simply didn't find the Adapt polish hard to wipe off and I didn't remove any until I had the entire car polished.

HD adapt is the only product that I've gotten to cut at a high level and finish at a high level in on soft paint. I also find it an amazing product in that I've used it in as little as 2 passes.

This is a custom paint job (obviously), but if I had to gauge it I'd say somewhere in the middle of the road for hardness and softness.

Sure buffed up to a high shine.