so your recommending me to give the wolfgang twins a try? only reason I kind of like to stick with meguiars... if I run out of something I can just run down to walmart, or autozone or something and pickup whatever i ran out of. I really hate ordering things online.
After reading all your posts, and getting a feel for your experience in context of what you're trying to do, (
learn how to machine polish a black car with a Flex 3401 for the first time), I'm trying to make things as easy as I can and at the same time ensure that you'll be successful.
If you read enough threads about M105 you'll find that a lot of people struggle buffing with it and removing it, if you're new to machine polishing this might not be the best first approach.
Many people post their experience with Ultimate Compound is easier than M105, so if you want to go with Meguiar's then you might want to go with UC and M205.
Wolfgang products are pretty much fool-proof or Bubba-Proof and as the links I shared with you show people new to machine polishing easily find success using them on their car's paint.
The Total Swirl Remover will tackle most swirls and scratches that the majority of "Enthusiast Detailers" come up against and as I posted... you can't help but get good results as long as you work smart.
I wrote an article that ranks electric polishers by how easy they are to use, the term I used was,
Ease of Use Ranking
Here's the article from my
article list,
New to Machine Polishing?
How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project <-- This one
New - Video: How to pick the right polisher
Excerpt...
Flex 3401 - Forced Rotation Random Orbital Polisher
Ease of Use Ranking: 3
The Flex 3401 is referred to as a Hybrid Polisher because it's unique among the more well-known polishers in that it is a forced rotation dual action polisher.
What this means is that the buffing head oscillates at the same time it's rotating which is what the above Dual Action Polishers do except that this unit is uses a direct drive mechanical action which forces the pad to both rotate and oscillate with no allowance for slippage.
This gives this tool most of the power associated with direct drive rotary buffers but the safety of a dual action polisher in that you can't heat up the paint and burn through it and you also can't instill swirls as long as you use pads and products recommended for use with dual action polishers.
These tools are like a bridge between a dual action polisher and a rotary buffer.
The learning curve for mastering a polisher like this is a little steeper than the learning curve for a dual action polisher if you're new to machine polishing. If you're an experienced with a dual action polisher it a very easy tool to advanced to and master and if you're a seasoned craftsman with a rotary buffer it will take you about 5 minutes to learn the differences in how this tool handles as compared to a rotary buffer.
These polishers are great for,
- People new to machine polishing but consider themselves quick learners with better than average upper body strength. It's not that they require more muscle to operate it just that they require that a new operator pay more attention to the task at hand.
- People looking for a safe, but more powerful polisher as compared to a Traditional Orbital Buffer
- People who only take care of their own car or their family's cars.
- Anyone wanting to start a part-time or full-time detailing business
- Anyone with a detailing business that wants to add a multi-purpose tool to their detailing arsenal.
- People that work in body shops looking for a tool to insure swirl free finish.
- Boat owners looking for a better way to maintain their boat
- RV owners looking for a better and faster way to maintain their RVs
- Airplane owners looking for a safer, faster way to maintain their airplane's finish
This is a tool that offers a lot more correction ability than a dual action polisher or a Cyclo Polisher but its operation is quite a bit different than the how a dual action polisher feels or a Cyclo Polisher feels when operating one.
If you ever have a chance to test drive one of these polishers by using a friends or attending a class or seminar where they have one you can test out, definitely give it a try. The majority of people that take the plunge and purchase one of these types of polishers become loyal fans of this tool and strong proponents for it and are always willing to share their experience on how to best use it on discussion forums.
So I'm guessing you bought your Flex 3401 before joining this forum and asking questions so I'm doing my best to bring you up to speed on your purchase.
It's possible the paint on your Audi will be the easiest paint to polish in the world with any tool pad and product, you'll find out when you push away from the keyboard and go out into the garage and bring the polisher down onto the paint.
If you want to keep it simple, get some UC and some SwirlX or Ultimate Polish and after you've washed or wiped your car clean, (always work clean), lay down a strip of painter's tape on the hood or trunk lid and do a few section passes and then wipe off the residue and inspect the results and let us know how it goes.
I always recommend using a Tape-Line when doing your testing as it will make it very easy for your eyes to detect changes, which usually mean improvements in the test area and gauge how effectively your pads, products, tool and techniques are working on this particular paint system.
Also, what DA should I go with for 4 inch pads? I
Griot's or PC
Griot's has the most power, PC has the time-proven track record of long life and reliability.
The Griot's is basically like a safe version of a rotary buffer, you really can't stop the pad from spinning using common sense pressure, this means it offers a lot of power to remove swirls and scratches while still offering the safety of a tool with a Free Floating Spindle Assembly.
The Free Floating Spindle Assembly - The Story Behind The Story...
Pushing down as hard as I can
That's the story behind the story as to why Dual Action Polishers like the
Porter Cable 7424XP, the
Meguiar's G110v2 and the
Griot's Garage ROP have become so popular.
How close are you to Florida?
We have detailing classes coming up in July... see some of the comments in this thread...
Pictures & Comments from May 14th, 2011 Saturday Detailing 101
Our next Detailing 101 and 102 Classes will be held on Saturday, July 9th and Sunday, July 10th, so schedule accordingly and I guarantee you these will be a lot of fun plus a great learning experience...
Click here to sign-up for July 9th Detailing 101
Click here to sign-up for July 10th Detailing 102
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