Can you jewel with a flex 3401?

Billand

Billand

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Like the title says is it possible to jewel paint with a flex 3401. I am trying to get the most out of my paint before opti coat 2.0

Thanks
 
Hi Bill,

I've never tried with the 3401 but it sounds like a good time for a test.

When I do jewel, and it isn't often, I use my rotary, a red foam pad, and Menzerna Super Finish Polish SF4500.
 
Why is it that people tend to like jeweling with a rotary over a da?
 
I have a few finishing/ jeweling pads I'll give it a try and post my findings
 
terrangama said:
Why is it that people tend to like jeweling with a rotary over a da?
Click to expand...


The direct drive rotating only action of a rotary tends to really do a good job of maximizing smoothness which is another way of saying removing each and every minor defect left after both the compounding and second or follow-up polishing step and do it better than a tool that is rotating AND occilating at the same time.

I believe the rotary buffer will do a better job of jewelling paint than a DA but the problem is that the direct drive rotating action will also tend to impart it's own swirl pattern we all call holograms.

And the problem with the above is that unless you chemically strip the paint, which would be dulling down the beauty you just created, and then inspect in bright light, how would you ever know if you left holograms or not?

Answer is you won't.

  • Some don't care.
  • Some think they can put a hologram free finish on every car using only a rotary. buffer. (I never see any proof, just their word).
  • Some prefer to avoid the possability and finish out with some type of dual action polisher.

Regardless of your opinion or thoughts on any of the above, if youj're going to jewel paint with ANY tool it's of the utmost importance to make sure everything is surgicall clean. This inclues removing any previoiusly used residues out of all the cracks and crevises so that they are not drawn back into the jewelling process.

It also means either cleaning your pad often or switching to a clean, dry pad as the longer you use a pad and it becomes saturated with product on the inside and caked with product on the outside it becomes more difficult to do expert work.

To me, after I do my last machine polishing step the paint usually looks so good that taking the TIME to rebuff the entire car will gain very little, especially after teh wax, sealant or coating is applied.

There can be gains and each person can decide if the time is worth it to them or not. IF the car in question is a daily driver then probably not.

If the car in question is going to a car show then "yes" probably but again it's a time issue.


Here's a good compromise...


Jewel the gloss panels and the gloss points.

I talked about the gloss panels and the gloss points in the last live broadcast, this one...

1957 Chevy Extreme Makeover - Pictures & Videos



1957 Chevy Belair by Chevrolet, Show Car Shine by Pinnacle
Tims57Chevy012.jpg


Full length 1957 Live Broadcast Video Part 1 & Part 2
[video=youtube_share;P8Ke5tsalrI"]Autogeek Thursday Night Detail - 57 Chevy part 1...[/video]​

[video=youtube_share;BbyOQqayzWA&hd=1"]Autogeek Thursday Night Detail - 57 Chevy part 2...[/video]​





:)
 
Thanks Mike for the words of advice. This is for a daily driver and I tried the hood with my 3401 I didn't see a difference in the gloss of the paint. I don't have a rotary at this time and I am in no way trying it on a new car for the first time.
 
Thank you for the in-depth response Mike! Machine polishing was so simple before I joined the forum because I thought a PC would take care of all my needs, but as I become more informed and more intent on taking the paint to the next level I realize that each Buffing machine has its place in detailing. Now I just have to figure out if I want a 3401 or pe14 next...
 
What is jeweling? Probably a stupid question but I think I've ever heard of this.
How do you jewel, and what pads and product is used to do so?
 
ProDetail said:
What is jeweling? Probably a stupid question but I think I've ever heard of this.
How do you jewel, and what pads and product is used to do so?
Click to expand...

Jeweling is a final superfine polish that is used after compounding and/or polishing to give the paint a glossier finish. The idea is to use a superfine polish along with very soft pads such as the red or gold LC pads and it will remove any last minute imperfections and give you that perfect glossy paint.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Regardless of your opinion or thoughts on any of the above, if you're going to jewel paint with ANY tool it's of the utmost importance to make sure everything is surgically clean.

This includes removing any previously used residues out of all the cracks and crevices so that they are not drawn back into the jewelling process.

It also means either cleaning your pad often or switching to a clean, dry pad as the longer you use a pad and it becomes saturated with product on the inside and caked with product on the outside it becomes more difficult to do expert work.

To me, after I do my last machine polishing step the paint usually looks so good that taking the TIME to rebuff the entire car will gain very little, especially after the wax, sealant or coating is applied.

There can be gains and each person can decide if the time is worth it to them or not. IF the car in question is a daily driver then probably not.
Click to expand...

The above is in the new edition of my how-to book. It's really detailed and a source of information condensed into one place. The forum is GREAT but the information is also all over the place.


Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Jewel the gloss panels and the gloss points.
Click to expand...

Gloss Panels & Gloss Points

The above terms are also in the second edition of my how-to book and I don't think I've ever seen these panels or points referred to even defined like I have defined them in the book. Not a huge deal but you'd have to buff out cars all your life to have this kind of mindset.


:)
 
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