CarPro Essence or Reflect

Calendyr said:
I am in the process of re-doing my packages for this year. I decided to offer Megs Paint Reconditioning crème as my first level correction (pretty much the same as HD Speed) and Essence as the second level.

In terms of price, I will charge 3 hours plus 50$ for that specific step since I will do an IPA wipedown before Essence then use Reload as a LSP on top of it. Compared to 3 hours for PRC since product is cheap and I will top it with Meg's Express Spray wax which is also cheap.

So for me, 50$ more for that product over a normal AIO.
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That makes sence being that essence is pretty expensive!
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
That was me

https://youtu.be/48OL5Egs6Bw

There's the video.

To me the polishing pad looked better overall in person , it didn't pick up much on the cam.

Every car and paint is different tho, but working with this product , I kind of figured out, a polishing or cutting pad is the way too go with essence.

That paint on the Ford in the video wasn't rock hard of the softest either, it was just moderate, and I tried 2 finishing pads, microfiber finishing , and foam finishing (white rupes) and they enhanced gloss but left a ton of defects behind!

(Sorry for the poor editing in the video I posted it before I went to detail fest, and I didn't have the time or experience to trim and edit, when I get back I will edit it asap)
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I just got my Essence yesterday and am hoping to try it this weekend on my Chili Red 2013 Mini Cooper S. I have a Rupes LHR-21 (Mk I) and a Flex 3401. I have a full set of Lake Country HD Orbital pads for the Rupes, and both Hybrids and CCS pads for the Flex. Any suggestions for which machine / pad combo I should try with the Essence? Any tips are greatly appreciated.
 
fotomatt1 said:
I just got my Essence yesterday and am hoping to try it this weekend on my Chili Red 2013 Mini Cooper S. I have a Rupes LHR-21 (Mk I) and a Flex 3401. I have a full set of Lake Country HD Orbital pads for the Rupes, and both Hybrids and CCS pads for the Flex. Any suggestions for which machine / pad combo I should try with the Essence? Any tips are greatly appreciated.
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If it was me and I had those options, I would pair the mk2 with the LC cutting foam or polishing pad, do a test spot to determine witch one is better.

(That is if your doing a one step)

Any longthrow orbital cuts faster then the 3401, I use my 3401 to compliment my long throw, but if I can use my long throw, I'm using my long throw, that is just my preference and my liking.

I bust out my 3401 where my longthrows lacks, they both compliment each other and I'm glad I have both !
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
If it was me and I had those options, I would pair the mk2 with the LC cutting foam or polishing pad, do a test spot to determine witch one is better.

(That is if your doing a one step)

Any longthrow orbital cuts faster then the 3401, I use my 3401 to compliment my long throw, but if I can use my long throw, I'm using my long throw, that is just my preference and my liking.

I bust out my 3401 where my longthrows lacks, they both compliment each other and I'm glad I have both !
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My Rupes is a Mk I. If I had a Mk II I'd probably sell the Flex!
 
One other thing.....the Mini's hood and hatch were coated with Sonax PNS in December, and then the car was in the garage for the winter until a couple of weeks ago. Do you think I need to strip the PNS with something other than Essence?

Also, my parents just got a new 2016 BMW M Sport Wagon (Alpine White) that I was going to go over with Essence and then coat with CQUK while it's still new. It's only a week old. Should I be using Essence or something else?
 
So Essence isn't finishing out with the Gloss Pads... Interesting.
 
Calendyr said:
I decided to offer Megs Paint Reconditioning crème as my first level correction (pretty much the same as HD Speed)
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Thx. Reading this makes me think twice about buying HD Speed and just sticking with PRC, since I already have a gallon of it.
 
Just did a test spot on the roof of my Mini which is black....Rupes LHR-75E Mini with a white lake country polishing pad....AMAZING! Was tempted to use a Megs MF finishing disc, but figured foam was the easier route since it doesn't need to be primed with Essence. Working time wasn't very long at all, and it wiped clean easily with a Rag Company Split Purplenality towel. Now I can do the whole car with confidence. Just curious if Essence stains black plastic trim? I'm pretty good keeping clear of trim with the polisher, but I'll tape off if I absolutely need to.
 
Eldorado2k said:
So Essence isn't finishing out with the Gloss Pads... Interesting.
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I'm certain today's harder clear coats prefer more aggressive pads with AIO's and Finishing Polishes to attain the desired result.
Logic would dictate the firmer, more coarse pads work the abrasives better on hard paint systems than a soft,smooth pad would.
 
Joe@NextLevelDetail said:
Yes I tried essence, on a microfiber finishing pad, and a white rupes foam finishing pad, they enhanced the gloss but left a ton of damage behind.
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A ton of damage?

I'm confused then. I watched your video with the various pads and I got the impression that Essence with the cutting pad and finishing pad were about the same. (This is the video with the trashed black pickup.)

(Sent from my mobile device.)
 
The machine/pad combo for Essence IMHO is really paint system dependent. I done a few German ceramic clear with Rupes 21 w/ CarPro flash pad and it came out great with only 2 passes.

Last week... I tested the same combo on a BMW Jet Black and it took me to "Marring Town". I brought out my Flex 3401 w/ CarPro Gloss Pad and it was smooth sailing after that.

I came to realized that there are paint systems that don't play well with certain action of the polisher. By adding the various pads available in the market place, things get really complicated.

Test spots and experimentation seems to be a standard protocol in learning how to get the best out of Essence. I am sure glad I didn't limit myself to only one type of machine or pads.
 
Zubair said:
I'm certain today's harder clear coats prefer more aggressive pads with AIO's and Finishing Polishes to attain the desired result.
Logic would dictate the firmer, more coarse pads work the abrasives better on hard paint systems than a soft,smooth pad would.
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Ok so tried Essence today for the 1st time using G21 w/5.5" Carpro Gloss Pad on speed 4.5.
Rude awakening. The paint on this Kia is very strange.. I think you may be spot on with your assessment, because normally this paint isn't overly soft when washing it in any form, whether it's rinseless, waterless, or bucket wash, it does not scratch easily. Based on that I'd think the paint is hard..

But this is the 2nd time I've put a buffer on this paint, and both times have resulted in me somehow instilling scratches and making the paint look far worse than it's normL like new condition.

The 1st time I put a buffer on this paint, I used M205 w/Megs Foam Finishing Disc. Light pressure, clean Megs Ultimate Wipe, and to my surprise I instilled random looking spiderweb swirls on a test spot on the hood... Same exact result happened today with the Essence. I started with a brand new pad, shook the bottle, and applied a circle worth of Essence around the pad, quikly spread my area and worked it @ speed 4.5

I tried a 2nd application. This time only 3 pea sized dots, same motion, it didn't improve the scratches. So I did a 3rd application, this time I made sure to move extra slow in order to try to really let the Essence heat up and fill.. It finally improved a bit. But I didn't buff anymore. There's no use continuing to try to polish this paint if I'm doing more harm than good... It's crazy. I've never seen paint like this.

But it sounds like you know exactly what you're talking about. My only thing is, I'm not really interested in taking a more aggressive pad to this paint since it's still in like new condition. Very very minor swirls in some areas but that's it.. And it's white so you really have to hunt to see them anyways. But it's a bit disturbing what happens with a finishing pad. Strange.

View attachment 46706

Btw, it was nearly impossible to capture the damage inflicted by the polishing in pictures on this white paint... I actually had to wear sunglasses while polishing. Lol.

View attachment 46707

That's actually a before picture.👆🏽I was too upset to even take a picture of how bad it looked after I initially put the buffer on. Lol.
 
kevincwelch said:
A ton of damage?

I'm confused then. I watched your video with the various pads and I got the impression that Essence with the cutting pad and finishing pad were about the same. (This is the video with the trashed black pickup.)

(Sent from my mobile device.)
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I don't mean that they inflicted a ton of damage, I meant they left a ton of damage meaning didn't fix it.

The polishing pad and cutting pad did a amazing job.

The finishing pads did a horrible job, both microfiber finishing and foam finishing.
 
Modern paints are getting thinner and harder, compounds are finishing lsp ready on them and doing a finishing step yields little to no improvement. Its like you can use a compound to cut and the same compound with a softer pad to further try and enhance the paint. On the flip side if you using an AIO or a finishing polish, you need a light cut foam pad instead of a polishing pad or finishing pad to obtain better results.

On a side note staying with the thread topic, seems like AG has dropped Reflect? Is it because the cut and finish overlaps with Essence?
 
Just noticed that they don't carry Reflect, strange. Glad I have plenty left and plenty HD Polish too.
 
Stupid question: When using Essence and you wind up with a hazy spot of product that wont buff off.. Is that due to overworking or not working it in enough?
 
I'm guessing it due to overworking it? Because a quik fresh pass removes it. Kind of annoying when it happens though.. Rookie mistake.
 
Whew! I was afraid you went through the clearcoat! :yikes:

(Sent from my mobile device.)
 
Zubair said:
Modern paints are getting thinner and harder, compounds are finishing lsp ready on them and doing a finishing step yields little to no improvement. Its like you can use a compound to cut and the same compound with a softer pad to further try and enhance the paint. On the flip side if you using an AIO or a finishing polish, you need a light cut foam pad instead of a polishing pad or finishing pad to obtain better results.
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Makes me wonder if I can even apply something like this Griots Finishing Sealant with a finishing pad to that paint.. Or will even this cause damage the same way Essence and M205 did.

View attachment 47344
 
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