Hello from the armpit of New Mexico!

Danny9447537

Danny9447537

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Hey guys,

Currently in the USAF at Cannon AFB, NM. I had purchased a 2016 Subaru WRX STI in World Rally Blue Pearl and all I can say is wow! I love the way the car handles and accelerates but I HATE how thin the paint is on the car!

The weather here tends to get both windy and dusty so weekly car washes is a must for me. I had got into detailing almost a year ago and it's an awesome way to get away from the stresses of life. I've been considering the Flex 3401 for my first DA polisher as I heard it does an immaculate job at removing swirls and it's also beginner friendly. I'm also looking at products from chemical guys, wolfgang, mazerna, and klasse products because I've heard they have a great reputation. In the near future I plan on creating a detailing business at home once I master the Flex!.

Thanks for reading!
 
Welcome to AGO!! FYI The Flex 3401 IMO is the Best DA out there...period. Now, that's me and my experience with the DA. Others will disagree and say the Rupes is or the new Boss. IMO they are great DA's too, however, none of them are a "forced" rotational DA. Either way you have good taste. As for your Subie man what an awesome ride. As for products I would rank Chemical Guys on the BOTTOM of the totem pole. IMO you are better off looking at Menzerna and Wolfgang as your primary go toos. Klasse is good, however, IMO Wolfgang and Menzerna would be better.

Just to let you know what my arsenal is: I have Menzerna FG400 and SF4500 and their Powerlock (sealant) and Colorlock (liquid wax). I do have Wolfgangs Fuzion and a couple of other products.

Either way whatever you decide...WELCOME TO AGO!! The only thing I know about New Mexico is the Aliens and Breaking Bad!

Have a great one!
 
Welcome to Autogeek. I recommend you go to a Detailing Boot Camp at Autogeek in sunny Stuart, Florida. You will get to use many polishers and decide which you like after hands on experience.
 
Welcome, my wife and I are also stationed at Cannon. I did the same and opened a mobile detail shop awhile back. I'm retiring from the AF this week and get to detail full time.
I have two flex 3401s, two gg6 as well as a gg3. If you want to use a flex before you order one, you are more than welcome to stop by and test drive one of mine. 850-529-4684
Shaw
 
Welcome Danny! LOVE the Subie WRX STI's. Your description of "windy and dusty" scares me but you'll be fine. Just remember that friction passes are the enemy of your paint and keep them light and only as frequent as you need! :dblthumb2:
 
Armpit!? I'm offended! I thought my little Podunk town was the armpit of NM? :laughing: Ha Ha.

Anyway, welcome to the Forum!

I'll agree, probably not a better choice than the Flex if you're thinking of going beyond being just a hobbyist. Of course any machine can be damaged by mis-use, and neglect, but the Flex 3401 with care should last you many years of great service.

The Flex with standard backing plate and pads is a little "largish" for certain areas of a vehicle. In such instances, a smaller machine, such as a Porter Cable 7424XP or Griots GG6 with some smaller Backing Plates and Pads are good for such tighter areas.

You cannot go wrong with either the Wolfgang Polishes, or Menzerna. Nor, a fine finishing Polish like Meguiars #205, usually easily gotten from major parts stores, and even wally world, and is usually relatively inexpensive too.

I know all too well about the dusts, winds, and the wonderful rains, which seems some times, their only purpose is to dirty your vehicle.

Welcome again, and have fun!
 
Welcome to AGO Danny and thank you for your service!
 
Hey Danny and Muddyoldgoat, I want to say thank you for your service, me and my family appreciate the commitment you make in the to protect this great country. It allows all of us to do the things we enjoy, DETAILING.

Muddyoldgoat, good luck with your retirement and enjoy.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
Welcome to AGO!! FYI The Flex 3401 IMO is the Best DA out there...period. Now, that's me and my experience with the DA. Others will disagree and say the Rupes is or the new Boss. IMO they are great DA's too, however, none of them are a "forced" rotational DA. Either way you have good taste. As for your Subie man what an awesome ride. As for products I would rank Chemical Guys on the BOTTOM of the totem pole. IMO you are better off looking at Menzerna and Wolfgang as your primary go toos. Klasse is good, however, IMO Wolfgang and Menzerna would be better.

Just to let you know what my arsenal is: I have Menzerna FG400 and SF4500 and their Powerlock (sealant) and Colorlock (liquid wax). I do have Wolfgangs Fuzion and a couple of other products.

Either way whatever you decide...WELCOME TO AGO!! The only thing I know about New Mexico is the Aliens and Breaking Bad!

Have a great one!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warm welcome! After doing some research on AG, I've found that Chemical guys isn't the popular choice but I'll definitely be putting Menzerna and Wolfgang at the top of my list! One question though, I've mentioned that the paint was very thin on this car and I'm wondering what kind of products I could use to protect against rock chips?
 
AGOatemywallet said:
How thin is the paint?
Click to expand...

I haven't used a paint thickness gauge on my vehicle but I drove 98 miles home from the dealership that I bought my car from and I've received at least 4 tiny rock chips on my bumper and 1 on my door. I tried every possible way to avoid it by not driving behind trucks/semis/other vehicles and somehow I still received them....it kind of sucks, however I'll be purchasing Dr. Colorchip in the next few weeks to cover them up.
 
AZ Mike said:
Welcome to Autogeek. I recommend you go to a Detailing Boot Camp at Autogeek in sunny Stuart, Florida. You will get to use many polishers and decide which you like after hands on experience.
Click to expand...

I'm definitely looking forward to taking some detailing classes so that I can gain the knowledge to run my own detailing business. The only thing that's stopping me is the distance. I'm literally three and a half hours away from Albuquerque, NM and at least an hour from two other small cities in Texas.
 
WT Taggart said:
Hey Danny and Muddyoldgoat, I want to say thank you for your service, me and my family appreciate the commitment you make in the to protect this great country. It allows all of us to do the things we enjoy, DETAILING.

Muddyoldgoat, good luck with your retirement and enjoy.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thank you! It's definitely a pleasure serving all of you! :xyxthumbs:
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Hi Danny, Welcome to AutoGeekOnline from Spangdahlem AB Germany... Congrats on the new STI!

You cant go wrong with the Flex 3401, Menzerna polishes, and Lake Country Hybrid pads. Below is an article I put together on maximizing the potential from this combination.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...rning-3401-menzerna-products-hybrid-pads.html
Click to expand...

I'm pretty excited to receive my Flex and thanks for the helpful article! My vehicle doesn't have very many swirls so would I still use these products? BTW Spangdahlem is my dream base so hopefully I get orders over there lol.
 
Muddyoldgoat said:
Welcome, my wife and I are also stationed at Cannon. I did the same and opened a mobile detail shop awhile back. I'm retiring from the AF this week and get to detail full time.
I have two flex 3401s, two gg6 as well as a gg3. If you want to use a flex before you order one, you are more than welcome to stop by and test drive one of mine. 850-529-4684
Shaw
Click to expand...

Hey Shaw, I think I contacted you a while ago about a clearcoat lol. I would love to try out your Flex before mine arrives!
 
MarkD51 said:
Armpit!? I'm offended! I thought my little Podunk town was the armpit of NM? :laughing: Ha Ha.

Anyway, welcome to the Forum!

I'll agree, probably not a better choice than the Flex if you're thinking of going beyond being just a hobbyist. Of course any machine can be damaged by mis-use, and neglect, but the Flex 3401 with care should last you many years of great service.

The Flex with standard backing plate and pads is a little "largish" for certain areas of a vehicle. In such instances, a smaller machine, such as a Porter Cable 7424XP or Griots GG6 with some smaller Backing Plates and Pads are good for such tighter areas.

You cannot go wrong with either the Wolfgang Polishes, or Menzerna. Nor, a fine finishing Polish like Meguiars #205, usually easily gotten from major parts stores, and even wally world, and is usually relatively inexpensive too.

I know all too well about the dusts, winds, and the wonderful rains, which seems some times, their only purpose is to dirty your vehicle.

Welcome again, and have fun!
Click to expand...

At least you feel my pain here! Haha. I did consider the Torq22D from chemical guys but it just seems that they over exaggerate on the quality of both their products and tools lol. They do have some good tutorials though, that's for sure! The porter cable is next on my list of tools to get once I receive my Flex 3401.
 
Totally forgot that there's a 'quick reply to this message button'........lol sorry for all the quotes
 
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