I am not sure how to ask this....

[BlkonBlk]

So...I bought Mike's book on my iPad, and I have watched just about every video I can find where he has a Flex XC3401 in his hands (a lot).

And the book, and several of the videos say "Use the least aggressive method possible." I get that.

But I also note that when doing a demonstration to correct paint on a vehicle, the polish/pad combination that is chosen is rarely non-aggressive (at least it seems that way to me).

So I guess my question is this.....has the technology behind today's polishes become so advanced that it allows for a more aggressive approach? Or is what I am really seeing in the videos is just a seasoned professional who can look at a paint job and know what it will take to correct the problem?

I have a new Challenger R/T Classic (black on black). It has minor swirls in it and some light paint contamination (from the dealership detailing team and from sitting on a lot).

I was looking at the Wolfgang line of polishes, but the XMT line seems to have more grades of polish that allow for a less aggressive approach. Which leads back to my question...

Does the Wolfgang line of polishes have fewer grades because they just aren't necessary anymore and the current line of compounds just break down that well?

I would be interested to get your feedback.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

So...I bought Mike's book on my iPad, and I have watched just about every video I can find where he has a Flex XC3401 in his hands (a lot).

And the book, and several of the videos say "Use the least aggressive method possible." I get that.

But I also note that when doing a demonstration to correct paint on a vehicle, the polish/pad combination that is chosen is rarely non-aggressive (at least it seems that way to me).

So I guess my question is this.....has the technology behind today's polishes become so advanced that it allows for a more aggressive approach?

Yes and primarily because the abrasive technology available has dramatically been improved to the point that there are very few rocks in a bottle type products on the market.

Or is what I am really seeing in the videos is just a seasoned professional who can look at a paint job and know what it will take to correct the problem?

That is another part of the equation plus when making a video you are under some type of time constraints as well as if you include too much information you can also cause confusion.

If we keep it real simple, and if you're working on a newer car with swirls and scratches, AND if the goal is restoring the paint back to the factory condition or better than factory condition, then in most cases you'll need more than a fine cut polish for your first step.

Most top shelf compounds finish out like a polish, therefore the trend has been a medium cut polish is no longer needed to clean up the scouring left by old fashioned compounds but a high quality fine cut polish will squeeze out a little more seen and unseen shine.

Thus with most product lines you can compound, polish and seal.

Seal = Your choice of a car wax, synthetic paint sealant or paint coating

I have a new Challenger R/T Classic (black on black). It has minor swirls in it and some light paint contamination (from the dealership detailing team and from sitting on a lot).

I was looking at the Wolfgang line of polishes, but the XMT line seems to have more grades of polish that allow for a less aggressive approach. Which leads back to my question...

Does the Wolfgang line of polishes have fewer grades because they just aren't necessary anymore and the current line of compounds just break down that well?

I would be interested to get your feedback.

Yes.

With the Wolfgang line from your description of the paint quality you could probably get the job done using the Uber Compound first followed by the Finishing Glaze.

Don't be confused by the name "Finishing Glaze" as this product is NOT a glaze but a fine cut polish. There's no regulations in this industry for word use so you'll find polishes named glazes just like you'll find synthetic paint sealants named polishes. It can be confusing but that's what we do on this forum.... remove the confusion.

In a nutshell,

Uber Compound = Aggressive compound.

By the word aggressive I mean it is powerful enough to remove any paint defect that should be removed. I don't mean it's rocks in a bottle. It uses very hi-tech abrasive technology and some people will actually go to the waxing step after using just the compound on lighter colored cars.

Total Swirl Remover = Medium Cut Polish.

Finishing Glaze = Fine Cut Polish


If you look in the how-to book I wrote under the chapter Compounds, Polishes & Waxes you'll see I list 12 categories of products and the first four categories are for compounds and polishes.

You can take ANY brand on the market and their compounds and polishes will fall into one of the four catagories.

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

The Wolfgang line has 3 of the 4 and the Finishing Glaze finishes out so nice there's not much an ultra fine polish would gain you.


Thank you for joining the AutogeekOnline forum :welcome:


And thanks for taking this to the forum instead of PM's. I prefer to answer questions on the public forum and every day I politely ask everyone that sends me questions via PM's to do this same thing.


And for black paint... I'd highly recommend products from the Wolfgang line. You'll get professional resutls the first time. There is no doing the job a second time.


:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

This project car at my last class was done using Wolfgang Uber Compound and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze with a Flex 3401 and Hybrid pads. Some of the people in this class had never used a Flex 3401 before and the results speak for themselves.


The Flex 3401 Car Detailing Class - Hands-on real-world training


Before

After

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

For the vinyl graphics you can either,

A: Slow down and work carefully so you don't run the buffing pad over the graphics.

B: Carfully tape off the graphics using painter's tape and when you remove the tape, pull back slowly at an angle.

Tip: How to pull tape off car paint



Always remove tape by pulling back at a low angle, don't remove tape by pulling it "up" and away from the paint...

Hope that helps....

 

[BlkonBlk]

Thanks, Mike. More of an answer than I could have hoped for. And it is almost as if you read my mind. I will be purchasing the Wolfgang/Flex kit this week.

 

[TRDTACO]

Hi Mike my question on the Flex 3401 i just purchased is do i need a different washer and bolt for the 4 and 3/8 backing plate that i ordered in the kit? Ive seen you talk about in in your vidieos and i ws unsure as the backing plate i ordered did not have the bolt or washer supplied and you said in one of your vidieos that if you use the bolt from the originl 5 and a half inch backing plate it would cause damage to the 4 and 3?8 backing plate. Can you clear this up for me please and thank you.

 

[Audios S6]

Thanks, Mike. More of an answer than I could have hoped for. And it is almost as if you read my mind. I will be purchasing the Wolfgang/Flex kit this week.

I may have missed it in Mike's reply, but one of the important reasons for using the least aggressive method is to remove as little paint as possible to achieve the desired results. Since you have a finite amount of paint, it is wasteful to remove more paint than necessary.

Often in the AG demo videos, the goal is near perfect paint and the paint starts off trashed. From experience, the detailer (Mike in this case) knows that the cutting step will require a relatively aggressive approach.

For paint with only minor swirls, marring or type 2 water spots, a lighter cutting or polishing step may be adequate. Experience will dictate the initial pad and polish choice and test spot will verify. If you don't have the experience, then starting off with the very least aggressive method is advised, OR

Use the search function here to try to find a post about your car and a process that was used, OR

Ask the folks here for advice on where to start.

 

[FocusSTguy]

Most of the cars in Mikes videos have pretty trashed paint that will require compounding to remove the defects. I'm guessing your paint is in a lot better condition than the cars in the videos.

If you get the Wolfgang line I would try the Total Swirl Remover first on a test spot and see how it looks. If it didn't remove the defects jump up to the Uber Compound.