Looking forward to using my first ever DA

[sdimas]

I would like to introduce myself to this forum. My name is Dima (Dmitriy in English), currently reside in northern Indiana, originally from Ukraine, fluent in 4 languages I am a senior in High School, and will be attending a private liberal arts college in the fall, planning on majoring in Chemistry.

In March 2013 I purchased my first car, a 2005 Honda Acccord EX V6 Whoever had this car before me was a pig. It is now in a much better condition, at least the interior, it is almost spotless on the inside. However, it has swirl marks and scratches EVERYWHERE. It has really nice black paint with blue flakes which are barely visible because of all the swirls.

Here are several pictures I took about a month ago, this was the first wash and wax this year after the uber long winter that we had this year. I never take it to the car wash, and wash it at least once every other week (I also have a neighbors car that he pays me to wash and wax, and my moms 2012 Odyssey). Now detailing is something I enjoy a lot, and will most likely work for one of my friends detailing the cars that he flips. Sorry for getting off topic, here are the pictures as promised:

As you can see, there are scuffs on the bumper and lots of swirl marks (it looks much worse in person)

But now look at the interior...Amazing condition!!

Today I washed, clay barred, and waxed my car, it looks a lot better and the blue flakes actually pop out now, the wax (NXT 2.0) did a fairly good job at filling in some of the scratches but I know I will have to buff the car to get rid of them.

You can really see how blue the paint looks, even though its supposed to be black. You can see how bad the scratches are, this is one of the better regions (this is after waxing).

With the Easter sale that AG had on friday, I went ahead and purchased the Flex 3401 kit with 3 pads, bag, and pinnacle pad cleaner & conditioner. I have not used a real DA polisher before, only one of those $30 ones from AutoZone for wax. I've watched almost all the videos I could find on how to use this machine, and also a lot of Chemical Guys videos. I have also done some reading and found that Honda paint is extremely soft (all the scratches confirm this ) and Chemical Guys V line polishes have a decent cut, but are outperformed by M105 and 205 but they don't dust as much and have a longer working time.

So I also went ahead and ordered some Hex logic pads from CG, V34, V36, V38, Mr. Pink shampoo, new look trim restorer, basically another $200 on other stuff.

I should receive both of my orders on Wednesday or Thursday and plan to polish out my car on Saturday.

Here is my plan of action:
Wash
Clay (I bought CG clay mitt, anyone have experience with these? They seem easier and quicker)
Dry
Try V36 on White Hex-Logic pad
if that wont be enough I'll try the Orange pad.
Finish with V38 for a perfect finish (Black or Red pad)
Seal with CG Jetseal
I came to like NXT 2.0 wax so I will apply that as well
I will try different waxes later on, but I have a half full bottle of NXT and almost a full can of Gold Class paste wax.

I hope to stay around on this forum, even though I'm probably in the youngest 1% of the members. I would like some feedback on my plan for polishing my car. I am not looking for 100% restoration, and I would be very happy with 85-90%.

I will take some before and after pictures and a 50/50.
Thanks for taking the time to read my long post. Once again, happy to join the forum, even more happy to get a good deal on the Flex, and looking for feedback.

 

[sdimas]

Oh and those dark spots on the last two pictures are on my phone's camera, they are not on my car.

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Welcome to the world of Detailing!! The Flex 3401 VRG IMO is one of the Best DA's out there. Great choice!! As for your plan of action is a good action too. However, when you are using the V36 use the Orange Pad. That pad is more aggressive for removing the swirls and scratches. Use the white pad for the V38. The White pad is more for polishing (2nd step). The Black or Red pad (I like the red better but that is just a preference) is for the sealant and you can use for wax LSP too.

Your ride should look sweet and Chemical Guys products are pretty good.

It is so cool that you picked a great DA. Most people start with the PC 7424 XP or Griot's 6". Then they move up to a Flex or Rupes. IMO the Flex 3401 is the best DA (some think the Rupes are, however, there are less accessories for them and the Rupes are more $$ and not as powerful as a Flex). The next thing you should get is the different backing plate sizes for the Flex. That way you can get 4" pads all the way to the 6.5" pads. Some people might suggest the 5.5" pads, however, the Flex is a beast of a machine and the 6.5" pads are fine.

With all the accessories for the Flex...you should not have to buy another DA....PERIOD. You are set!!! Great job for a 1st timer....way better than me my 1st time.

PS: What you are about to do will take about 15-25 hours. Remember, start a small test patch and be patient!! Take your time and do it right!!

 

[Tato]

Welcome,

I believe your approach will be fine, and I'd recommend you to not try much correction for the first time, since your skills will improve faster after each use.

That being said, start slowly preserving your clear, and go for a perfect finish when you believe you're ready.

For the clay mitt, I have some input on them, hope that may help:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/78585-autogeeked-3.html#post1076732


You move down this thread and you'll see many pictures I've collected of the technique I use with these product.

Please, let me know if I can help in anything else.

Good luck on your use of 3401, it's a wonderful machine and can help you reach perfect results.

Kind Regards.

 

[sdimas]

Thanks for the replies. I'm really excited to finally be able to remove scratches and not simply hide them. After reading a bit more I realize I shouldve bought more pads, but I have two of orange, white and black, so I think if I just wash them out and use the second while the first dries I'll be good. And I learned that pads stop rotating once they become saturated with product, is the flex 3401 affected by this, or does the forced rotation allow the pad to keep rotating even when it is saturated?

And I've never spent anywhere near 15 hours detailing my car so this will be a very interesting experience for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online

 

[BobbyG]

:welcome: To Autogeek Online Dima!! rops:

Dual action polishers are an amazing tool and the results they can produce are simply breathtaking! Today I had a customer stop by with what was described to me over the phone was "someone crashed into my new car" so I told her to stop by after lunch..

What I'd envisioned turned out to be nothing more than a small dent in the urethane fascia and a strip of paint transfer. I literally tapped the fascia with my fist and the dent popped out. I grabbed my Porter cable 72424XP, a 4" Orange foam pad, and Menzerna's FG-400.

To make a long story short, it took maybe 20 minuets to correct the problem making it good as new....rops:

I wonder what a body shop would have charged to refinish the bumper....:laughing:

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Thanks for the replies. I'm really excited to finally be able to remove scratches and not simply hide them. After reading a bit more I realize I shouldve bought more pads, but I have two of orange, white and black, so I think if I just wash them out and use the second while the first dries I'll be good. And I learned that pads stop rotating once they become saturated with product, is the flex 3401 affected by this, or does the forced rotation allow the pad to keep rotating even when it is saturated?

And I've never spent anywhere near 15 hours detailing my car so this will be a very interesting experience for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online

Your pads will still be rotating with the Flex ie...they will always be rotating. If you have too much product on what you will notice....little or no correcting on the paint even with the setting at 6. 3 drops on the pad after it is primed is good. Every once in a while instead of putting on 3 drops just spray the pad with a good QD/Polishing pad lube and polish. That will help remove excess product and you will be able to start correcting again. Or get a terry cloth towel and clean the pad by placing the towel on the pad and pull the trigger with the Flex and the towel itself will remove the excess polish. Mike Phillips video can show you how on the how to's or Youtube in AGO. This will save you time from cleaning your pad by washing it and waiting for it to dry.

BTW, 2 pads of Orange, White and Black Pads should be fine for your Honda. Technique is the key.

Test Spot, Small sections at a time, Slow arm movement, and patience!!!

My opinion, 15+ hours should be about right; maybe longer. If you bought the PC 7424 XP (inferior to the Flex), I would have said 20 - 25 Hours easy.

The reason why I think about 15+ hours is that it is your 1st time and there is a learning curve. Once you start getting better at polishing you will not need to do the tedious things (taping windows, taping headlights, etc). You will just be able to adjust your flow around them effectively. My $.02 cents worth!!

One thing for sure, you will have FUN detailing especially after seeing your results! PS: Please post pics after you are done!!!!

:buffing:

 

[sdimas]

Well I just got my AG order. Really impressed. 3 business days after placing my order and it's already here. The flex is a lot bigger than I expected but it feels really well built. I got an email from CG today my order was just shipped. So now I have to wait to on my CG order to get here before I can really start doing anything to my car. I was planning on starting this Saturday, but it looks like I will have to wait till next Saturday. Not a big deal, but I hate having to wait another week and look at my polisher and not have enough time to start the process :/