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Alejo

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Hello,

I would like to purchase my first polisher. Can you help me put something together. I think I'm going for the Flex Polisher. Would you help me choose a backing plates/pads and the compounds/polish products?
We have: Honda Element 2010 - gray
Honda Civic 2009 - Blue
1994 Aluminum boat

Thank you,

Alejandro
 
Flex XC 3401 VRG dual-action polisher

Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 6.5 Inch Pads
"The backing material on each pad is 6 inch, which makes it perfect for use with a 5.5 or 6 inch backing plate." *Comes stock with 5.5" Backing Plate*

FLEX XC 3401 VRG 4 Inch Changeable Backing Plate System
if you want to use smaller pads (with at least 4 inches of velcro aka: hook & loop)
you'll need a 4" backing plate...

Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 5.5 Inch Pads
"The backing material on each pad is 5 inch, which makes it perfect for use with a 5 inch backing plate, a 4 inch backing plate is suitable as well."


as far as polishes/compounds there are a plethora of them..
Griot's Garage BOSS System
McKee's 37 Waxes, Compounds, Coatings
Menzerna Polishing Compounds
Meguiars Mirror Glaze Car Care Products
and the list goes on...
 
autopia-carcare.com (AG sister site) has this sale going on till midnight 5/4/17. call AG (1-800-869-3011) ans if they will honor it when you place your order even though it may be a little after (don't wait too long). they are pretty flexible...
AU-NEWS-05-04-2017-ForceSale.jpg
 
Thank you so much for the quick response. I have added all the items to my cart. Still looking for polishes/compounds. Do you think 2 of each pads will be good for now?
 
So, I purchase the Flex 3401, the pads 2EA, Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze. I'm missing something?
 
get a minimum of at least 4 each of both the white and orange as they are the most commonly used. give the wolfgang a try and see what kind of results you get, IIRC they are made by menzerna to AG's specs (uber compound is the most aggressive, you may or may not need it and it's up to you if you want to add it). keep in mind, no one polish/compound is the right answer for every scenario, let the test spot speak to you...
 
Thank you so much for this information. I just realize that all the pads I got are 5.5, do I need to get a backing plate or buy diff size?
 
FLEX XC 3401 VRG 4 Inch Changeable Backing Plate System
Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 5.5 Inch Pads
"The backing material on each pad is 5 inch,
which makes it perfect for use with a 5 inch backing plate,
a 4 inch backing plate is suitable as well."
OR
purchase these which will be compatible with the stock backing plate...
Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 6.5 Inch Pads
"The backing material on each pad is 6 inch, which makes it perfect for use with a 5.5 inch or 6 inch backing plate." *Flex 3401 comes stock with 5.5" Backing Plate*
 
Alejo,
purchase this backing plate (totally forgot about this one) below if you decide to get 5.5" pads. the 4 inch backing plate above was for the older 5" hybrid pads which has 4 inches of hook & loop and you can still use that with 4" pads that have 4 inches of hook & loop as well...

FLEX XC3401 Mini 4 3/8 Backing Plate
autogeek_2267_62997175

The FLEX XC 3401 VRG Mini Backing Plate is made of durable molded plastic with a urethane pad to dampen vibration and heat. Hook and loop fasteners cover the bottom of the plate from edge to edge. The backing plate is 4 3/8 inches in diameter. We recommend 5 or 5.5 inch pads.


if you want to purchase the older hybrid pads, they are on BOGO right now over at autopia-carcare.com

7 DAY SAVINGS

the difference between the older hybrid pads to the newer force hybrid pads is...

* the shape
* added a center hole
* discontinued blue
* added grey
 
Got it!

Do you think I'm going to need a smaller backing plate?

Thank you so much for your help.
 
Alejo said:
Got it!

Do you think I'm going to need a smaller backing plate?

Thank you so much for your help.
Click to expand...

i would get the 4 3/8 backing plate so you can run 5.5" pads. you can use 6.5" pads with the stock backing plate that comes on the flex. as far as the 4" backing plate, unless you use 4" pads that have hook & loop all the way to the outer edge then i would pass on it and just use a pc-style DA and set that up with a smaller pad set-up with a 3" DA backing plate and 3.5" pads...
 
The 4 3/8 plate and LC Force 5.5 pads are a great combo with the Flex.

For me, prefer SMAT liquids with Flex, M101 w/ gray Force can remove some pretty serious defects in only 4 passes, M205 w/ white finishes nicely.

I figure if the Flex + right liquid can get what I need in only 4 passes, why use a DAT polish/compound that needs to be worked longer to totally break it down?

Generally start with larger plate and 6.5 pads for hood/roof/trunk and then smaller plate w/ 5.5 for vertical panels.

Gray pads are pretty good at major removal but wear quickly.

6 of each type is generally what I shoot for.

I believe there have been some breakage issues with the LC interchangeable plate kit so never used it.
 
Thank you so much, I got 2 each white, orange and gray 6.5 pads. I got the Wolfgang Swirl Remover, but I will definitely try that if I don't have any luck w/ the Wolfgang brand.
 
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