Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
When I choose the CBEAST - Blue Maserati Light Paint Correction
The FLEX CBEAST or Cordless BEAST
Maserati Paint Correction & Ceramic Coating
I recently detailed a blue Maserati for a buddy of mine. It only had light swirls and scratches but it was purchased used and there's was no information about how the paint had been cared for in the past.
There was something weird about it though? There were FINGERPRINTS in the paint on the driver's side sail panel. And these were not smudges, they were actual imprints IN the paint. I have know idea how these could have been put into the paint? Maybe someone had acetone on their hands? Even if this were the case, why would someone have acetone or any hot solvent on their hands? This is dangerous to the person besides the paint.
Paint Correction Process
After a waterless wash, I machine buffed all the paint then chemically stripped it and applied the Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating. Because the paint defects were not severe or more technically specific, the paint defects were not DEEP, I opted to use the FLEX CBEAST.
The FLEX CBEAST
I get asked a lot about how much power the FLEX CBEAST has? The answer is,
It has plenty...
It's an 8mm gear-driven, dual action polisher. When you pull the speed trigger, the motor will both rotate and oscillate the buffing pad and nothing you do will stop the pad from functioning in both of these movements.
The BEAST Slogan
As my forum friend vobro coined the saying,
All brawl, no stall...
FLEX loved the above saying so much they gave us permission to use it for a TV commercial.
With it established that gear-driven orbital polishers have zero pad stalling issues, the next question or topic of discussion when it comes to the 3 different FLEX gear-driven orbital polishers is,
Which polisher to get?
At this time, (7/8/2021) FLEX offers 3 different versions of the original FLEX gear-driven polisher.
1 - The FLEX XC 3401 VRG or as I call it, the BEAST.
2 - The CBEAST - the letter "C" stands for cordless.
3 - The Supa BEAST, (the replacement for the original BEAST)
Out of the three different versions, here's my take from this article, post #3
The BEAST
If I REALLY want to bust out a job and plow through it as fast as humanly possible I use the BEAST.
The Supa BEAST
If not trying to hit Warp Speed - I grab the Supa Beast, much more enjoyable to use. Amazing tool. Smoother, quieter, lighter and cooler than the original.
The CBEAST
If I have an easy job, that means the car has only light swirls, scratches, etc. and I'm not in a hurry then I grab the CBEAST.
Back to the question, which BEAST should I get?
In most cases I recommend the Supa BEAST because like I said in the TV commercial, It's lighter, quieter, cooler and smoother. Plus FLEX is discontinuing the original BEAST, the XC 3401 VRG. The corded Supa BEAST has max power because it's corded. It's not that the CBEAST doesn't have power - it does. Which one to use or which one to buy depends on your buffing style and as I shared above, I want to go as fast as I can.
The only time I don't use the corded Supa BEAST is when I have a car that is in relatively good condition, by this I mean any paint defects it has are minor or SHALLOW - so I don't need the power of the corded Supa BEAST I can easily handle the job with the CBEAST.
Now let me tie this all up in a pretty bow. This Maserati, it was in decent shape. YES it needed to be machine polished to remove the finger prints in the paint plus all the light swirls and scratches - BUT to also prep the paint for a ceramic coating. So if you're reading this and wondering which FLEX BEAST you should buy, this car is an example of the type of car I would choose the CORDLESS version of the family of FLEX gear-driven orbital polishers.
As you can see by the picture above, to machine paint correct this Maserati, I used,
And here's the final results...
Nice color and a cool car.
On Autogeek.com
The FLEX CBEAST - $580.00 - this includes battery charger and two 5 AMP batteries
Pinnacle Black Label Compound 8 oz. - $35.00
Pinnacle Black Label Polish 8 oz. - $35.00
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Surface Prep Spray 8 oz. - $20.00
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating - $80.00
6 Inch Dark Blue Heavy Polishing Foam Pad
6 Inch Soft White Finishing Foam Pad
The FLEX CBEAST or Cordless BEAST
- Upgraded to the 6" backing plate.
- Speed dial taped in place on the 6 speed setting.
- RUPES 180mm yellow foam CP pad.
Maserati Paint Correction & Ceramic Coating
I recently detailed a blue Maserati for a buddy of mine. It only had light swirls and scratches but it was purchased used and there's was no information about how the paint had been cared for in the past.
There was something weird about it though? There were FINGERPRINTS in the paint on the driver's side sail panel. And these were not smudges, they were actual imprints IN the paint. I have know idea how these could have been put into the paint? Maybe someone had acetone on their hands? Even if this were the case, why would someone have acetone or any hot solvent on their hands? This is dangerous to the person besides the paint.
Paint Correction Process
After a waterless wash, I machine buffed all the paint then chemically stripped it and applied the Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating. Because the paint defects were not severe or more technically specific, the paint defects were not DEEP, I opted to use the FLEX CBEAST.
The FLEX CBEAST
I get asked a lot about how much power the FLEX CBEAST has? The answer is,
It has plenty...
It's an 8mm gear-driven, dual action polisher. When you pull the speed trigger, the motor will both rotate and oscillate the buffing pad and nothing you do will stop the pad from functioning in both of these movements.
The BEAST Slogan
As my forum friend vobro coined the saying,
All brawl, no stall...
FLEX loved the above saying so much they gave us permission to use it for a TV commercial.
With it established that gear-driven orbital polishers have zero pad stalling issues, the next question or topic of discussion when it comes to the 3 different FLEX gear-driven orbital polishers is,
Which polisher to get?
At this time, (7/8/2021) FLEX offers 3 different versions of the original FLEX gear-driven polisher.
1 - The FLEX XC 3401 VRG or as I call it, the BEAST.
2 - The CBEAST - the letter "C" stands for cordless.
3 - The Supa BEAST, (the replacement for the original BEAST)
Out of the three different versions, here's my take from this article, post #3
The BEAST
If I REALLY want to bust out a job and plow through it as fast as humanly possible I use the BEAST.
The Supa BEAST
If not trying to hit Warp Speed - I grab the Supa Beast, much more enjoyable to use. Amazing tool. Smoother, quieter, lighter and cooler than the original.
The CBEAST
If I have an easy job, that means the car has only light swirls, scratches, etc. and I'm not in a hurry then I grab the CBEAST.
Back to the question, which BEAST should I get?
In most cases I recommend the Supa BEAST because like I said in the TV commercial, It's lighter, quieter, cooler and smoother. Plus FLEX is discontinuing the original BEAST, the XC 3401 VRG. The corded Supa BEAST has max power because it's corded. It's not that the CBEAST doesn't have power - it does. Which one to use or which one to buy depends on your buffing style and as I shared above, I want to go as fast as I can.
The only time I don't use the corded Supa BEAST is when I have a car that is in relatively good condition, by this I mean any paint defects it has are minor or SHALLOW - so I don't need the power of the corded Supa BEAST I can easily handle the job with the CBEAST.
Now let me tie this all up in a pretty bow. This Maserati, it was in decent shape. YES it needed to be machine polished to remove the finger prints in the paint plus all the light swirls and scratches - BUT to also prep the paint for a ceramic coating. So if you're reading this and wondering which FLEX BEAST you should buy, this car is an example of the type of car I would choose the CORDLESS version of the family of FLEX gear-driven orbital polishers.
As you can see by the picture above, to machine paint correct this Maserati, I used,
- The FLEX CBEAST.
- 6" Buff & Shine Uro-Tec Dark Blue Heavy Polishing Foam Pads and one 6" Buff & Shine Uro-Tec Soft White Finishing Pad
- Pinnacle Black Label Compound.
- Pinnacle Black Label Polish.
- Pinnacle Black Label Surface Prep Spray. (a panel wipe)
- Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating.
- A whole bunch of microfiber towels.
And here's the final results...
Nice color and a cool car.
On Autogeek.com
The FLEX CBEAST - $580.00 - this includes battery charger and two 5 AMP batteries
Pinnacle Black Label Compound 8 oz. - $35.00
Pinnacle Black Label Polish 8 oz. - $35.00
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Surface Prep Spray 8 oz. - $20.00
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating - $80.00
6 Inch Dark Blue Heavy Polishing Foam Pad
6 Inch Soft White Finishing Foam Pad
