Almost as fast as a rotary buffer but a lot safer - What is it?

[Mike Phillips]

Almost as fast as a rotary buffer but a lot safer - What is it?



What is almost as fast as a rotary buffer but a lot safer to use?

The Flex 3401 with a wool pad!



So you want to do some major correction work huh? Remove years of neglect that has left millions of swirls, scratches, oxidation and water spots in the paint? Or, you're working on a gel-coat boat and you need to remove years of heavy oxidation?


Then get yourself a Flex 3401 and a Lake Country 7.5" Electrified Wool Polishing pad. No matter how hard you press against the Flex 3401 because it's a gear-driven orbital polisher there's nothing you can do that will stop the pad from both rotating and oscillating and that means you can do what I call,


Power through a detail


Then to increase the cutting speed and power, get a wool pad for your FLEX 3401.
Even though they use the word polishing to describe the 7.5" Electrified White Sheepskin Final Polishing Pad - don't be fooled, it still cuts like a son-of-a-gun because it's a WOOL pad.

Fibers are a form of abrasive be they wool cutting or wool polishing pads.


Electrified?
The word electrified means Lake Country has taken the extra step to electrify the wool which removes the natural sharp barbs found in wool creating a pad that cuts fast but finishes with less scouring of the paint. This is a real benefit when buffing thin, scratch-sensitive clearcoat finishes.
















The FLEX 3401 with a wool pad

























Before










After






Faster than any free spinning dual action polisher no matter what the shape of the panel or condition of the paint and safer than a rotary buffer.



On Autogeek.com

FLEX 3401 Dual Action Orbital Polisher

7.5" Electrified White Sheepskin Final Polishing Pad



Get my how-to book,

How to use the Flex XC3401 VRG Dual Action Orbital Polisher


Learn how to detail faster while keeping quality high!

[Freshjive44]

Could not the same results be achieved with a foam cutting pad with less need for follow-up correction? I get confused by non-foam options.

[Matt@Revive]

Mike, how do these cut compared to the LC purple foamed wool pads?

[JeffM]

whoa, that looks like a transformation for the record books.

[JustJesus]

Mike, how do these cut compared to the LC purple foamed wool pads?

I happen to know, since I just bought some Purples. Lake Country lists the Electrified Wool as about "2 steps" more aggressive. The Prewashed Lambswool is the pad between the Electrified and the Purple.

[Mike Phillips]

Could not the same results be achieved with a foam cutting pad with less need for follow-up correction?

No. Fibers are an abrasive. You can remove more paint and thus remove more and deeper defects faster with a fiber pad as compared to the most aggressive foam pad simply because fibers act as a form of abrasive.

Yes a follow-up step by using a foam "polishing" or "finishing" pad will be needed to maximize gloss and clarity. You have the option to choose how much defect removal you wand and the speed you want it and that is the differentiating factor between the various options as such,

Wool pad/foam pad
Foam cutting/foam polishing
Foam cutting and no secondary step but you risk leaving marring and hazing that the oils from the compound and the application of wax or sealant will mask. (test on black paint and then strip the paint)

I get confused by non-foam options.

I don't think anyone ever purposely tries to create confusion but it is true there are lots of buffing pad option. In fact, I think I just wrote an article about that a few week ago... couple of them...


MEGA pad selection for the FLEX 3401 - From Wool pads to Foam pad and even ABRALON SANDING DISCS





Here's another one...

3 inch and 4 inch buffing pad options at Autogeek

[House of Wax]

Could've really used this on my F250 that I'm working on

[WaxMaster1]

Mike, you're a genius, mad scientist kinda guy! You have every permutation and combination of pad and product and machine already figured out!! Amazing.

[wing commander]

Imagine Bucket Head detailing with that mask and lid. If he could polish like he plays he would be great to watch.

[VISITOR]

Almost as fast as a rotary buffer but a lot safer - What is it?

The Flex 3401 with a wool pad!

Faster than any free spinning dual action polisher no matter what the shape of the panel or condition of the paint and safer than a rotary buffer.

one thing for sure mike, it's been a proven workhorse for many years...