Dirty Girl - Extreme Maserati Makeover!

[Mike Phillips]

Parting shot, time to shut down Autogeek's Show Car Garage and set the alarm...







Cool car. The right color for this car too...

[Mike Phillips]

@Mike, interesting applicator you made there. Is there a reason you prefer that over what most other coatings come with (suede over a foam block)?

Cheap.
Works well.
Fast.
Bubba-Proof.
I always have these types of foam pads around or with me.
Easy to use.

Million ways to skin a cat, I have nothing against any of the other methods.


Big Picture = get the coating on with uniform coverage and without marring (scratching) the paint.

[Mike Phillips]

No, the battery won't fit. Each brand likes to have their own format.

That's correct.

Usually fits everything in the same brand but not always true.

I think that's also correct.

I'm thinking these Flex cordless polishers all use the same battery and if you buy multiple tools you got your multiple batteries that are interchangeable.

That's correct.

The company that owns FLEX also owns their own battery technology.

Chervon



The below is from my most recent Roadshow Car Detailing Class from page 2

Pictures: Autogeek’s Roadshow Class with PRAXIS Detailing in Auburn, Indiana



Power on the go!

Chris Metcalf from FLEX brought along this nifty device called,

EGO Nexus Power Station

Tech Specs

◾3000W Peak 2000Watt Continuous
◾3 120V A/C Outlets
◾4 USB Ports
◾Bright LED Display Shows Run Time
◾Robust Steel Handles
◾Battery Powered Alternative to Gas Generators
◾Quiet Clean Power for Indoor and Outdoor Use
◾4 Port Battery Charger (when plugged in)
◾Weather-Resistant Construction


This product is built and owned by the parent company to FLEX









FLEX battery technology is top shelf.

[DMW]

Do you normally compound the whole car like that? Isn't it like cement by the time you're done with the whole car? My method is to do a panel, and get the compound off asap so it's not a pita to remove. I then polish that same panel before I move to the next panel. That way I don't have to keep moving my lights around.

BTW, I REALLY hate cords of any kind and this really sells me on the new cordless Flex.

[Mike Phillips]

Do you normally compound the whole car like that? Isn't it like cement by the time you're done with the whole car? My method is to do a panel, and get the compound off asap so it's not a pita to remove. I then polish that same panel before I move to the next panel. That way I don't have to keep moving my lights around.

Good question.

The answer is "yes" normally wipe off compounds and polishes after each panel is buffed.

Because I was taking and sharing videos and pictures on both this forum and my FB page simultaneously and also under tight time constraints, I broke the car into 3 sections determined by battery life. Top of car and glass, hood, front of car and driver's side then passenger side and back of car.

So in this case I just suffered a little. Really, the compound wasn't that hard to wipe off with good towels, I used the Forrest Green Edgeless I like. And I turned the air conditioning down to 74 degrees to bust this project out.

BTW, I REALLY hate cords of any kind and this really sells me on the new cordless Flex.

Here's the deal and I'm being really honest. I've also posted this before on this forum and share this personal insight in my classes.

If I'm trying to buff out a car as fast as I can then I use the corded FLEX 3401.

If I don't have to knock the car out as fast as humanly possible, then I choose and prefer the cordless FLEX just for the freedom of not having to hassle with a cord. It's a huge difference. You could say huge connivence and even blessing.

Never having to maintain the cord over your shoulder when buffing out the roof, hood and trunk lid.

Never having to string an extension cord down one side of the car and then manage it as you move from one end of the vertical panels on the side of the car to the other end of the car.

Nice.

[Mike Phillips]

Wow?

No comments?

Maybe people don’t want to interrupt the posting/documenting you’re doing, guessing that’s why there’s a lack of comments right now... or maybe we’re all speechless as to how fast you’re knocking this out, Mike!!

I get it.

I just thought more people, regular members, new members, etc. would be interested in this. I don't ever see detail work posted in a blow-by-blow manner like I did this car today and share it simultaneously on both the forum and Facebook, not a big deal, just never see it.


Also - and I hate to date myself, but I've been posting how-to info to the Internet as long as some detailers and in most cases longer and PEOPLE, that's you and I), have been ASKING for CORDLESS BUFFERS for years. No DECADES.

Now they're here.

So I was thinking there would be more passion and excitement from the detailing world?

And if you want to go deeper - think of this question.

How often are NEW tools introduced? In context of car detailing tools the answer is not very often. Next up is the UDOS and whatever is shared at SEMA in a few months.


So yeah, I thought there would be more action but alas - forums are dead. Or at least that's what those around me say.


Maybe it's time to start posting garbled texts with no sentence structure or formatting with lumped together pictures to a FB group and accept that's just how the online world has devolved.

[Mike Phillips]

Y

>> I noticed that you basically only taped the sunroof and the side mirrors, why was that? <<

Those were the only areas I felt I needed to protect so I could work fast and sloppy.


Good question.

[Mike Phillips]

Starting work at noon Mike? Are you a banker?

The clock shows noon but it was 11:something am.

I took the clock down our of my office and set the hands to NOON to document battery and process time, that's all.

The clock does not indicate "real time". I'm using it to time this project as I work through it.

[mbkite]

Out standing work as always. And great internet teacher. Thanks for your time and effort.
You make autogeekonline what it is.....

[Mike Phillips]

Only way I have found to show road film is on white paint.

When you clean and decontaminate white paint, the before and after are quite revealing. Some of my clients have said to me they did not understand how I can make their white paint so white Well, when you normally go to a car wash, you can't expect miracles

Copy that. This is actually the deeper point of one of my oldest articles.

The Lesson White Paint Teaches Us

Only worked on a Maserati once, and it was for debadging and scratch removal. How thick and hard is the paint on the one you are working on? The one I did had soft paint if I remember correctly. It was pretty thick too, which is nice to see when you are there to remove scratches

I'd put his in the medium range. It's not so hard that it's a pain in the butt to buff out but not so soft that it scratches when you wipe compound off.

I've done 2-3 just like this one this year, all the same paint hardness.