Time to “step it up” .... thoughts?

[bean438]

I know there’s tons of opinions out there, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

Years ago ago I stepped it up from doing everything by hand (simple wash, and wax) when I purchased an “ultimate detailing machine”. I made the purchase simply as a time (and hand) saver.

I got the machine and dabbled with some next level products, discovered clay bars, polish, etc.

my truck is silver, and my “system” ended up... wash > clay > red Klasse > grey Klasse > pinnacle sovereign paste.

The slight swirls were still there, if you looked for them, but the truck looks good. Real good, that people will still ask “did you buy a new truck”. Totally happy with the truck.

We now bought a new rav4, darker metallic grey. Was gonna do the same process as the truck, BUT things are a bit different now:

1. I have more available free time / desire to put more time into this thing we do

2. Daughter is now independent so the Bank of Mom and Dad has some extra cash.

For the rav id like to step it up once again and possibly upgrade my equipment, and / or chemicals.

Other tha n the Klasse products I’ve tried optimum polish. It,didn’t,work, and turned to water n the bottle. Optimum is out.

I also tried Meguiars da microfiber system. Didn’t work, and turned to water. I have a long history with Meguiars and I’m gonna cut them some slack. I still have megs 205, and 83.

Im seriously eyeing up the flex 3401 at this point. I hear it runs smoother. My arms will thank me at the end of the day.

For pads I have some LC white, black, and green, megs polish, and finishing pads.

The rav as as I said is new so I’m think I could just use the 205 I have on hand to polish out the minimal swirls on the vehicle and use up my Klasse products. Truth be told i don’t really need to top with sovereign but it smells so nice, and is fun to apply. Plus it’s an additional layer of protection.

So id like some opinions please. 2013 was the last time I seriously looked at all this stuff. The 3401 was the king, and chemical was more or less a personal preference.

Budget is not unlimited, but I also like to “buy once, cry once”. I also don t have a power washer.

Thanks in advance guys, and I’m glad to be back in the saddle.


Ps don’t tell my wife about this post.

[UncleDavy]

Detailing is evolutionary and we are always upping our game. I love my pressure washer and the added foam cannon is added fun. There is no such thing as too many good quality towels.

[bean438]

I tried a foam cannon and wasn’t impressed. Power washer is on the list.

As for pads, should I buy lots of each one, or fewer pads and clean them on the go? (Wash and use a wringer to dry quickly)

[dlc95]

I tried a foam cannon and wasn’t impressed. Power washer is on the list.

As for pads, should I buy lots of each one, or fewer pads and clean them on the go? (Wash and use a wringer to dry quickly)

Buy more for sure.

[UncleDavy]

One pad per panel.

[dlc95]

If you wanted to try alternates for the Klasse, Duragloss 501 is a great cleaner/sealant. It actually has a slight bite to it, and can remove some light marring. SG could be replaced with Duragloss 111 and / or Aquawax.

If it were me, I'd like to have a polish that has some swirl removing abilities. M205, and M83 are great. If I had to had to have just one, it would probably be Menzerna MC2500, which is a medium cut. Cuts and finishes a little better than M83, and in those instances that M205 doesn't want to finish down, 2500 will.

Works great on tangerine or Cyan LC Hydrotech pads, but those are sort of old hat these days. I still really like them though.

That 3401 is smooth once you get the hang of it. Maybe get your UDM set up with a 5" pad/plate system if you haven't already.

If you're in the market for a new machine, that 3401 is a great compliment to the U.S., which can be fitted with a 3" plate/ pads for small areas.

[Setec Astronomy]

Other tha n the Klasse products I’ve tried optimum polish. It,didn’t,work, and turned to water n the bottle. Optimum is out.

When OPT first transitioned to water-based polishes, they had some rancidity problems, but that was solved a long time ago. I have OPT polishes that are at least 5 years old and are fine. Optimum polish is fairly mild, but if you've got a UDM and that era pads...probably not going to be able to do much correction.


I also tried Meguiars da microfiber system. Didn’t work, and turned to water. I have a long history with Meguiars and I’m gonna cut them some slack. I still have megs 205, and 83.

This I've never heard, D300/301 "turning to water". You might want to look at how you store your products, make sure they aren't getting too hot in the summer, or freezing in the winter. My experience with the Meg's MF system is opposite yours, it turned my original PC into a machine that can actually do some correction. There is a requirement to fluff the pads or you're not going to get the best results from the system, but I think it's a great system that's capable of significant defect removal, even on an old machine like an original PC7424.


I'm seriously eyeing up the flex 3401 at this point. I hear it runs smoother. My arms will thank me at the end of the day.

I'm not sure I would characterize it as smoother...it's different--if you want "smooth" I think you want a long-stroke polisher.


Ps don’t tell my wife about this post.

My lips are sealed :)

[Eldorado2k]

One pad per panel.

1 pad per panel for compounding*

You can stretch a pad for longer than 1 panel when polishing.

And when it comes to Black pads aka waxing pads aka lsp spreading pads aka Finishing pads, you can pretty much finish off a vehicle with just 1 of them. [2 tops]

Don’t bother getting a bunch of finishing pads. You’ll be wasting your money. Instead tilt the scale over to compounding/cutting pads, and then polishing pads [but not as many as the cutting] and 1 maybe 2 finishing pads.


If you mess around and buy a dozen finishing pads, I’ll personally call your wife and spill the beans! Lol.

[Coatingsarecrack]

Can’t help on polisher. Haven’t used one yet but through lots of research settled on boss g15. With A/g package deal and sale basically got for $200 1/2 price of rupes and doesn’t seem twice as better. Wanted a 15 mm throw. I bought a Ryobi 2300 psi 1.2 gpm electric pressure washer and awesome for car washing. Wish it had higher gpm to clean around house but does a great job washing and with my foam cannon


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bean438]

Maybe my megs microfiber stuff was too hot. Never frozen.

One pad pad per panel is for polishing and compounding right? Can’t see needing lots of pads to apply sealant.

Looking at LC hybrids and a ccs green pad.

For some reason i,thought the 3401 didn’t kill the arms as much as the UDM.

As for power washers i watched watched some reviews on YouTube on the dedicated “detail” washers. Seemed gimmicky especially the thousand dollar one. A power washer is a power washer right?

[Eldorado2k]

Someone tell him not to get those pads^

[bean438]

1 pad per panel for compounding*

You can stretch a pad for longer than 1 panel when polishing.

And when it comes to Black pads aka waxing pads aka lsp spreading pads aka Finishing pads, you can pretty much finish off a vehicle with just 1 of them. [2 tops]

Don’t bother getting a bunch of finishing pads. You’ll be wasting your money. Instead tilt the scale over to compounding/cutting pads, and then polishing pads [but not as many as the cutting] and 1 maybe 2 finishing pads.


If you mess around and buy a dozen finishing pads, I’ll personally call your wife and spill the beans! Lol.

Lol, I’ll heed your advice. Looks like you answered as I was replying. I figured one finish pad per panel was crazy. I have one green LC ccs pad. Should be enough as I use it to apply red Klasse, and will use it on the rav after polishing with 205.

[bean438]

As for pad cleaning I used to put them into the washer with pad cleaner and air dry, foam side down.

Saw a guy on you tube that hand washes in buckets with pad cleaner, and the. Through an industrial wringer, then air dry foam down. Overkill?

Do I really need pad cleaner? Car wash soap ok? Or dish soap?

[Eldorado2k]

As for pad cleaning I used to put them into the washer with pad cleaner and air dry, foam side down.

Saw a guy on you tube that hand washes in buckets with pad cleaner, and the. Through an industrial wringer, then air dry foam down. Overkill?

Do I really need pad cleaner? Car wash soap ok? Or dish soap?

I just cleaned a bunch of my pads yesterday... The way I do it is: If I’m not being lazy, the easiest way is to rinse them clean with plain water. Yes they’ll come perfectly clean with plain water as long as you clean them the same day you used them. No letting them sit overnight because then you’ll need more than just water. And this only applies to pads used for compound & polish.

Any pads used for wax, sealant, AIO’s, or other lsp protection will require some kind of cleaner.

For pad cleaning where they’ve sat for a while: I just spray them good, nice and saturated with LA’s Totally Awesome from the dollar store and let them marinate for about 10min. then lay down my Grit Guard on the lawn and spray them with the garden hose nozzle on jet setting. They come perfectly clean in seconds everytime.

After I spray them clean I flip them over, rinse the backside, then press them on the Grit Guard to let the excess water out and put them in a clean bucket with a Grit Guard on the bottom to prevent them from sitting in a pool of water.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181216/01dcb08fec3c05398258dd39005ed031.jpg

Next I put them on my HFDA with a 5” backing plate and spin them dry full speed into an empty 5 gallon bucket. Most of the water comes out. Before I remove the pad I press the pad into a large thick waffle weave drying towel and now they’re 95% dry. Lay them out and they’ll be fully dry in no time.

100% clean and dry everytime even if they’ve been sitting for a long time.

I never use my expensive polisher to do the spin drying. The pads are heavy with water and I don’t want to risk messing with my pricy polisher for that. That’s what the HFDA is perfect for, doing the grunt work and never breaking down.[emoji4]

[bean438]

Would you use “totally awesome” on pads that were used for compounding/polishing/aio?

Would a “simple green” degreaser work?