Flex PE-08 owners... hologram worries?

[ignited22]

Hi everyone,
I am looking to purchase the pe-08 for precise correction work on smaller panels and such. I am worried that this tool will be leaving holograms in the corrected areas. Am I just being overly paranoid? How do you like your polishers and have you seen great results? Lets just assume we are all using this tool appropriately and with the appropriate products, does it do the job well? I feel the answer is a resounding "YES!", but I just wanted to ask anyway. Thanks all!

[haris300]

You can use a finishing pad and a finishing polish to eliminate holograms/buffer trails that could have been leftover from a more aggressive correction approach. As with other rotary machines, you can finish down amazingly as long as you have the right product, pad, and technique.

Here I used a 2 inch orange cutting pad with a compound and finished with a black pad and a fine polish:

http://i.imgur.com/mTr89iJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/65hsUYS.jpg

It really is a wonderful machine to use. I hardly ever find myself using anything past speed 1. Honestly my only complaint is that the power switch feels a little awkward.

[apthai]

I don't have any experience with a rotary but got one after using it at a Bay Area Meet & Greet. I don't think you have anything to worry about it. I've used it about a dozen time and each time it came out great.

[gjkwpd]

I love it. Great for tight spots and awesome for taillights/headlights. I agree with the power switch and speed 1-2 is perfect for everything. I was worried about holograms too but haven't run into any yet.

[Paul A.]

Holograms with a rotary can sneak up on even a seasoned rotary user. I have almost...and i say almost...all but eliminated them with my techniques but the key for me is to put my finished work in the most discerning light i can get. Most times its direct sun light. I have been surprised a few times to see what looks like a perfect finish under shop lighting pulled out and into the bright FL sun and bam! Faint buffer trails/holograms! Damn. Once more into the garage and GONE.

Learn to do that after your test spot(s) and don't make the mistake of waiting until you thought you were done with the entire vehicle.

The PE-8 is a perfect finesse machine and is ideal for lower front fascia, rear panels, pillars, etc. but is still a rotary, forced rotation machine and holograms/buffer trails are more readily inflicted over a DA. Just make sure you inspect your efforts under the most discriminating lighting. Basically, put the honey with no makeup under a search light!

[Rsurfer]

Love the PE8 for tight areas, but the Mini works in most cases.

[VincenzaV]

I have the PE-08 and it will (like all rotary's) leave holograms. It doesn't do it 100% of the time or anything, but depending on:
-Compound I'm using
-Me
-Pad
-How much compound
-Moon's gravitational pull

Etc. Great too for small spaces and POWERFUL. Even though I run speed 1 mostly, and no bigger than 3.5" pads, mine gets pretty hot. Not to where the thermal protection kicks in, but maybe I'm putting too much pressure on it.

It still gets hot even if I plug in into the inverter w/o a short extension card. I think others have experienced it.

It works PERFECT however for the purpose I bought it (headlights).

[AGOatemywallet]

Used my PE8 last night with CarPro 3 1/2" Flash Pads on speed 2.

Fantastic cut and less holograms than with the 3 1/2" FLEX Orange Cutting Pad.


Initially, I was not overly impressed with this machine, but it is growing on me.

[Audios S6]

With good technique you can minimize hologram occurances. Even if you do have them after your compounding step, following up with a fine polish will take care of them. You could also follow up with a 3" pad on DA. For me, doing two steps is still much faster than doing a single step with DA trying to get more cut.

[CarolinasFinestDetailing]

My only complaint about the machine is that I wish it had a lower speed setting. Having said that; you can finish tight spaces well with black foam pad & finishing polish. I hold the machine up a bit when finishing, basically I don't let the full weight of the machine sit.

[kwwhite1]

I second wanting a lower speed setting I rarely go above speed two except for maybe a single pass while doing heavy correction ona tight area. Speed 1 and the black finishing pad with sf4500 or v38 and no obvious holograms even after several washes with my own vehicle.

[Mike Phillips]

Just to chime in...





You can use a finishing pad and a finishing polish to eliminate holograms/buffer trails that could have been leftover from a more aggressive correction approach.




I agree, the above is correct. Like any type of polishing by hand or machine, after any correction work you want to do a follow-up polishing step with a less aggressive pad and product.







I have the PE-08 and it will (like all rotary's) leave holograms.



I would tend to agree with the above with the exception I'll include below after this comment.

Rotary buffers or rotary polishers will tend to impart their own scratch pattern we call holograms. You may not see it on light colored paints or on thin panels. My guess is that if you were to take a large flat black panel and polish it to perfection. Then re-polish using only a rotary buffer (any rotary buffer be it a PE8 or a DeWALT), and only buff right down the center for a pass or two.

Then chemically strip the panel or wash it a few times with soap, with bright overhead sunlight shining directly down on the panel my guess is you could see where the polisher was used in comparison to the perfect paint surrounding where the polisher was used.


Here's the deal though...

First - No one does this. That is no one chemically strips the paint just for the purpose of stripping the paint. Most people after buffing out a car move on to the next step of sealing the paint with a wax, sealant or coating. The application of the wax, sealant or coating will act to mask any faint holograms left by a professional finishing buff using a rotary buffer.

Second - If used for thin panels and tight areas you really wouldn't see holograms in the normal course of looking at the paint. Big panels ? Yes. Small or thin panels? No.

So to me it's is a non issue. The primary importance is correcting and perfecting the paint. That's what I call the BIG PICTURE.







It doesn't do it 100% of the time or anything,



And that is the exception I referenced above.






but depending on:
-Compound I'm using
-Me
-Pad
-How much compound
-Moon's gravitational pull




I would agree with all of the above except I think you left out the MOST important factor and that's the paint itself.

Paints are different. Some paints polish out better than others. I think we've all experienced paint that scratches if you LOOK at it the wrong way let alone buff on it.

That's why when possible it's always a safe bet to use any dual action polisher for your last machine polishing step to ensure you remove any residual or potential holograms so they are never an issue.

For thin panels or tight areas where it's simply faster and easier to knock them out using the PE8 with a small foam pad then by the time you do the sealing step you will have blended all the correction and polishing work together for a hologram-free uniform finish.

That's my take and my experience.

People can invest tons of time perfecting every square millimeter of paint but at some point you have to find BALANCE between what your time is worth in context of th car you're working on (daily driver or true show car), and also factor in if you're doing it for the love or passion of the craft you're detailing for dollars.


I would also add that now days it's easier than ever to finish out hologram free or as close to it as possible simply due to the abrasive technology available in top brand compounds, polishes and cleaner/waxes. That and gold jeweling pads.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

I second wanting a lower speed setting I rarely go above speed two




Same here unless I'm doing some major chopping.


I'll be working with Bob Eichelberg this Monday when we shoot the next episode of our TV Show and I'll ask him what it would take to get a lower RPM option in the PE8.


I think it has to do with the cooling of the tool. That is if the tool was run at lower speeds for to long a time then there would be a heat problem. During operation the motor that drives the buffing pad also drives the fan that pulls air through the tool to keep it cool and thus keep it safe. Running the tool at lower RPMs might not be safely possible for a compact tool of this size.

It is possible for the larger frame PE14 which has a low RPM of 400 and there's even another Flex rotary with a low RPM of 200 but it's for working on plastics and not needed or available in the U.S. - at least that's what I remember hearing.


:)