Suggestion for a DA Random orbital machine to be used to buff away the wax/polish/compound

[metinemre]

Mike after sending you a private message i realised it would be better if was answered here so everyone can benefit from the answer.


Can i safely use a machine to buff away the compound polish or wax after applying it to the surface?
I have a flex 3401 to put compound polish and wax on the car but i will get help from a friend of mine and maybe we will eventually do this as a side job. So i am planning to apply the compound or polish and he will buff it away from the paint with the second machine. Also same for wax. one machine will apply and the other one will buff and shine it.
2nd machine will be used mostly to remove the compound/ polish and wax away/shine and maybe rarely to apply them. Does this sound right?

Which of these would be the best choice for the purpose?
torq torqx
torq buff 501x 10fx
porter cable 7424
griot1s garage 10813stdcrd 6''

Also can you suggest backing plates, pads bonnets for any of the good choices you would suggest?
hook and loop system
less vibration and noise, durability is very important for me.

Thanks for the reply in advance.

[Velocitybts]

Mike after sending you a private message i realised it would be better if was answered here so everyone can benefit from the answer.


Can i safely use a machine to buff away the compound polish or wax after applying it to the surface?
I have a flex 3401 to put compound polish and wax on the car but i will get help from a friend of mine and maybe we will eventually do this as a side job. So i am planning to apply the compound or polish and he will buff it away from the paint with the second machine. Also same for wax. one machine will apply and the other one will buff and shine it.
2nd machine will be used mostly to remove the compound/ polish and wax away/shine and maybe rarely to apply them. Does this sound right?

Which of these would be the best choice for the purpose?
torq torqx
torq buff 501x 10fx
porter cable 7424
griot1s garage 10813stdcrd 6''

Also can you suggest backing plates, pads bonnets for any of the good choices you would suggest?
hook and loop system
less vibration and noise, durability is very important for me.

Thanks for the reply in advance.

I will try and answer this best as possible and touch on each of your questions.

In removing your compound/polish/wax it is best by far to do by hand. What would you use to remove the substances (MF Bonnets on some type of foam pad?) This process would IMHO likely introduce marring in the paint which is what you are trying to remove.
Compound Stage---- after your 2x2 section pass, not only would it be difficult to have your friend right beside you trying to remove the substance, but again, likely you will rescratch the surface with a bonnet. The Bonnets will also very likely NOT stay on the Flex or any other random orbital. The OLD school 8" buffers are what you would want, but again you will scratch the surface.

Same issues for Polish.

Best scenario would be to have 2x Flex 3401 or 1x Flex 3401 and one Rupes 15 and have both of you taking certain sections of the cars to work, and then remove your materials by hand.

I have personally used the GG 3" to apply sealants to cars and it works great with a black no cut pad. Remove by hand with proper MF towels so you don't re-scratch the surface.

Machines----

Flex 3401-------- use the 4" LC or the Flex 4 3/8 backing plate. Use the LC Hybrid pads in 5" for all your stages except wax. Do by hand or smaller machine. This set up from many many threads on this forum seems to work the absolute best, and I have consistent and spectacular results from it. Meguires MF cutting pads or the new LC MF cutting pads, or likely the GG BOSS MF cutting pads would also be or should be in your arsenal. For bad paint, they are what I use first.

Second machine------ full size Flex 3401 or Rupes 15 or 21. Have best of both worlds and the two of you can learn how to use both. If Rupes----- research what people use for pads, But Mike will tell you the Rupes pads and system works perfect as its intended too.

A small GG 3" or Rupes 3" would likely be needed for bumpers and the like. Adding a iBrid also would make things perfect for you. But if limited with funds start with a 3" on top of what the 2 of you use.


Pads------- make sure you buy plenty of pads of each type (cutting, polishing). You want to work clean, and taking one or two pads and doing the whole car isn't working clean. So for best results probably 6 or so pads per car, and blowing them out between sections is what you should be doing.

Hope this helps. Nothing cheap in this industry to do things right.

[TTQ B4U]

Mike after sending you a private message i realised it would be better if was answered here so everyone can benefit from the answer.


Can i safely use a machine to buff away the compound polish or wax after applying it to the surface?

Yes you can. I use the below pictured bonnets that fit over top of a 6" foam pad on my Felx 3401 set to a speed of 4 and they work great. Works on a regular DA unit like the PC 7424 too. I typically use two per vehicle. Zero issues. My process however is that this isn't he last step as I go over the vehicle by hand with detail spray and a clean MF Rag to insure all is removed and the vehicle ready for delivery.[/QUOTE]



That said, if you're looking to have a second person help you, I'd duplicate what you're using now for correction and simply have each of you work on one half of the vehicle.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi metinemre,

I just read your private message to me asking the questions in this thread and I'm glad to hear you liked the results from the FLEX 3401.

As for the help you gained by the videos we make, the Hybrid pads I recommend on this forum and in my FLEX How-To book, glad to hear this helps... it's all a part of our customer service here at Autogeek. Some people think Customer Service is making a phone call but this forum is a type of Autogeek Customer Service.


How to use the Flex XC3401 VRG Dual Action Orbital Polisher





As to your question about removing compounds, polishes and waxes by machine. I use to answer this as "no" but I've never seen the thing pictured in the post above me by pdqgjp.

IF the thing works then the answer is "yes".


Normally, or historically, you wipe compounds, polishes and waxes off by hand. I DO cover how to remove waxes and sealants off by machine on page 133 of my how-to book,


The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine



That's my using a microfiber bonnet over a dry foam cutting or polishing pad on a dual action polisher. The thing is the wax or sealant you want to remove has to be DRY and wipe off easy. If it's wet your bonnet will simply become wet and stop working to remove the wax or sealant and actually it will start doing the opposite, you'll be spreading the wet film out all over again. (think about it).



One thing though.... even if the thing-a-majiggy pictures above does work to remove compound and polish I would want to inspect the surface of BLACK paint after using it at least for removing the last machine applied product, (usually a polish), to make sure it's not actually marring what was a perfect finish after machine polishing.

Kind of hard for me to understand how having something like the above buzzing over paint removing residue wouldn't also be leaving marks at the same time. I give it the benefit of the doubt till I test it on black paint.


So for now... wipe compounds and polishes off by hand and the best time to do this is RIGHT AFTER you've finished working them. That is don't let them dry and them wipe them off there's no reason to let a compound or polish dry and the more they dry the more difficult they can be to wipe off.


Make sense?

[TTQ B4U]

As to your question about removing compounds, polishes and waxes by machine. I use to answer this as "no" but I've never seen the thing pictured in the post above me by pdqgp. IF the thing works then the answer is "yes".


Normally, or historically, you wipe compounds, polishes and waxes off by hand. I DO cover how to remove waxes and sealants off by machine on page 133 of my how-to book,

One thing though.... even if the thing-a-majiggy pictures above does work to remove compound and polish I would want to inspect the surface of BLACK paint after using it at least for removing the last machine applied product, (usually a polish), to make sure it's not actually marring what was a perfect finish after machine polishing.

Kind of hard for me to understand how having something like the above buzzing over paint removing residue wouldn't also be leaving marks at the same time. I give it the benefit of the doubt till I test it on black paint.

Your PM is responded to. I've had great success and luck with the above. It doesn't 100% replace my wiping off of LSP's by hand as I use it to get the vast majority off quickly. I always, even when wiping by hand, make a second pass around the vehicle with a bottle of detail spray and a MF Rag to insure I've gotten everything off and the crevices all cleaned.

I've never used it on compounds and rarely on polishes as I tend to work in small areas and remove them as I go. The reason being is I inspect those areas after each section is done to insure I'm achieving the results desired.

Hope that makes sense.

[metinemre]

Thank you very much for the replies guys.