suggestions on time table for first time flex DA 3401 owner / user

[Toolhead]

never used a DA before / have incoming flex 3401.. (excited)...

for a white 2012 camry that the girl in the house, has only taken to the car wash.. (i recently forbade that and wash it by hand myself)..

if i am going to:
wash
ironx
clay
polish/ may have to compound? white paint seems a little dull.. never had wax on it.. this may need a blue cut.. or will orange still cut it?

wolfgang sealant
paste carnuba wax

what sort of timelime do i have here.. 2 days?

im thinking day 1

wash
ironx
clay
compound/ polish..try to polish first and compound if required?

will i be able to get the sealant in on day 1 so it cures overnight and i can carnuba it the next day..

or i am i looking at 3 days, where i probably wont get the sealant in on the first day..

will have to wash day 2, then sealant, then let it cure ..

day 3: carnuba wax?

thoughts.. i know this will vary on a wide range of factors.. but just looking for a rooftop assessment here.. pls
'

[Mike@ShineStruck]

You can do it all in one day(wax next day) if you have everything on hand.
As for compound/polish...Do a test spot first prior to doing the complete car, as im sure you don't fancy wasting your time and efforts only to redo it..

Curious, what pads (how many per color) and product did you order?

Quick tips for handling the 3401
Hold polisher at either a 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock position versus verticle as it helps compensate for walk..

Keep polisher level and pad flat so you don't trigger the walking side effect of forced oscillation..

[Mike Phillips]

never used a DA before / have incoming flex 3401.. (excited)...

Congratulations on purchasing the BEAST!

for a white 2012 camry that the girl in the house, has only taken to the car wash.. (i recently forbade that and wash it by hand myself)..

if i am going to:

1: wash & ironx <-- 1 hour

2: clay <--45 minutes

3: polish/ may have to compound? <--6 to 8 hours if you hustle and don't take breaks. Also change to fresh pad often, especially for compoundingg

4: wolfgang sealant <--Machine apply = 20 minutes

5: paste carnuba wax <-- Hand apply about 30 minutes, machine apply about 30 minutes


what sort of timelime do i have here.. 2 days?

The above times are what I could do it in, probably faster.

If this is your first time and you don't want to kill yourself then "yes" 2 days.


The key to being fast is to

A: Have experience (we all started with ZERO)

B: Having your garage set-up for efficiency

C: Hustling. No texting, checking on your favorite forum, (AGO), no talking to the neighbors or wife, etc. Turn the buffer on and get buffing.



Personally I would do a great job of applying the sealant and skip the wax unless you simply want to see the max effect and you enjoy working on this car. I rarely do two LSPs on anything.

white paint seems a little dull.. never had wax on it..

this may need a blue cut.. or will orange still cut it?

IF she's been ran through a brush style swirl-o-matic then you'll likely need the orange although the blue is actually a pretty sharp foam cutting pad. The difference will have more to do with the compound and your technique than either of these pads.

If it were me? I'd crank her up to the 6 speed setting, PUSH DOWN HARD and get to chopping on this paint for the first step. If you do a great job on the first step then you can buzz through the polishing step. This assumes you're using good compounds and polishes.


Since it's your first time with this tool I'd take your time and focus on the task at hand as a way of learning, not so much focus on speed. Speed comes with practice.


Looking forward to your follow-up posts...

[Toolhead]

thanks mike.. (ive been watching your videos.. great instructionals.., also i placed that large order with you folks ..lots of incoming stuff to play with, your sales team was EXCELLENT to work with.. really really excellent service when placing the order and product recommendations).

a few questions, if I may:

i bought the wolfgang flex kit.. so with that said..

(i am probably reading your reply about the pads, incorrectly)..but i was under the impression that the Lake Country Hydrotech cyan was for the wolfgang UBER remover, which led me to believe its a more aggressive pad.. , then use the orange with WG finishing glaze.. which led me to believe that orange pad was less aggressive..

im reading your post about the pads and thinking you are writing that the orange is more aggressive?

new question:

saw your notes about using IPA... do i really need that step .. if so. you recommend mineral spirits...? what is your dilution and are you saying mineral spirits.. (like what i buy @ home depot, which is a small can and simply says "mineral spirits"

iron x: should i really tape off the inside of the rims/ exposed brake parts.. or is that overly careful and not required..

many thanks.. ive been learning a ton from your videos and look forward to implementing your process...

[DaveT435]

That should be a single stage white. It's going to be a little tougher to correct. Do you have and kind of wool pads to work with, these will work the best. You'll wNt to use some kind of wool and an aggressive compound. If you use a short wool and FG400 it would probably come out ready for LSP. If your using foam it's going to take a little longer. On the bright side when LSP ready a WOWA sealant will do an incredible job, and durability will be great.. All in all...this being your first time Y would plan on 15-20 hours, but it will look incredible.

Don't rush it, I did one of those not too long ago, if you have problems or questions I'm usually available. Being single stage you are going to end up with white paint on your pad.

While most of the white Toyotas that year will have SS paint, some do have base coat/clear coat.

When I did the white Camry I ended up going to a rotary a wool and it made things go a lot faster

The dull is oxidation, if your using foam you'll get there it will take a little longer in my opinion. Don't get discouraged because your not getting the results quickly, it's the paint...

[Toolhead]

That should be a single stage white. It's going to be a little tougher to correct. Do you have and kind of wool pads to work with, these will work the best. You'll wNt to use some kind of wool and an aggressive compound. If you use a short wool and FG400 it would probably come out ready for LSP. If your using foam it's going to take a little longer. On the bright side when LSP ready a WOWA sealant will do an incredible job, and durability will be great.. All in all...this being your first time Y would plan on 15-20 hours, but it will look incredible.

Don't rush it, I did one of those not too long ago, if you have problems or questions I'm usually available. Being single stage you are going to end up with white paint on your pad.

While most of the white Toyotas that year will have SS paint, some do have base coat/clear coat.

When I did the white Camry I ended up going to a rotary a wool and it made things go a lot faster

The dull is oxidation, if your using foam you'll get there it will take a little longer in my opinion. Don't get discouraged because your not getting the results quickly, it's the paint...

thanks dave..
im learning something new daily.. so 2012 white camry.. may not have a clear coat? thought all cars/ paint had clearcoat.

i only have a flex.. so im on the foam pads..

i figured i would be on at least full 2 day cycle from start to finish..

[DetailKitty]

I PERSONALLY like to give myself 2 days. So if I am getting tired I can stop and come back the next day vs risking bad form/technique just to hurry and finish.

[BudgetPlan1]

I PERSONALLY like to give myself 2 days. So if I am getting tired I can stop and come back the next day vs risking bad form/technique just to hurry and finish.

2.5 days or 24 man-hrs. Don't forget taping (masking), searching around the garage for stuff, figuring out what combo *IS* gonna get you what you need (i.e. 'test spots'), getting used to Flex. Keep in mind also that the WG is DAT (Diminishing Abrasive) liquids so those have to be completely worked through cycle, especially when polishing. While Megs M205 and Flex might get ya what you need on 4 passes, the WG will take 6 or so to insure the polish is completely broken down and finishes nicely. Here's a nice thread re: Flex use with Menzerna; Menzerna, Wolfgang...same concept.: My technique concerning the 3401, Menzerna products, and Hybrid pads

Sent ya a PM regarding one of your other Flex threads as well.

[JustJesus]

..but i was under the impression that the Lake Country Hydrotech cyan was for the wolfgang UBER remover, which led me to believe its a more aggressive pad.. , then use the orange with WG finishing glaze.. which led me to believe that orange pad was less aggressive..

im reading your post about the pads and thinking you are writing that the orange is more aggressive?

Congrats on that purchase. I love my 3401. The colors of the various pads tends to confuse people, myself included! But you are correct. Within the Hydrotech line, the Cyan (blue) is the aggressive one, and the tangerine (orange) is the medium (polishing), while crimson (red) is for finishing.

Just to note, in some other foam pad line ups, orange is considered aggressive.

Since it's your first time with this tool I'd take your time and focus on the task at hand as a way of learning, not so much focus on speed. Speed comes with practice.

Mike's post was great, but I especially liked that line above. Focus on learning the tool and technique. Never mind how long it takes. No need to rush a job. I've seen guys do that, and they end up disappointed with the results.

Myself, I'm currently doing a slight correction on an '88 Porsche 911. Already have 2 days in, and haven't even got through half the car. Breaks, chats, checking (AGO) site (LOL, Mike P. That was funny!). This car also happens to have a boat load of rubber/vinyl/whatever trim that stains easy, so I'm taking my time masking sections.


Good luck with your project, and have fun!

[Mike Phillips]

your sales team was EXCELLENT to work with.. really really excellent service when placing the order and product recommendations

That is the norm around here, thank you for taking the time to mention it.

a few questions, if I may:

i bought the wolfgang flex kit.. so with that said..

(i am probably reading your reply about the pads, incorrectly)..but i was under the impression that the Lake Country Hydrotech cyan was for the wolfgang UBER remover, which led me to believe its a more aggressive pad.. , then use the orange with WG finishing glaze.. which led me to believe that orange pad was less aggressive..

im reading your post about the pads and thinking you are writing that the orange is more aggressive?

My mistake, I thought you had the Hybrid. This is the crazy thing about pad colors, there's no universal code.

So "YES" in the Hydro-Tech line the blue is cutting and the orange is polishing. If the paint is single state, then it's going to be hard and you'll likely need to use the aggressive pad with your most aggressive product.

Note: If the car is a daily driver, I personally wouldn't shoot for 100% defect removal. Heck, getting 80%+ can be good enough and will really make the color of the paint more vibrant.





[QUOTE=Toolhead;1481367]
new question:

saw your notes about using IPA... do i really need that step .. if so. you recommend mineral spirits...? what is your dilution and are you saying mineral spirits.. (like what i buy @ home depot, which is a small can and simply says "mineral spirits"

[/quoate]

If you read my original article on how to mix IPA I think the first or second paragrapy actually states that I NEVER wanted to write the article. In fact I asked for anyone else to write it. I waited for ONE YEAR and no one stepped up to the plate to do the research, write the article and then attach their name and reputation to it. So I did it.

You need to understand, back when I wrote that article we had a trouble maker that was great at typing out one-liners and he was always beating the drum to wipe paint down with IPA but never giving any hard information on what percentage of IPA to use, just leaving that little tidbit hanging. Happy to say he's long gone...

iron x: should i really tape off the inside of the rims/ exposed brake parts.. or is that overly careful and not required..

I've read where Iron X and other iron removers can stain some painted calibers. I haven't see the issue myself but if the paint and the appearance of the paint on your brake calibers is in great shape and it's important to you to now screw them up then do what you can.

I know other iron removes claim to be safe an any surface, SONAX and McKee's state this if I remember correctly.

many thanks.. ive been learning a ton from your videos and look forward to implementing your process...

Thank you for your business and your trust...