Hello - new to forum

**berndoman** · 03-30-2012, 02:48 PM

Am new to the forum. Have been on a long quest to keep every one of my cars looking better than when I bought it. Am looking at a Flex 3401 to buy and was wondering about the best pads (colors) to use. All my cars have been kept up so the paint is not oxidized or in need of any additional cutting. There is great information out there and I am sure it is in a thread somewhere and eventually I will find it.

**vet** · 03-30-2012, 02:58 PM

Welcome!

Someone who knows more than me will tell you about pads.

**mjlinane** · 03-30-2012, 03:03 PM

Welcome to AGO!

What are you looking to do? Wax/sealant - red or blue. Pre-wax - black. AIO - green. Polish - white. Orange and up for more correction.

**Old Tiger** · 03-30-2012, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by mjlinane

Welcome to AGO!

What are you looking to do? Wax/sealant - red or blue. Pre-wax - black. AIO - green. Polish - white. Orange and up for more correction.

Or buy 3 or 4 Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pads. Dr. G. told me he thinks they finish better than foam. IME the Megs MF pads dont finish as well. If anyone else told me this, I would have thrown the BS Flag! I bought 3 6.25" cutting and 3 Polishing Pads for my 3401 but havent tried them yet.

**mjlinane** · 03-30-2012, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by Old Tiger

Or buy 3 or 4 Optimum Microfiber Polishing Pads. Dr. G. told me he thinks they finish better than foam. IME the Megs MF pads dont finish as well. If anyone else told me this, I would have thrown the BS Flag! I bought 3 6.25" cutting and 3 Polishing Pads for my 3401 but havent tried them yet.

They do finish nicely but I haven't tried them in a non-cutting situation yet.

Mike Phillips · 03-30-2012, 03:57 PM

Welcome to Autogeek Online!

Tip: Post questions to topical forums, not the "intro" forum and you'll tend to get more and better replies.

Any of the 6.5" foam pads work great on the Flex 3401

6.5" Flat Pads
6.5" CCS Pads
6.5" Hydro-Tech Pads
6.5" Hybrid Pads

Also the 6.5" Purple Foamed Wool Pads are great for correction and grunt work.

I've done a lot of testing on black paint with all microfiber pads and known winning foam and polish samples and then chemically stripped and inspected and for anything that's important I'm going to finish out with foam... at least for now.

Like the Microfiber pads/systems, (Meguiar's and Optimum), and even teach both systems in my Boot Camp classes, but for now I'm going to stick with using foam for the last machine polishing step.

**rustytruck** · 04-01-2012, 06:05 PM

Welcome to our world.

**BobbyG** · 04-01-2012, 07:01 PM

To Autogeek Online!

I'm not sure I can add anything after all the great information everyone's provided so just a warm welcome....

**Tundra_10** · 04-01-2012, 07:03 PM

Welcome new AGO friend! What kind of cars do you have? Any pictures?

Mike Phillips · 04-02-2012, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by berndoman

Am new to the forum.

If you reply to this thread with your first name I'll add you to the roll call list...

Roll Call - What's your real first name?

Originally Posted by berndoman

Have been on a long quest to keep every one of my cars looking better than when I bought it. Am looking at a Flex 3401 to buy and was wondering about the best pads (colors) to use.

Any of the 6.5" foam pads work great on the Flex 3401

6.5" Flat Pads
6.5" CCS Pads
6.5" Hydro-Tech Pads
6.5" Hybrid Pads

Also the 6.5" Purple Foamed Wool Pads are great for correction and grunt work.

Also there's a new adapter to enable you to use 4" pads which comes in real handy for thin panels and tight areas...

From my article list...

New 4" and 6" Backing Plates for Flex 3401

Lubricating the Felt Ring on the Flex 3401