autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum Autogeek on TV
car wax, car care and auto detailing forumAutogeekonline autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum HomeForumBlogAutogeek.net StoreDetailing Classes with Mike PhillipsGalleryDetailing How To's
 
Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  0
Dislikes Dislikes:  0
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14
  1. #1
    Junior Member Dr Buff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    46
    Post Thanks / Like

    The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    To us here in Australia, this car is known as the Holden HSV (Holden Special Vehicles ) Senator. In America, I believe it's called a GTO of some sort sporting the old School 6.0 Liter Chevy. The car pictured below wasn't that much of a challenge but the owner just got sick and tired of looking at his beautiful looking HSV like it's been living in cobweb city for the last how many years and finally saved some money to get some work done it to restore its gun metal beauty.

    The idea here wasn't to go all out with wool pads as the car didn't need severe options of restoring its surfaces but merely to eradicate the top surface webbing using just DA machines.

    On recent conversations with good Ol Joel from Zas, I discussed with him what a good one pass product would have been that could be used with a Flex or even a general DA for the purposes of removing swirling, webbing or even marring from other compounds. Not using fillers. Clearly removing surface damage. Now remember, this was just for one pass. Joel was quick to recommend Optimum products as for my requirements.

    Never used these products before but without getting into all the details here, I think we all understand the basics.

    Optimum Cutting Compound



    Optimum Polish



    Optimum Finishing Polish




    I never really took any process photos of this product because I had nointentions of posting anything about it. I now greatly regret this because it really is a fantastic product. I initially started with a CCS pad ( white pad ) and proceeded to commence over the Senator that I was working on. Now, I have very much been a rotary man pretty much all my life and have seen immense results using these complex machines. I have used DA plenty of times but with various conversations here and there and strong recommendations from other detailers in this industry of ours, I went and eagerly purchased the new Flex DA.

    As stated earlier, having started with the new CCS pad ( white ) using the Flex and optimum polish two, I put this combination to the test. The Flex I have to admit is one wicked machine and really should stay strictly in Pro hands in my opinion anyway. It will definitely burn paint if ill abused by wrong hands. A lot of GRUNT for a DA. On initial inspection after doing one pass with the Optimum and the Flex, I have to admit it, it didn't quite cut out as much as I would have liked. Obviously if the product has improved the surface remarkably but not quite there, the combination obviously stands to be in the way somewhat.

    This is obviously a change in speed or Pad requirement. I did not want to change the compound or the machine to further alter the test with this product. The idea is to remove as much damage as possible without inflicting swirl marks or using fillers.

    Masking Up








    I first initially took the speed of the Flex from 4.5 Straight to max speed to see if there would bean improvement I did notice some further cutting ability but still not quite enough. This tells me that either more speed is needed ( making the Flex not quite speed worthy for cutting damage )or a change in the pad density or cell structure. When I tested the Flex at max speed using the Optimum compound in warm conditions, this actually stained the paint. Not good. So, to further test this product, I changed the pad and shifted straight to a cutting pad with still the Optimum polish and again reduced the speed to 4.5 from maximum. Results came up immediately just by changing the pad.

    I've always said that if you have to run a DA at full speed to get cutting ability, then there is clearly something wrong with the combination.I also realise this anyway because when I ran the Flex at full speed with the Optimum cutting compound I discovered the cutting ability of this product ( in hot conditions )dried up really quick and stained paint instead of cutting.

    I also find the Flex can be quite a machine to hang onto when using the Optimum products. It really drags because this is a non dusting product. I did also use this product on a Holden Maroon Calais and found that it did leave behind minor swirling, probably because of softer paint and a reasonably hard pad. This however can be eradicated just by using the Optimum finishing polish with finishing pads if needed. Having said this. Optimum on the other hand is an outstanding product for one pass procedures and definitely will be using this product even further.

    The Flex on the other hand will definitely remove serious damage as much as a rotary but I find you really need to increase the speed of the machine to Max to get strong cutting ability ( and not in hot conditions ) because the Flex really warms up fast in hot conditions. If the machine of choice is going to dry up your compounds before they can serve their purpose, then the combination is flawed. The Flex in this instance still didn't quite cut serious damage as quickly as a rotary with speed and strong pads in very hot conditions. The rotary would have achieved this without any issues. Although you may save time with the rotary, you will inflict swirl marks which just means you'll have to do another pass to remove swirling. Catch 22 I suppose.

    Enjoy the images below. This was basically one pass with the Flex and Optimum polish so if you are looking to take out webbing of some severity on your car or a customers car and are looking to reduce the size of the bill, then this one pass wonder just may be your ticket














    A little too peely for my taste but what the hell












  2. #2
    Super Member zmcgovern45's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    St. Louis, MO
    Posts
    3,443
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Known as a Pontiac G8 in the states... love those cars.

    Nice work!

    Retired Professional Detailer

  3. #3
    Junior Member Dr Buff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    46
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Quote Originally Posted by zmcgovern45 View Post
    Known as a Pontiac G8 in the states... love those cars.

    Nice work!

    Ahhhh there you go !! I knew there was a name for it

  4. #4
    Super Member Shtexas's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Sarasota, FL Gelnhausen, DE
    Posts
    204
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Nice job on the car, it looks great.

    The GTO they used to sell here is the Monaro over there, or HSV coupe I believe.

  5. #5
    Optimum Guru Chris Thomas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Middle Tennessee
    Posts
    1,824
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Thank you for sharing your experience. I think our polishes get overlooked a lot because people want speed. But when you factor in less clean up, flawless results, and almost no learning curve...we have a lot to offer.


  6. #6
    Junior Member 90sedan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    WA
    Posts
    81
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Nice turn around!

    I love my flex, and i love optimum polishes as well. Great combo

  7. #7
    Super Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Minot, ND
    Posts
    12,365
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Very nice work.

  8. #8
    Super Member psnt1ol's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    892
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Nice!!!! I need to give this one-hit-wonder a try.

  9. #9
    Junior Member Dr Buff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    46
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Quote Originally Posted by Shtexas View Post
    Nice job on the car, it looks great.

    The GTO they used to sell here is the Monaro over there, or HSV coupe I believe.
    Hit the nail on the head. It's the HSV GTO Monaro

  10. #10
    Super Member BradsDetailing's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Green Bay
    Posts
    826
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: The Flex And Optimum Polishes. Awesome One Hit Wonder Combo !

    Looking into Optimum polishes on the next order. Love all of my other optimum products
    2010 Honda Civic LX-S Crystal Black Pearl

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Awesome Price for Flex XC 3401 at Sears...NOT!
    By Coach Steve in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 11-24-2013, 05:10 PM
  2. Best Optimum Product Combo?
    By Heyjohnboy in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 05-05-2013, 10:08 PM
  3. Replies: 19
    Last Post: 11-09-2012, 10:41 AM
  4. Looking for Optimum Polishes
    By Dust2Glory in forum Car Care Product Giveaways
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-07-2008, 08:28 PM
  5. Optimum Polishes vs. PB SSR's
    By Bigfoot in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 01-14-2007, 07:58 PM

Members who have read this thread: 0

There are no members to list at the moment.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» March 2024

S M T W T F S
2526272829 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 123456