polishing

when i had my shop in town i had a pad service. this was in the wool pad days. never cleaned them just put them back in the cabinet. they would change them out every week. you could set up for them like shop rags and uniforms . now i just buy new pads for every car. i dont do that many any more. i can usually get a couple of cars out of a set of lake country pads . but i do know the days of using a spur or stick are over when it comes to foam. also found out the 3m pads would get a little old and start deteriorating . with the cost of paint and materials today pads just aren't that expensive.
 
I picked up the chemical guy's 4pack to try it out. I also ordered a flex rotatary buffer. Here's my quick take but I'll keep experimenting with it.

I didn't like the first two course compounds. #32/#34 They left a greasy film that I couldn't wipe away quickly with a microfiber like I normally do. They didn't seem to cut worth a hoot either with the orange foam pad. (I think I was trying to go to slow) I'll retry again on the car this week.

I even put the flex down and got my 3m #1 with a white foam pad hooked to my 15year old black and decker industrial 2300rpm non adjustable and happily buffed half of the 59' cadillac decklid out. This led me to some experimentation with the flex at the 2300 rpm setting and did the other half with the 3m stuff in about the same time as my old setup. This gave me assurance that the flex wouldn't end up in the dumpster. It has plenty of power and super light. It did get very hot though.

I did like the next two polishes #36/ #38 They polished nice. No better than the #2 3m black with a black foam pad but they work as supposed to.

I'll work more on this week and give some more feedback.

- - - Updated - - -

I picked up the chemical guy's 4pack to try it out. I also ordered a flex rotatary buffer. Here's my quick take but I'll keep experimenting with it.

I didn't like the first two course compounds. #32/#34 They left a greasy film that I couldn't wipe away quickly with a microfiber like I normally do. They didn't seem to cut worth a hoot either with the orange foam pad. (I think I was trying to go to slow) I'll retry again on the car this week.

I even put the flex down and got my 3m #1 with a white foam pad hooked to my 15year old black and decker industrial 2300rpm non adjustable and happily buffed half of the 59' cadillac decklid out. This led me to some experimentation with the flex at the 2300 rpm setting and did the other half with the 3m stuff in about the same time as my old setup. This gave me assurance that the flex wouldn't end up in the dumpster. It has plenty of power and super light. It did get very hot though.

I did like the next two polishes #36/ #38 They polished nice. No better than the #2 3m black with a black foam pad but they work as supposed to.

I'll work more on this week and give some more feedback.
 
Apparently I was doing a pretty poor job of multitasking yesterday when I put this under the wrong thread. I was supposed to adding this to Shine's Chemical Guys thread.
 
yes it does get hot. i think it is because it is smaller in size but is still an 11.5 amp . it also does much better with smaller pads. i no longer use 8 in pads . i actually prefer the 6.5 pads now .
 
I bought the kit with their 6" pads. I like the 6" pad idea, I pretty much abuse my dynabrade with the 3" pad because I like feel and like the smaller size. 6" pads seem about right.
 
shine;33108 said:
yes it does get hot. i think it is because it is smaller in size but is still an 11.5 amp . it also does much better with smaller pads. i no longer use 8 in pads . i actually prefer the 6.5 pads now .
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That is one thing I don't like about my flex. The aluminum gear box gets so hot it can burn you. I have noticed that it isn't nearly as bad with smaller pads.
 
I have some hours under my belt using the flex and I like it. At first I wasn't sold on it thinking the light weight didn't work as well as my heavy buffer. Now, you couldn't peel from my hands. Awesome control and a great feel. It does get hot but not a big deal and It's good enough I'd buy one a year if I smoke it.

Very happy with the 6" pads from chemical guys also. Used them on the 59' caddy limo and I don't feel the need for larger pads.

I also dialed in the chemical guy's compounds and I like them also. Still like my 3m but theres one thing I noticed. When I use the 3m #1 with an orange pad followed up by the chemical guys #36 with a white foam pad it showed a lot of fine scratches like the 36 removed a bunch of fillers in the 3m?

This doesn't happen when I start and finish with chemical guys. I'll probably order some more.

Right or wrong, this is how I used the 4 different compounds.

#32 with orange pad
#34 wth the same orange pad (kinda unnecessary but helped with clarity)
#36 with white foam pad
#38 with black foam pad
 
i've used CG stuff for many years. their old compounds we rated like sandpaper. i was really po'd when the dropped the line and came out with the vseries . but once i tried it i was sold again. it takes very little to work and it does not make a mess . i'm not sure the pad lube is needed with these new ones but i use it anyway .
a friend of mine was complaining about the heat in the aluminum head . i just told him to put the handle back on and stop holding the head while he buffed. i know him well and that is one of his habits .
at first it seems like a lot of bother to change pads and compounds while polishing a car. but the end result makes it well worth it. i've noticed the finish looks much clearer with these compounds. almost wet .
glad you liked them brad .
 
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