CAR POLISH

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Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #550 on: May 17, 2013, 12:48:20 pm »
Hi Guys

Here is a great thread which compares different sealants (around 60 of them)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=85205


John

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #551 on: May 17, 2013, 01:39:43 pm »
jlao6, thanks for the Link. I followed that Thread a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It helped me to gain an opinion and led to buying ChemGuys Jetseal109 Sealant, which is fantastic.

Here is a copy and paste of the results of that test -

Originally Posted by Finerdetails View Post
OK guys, time has pasted, we have seen one of the coldest and longest periods of weather since 1986, apparently.....

Review, 12th January 2009:

The last review was start of Nov, and today was a huge task just to wash the horsebox, I used over 175 litres!

Test orignally started 10th Sept, with second group added 18th, week later. Reviews took place at 8th Oct and 1st Nov 2008.

After 4 months, the following sealants are still protecting the paintwork:

Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection
Chemical Guys: M-Seal, Jetseal 109, Speed Amor
Klasse AIO and Sealant Glaze
Hi Temp Paste
Zaino AIO, Z2 and Z5
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant.

So there you have it, my final list of what lasted four months in very extreme conditions too.

I am sorry to say I shall not be conducting any further reviews, the time is no longer available. Due to the amopunt of failures and the appearance of the horsebox there is also now a need to get it all stripped back and restored to its previous glory.

Thank you to everyone who has followed this, and I hope it has proved as useful to you, as it has to me.


After conducting my own test, I came to the conclusion that preparation - eg machine polishing is all important. There was not a big difference in results with the different waxes or sealants, in fact my findings were that DP MaxWax at a cost of $40 is all that is needed when using a Wax, or Jetseal 109 if you prefer a Sealant.

For those who prefer to spend lots of money on a Wax, my favourite is Wolfgang Fuzion Estate Wax, but that is going to cost around $200.

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Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #552 on: May 17, 2013, 08:10:36 pm »
Hi Rocket

Can you give us a quick list of the products you use and recommend as im planning to buy a flex 3401vrg and i want to know which products you would buy with this. From reading your post is the following all that is needed?

Menzerna
JetSeal 109
DP Max WAx ( do you use Jetseal and MaxWax  in combination or do you just use one of them when you detail?)
Iron X wheel cleaner
Lake country Orange/Green/White/Grey 6.5'
Chem Guys Citrus wash

cheers
John

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #553 on: May 18, 2013, 09:34:13 am »
Hi jlao6, Great choice of Polishing machine. The Flex is excellent. Check out this photo -




You will need the following -
Citrus Wash and Gloss from ChemGuys - always wash the car before and after polishing
Quick Detailer - We use ChemGuys Speed Wipe. Best to buy in the gallon size, then dilute it 50/50 with water. Very economical
Clay and Lube - Best practice is to clay before polishing
Microfibre Cloths - You will need plenty. We just buy them in lots of 25 from Supacheap ( the orange ones). Cost can vary so buy when on special for around $30
Also worth buying a little chair on wheels - Normally available from Supacheap for about $30
Menzerna Polish - The following are the ones i use -




The Chair on wheels



The Pads i currently use are the Lake Country CCS Pads in Orange, Green, White and Grey 6.5" -as you wrote, but i do intend on buying bulk quantities of the Diamond Faced Pads from China in the future if i can get them at a good price.

You will also need to clean your pads. If you are married forget about using the washing machine. I use DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator -





The Menzerna Polish and Pad Rejuvenator can be purchased through Antonio at Waxit. See the first page of this Thread, second post down for info on discounts from Waxit and ChemGuys.

It is a personal choice whether to use wax or a sealant after polishing. If you have plenty of time i would suggest 3 coats of Jetseal 109, followed by one coat of DP MaxWax, otherwise just a couple of coats of MaxWax which would be a lot quicker.

Hope that helps. For a bit more info have a look through my photobucket album -


http://s244.photobucket.com/user/rocket67/library/Autopian%20Car%20Polishing
or slideshow
http://s244.photobucket.com/user/rocket67/slideshow/Autopian%20Car%20Polishing



That is about all i can think of at the moment.

Rocket.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2013, 09:39:25 am by rocket »
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Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #554 on: May 18, 2013, 11:12:13 am »
Thanks for all your help Rocket!! :cheers:

By the way you may want to check out this link for microfiber cloths. It is a 36 pack from amazon with great reviews. It is $44 delivered and it works out cheaper when you buy in bulk. It recieved 4.4 stars out of 373 reviews

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XECJES/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Also, the foam pads from china do you recommend the 7' for the flex or is the 6' suitable in diameter to the backing pad?


Regards
John

Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #555 on: May 18, 2013, 11:23:49 am »

Offline Ash

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #556 on: May 18, 2013, 11:32:33 am »
Thanks for all your help Rocket!! :cheers:

By the way you may want to check out this link for microfiber cloths. It is a 36 pack from amazon with great reviews. It is $44 delivered and it works out cheaper when you buy in bulk. It recieved 4.4 stars out of 373 reviews

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XECJES/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Regards
John

That looks really good. Before I buy a set, and if others are interested, maybe a group buy might save on some post?
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Offline Ash

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #557 on: May 18, 2013, 11:42:51 am »
I just went through and 5 lots will cost $72.29 to post. That's about $14 each. Plus they'd have to be posted out to each person once they arrive which would cost, if they will fit in a 3kg bag, $13.40.

Doing it that way doesn't really make it beneficial.

Thoughts?
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Offline scedd1

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #558 on: May 18, 2013, 12:05:50 pm »
I just went through and 5 lots will cost $72.29 to post. That's about $14 each. Plus they'd have to be posted out to each person once they arrive which would cost, if they will fit in a 3kg bag, $13.40.

Doing it that way doesn't really make it beneficial.

Thoughts?

Is that an overnight bag?
What about slow postage inside OZ?
If a group buy happens i will be in it.
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Offline Ash

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #559 on: May 18, 2013, 12:11:57 pm »
No, it's not, Steve. Aus Post have recently upped their prices and that is now just a standard 3kg pre-paid bag. I'm not even sure they'd fit in it?

I did just find these, not sure how much we could get them for with the make an offer. Work out about par with the Amazon ones. What are they like though?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BULK-LOT-36-X-VIKING-MICROFIBRE-CLEANING-CLOTHS-30X40-/121105076168?pt=AU_Wholesale_Lots_Home&hash=item1c326ccfc8
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Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #560 on: May 22, 2013, 02:37:31 am »
Hey Rocket

Have you personally used the Rupes LHR21E or the LHR15E? If so how would you compare this to the Flex? There are many forums comparing these machines and i just want to know your input and which one you would personally recommend.

Thanks
John

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #561 on: May 22, 2013, 07:13:45 am »
Hi jlao6, I have not used the Rupes Bigfoot, but would certainly like to give it a go.

The massive 21mm throw of the LHR21E makes it very fast to polish a car from what i have been reading, but that same 21 mm throw means you must be very careful when working near mirrors, mouldings etc. to avoid damage. Think i would prefer to try the LHR15E because it would be a bit safer to use with a throw of 15mm. The Flex has a throw of 8mm.

Rupes have had an excellent reputation in the crash repair trade for many years so i would not doubt the quality of the Bigfoot, but there has been some criticism about the lack of power having only a 500 watt motor. In fact if you read the following Link comparing the two, author( Polish Doc ) wrote that he bogged down the Bigfoot when using it. You would not bog down the Flex -

 http://www.detailparadise.com.au/showthread.php?8172-Rupes-LHR-21E-Big-Foot-VS-Flex-XC-3401-VRG&highlight=Rupes

It must be said that there has also been a lot of criticism about the above test because Polish Doc did not use the same pads and polish on both machines.

There is a Detailer based in Wagga who uses the Bigfoot and was raving about it. I will try and find his Thread on the Detail paradise Forum.

Which one would i recommend? At this moment the Flex XC 3401 VRG. It takes longer to polish a car but is a tried and proven machine which does not bog down.

Edit- Here is a Thread from the Wagga Detailer -  http://www.detailparadise.com.au/showthread.php?9286-04-Monaro-2-Stage-Machine-Polish-Rupes-Bigfoot&highlight=Rupes

Another where the Bigfoot was used to polish a black 67 Mustang Fastback -

http://www.detailparadise.com.au/showthread.php?9587-DETAIL-Ford-Mustang-Fastback-Correction-amp-Detail

By the way, i will take some photos to show how the 6"pad fits on the Flex backing plate. Look for a post here tonight.

Rocket. 
« Last Edit: May 22, 2013, 07:22:17 am by rocket »
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Offline shaunp

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #562 on: May 22, 2013, 08:05:14 am »
Well I'll be finshing up at work some time in July, in any case Gavin and I will be setting up shop just doing classic paint &  body work. One of the first cars looks like being a 1950 Humber Super snipe Pullman limo, full bare metal repair and paint in Black COB, he wants it perfect, same guy has a similar vintage Bentley that was restored 20 years ago, needs a tidy up. Interesting to see the results on the black 67, well I guess that will be the deal on the Humber big car, alot work alot polishing I suspect. The car still has original black finish from new, been parked since a run in with a tram, hasn't been trams in Brisbane since the 60's.

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #563 on: May 22, 2013, 10:04:38 pm »
shaunp, Congratulations on the new venture. I am sure with your knowledge, expertise and attention to detail you and Gavin will quickly have more work than you can handle :thumb:

It might pay you to buy a Flex XC 3401 VRG to use in conjunction with your rotary. It really does a superb job in finishing down the paintwork and will make that black paint absolutely gleam on the Humber.

The paint on that 67 Mustang Fastback was shocking. You see that story quite often on the detailing forums where the painter does a good paint job but then ruins it with bad buffing techniques. I wonder how many of them hand the car over to the workshop trainee after buffing only to have the trainee use an old rag to do the washing and rubs in a circular motion thus introducing swirls into the soft fresh paint.

I have lost count of the number of times i have informed people to wash their car with a chenille or sheepskin  mitt only and use "up and down"  or "side to side" motion when washing, only to look at them do the job using swirl inducing circular motions.

A couple of months ago i witnessed a very experienced panel beater waxing a car. He was using small circular motions to apply the wax. I just walked away shaking my head. :ouch:

Rocket.

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Offline shaunp

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #564 on: May 23, 2013, 07:03:37 am »
Who sells the flex units. Rocket. I'll get one for the Black car.

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #565 on: May 23, 2013, 07:40:13 am »
Hi shaunp, You can buy the Flex from Waxit. I see they have dropped the price down to $600. I paid $640 for my first Flex and i think around $700 for the second one.

 Here is the Link -

http://www.waxit.com.au/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=524&category_id=7&manufacturer_id=31&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

You used to be able to buy it for about $460 delivered from the USA, but jusTang found recently that the shipping price had increased to the point it is now about the same as buying local.

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Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #566 on: May 25, 2013, 03:05:45 pm »
Hi Rocket

is the FLEX PE14-2-150 hard to use for beginners? or is it recommended that i buy the flex xc 3401vrg first

John

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #567 on: May 25, 2013, 04:06:08 pm »
Hi Rocket

is the FLEX PE14-2-150 hard to use for beginners? or is it recommended that i buy the flex xc 3401vrg first

John


Hi John, Yes - The Flex Rotary is very difficult for a beginner. It would feel like an out of control monster in your hands. :grin:

When i first used the Flex PE14 Rotary it was jumping all over the place on me. Only took about 5 minutes of that before i changed back to the Flex XC 3401 VRG.

But it did get easier to use the PE14 after a while. I learnt to put a little bit of bias toward the front of the machine which stopped it from jumping all over the place. Also cutting the speed
down helped a bit. By spreading the polish on speed1 then increasing to speeds 2-3 i found it easier to control. It is certainly a lot faster to polish a car using a Rotary polisher.

I think it gets down to your intended use for the machine. If you are only doing a few cars now and again i would stick to the XC 3401 VRG. It is so easy to use as long as you keep it moving slowly over the paint surface. It is hard to burn through the paint even for a beginner.

There is a very high risk that a newby to Rotary polishers will burn through the paint. You only need to go over an edge to burn through the paint in a fraction of a second. That could be very embarrasing and costly if you damage another persons car through inexperience with a Rotary.

On the other hand if you are going to polish a lot of cars you would find the XC 3401 VRG would be too slow after a while. The professionals would use a Rotary to do the first couple of stages then change over to the Flex XC 3401 VRG for the last stage in order to eliminate any holograms or buffer trails that a Rotary can leave behind.

Here is a Link to a Thread on the Autogeek Forums where the Flex PE14-2-150 is discussed. Read and absorb Mike Phillip`s remarks.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/circular-polishers-rotary-polishers-high-speed-polisher/33127-worth-get-new-flex-pe14-2-150-a.html

Rocket.
« Last Edit: May 25, 2013, 04:07:41 pm by rocket »
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Offline Brumby1

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #568 on: July 20, 2013, 04:38:13 pm »
Hey Rod
FYI peanut butter is definitely good for more than spreading on bread  :pepper:

Jack
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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #569 on: July 20, 2013, 07:00:58 pm »
Hi Jack, Have you been busy polishing?

I assume you mean the peanut butter was used to remove dried polish from areas where it had gathered around door frames, bonnet edges, boot lid edges etc?  Or have you found some other use for it?   :grin:

Hmmm..... Is it any good as a sealant? It has been pissing down here and I am not sure whether there is more water outside or inside the bathroom walls. :ouch:

On the plus side we now have LED Downlights in the bathroom, laundry and toilet. You can now see when you pee :thumb:

Oh.. I finally managed to use that $180 Telstra Mobile Broadband voucher, and the internet is working ok.

Rocket. 
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Offline Brumby1

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #570 on: July 21, 2013, 10:37:05 am »
Hey Rocket

Not polishing yet. I got an expert wants to polish the red car and I am happy to let him. Just replacing some bright stuff that Jeremy got for me. Polish was rock hard around and underneath. prewash and mist and wipe seemed to make it harder. Peanut butter softened and got it off immediately.

 Dunno about sealant. Give it a try if you like. Ants and euro wasps probly like it tho.  :pepper:

LED lighting is good. Been meaning to change mine for a long time now.  Have a stack I have been meaning to put under the side verandah since before I retired. And in the interior of the red car and perhaps the tail lights.

Now you are using the voucher the closer you are on having to buy a new one.  :grin:

Passed up on Tununda so I will be here for some time yet  :evilone:

Jack
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Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #571 on: August 09, 2013, 12:41:17 am »
Hey Rocket

What are your thoughts regards opti coat? apparently from what i read on the forums it lasts a long time as it adds a permanent layer of coating on top of the clear coat.

http://www.optimumcarcare.com.au/product/13/about_opti-coat_paint_protection.html

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #572 on: August 09, 2013, 08:13:08 am »
jlao6, When it was first released a few years back, there was a big song and dance about it requiring professional car detailers to apply it correctly. That seems to have fallen by the wayside now, maybe because it has been around for a while and its properties are better known.

The important thing from what I have read is to apply it over a prepared surface eg - freshly clayed and buffed to remove impurities, swirls etc first.

Check out the below Link from Autogeek -
 
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/43359-optimum-opti-coat-2-0-permanent-paint-protection-made-easy.html

The above article makes it all sound so easy to use, but remember this is a retailer flogging their product. If anybody does want to try it out, perhaps use it on a cheaper daily driver first to make sure you can apply it successfully.

I will do some homework on the detailing forums to find some more info about it

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Offline BLU302

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #573 on: August 09, 2013, 09:46:05 am »
Hi Rocket,
While it's still cool I'm thinking about doing some polishing and detailing on the Mustang and also my BMW.
The Beemer is Silver ( but with a clear coat). Should I use the same polishes that I use on the Mustang ?
Cheers,
Bob

Offline jlao6

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #574 on: August 09, 2013, 10:57:23 am »
Thanks Rocket, Here is a link on the durability test for the opticoat for anyone interested. http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing-product-discussion/126661-grand-finale-optimum-opti-coating-durability-test-review.html   

What products do you guys use for your carpets, wheels (tyre / rim), leather seats, engine bay? Also, this is a highly rated quick detailer https://www.zas.com.au/product/327/finish_kare_fk_425_ultra_slick_poly_wipe_spray_detailer_3.8l.html

For anyone purchasing products overseas you might want to look into getting the 28 degrees mastercard. There is no international transaction fees, currecny conversion fees, annual fee. Plus it has price protection and merchandise protection.  I found it to be very close to market rates

The price protection will return the difference back to you if you find the product advertised at the same store purchased(Within australia only) within the first 6 months.

The merchandise protection will cover lost, damage, stolen articles for 6 months after purchasing( it has to be a new product) the product and covers items purchased from overseas. This insurance costs 0.5% of the closing balance. What i found it that if you pay it your balance before the statement date you dont pay the insurance cost.

I highly recommend this card for people purchasing car products overseas or any item overseas. It was voted best credit card by Choice magazine. If you want more info about it read the forums https://www.google.com.au/search?q=28+degrees+ozbargain&rlz=1C1LENN_enAU473AU473&oq=28+degree+ozbar&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l2j69i62.14810j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8