First machine polish - Test Panel

Hey everyone,

Well I've recently step up to machine polishing and purchased a Flex 3401. Love it so far, I was kinda scared before I used it thinking that it might be too much machine for a novice polisher but I found it quite easy to control and a pleasure to use (though my hands were feeling a little tingly after wards).

Anyway, the car I tested (or practiced on :lol was my mother's 4Runner, black! Now then this paint is in HORRIBLE condition, nobody cleans it except for when I come home and give it a quick wash, but nothing more. Here's some shots of what I did.

Flex 3401
White CG MPT pad
Menzerna Acrylic Sealant (mix of FPII and FMJ)
x2 pass

Before:






After:





So as you can tell, it removed a lot of the swirls and spider-webbing but nowhere near good enough for me. :shakehead: Lots of RIDS!!

As of now I don't have any more aggressive polishes, i'll be ordering some soon (next time I find a good sale) but any recommendations for this?

I was thinking either:
1. Use a more aggresive polish or compound with a yellow pad (MPT)
-or-
2. Can I use the Acrylic Jacket with the yellow pad and get better results or would that leave more marring than it would fix?

I have a PFW coming in on friday, so I can give that a shot on it, but I still don't have anything more aggressive than this :help:

 

Nice work so far.

I think one issue I have is the "Menzerna Acrylic Sealant (mix of FPII and FMJ)" I would get dedicated polishes such as SIP and 106FA or even Power Finish. This will give you a wide range of product and pads to use. I would not go to a yellow compound pad till you try a dedicated polish like 106FA on a white pad, if that does nothing then go to a SIP or IP with a white pad. I think you will get much better results doing that instead of used a mixed product.

Never the less, nice job on your first machine polish!

 

Thanks agpatel!

Yeah, i was kinda hesitant to use a more aggresive pad with that stuff, it just didn't seem like the right thing to do.

I traded some stuff with Spyral and he's sending some samples of 106 & 203 my way (Thanks again Tom!)

What would you say the avg work time for this product would be? I know the Flex breaks it down faster than a PC. I spread the product on 1-2, then sped up to 4.5 for a couple of minutes and finished off with a couple of quick passes at 6. After my first pass, I noticed when I was wiping off the residue it was streaking a bit so I assume I didn't work it in long enough, so on my second pass I stayed on it a bit longer and applied more pressure. It wiped off fairly easily after that.

 

I work the PO203 as long as I need to, essentially. If I need a little more working time I'll slow down my machine and spray a bit of water on the panel. Last Saturday I found myself working PO203 EXTRA long on a red G35 because it wasn't quite finishing down all that well... slowing down and a bit of water and it was flawless!

 

If you have a compound, it would gives a lot better result. For now just apply it by hands and terry cloth. that would correct those scratch. and waiting for another great offer sale.