Cyclo vs Flex

**Accumulator** · 05-02-2009, 10:25 AM

chefwong- As I noted on another thread, you can use M105 without being all that aggressive.

And I find it easier to do "moderate but significant" correction with orange foam(and even yellow in some cases) than with PFW. The PFW seems to do aggressive work for me, period. Yeah, it`s often *safer* for that than orange foam, but I can`t dial it back a notch with the PFW.

Originally Posted by efnfast

Btw, what speeds do you find yourself using? Is 2-3 to spread it in, then bump it up for 5-6 for the initial correction then back down to 2-3 after several passes for a final pass a good pattern?

Noting that I haven`t used it all that much so far...I`ve just been running it at speed 5, varying pressure but not speed.

**imported_WCD** · 05-02-2009, 09:54 PM

If you ever get a chance, watch Joe at Superior with 105 and a wool pad. He can work anything and make it swirl free. We leveled paint one day on a dirty black car. We used about 3 products with different pads and so forth. His side with 105 and a wool pad was cleaner and more clear than our side and he did it in about a minute!

It`s worth the money to "Roll With Joe".

Rob Regan

**efnfast** · 05-02-2009, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by WCD

If you ever get a chance, watch Joe at Superior with 105 and a wool pad. He can work anything and make it swirl free. We leveled paint one day on a dirty black car. We used about 3 products with different pads and so forth. His side with 105 and a wool pad was cleaner and more clear than our side and he did it in about a minute!

It`s worth the money to "Roll With Joe".

Rob Regan

Don`t suppose he has any youtube videos?

**GoudyL** · 05-04-2009, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by chefwong

Even MORE scarier, unless I`m noticing this, is that there seems to be alot more *newbee* posts with M105 and orange pads, which to me is downright scary...

Beh, in about a 6 months, we`ll be getting alot of "My clearcoat just failed

, what should I do??" posts. :nono

**reparebrise** · 05-05-2009, 05:53 AM

Joe is an artist for sure, like watching Monet paint, a master at work. As far as the Flex goes save your money and buy a Dynabrade attachment for your rotary, way less expensive, and much less vibration, and infinitely more durable.

**Accumulator** · 05-05-2009, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by GoudyL

Beh, in about a 6 months, we`ll be getting alot of "My clearcoat just failed

, what should I do??" posts. :nono

IF they just correct it *once* then keep it nice they should be OK.

I have vehicles that were *hammered* with aggressive products/approaches and they`re still fine years later.

The big thing is that people can`t keep doing serious correction over and over.

**Accumulator** · 05-05-2009, 11:35 AM

reparebrise- I think about a Dynabrade now and then...not sure why I went with the Flex instead :think: I have more polishers than I need by far but I *would* like to do a side-by-side between the Dynabrade and the Flex.

For some reason the Dyanbrade just *looks* like it wouldn`t be all that user-friendly. Wouldn`t surprise me if I were *completely* wrong about that...can`t always tell by looking.

Heh heh, I`ll probably have the Dynabrade rattling around in my head for a while now

**efnfast** · 05-05-2009, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

IF they just correct it *once* then keep it nice they should be OK.

I have vehicles that were *hammered* with aggressive products/approaches and they`re still fine years later.

The big thing is that people can`t keep doing serious correction over and over.

How does one define "serious correction" though? Is an orange pad/SIP once a year serious or mild? Is it the amount of pressure one had to exert? The number of passes?

**Accumulator** · 05-05-2009, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by efnfast

How does one define "serious correction" though? Is an orange pad/SIP once a year serious or mild? Is it the amount of pressure one had to exert? The number of passes?

I`d go by the amount of clear removed. In the absence of an ETG, I`d judge that by how severe the marring is and how completely it`s removed.

E.g., I can use orange/M105 on the Audis and my GMC without taking off an appreciable amount of clear (good thing as that GMC is almost at the point where I can`t correct it any more). For lighter marring I can use M105 with a softer pad. It *takes* something like that to remove even the lightest marring in a timely manner on those hard clearcoats, and M105 can behave rather gently depending on the pad/pressure you use with it.

Now if I tried that on the MPV I`d run out of clear in a moment...that vehicle gets much milder treatment and if that eventually means I have to live with some marring, well...so be it (or knowing me I`ll have some more paintwork done...with lots of extra clear

).

**efnfast** · 05-07-2009, 11:53 PM

Got my Flex today; I can see why people really like it so much.

LEAGUES better than a cyclo for correction (although I think the cyclo is better for sealing/waxing).

For correction I`m finding myself using SIP and an orange pad - spread it in at 2, several passes with medium pressure at 6, then back off to 5 for a few passes and finish at 3.

Then go to 106 - spread at 2, several passes with minimal pressure at 6, then a few passes at 5, and finish at 3.

Is the above `okay`? I`m finding decent results, but wanting to make certain I`m not wasting my time (I remember when I first got my cyclo, I thought I had to go orange/83, green/83, white/83, then orange/80, green/80, white/80, hehe, so I figured I`d make sure I`ve got the Flex basics down and not wasting unnecessary time somewhere!!!)

**Accumulator** · 05-08-2009, 11:07 AM

efnfast- Eh..if it`s working then it`s working

I haven`t tried the "up and down the scale" thing with the Flex`s speed but I`m using different products.

Oh, and I wonder if you`d find a light burnishing/jeweling via Cyclo to be a worthwhile final touch :think: I sorta prefer that over doing it all via Flex.