Flex 3401 - AAT Polish - First Time / Question

[JustJesus]

Greetings. - This isn`t a review. I`m posting my first time experience, and following up with a question (or a couple).

I finally had a chance to "play" with my Flex 3401. I snuck out to get some work done in the 30 or so minutes I had while the wife went to the store!

I had cleaned the hood of my Yaris the day before, and clay`d it with Poorboy`s World Clay Lube and Clay. Damn, that stuff smells so good! The finish was left so slick. I did it fast, so I expected some clay marring. No big deal, as I intended to polish anyway. I gave it a final wipe down before going at it with the polishing.

Flex 3401. a 6.5" Curved Edge Variable Contact pad on the stock BP of the Flex. 3D`s AAT Finishing Polish. PB`s DMTs for wiping off residue.

Outside, around 7pm, sun was going down, and it was still hot out.

Okay, so here`s what happened: I`ve read enough about the 3401 that I expected some funky things off the bat. Well, no. I didn`t get crazy vibrations, nor did I get the walking that others experience. I *found* a way to make it walk, but that`s just weird. I kept it flat and it was plenty civilized. I did a *roughly* 2x2 section at a time. The pad (white) was primed with AAT Polish, then I added 3 pea sized drops. And I went to work.

I did 4 section passes, followed by 1.5 passes with lighter pressure. When done, I felt the hood. It was kind of hot. Felt the pad, it too was kind of hot. It was a hot day after all, and I had arrived to the house about 30-45 min earlier, so I thought maybe the hood was hot from the drive.

Nope. The other parts of the hood were pretty cool. Okay. Noted. Move quicker, less pressure, keep it cool. Got it. Did the next section. Felt the hood, a little warm, but not like before. I finished off the rest of the hood this way.

Okay, so here`s what I noticed. I looked at the pad (yes, I did clean the pad in between sections) and the center was, I forget the term, but it was overheated. It showed that slightly rougher texture around the center of the pad.

The machine was slightly warm, but not warm where I`m concerned, and nowhere near hot.

QUESTION(s): I`ve read that the 3401 runs hot. Does this apply to the machine itself, or does it cause the pad/polish/panel to get hot? That initial section was the first time I`ve had a panel get that hot. So I`m not sure what the cause was. Maybe a combination?

Well, so far, I like the 3401. It felt natural in my hands, and I didn`t have the spread between my hands/arms like I did with the MT300. Like I`ve mentioned before, I`m a short dude at 5`6" and therefore have shorter arms! haha. yes. So the size of the machine will make a difference.

The AAT Finishing Polish stinks. oops.I meant that literally. It`s not a pleasant scent. I didn`t experience dusting with it. It didn`t seem to wipe off as easy as HD Polish. Does it work? Yeah, so far I say it does. Does it finish better than HD Polish? mmm, that`s tough, as I didn`t do a side by side. But as of now, I would prefer to use HD Polish. That can change the more I use AAT`s formula.

A couple of pics...

[RaysWay]

Heat is the enemy!

1. You car was only allowed to "cool off" (with a warm engine underneath) for 30-45 minutes after being driven in the late afternoon.

2. You polished the hood which is arguably the hottest panel on the car with a hot engine underneath.

3. Your resting body temperature is ~98.6 degrees F. If it feels warm, then we can estimate the panel is over 98.6 F.

4. You never rinsed the car to cool it off with water which is what is normally done before polishing while it`s being washed. Maybe next time give it much more time to cool off.

5. Your pad showed signs of overheating...which looking at the above evidence shouldn`t be a surprise.

6. If you ever have to polish a hot panel, try using a softer pad like a black finishing pad instead of the white polishing pad. Less friction = less heat.

Basically if you`re going to polish a hot panel, you`re going to have a bad time.

[JustJesus]

Thank you, Vega.

I was just overly excited to get going with the machine. Since I have a job planned for Sunday, I wanted to get a feel for it.

I`ll keep those things in mind next time, and I have added some black pads recently, so I`ll use `em as needed. Thanks again.

[Migue]

Agree with all points made by Ray. I`m just adding:

The 3401 can run hot(the machine,not the pad unless you`re using too much pressure and machine speed) if you`re doing a whole car. When i first started using it i was always on speeds 5-6 which would cause it to get hot faster, lately i`m starting at speed 4 and since it is forced rotation, i am still getting plenty of correction with that. You will feel the head of the unit gets hot to the touch at some point, it`s normal IME (if it`s not, then i guess something`s wrong with mine?) . I think a lot of people experience it "walking" because they might be used to the fact that you can easily one-hand a random orbital and keep it pretty steady without worrying about balance too much, while the Flex 3401 will give you more feedback and give you a workout if you don`t hold that pad flat on the surface.

[RaysWay]

Thank you, Vega.

I was just overly excited to get going with the machine. Since I have a job planned for Sunday, I wanted to get a feel for it.

I`ll keep those things in mind next time, and I have added some black pads recently, so I`ll use `em as needed. Thanks again.

Oh ya I understand you wanted to give that new tool a test drive. I bet you`ll get better results on a cooler panel. That`s why my favorite way to detail a car is to wash/decon/dry on night 1, then start polishing on the following morning so everything is nice and cool and ready for polish. Also I forgot to mention, AAT doesn`t work well in the sun. I polished a Subaru a couple weeks ago after removing paint transfer outside with AAT polish and it was tough to wipe off.

Agree with all points made by Ray. I`m just adding:

The 3401 can run hot(the machine,not the pad unless you`re using too much pressure and machine speed) if you`re doing a whole car. When i first started using it i was always on speeds 5-6 which would cause it to get hot faster, lately i`m starting at speed 4 and since it is forced rotation, i am still getting plenty of correction with that. You will feel the head of the unit gets hot to the touch at some point, it`s normal IME (if it`s not, then i guess something`s wrong with mine?) . I think a lot of people experience it "walking" because they might be used to the fact that you can easily one-hand a random orbital and keep it pretty steady without worrying about balance too much, while the Flex 3401 will give you more feedback and give you a workout if you don`t hold that pad flat on the surface.

+1 Flex 3401`s can run hot. Especially that metal shroud behind the backing plate.

[JustJesus]

Agree with all points made by Ray. I`m just adding:
.. You will feel the head of the unit gets hot to the touch at some point, it`s normal IME (if it`s not, then i guess something`s wrong with mine?) ... and give you a workout if you don`t hold that pad flat on the surface.

Thanks Migue. I need to invest in a better IR thermometer. I cheaped out on the last unit. - I tend to avoid maxing out machine speeds! So 4-5 for me. And I`ve been meaning to work out, so this could help?

Oh ya I understand you wanted to give that new tool a test drive. I bet you`ll get better results on a cooler panel. That`s why my favorite way to detail a car is to wash/decon/dry on night 1, then start polishing on the following morning so everything is nice and cool and ready for polish. Also I forgot to mention, AAT doesn`t work well in the sun. I polished a Subaru a couple weeks ago after removing paint transfer outside with AAT polish and it was tough to wipe off.

+1 Flex 3401`s can run hot. Especially that metal shroud behind the backing plate.

I tend to do the same when possible, with washing+ the night before. And in all honesty, I was actually going to use Poorboy`s Polish yesterday, but it seems to have taken a vacation! grrr.

Thanks for the replies, guys! I`ll be more alert for heat next time

[Ronkh]

Yep

Runs hot, does a great job. Small trade off.

[JustJesus]

Runs hot, does a great job.

You`re talking about me, right?