Flex 3401, CG Black Light, Lake Country black finishing pad quickie review

[triplejumper18]

I taped off a section of a gloss black hood on a car that I`m experimenting on with my new Flex 3401. After four passes with just Chemical Guys Black Light Sealant and black Lake Country finishing pad using my new Flex 3401 polisher. No formal compounds or polishes used. CG Black Light has some minor cleaning properties and removed the light swirls, glossed up the paint, and is a great machine all-in-one with up to six months of sealant protection as previously seen on my whitewater pearl mica Mazdaspeed6 (now coated with Optimum Opti-Coat 2.0). The only thing this photo doesn`t show are the light swirls as the iPhone 3GS camera is subpar, and the white specs are "just" rock chips.

In a few minutes I will try a couple other products with the Flex on the same hood and take some more pictures. So far this machine is doing things my original PC 7424 couldn`t get close to touching, ever.

[triplejumper18]

I tried a couple different combinations with the Optimum Hyper Polish/Compound twins and the Optimum Polish/Compound MF pads and they leave a lot of haze and don`t give much correction for me. Orange Lake Country CCS pad with Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 2.0 removed a ton of defects and finished down way better than the Optimum products. I think I could finish/top with CG Black Light and black pad after Wolfgang TSR and orange pad with this car. I haven`t been happy with the Optimum paint correction products. I love ONR and Opti-Coat, but I can`t get the paint correction stuff to work well for me at all.

Below is a picture of Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 2.0 and orange Lake Country CCS pad on the left, middle is uncorrected paint that was covered with 3M tape, and right is the Chemical Guys Black Light and black Lake Country pad without any prior paint correction.

[tropicsteve]

it`s all about trying a lot of products to see what works best for you. and remember " you can never have too much detailing stuff"

[triplejumper18]

it`s all about trying a lot of products to see what works best for you. and remember " you can never have too much detailing stuff"

Exactly, but it can be frustrating sometimes, especially when you`re working on a car that you don`t get paid for (wife`s), hahaha. I do really like the Flex 3401 and I look forward to use it on other cars. I have a black metallic Scion FRS, silver metallic EVO X, gloss white S2000, and a gloss black S2000 lined up in the near future for various jobs.

EDIT: I need to try out the Optimum MF pads with the other compounds and polishes that I have. I might get my friend`s metallic blue 2009 TSX all week to correct as he will be on his honeymoon.

[triplejumper18]

Completely uncorrected:


Gloss black Mazda CX-9 after Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 2.0 with orange Lake Country CCS light cutting pad and Chemical Guys Black Light sealant and black Lake Country finishing pad.

[Stokdgs]

Great job triplejumper18 !!!

I have the same Flex 3401VRG but it has an easy life just finishing, and taking it easy, while my Rotary Power guys take care of all correction.
On that note, I have had great success with Optimum Hyper Polish with a Rotary, using for example a Lake Country Cyan-Hydro-Shred Pad. Depending on the paint, it will work really easy or have a few hiccups with paint like some Subaru STi/WRX cars.
I have to lean on the Rotary to get it to cut like I want it to, and yes, I could go to a heavier compound but I would rather do it all in 1-2 passes, have no dust, etc., and end up with a LSP ready finish.
I am running the Rotary at a little over 1000rpm and then cutting down the speed once I see the defects going or gone,
There really is so substitution for pad rotation in my experience, so you did good getting the Flex.
Glad you got past the counter-clockwise rotation too..
I only use the smaller backing plate for 5" pads on the Flex and with the smaller backing plate, it really works great - again, rotation is your friend..

Loved the work; nice to see another product from Lake Country out.. Didnt even know about those microfiber pads until now, so thanks !!!
Dan F

[mjlinane]

Great info here!

[Todd@RUPES]

Very nice reviews. Thanks for sharing!

[Old Pirate]

Great work there, remember to have different products because every car is different from the last one. This way your ready to tackle them!