That's perfectly normal. It's the metal that's glazed on the rotors and it's rusting because of contact with water. It goes away as soon as you use your brakes.

 

Thanks for reading through the thread Frank and I'm glad it helps.

1. I'd do a thorough wash before trinity. This assures you've got a clean car in all the areas you cannot see. If you're concerned about wax being left on the car, do a alcohol wipe down prior to claying. We use 91% IPA.

2. Yes. Clean the clay residue by either washing or wiping off the clay residue with DI water and mf towel.

3. No. Once polished, you're ready for wax.

Great questions and thanks for posting.

 

Thanks Moe!

One last thing. I have read on the internet (so it must be true ) that IPA will remove a carnauba wax but not a sealant like Ultima, which I use. Any truth to this? If so, what should I use instead of the IPA? Thanks again.

Regards,
Frank A.

 

A few wipe downs with IPA and a polishing should remove most, if not all, the previous synthetic product.

 

Hi Moe,
Been reading this sticky...very informative. Why different color pads? I have a 2004 artic silver 911. I want to do the trinity probably 2-3x a year. I want to keep my budget low but still with good results. What would be a good package for me?

Thanks,
John

 

Hi John. Thanks for checking out this thread and I'm glad you found it helpful. A good simple kit that will cover the techniques mentioned ehre is this:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...Wax-Kit/Detail

It's not very expensive and the results will be great. You can also go a-la-carte and get this kit:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...to-care/Detail

Just add the clay:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...cant%2C/Detail

The benefits of the latter kit is you get the soap and wheel cleaner included.

Let me know if this helps you achieve what you were asking.

 

The different colored pads are for the "coarseness" per say for the type of job your using. You typically use a wool foam pad for heavy cutting and compounding. Cyan, orange or yellow, for light cutting. White, green pads for polishing. Black or blue pads for finish polishing. Lastly red pads and also blue pads use to apply a wax or sealant by machine.
I'm sorry if I left any color out, but you get the idea.

 

Thanks RPGilbert

 

Moe....thanks for the quick reply!
I would like to minimize my time in car detailing, even though i find that therapeutic sometimes, but only if i have 48hrs a day. Do you think i should invest in a power tool, ie. flex vs. porter cable? would that significantly decrease my time and energy spent? If so, which package do u recommend? BTW, I prefer the basic wax kit over the P21S Deluxe set....

thanks in advance,
John

 

I would recommend the PC if you're a beginner with detailing tools. I have both tools. I bought the PC 6 months before I bought my flex rotary. Within under a year I had the brushes in my flex rotary wear out and had to have the whole thing replaced. Never had a problem with my PC though... I don't know if it's just my model, but I'm not happy with the flex engineering. As for the flex forced random orbital polisher I haven't had any experience with, but have heard good things. Also heard good things about the griot's orbital.

 

Using a tool like the flex or pc isn't going to save you a lot of time but it's going to give you night and day results. IMHO, if you can spend the extra $$, the PC shouldn't even be an option. The flex da is such an amazing tool and a great value considering all that it does, that it makes the PC obsolete. With the flex, you won't be calling us ever and saying you'll need to trade up to a better tool.

Using the flex will yield you an almost perfect finish no matter what car you have. You can remedy many situations such as swirls, micro-scratches, oxidation, even heavy scratches. What's great about the flex is that it also scales down to wax your car as well. So if you got the basic wax kit, and added the flex, you wouldn't save much time, but your results would be night and day. Just get a white pad, polishing, and a red pad, waxing.

 

The PC is good if you're price-sensitive and need something better than by hand. But I would highly recommend the flex DA, 3401, any day over a PC or griot's da. The build quality, performance, and value you get with a flex, makes it a clear winner for us. You'll have less vibration, less noise, better correcting ability, more durability, etc. with the flex than you can get with any comparable unit on the market.

But, if your budget doesn't allow for it, that's a different story. Also, the 3401 is a very safe tool, so a DIYer shouldn't have the concern of damaging the paint. We tell our clients that the flex DA is basically a hybrid between a PC and a rotary. It corrects almost like a rotary and has the safety of a PC.

As for the flex rotary, it's not bad. We've played with one and have it here at the studio. I just find myself going back to the Makita for it's ease of use and performance. A rotary isn't anything I'd recommend for a DIYer. Better left to the pros IMHO.

 

I haven't used the flex DA yet, but would really like too. I agree fully with you Moe about letting the pros use the rotary. I've been detailing for 7 years and just finally started using a rotary 2 years ago. It's different from the PC to get used to, but very fun to learn. I was told that the FLEX is the top of the line power tool for detailing so I purchased it and have had nothing but problems with it. I want to invest in the makita rotary!

 

Sorry to hear about your experience with the flex. All the praise is usually geared towards the XC3401. Have you contacted flex or the company you bought it from? Usually that can be a good starting point. Maybe you can send your unit back and get a credit towards a 3401. Just a thought.

As for the makita, I personally love mine. We have 2 and couldn't imagine not having it around. Luckily, you can pick one up for a great price.

 

What products would you pick from all that's available?--- The best one product from every manufacturer ... The best wax, the best polish, the best spray for clay...
Instead of keeping with all the products from one brand just choose the very best of each one....

Who make the best foam pads? The best pad cleaner and conditioner?