jwrichter

Ok guys, here's the discussion. I'll start with this, I have always appreciated a good looking car and have always detailed my vehicles, over the last 40 some yrs, by hand every 6 months. After purchasing my SL55 I have been re-evaluating the types of waxes ect. that are now on the market. There is a lot to choose from but I want to ask the question regarding the application. Is the average do it yourselfer, who wants a great wax job going to have to go out and buy a polisher or can you get a comparable finished product using high grade wax and sealers by hand? I have been reading about the Flex orbital polisher and that it is more or less dummy proof, is that true? I've seen my share of screwed up wax jobs over the years and am wondering if I should make the investment for a polisher or just continue with the "old way", my SL is silver.
Thnaks for the input.

emoving

What an orbital does is apply the wax with even pressure, something you will never be able to do by hand. Get an orbital, it will save you on time and look alot better when you are done.

gsrjc

I have been told to use a buffer for the polish and sealant but wax should be put on by hand.

TOGWT

+1

emoving

We we are not talking about a buffer we are talking about an orbital. A buffer is a high speed machine and an orbital is a slow speed machine that moves orbitaly. An orbital is better to apply wax then your hand for the reasons stated above. A buffer is used for a totally different purpose and you need experience or you will burn the paint right off the car.

Rick SL55

buy the Flex, it has varaible speed.
There good sponsor in this forum who could give you more information.
I did detail my SL55 couple of weeks ago with great results.
link https://mbworld.org/forums/detailing...iled-sl55.html

gsrjc

Ahhh... thanks for the clarification.

pinebaron

I use Swisswax which I apply using palms of my hands on a slightly cooler surface. I almost burnt my palms once when I tried to wax on a hot summer day; I eventually waited till the paint surface cooled down in the evening. Results are astounding. Proof is in my photo album.

GlisteningTech

Like Alton Brown, I am a big fan of multi-tools. I like things that have more than one purpose. An Orbital polisher like the Flex is a great example of this.

It can work as an actual polisher, meaning that it is used to remove defects from the paint surface. But it can also serve double duty as a wax applicator if you want it to. Just use it on a very low speed setting with a very soft pad.

The benefit of applying it using the Flex won't necessarily be as much on the cosmetic side, as the practical one. Any orbital polisher, when used as a wax applicator, will put it on far more evenly than you can by hand. This allows you to use less product, and it can be removed by hand a lot easier as well. From a cosmetic standpoint, it won't make much of a difference, but it sure will make it easier to take it off, as putting it on by hand tens to have lots of spots with light wax coverage, and others with heavy.

The wax itself bonds on a very small layer, so everything else that is caked onto the surface is just wasted. Applying by machine allows you to avoid a lot of that.

Still... I think that this is a secondary purpose, rather than a primary one. A Flex is probably the ultimate tool for the DIY detailer, it takes a lot of the risk out of polishing and removing the defects, while making the process very simple and user friendly at the same time.