DFB's Detailing Garage

[MCS]

I've been having some fun with product and tool photography lately, made much easier with a LED ring light. I'm told that this makes me a real influencer now, but I disagree, you'll never see me in front of the camera wearing skintight Lycra, pouted lips, a botoxed face with makeup troweled on, and a link to an Only Fans account. Like and subscribe....................

Well there goes my idea for your opening video on your new Lonely Fans account.

As per our discussions; you are right in that product shots are one of the hardest things to "get right". I took dozens of pictures for each product on BuffDaddyHQ and even then I went and reshot some of them. The folks that specialize in product photos are no joke creatives!

Sponsored

 

[DFB5.0]

Finally got back into some detailing today. I've been focused elsewhere recently, and had a very busy mowing run this week, so it was nice to roll out the buckets and pressure washer hose today.

With the erratic spring weather of late, I've had to delay attending to the Wildtrak several times, so it was very much in need of a decent wash. Today was a Koch Chemie day. Starting with Active Foam for the pre-wash, which easily dealt with the baked-on road film and bugs prior to the contact wash. Active Foam has been my go-to for this task for a while now, I love how it performs and love the fragrance. I followed with Carpro Reset for the contact wash.

Inspired by a recent TRC video, I decided to have a little fun with Koch Chemie Ceramic Effect Shampoo (CES).

Koch Chemie Ceramic Effect Shampoo | SiO₂ Car Wash Shampoo & Wax – Waxit Car Care
Koch-Chemie - Ceramic Effect Shampoo (Ces) | The Rag Company



Using CES is not how I typically contact wash. Firstly, you need to rely on the bucket solution to administer the soap as it doesn't foam. Secondly, CES probably doesn't have the greatest cleaning power, hence washing with Reset first. It doesn't really suds up either. Having said that, it's extremely slick, amazingly free rinsing and the "berry-almond" scent is delightful.

On this car, after rinsing off the Reset, I then went back over the now clean paint with CES.

1. Mix 50-ml of CES into 10-litres of water and add a fresh wash mitt or pad.

2. Working in manageable sections, glide the mitt across the surface, then rinse.

3. Continue working around the car, making sure to rinse adjoining panels. I wouldn't let this dry on the paint either, hence working in sections.

4. Finish off with a final rinse to remove any remaining residue.

That might sound like a lot of added work, and I guess it is if you need to wash the car with a stronger soap first. And it's also not how I prefer to bucket wash. But the pain is worth the gain, your reward being a hydrophobic and highly slick feel to the paint. Followed with a little Quick & Shine as a drying aid, these two produce a very satisfying look and feel.

CES is said to last up to about 3-months, so it's great if you want to add some protection without much effort, or as a coating topper as I did here.

Continuing the Koch Chemie theme, lately I've been sampling a bunch of rinse-less wash products as glass cleaners, RRW included. In fact, Rapid Rinse-less Wash was a clear standout among the 10 I tested. Mixed at 128:1, this stuff seems to perform better than a typical IPA-based glass cleaner. A full comparison test will follow, but RRW could very well be my new glass cleaner benchmark.......................and one that only costs $0.70c per 500ml.

Finally, I decided to replace the windscreen wiper blades. Despite these Motorcraft items being the "genuine" Ford part, I don't like how bulky they are and the less precise fit than what the car came with from the factory. Because these are a multi-fit part with different adaptors, they will never have that clean/flush look and fit of a dedicated item, which is annoying as you would think that's the key reason to buy OEM. Not happy, but at least they were cheap.

Genuine Ford Windscreen Wiper Blade Left + RH Everest Ranger

 

[DFB5.0]

I had planned to wash the Jaaaaag last Saturday but ended up having to work, better late than never I guess.

The stars of the show today....................................

Tyres - Shine Supply Wise Guy, NV Onyx
Wheels - P&S Brake Buster, Carpro Hydr02, Bead Maker
Rotors - Bilt Hamber Atom Mac

Paint - Koch Chemie GSF + TRC Cyclone Pad
Topper - ADS Ceramic Spray Sealant
Glass - Opti-Coat Clean & Protect (exterior) + Koch Chemie RRW (interior)
Interior Clean - ADS Pilot

 

[Frogdog1]

The car looks great as usual! Would you mind a short trip to Dixie for a show and tell on my car?

Tell me about that garage floor. I like it. What is the name of it, where does a dirty American get it and what is the cost for us rich dirty Americans? Uh, scratch the rich part and put in filthy rich, LOL! I worked in and out of Brisbane for 6 years so I know you people. Good place, good people.

 

[DFB5.0]

The car looks great as usual! Would you mind a short trip to Dixie for a show and tell on my car?

Tell me about that garage floor. I like it. What is the name of it, where does a dirty American get it and what is the cost for us rich dirty Americans? Uh, scratch the rich part and put in filthy rich, LOL! I worked in and out of Brisbane for 6 years so I know you people. Good place, good people.

Forgive me for the lengthy post, but the flooring was a long time coming and such a transformative in terms of how I enjoy using the space. It's not for everyone, but I couldn't be happier with it.

The flooring is Swisstrax Ribtrax Pro, which is an interlocking plastic tile. Expensive? I'm not really sure as I didn't seriously look into anything else. For me, I liked the look, liked the functionality, liked that I could install it myself without having to completely gut the garage or require specialty tools. I didn't want epoxy or polished concreate because of the mess and high labour to install it, the high failure rate (that's why they put the chips in it, to disguise the cracks), and the fact it doesn't solve the puddles of water issue and debris issues.

Swisstrax make a few different versions of these tiles, including the solid/non-vented Diamond Trax with the cheesy checker plate steel look, and Ribtrax Smooth. However, the Ribtrax Pro is superior from a looks and performance point of view.

Swisstrax Modular Flooring Tile, Kits & Accessories

Ribtrax Pro Interlocking Floor Tile | Swisstrax

I have a rather unusual garage shape and size, which can house four cars at two deep. There is also sizable space along the walls for cabinets, work benches and a sink. So, my install wasn't as straight forward as a typical garage, and it meant using more tiles and required more cuts. The cutting is what slows the show down, you'll have the bulk of the floor installed within an hour or so, the cutting is left till the end. It took two people about 6 - 7 hours to install, a typical garage should take you about 4 hours or less.

This was my starting point, hideous painted concrete.

A few notes that cover the questions I often get asked about these tiles -

- The ventilated tile allows water to drain through and out from underneath via drainage channels.

- The rounded ribs of Ribtrax Pro rather than flat Ribtrax Smooth helps trap debris within the first few rows of tiles, meaning you don't end up with leaves and junk blowing right up into the garage and under cabinets ect.

- The slotted design allows dust and water to fall through and keeps your standing surface dry and clean. Water either evaporates or flows underneath the tile and into the driveway. A period vacuum or blow out will remove the dust ect.

- Pre-installation, I'd clean out the garage floor once a week, but it would be filthy again within a day, if I was lucky. Now though, I don't need to be chasing my tail, I'll vac or blow out as I feel the need. I know this sounds like a first world problem, but I like a clean, dust free working environment when detailing.

- The other benefit of the slotted design is not having to work in puddles water. This makes it safer and you don't end up tracking water or footprints into the car or house.

- Jack stands, yeah you need to be careful. I used a rubber gym mat to place under the jack stand and jack. Works brilliantly.

I went with a rather sedate combo, but you can mix colours to suit your taste.

I would 100% use these again, well worth the money.

 

[Frogdog1]

Be well rested, stay hydrated and listen to what the instructors tell you. It's a hoot.

The follow the leader sessions are intuitive, so a little bit of monkey see, monkey do helps there. Put your ego aside, if some is ready to pass, give them the lane. Pass in the designated areas. If there are New Yorkers in your class, you will have to get right on their rear bumper for about 20 seconds or more before they get the point or they're told to let you pass or pit.

Oh, and remember to have fun!

Forgive me for the lengthy post, but the flooring was a long time coming and such a transformative in terms of how I enjoy using the space. It's not for everyone, but I couldn't be happier with it.

The flooring is Swisstrax Ribtrax Pro, which is an interlocking plastic tile. Expensive? I'm not really sure as I didn't seriously look into anything else. For me, I liked the look, liked the functionality, liked that I could install it myself without having to completely gut the garage or require specialty tools. I didn't want epoxy or polished concreate because of the mess and high labour to install it, the high failure rate (that's why they put the chips in it, to disguise the cracks), and the fact it doesn't solve the puddles of water issue and debris issues.

Swisstrax make a few different versions of these tiles, including the solid/non-vented Diamond Trax with the cheesy checker plate steel look, and Ribtrax Smooth. However, the Ribtrax Pro is superior from a looks and performance point of view.

Swisstrax Modular Flooring Tile, Kits & Accessories

Ribtrax Pro Interlocking Floor Tile | Swisstrax

I have a rather unusual garage shape and size, which can house four cars at two deep. There is also sizable space along the walls for cabinets, work benches and a sink. So, my install wasn't as straight forward as a typical garage, and it meant using more tiles and required more cuts. The cutting is what slows the show down, you'll have the bulk of the floor installed within an hour or so, the cutting is left till the end. It took two people about 6 - 7 hours to install, a typical garage should take you about 4 hours or less.

This was my starting point, hideous painted concrete.

A few notes that cover the questions I often get asked about these tiles -

- The ventilated tile allows water to drain through and out from underneath via drainage channels.

- The rounded ribs of Ribtrax Pro rather than flat Ribtrax Smooth helps trap debris within the first few rows of tiles, meaning you don't end up with leaves and junk blowing right up into the garage and under cabinets ect.

- The slotted design allows dust and water to fall through and keeps your standing surface dry and clean. Water either evaporates or flows underneath the tile and into the driveway. A period vacuum or blow out will remove the dust ect.

- Pre-installation, I'd clean out the garage floor once a week, but it would be filthy again within a day, if I was lucky. Now though, I don't need to be chasing my tail, I'll vac or blow out as I feel the need. I know this sounds like a first world problem, but I like a clean, dust free working environment when detailing.

- The other benefit of the slotted design is not having to work in puddles water. This makes it safer and you don't end up tracking water or footprints into the car or house.

- Jack stands, yeah you need to be careful. I used a rubber gym mat to place under the jack stand and jack. Works brilliantly.

I went with a rather sedate combo, but you can mix colours to suit your taste.

I would 100% use these again, well worth the money.

Awesome! Thanks for taking the time and effort to answer my question. Didn't expect that much so it is very appreciated. You have a nice place to work and some nice stuff in it. I am trying to clean up my place to sell and move so I have a lot to think about. Looks like good stuff, thanks again for your effort! FD1

 

[DFB5.0]

Going green today for the Wildtrak's wash today..............................

Tyres - P&S Brake Buster, Carpro Perl (1:1)
Wheels - P&S Brake Buster

Paint - Carpro Reset + TRC Cyclone 10X Pad
Drying Aid - Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer + TRC Gauntlet
Glass - Gyeon Eco-Wash (100:1, exterior) + ADS Hero (128:1, interior)
Interior Clean - ADS Pilot
Leather Clean - Koch Chemie Pol Star (8:1, foam bottle)
Leather Conditioner - ColourLock Leather Protector

 

[DFB5.0]

Mellow yellow...................................

The Ranger was borrowed yesterday to help move a pile of waste timber. Upon return, the tray was full of dirt, grass and leaves, the windscreen and bumper peppered with bugs. Oh, and they parked close to a sprinkler, so it was covered in water-spots too. Great.

Tyres - P&S Undressed, 3D Ceramic Matte Tire
Wheels - P&S Brake Buster, ADS Amplify

Pre-Wash - Koch Chemie Active Foam
Contact Wash - Koch Chemie GSF + TRC Cyclone 10X Pad
Drying Aid - Gyeon EcoWash (20:1)
Tray - Carpro Release

Glass - Koch Chemie RRW (128:1, interior and exterior)
Interior Clean - ADS Pilot
Scent - Angelwax Bliss

Back to spec and much happier.

 

[xrs]

I hope you charged them an hourly rate grrrrrrr.

 

[DFB5.0]

I hope you charged them an hourly rate grrrrrrr.

No, I've learnt to just say nothing.

 

[DFB5.0]

Post-service wash on the Mustang today.

Wheels & Tires - Brake Buster for the rubber, Koch Chemie GSF for the wheels, Atom Mac for the rotors. Afterwards, the wheels got wiped down with Amplify and the tyres dressed with OG Tire Dressing.

Body - Washed using GSF, dried with the EGO and any remaining water drips taken care of with a towel and ADS Amplify. Door jambs dried using Amplify, likewise engine bay and exhaust tips. Glass via Koch Chemie RRW.

Interior - A very quick vacuum, a little Griots Interior Cleaner for the door sills, the touchscreen lightly wiped with Invisible Glass on a TRC FTW towel.

With the Mustang clean again, the rotation dictates it was time to be put back under a cover to allow something else to come out and play. This time, its Old Blue..................

The Falcon had sat in storage uncovered for 6-weeks, so it had a healthy layer of dust on it. I didn't feel like it needed a full wash, just a freshen. So, after an initial rinse, I foamed the whole car with Carpro Reset. While that soaked, I went around and scrubbed each tyre with Brake Buster. A thorough rinse followed before driving back into the garage and Atom Mac applied to the rotors. After blow down with the EGO, ADS Adapt and two TRC Gauntlet's finished things off.

From here, the door jambs and engine bay were dried with Adapt, the glass touched up with RRW. I then wiped the wheel faces with ECH20, followed by dressing the rubber with OG Tire Dressing. Finally, the driver's side was given a quick vac and the rubber floor mat cleaned with ONR.

I've always loved the look of this car when covered in foam, the outline of the headlights in particular.

The star players today, from left to right.................

- Obsessed Garage Tire Dressing
- Koch Chemie GSF
- Armour Detail Supply Adapt (for waterless wash/drying aid)
- Koch Chemie RRW (for glass)
- Armour Detail Supply Amplify (for drying aid)

 

[DFB5.0]

Wash day for the Wildtrak! It's been a few weeks since I've got my hands on this vehicle, so it was covered in road grime after a string of wet days. And it was perfect detailing weather today, not too hot, not too cold, no wind. With the music on, the very definition of bliss.

To start with, I removed the rubber floor mats and cleaned them with P&S Undressed, then followed with a light misting of P&S Swift before letting them dry while I got started on the rest of the car. Undressed was also used to deep clean the tyres, followed by foamed Brake Buster for the wheels and wheel arches. I then applied Koch Chemie Wet Gloss.

For the paint, I went with KCx Active Foam for the pre-wash. After a very thorough rinse, I foamed with Carpro Reset for the contact wash. The drying aid / topper today was Feynlab Hybrid Ceramic Detailer. I've featured this product before, and perhaps I didn't give it the full praise it clearly deserves. This would be one of the easiest of its type to use, in particular how quickly it flashes away to a streak free finish. The gloss and slickness are excellent too. Two things I would critique, I'm not crazy on the scent, not unlike the useless P&S Dream Maker, and the price is fairly steep in Australia, $42 for a 500ml bottle.

Following that, I went with ECH20 for the door jambs and roller tonneau, glass via ADS Hero at 128:1. After a vacuum, I went in with Nextzett Cockpit Premium to wipe down the seats, door trims and dashboard. I tend to forget how nice this product is, especially how it wipes on and flashes away to leave a rich OEM finish. The low price point is impressive considering how capable it is. Again, my critique here would centre around the scent, namely the urinal-cake aroma. It's not a deal breaker, but if Nextzett changed the scent, Cockpit Premium would be almost perfect.

For the tyres, I wanted to go with ADS Ghost. Having cleaned the tyres with Undressed, they still needed a little more. In recent times I've used mineral spirits / mineral turps to deep clean larger profile tyres like this. Today though I went with Tarminator, which is the secret sauce. For whatever reason, Tarminator works much better than mineral spirits, requiring less product and less aggression with the towel to completely strip the tyre back to a bare surface. After that, I applied two layers of Ghost about 10-minutes apart. The tyre may look glossy here, but that's just how it appears on camera.

All done!

 

[DFB5.0]

After few big days on the tools, it was nice to get some tinker time in the garage today. In the box seat, the Ranger....................

The weather has been so unpredictable this spring. When I last washed the Ranger on Saturday, the temperature reached 31-degrees (88f), about right for this time of the year. The next day it was cold and windy with a top of 17-degrees (62f). Annoyingly, a 60-second shower of rain undid my efforts 24-hours earlier, littering the car with dirty water spots.

It's always a satisfying moment when you finish off a bottle of product, or two in this case.....................

The first to go was P&S Wide Open, which is from their off-road line. P&S are not known for great soaps, most of them refuse to foam and are poorly concentrated. Wide Open bucks that trend in that it can foam and is acceptably concentrated, so you use less per application. And the slightly alkaline formula means it can actually clean! So, I'd say this is arguably their best soap. And yet, Wide Open is nothing more than adequate, middle of the road, good but not great. I used up the bottle in my wheel bucket and won't be re-ordering.

P&S Detail Products - Wide Open All Terrain Wash | The Rag Company

The second was Inspiration Radiance. Nearly everything about this soap would land it on my sin-bin list; poor concentration, lack of foaming ability, a terribly dated scent, and a lack of ultimate slickness under the wash media. Wash-n-wax style soaps like Radiance are not my usual preference, mostly because they are heavily compromised to achieve a happy balance between cleaning power and the ability to leave something behind. And yet, I actually like this soap, which stems from the wax-like gloss and slickness it leaves behind. Will Radiance easily clean a filthy vehicle, not really. Will it leave substantial protection, hardly. Does it put on a heathy foam party, never. But the end result is so satisfying. Will I re-order Inspiration Radiance? Probably not, but not because I don't like using it, rather a lack of need for a soap like this and the superiority of others like it (Koch Chemie CES for example).

P&S Inspiration Radiance | The Rag Company

Following the wash with Radiance, I went with Bead Maker as the drying aid. And what a lovely combo this is, both having that wax-like look and feel. I've said this for a while now, but solid/non-metallic colours seem to look best with a wax or synthetic sealant, Si02 products can look very sterile in comparison.

For today's detail, there were two additional extras -

- A very quick rinse down of the engine bay, an application of Hyper Dressing, and a blow down with the EGO to distribute the dressing and remove excess water.

- Cleaning and reapplying Reload to the black plastic wing mirrors, fender features, door handles, bumper insert and window trims. I really need to go over these areas with Solution Finish but Reload is a quick and easy alternative.

Clean again!

 

[DFB5.0]

Happy Friday!!

For today, the mighty XR8 was next in line. I had planned on filming this, but I didn't think viewers would want to hear an arborist running a woodchipper at full tilt the next street over.

These are my favorite wheels to clean!

Wheel Cleaning -
Tyres scrubbed with P&S Undressed, wheels washed with KCx GSF, Hydr02 Lite applied, Atom Mac on the rotors.

Exterior -
Washed using GSF, drying aid was ADS Amplify, door jambs also with Amplify. The engine bay was wiped down with Carpro ECH20, glass via KCx RRW at 128:1.

Interior -
A very quick vac of the drivers side floor mat, then a general wipe down with a damp TRC Eagle 500. Front windscreen cleaned with Invisible Glass.

Wheel & Tyre Dressing -
To start, the tyres were deep cleaned using Tarminator. The wheels and exhaust tips were given a wipe down with Bead Maker. For something a little different, I went with Gtechniq T2. This is not one of the WOW products, but it's very easy to apply and offers excellent coverage. If you like that barely there look to a tyre dressing, then T2 is a great option.

And what a glorious, peaceful spring day it was for detailing! Sunny, not too hot, not too windy, music blaring on the Airpod Max! I suspect the guy across the road got to witness his neighbour rocking out to Nothing's Wrong by Haim. I don't care though, it made me feel good.

 

[DFB5.0]

2025 XR6 Detail

The time has come to give the XR6 some love. I last polished this car in December 2020, and in truth, its needed attention for a while now. Thing is, with how many times I’ve polished this car over its 17-year life, I’m starting to get nervous about how much clearcoat I have left to play with. Ideally, you’d whip out a paint depth gauge, but for whatever reason I don’t have one.

The paint doesn’t need much, and I won’t be pursuing total correction. I’m at point now where chasing every single scratch or mark is waste of time. There, I said it. The reality is, unless you put the car in a bubble and NEVER touch it again, marring is inevitable. So, you either live with the marring, or go through a cycle of enhancement and maintenance, enhancement and maintenance………………….This is also a reason why I say to ignore longevity claims of ceramic coatings, especially ones with bogus 7 to 10 year figures because the paint will need enhancement long before that theoretical end date.

PREP WASHING

As you would expect for a garage queen that is washed to death, there really wasn’t much to be done here. Only four products were used today, ADS Decon Soap, Carpro Clay Lube (at 10:1), TRC Ultra Clay Scrubber and Carpro Eraser.

I won't be touching the wheels for this detail, so I foamed them with Touch-less, scrubbed the tyres with Wise Guy, then rinsed.......done. From here, the whole car was rinsed for the next steps.

From here, I foamed with Decon Soap then went ahead with the contact wash. I love ADS Decon Soap because it's super slick and stays on the car for the whole wash rather than disappearing as you work. Great product! After another rinse, I went around with Carpro Clay Lube and a TRC Ultra Clay Scrubber. I really didn't want to douse this car in iron remover, and from experience, it's not a worthwhile step on these garage queens. So, a very light clay treatment was all I felt was needed, and even then, I'm not sure how much contamination there was to remove. Still, I did it to tick that check box. This was my first try of Carpro's clay lube, it's probably not as slick as Gyeon's but I like how it stays active for longer and even lathers up a little bit as you work. It also rinses freely.

After one final rinse, the old girl was driven back into the garage for a drying. After a blow down with the Ego, including the door jambs to flush out those stray drips, I went around with two large Gauntlet towels and Carpro Eraser to finish off the drying and prep for polishing. The appropriate areas were then taped up.

TODAYS OBSERVATIONAL RANT -

Most manufacturers of high-pH soaps sell them as a "strip wash" to remove existing protection products. Let me tell you, in most cases that is just not going to happen. This is especially so with modern ceramic coatings and spray sealants. Yes, if you ramped up the dilution strength and repeatedly washed the car over and over, maybe you'd see a stripping effect. But who is doing that? Not me. So, after washing your car with these products and you still see water beading, this is basically normal.

In my case today, the decon wash knocked back some of the water behaviour, but even then, that often happens after washing with soap as they tend to leave a slight film behind. After the clay step, there was another slight degradation to the water beading. The Eraser wipe/dry process will have played a small part as well. Polishing will ultimately finish things off.

So why use these soaps if they don't actually remove an LSP? The idea is to remove as much surface level contamination as possible prior to hitting the paint with clay bars and polishers. So, while the "protection" may still be there, it's at least clean before you go rubbing on the paint. This improves the effectiveness and longevity of your clay and polishing pads.

Note - If your car only has something minor on the paint (say a detail spray), or a failing wax or sealant at the end of its run, then yes, a decon soap will toast whatever is left. For most enthusiasts who are forever "topping off" the protection with drying aids, this probably won't apply. I guess what I'm saying is to be realistic in what you will achieve with these soaps rather than saying product didn't work.

POLISHING -

The last time I polished this car, it was my first time polishing with battery power. And what a revelation. Unless you are running a polisher all day every day, we are at the point now where a power cord is basically obsolete. No management of cords, more flexibility, superior balance.

A lot has happened between 2020 and 2025. Like many who were at home for most of 2020 and into 2021, I doubled down on detailing to save my sanity. That included everything from trying new products, to expanding my tool artillery, even learning new skills and methods such as ceramic coatings and rinse-less washing. I also did my best to make my garage more functional, more efficient. The sink was transformative, likewise the new flooring. The cabinets meant everything had a place, and the wall mount pressure washer made washing so convenient. And during all of that, I was like a dog with a bone, it was an obsession that meant I was pursuing something positive and distracting myself from the world, the people I was working with, my depression and chronic pain. The amount of time spent researching just the nozzles to go with that pressure washer.......insanely excessive. So, when people would question why anyone would need 15 different tyre dressings or an expensive pressure washer, they were missing the point.

Anyway, a lot has changed, but then all but one of the cars remains the same. The last time I polished the XR6, I used my then 1-day old ShineMate polishers with a new pad system, ShineMate Black Diamond. These machines with those pads were so much more natural feeling than my old Waxit polisher and huge Lake Country CSS pads, suddenly I felt more confident. I then paired both with an old favourite, Scholl S20 Black.

Fast forward to 2025, well I didn't want to hammer the paint too hard, so the pad and compound choice reflect this. That means a ShineMate orange polishing pad with Carpro Reflect. For the roof and hood, I needed to step up to the Rupes turquoise intermediate pad with Sonax Perfect Finish. In addition to the Rupes HLR15, this was my first proper go using the new ShineMate EB212.

Carpro Reflect + ShineMate Orange Foam -
https://www.waxit.com.au/products/carpro-reflect-250ml?_pos=1&_sid=ddefc2299&_ss=r
https://www.waxit.com.au/products/s...iversal-pad-4-6-7?_pos=5&_sid=731884a06&_ss=r

Sonax Perfect Finish + Rupes DA Intermediate Foam -
https://detailingshed.com.au/produc...ut-polish-1000-ml?_pos=1&_sid=5f74d467b&_ss=r
https://sydneytools.com.au/product/...wQazyP_xdLLNA2D70lcLnRLCc77b3_CBoCbhQQAvD_BwE

This little machine rocks! The EB-351 3-inch it replaced was far too bulky and heavy for such a small pad size, to the point where I didn't like using it. I sat back and considered various alternatives from ShineMate, Rupes and Flex, but nothing really hit the mark. Then the little Mirka became the benchmark 3-inch, but is just too expensive for what it is. Then ShineMate dropped the EB212 earlier in the year, basically a Mirka for a third of the price. If you can't afford or justify the Mirka, this EB212 is the best 3-inch polisher on the market.

Despite it's compact size, this EB212 has more grunt than the larger framed EB351. It rarely stalls, probably the best d/a polisher I've experienced in that regard. And because it doesn't stall, its more effective in getting the job done. I absolutely love the size, basically taking everything I adore about the Rupes LHR75 pneumatic, but without the hose hanging off the back. Actually, the battery balances the machine better, especially with the larger 5.0 ah version. In terms of battery life, I used this machine the most today and still had power left to spare when I called quits on the session. Only two negatives for me would be how hot the machine gets, so you need to be mindful not to block the cooling vents with your fingers. It can also be a little hit and miss with the double-tap throttle lock feature. Apart from that, its a winner.

And that's where I leave it for today. I still have the doors, side skirts, front bumper, wing mirrors and door trims left to polish. I also want to polish the glass and treat the rear bumper insert with Solution Finish. Then it will be time for some fresh protection.

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