The paint on my 1969 Dodge Charger is, of course, paint. It was an old-fashioned, single-stage industrial coating, not intended for decorative purposes. The primary purpose of spray painting is to protect the metal underneath; color is secondary. I know, all paint jobs are done that way. But most people, when choosing a car as beautiful as a 1969 Charger, are looking at the shine and color for a variety of reasons. But this car is a joy to drive and park in the rain. This is a tough guy who drives on dirt roads and mixed winter surfaces. He faces the harsh realities of northeastern Pennsylvania every day.
Today, however, we’re going to talk about the problem of peeling car paint. My Charger’s “new” paint job already requires some TLC. In addition to the heavy wear and tear on the body, it has accumulated a fair number of chips, scratches, and dents from driving on the road. I love bruises. However, I believe in taking care of your things. As someone who has put so much effort into this car, it’s hard for me not to take good care of it.
You see, Malco Automotive recently sent me the Epic Paint Repair Kit and Flex Polisher to review. This tool kit is easy to use and user-friendly, and is designed to make paint repair as easy as possible. While it seems ideal for this purpose, I wanted to share my first impressions with you before I put it to use.
The Epic Paint Repair Kit from Malco looks like any other. The kit includes three different grades of polishing compound: heavy polishing compound, medium polishing compound, and finishing polishing compound. The kit also includes four polishing pads. Two of the polishing pads can be used with thick polishing compounds, depending on the hardness of the paint.
The great thing about this kit is that it’s not just for stair treads. Each polish can be used as a one-step system if desired. You can select a polish with the appropriate grit based on the severity of the paint defects, then polish until the abrasive breaks down, then wipe dry. Even the most difficult polishes can be applied in one pass. These polishes are also water-based and just as easy to clean.
If you want a deeper shine, you can use the polish after using the high or medium polish. This allows people to easily polish any item to different levels, which is great. 
Malco also sent me a Flex XC 3401 VRG polisher to help with the review. It’s a really nice gesture, but it’s not a must-have. However, this polisher was provided to me by the company and costs $400, so I’ll be reviewing it as well.
This thing is much better than my previous polisher, which I estimate cost eight times as much. But don’t let first impressions fool you, let’s talk specs first.
As for the details, this is a dual-action gear-driven polisher that will meet almost all your polishing needs using a pad. The rotation speed is 160-480 RPM and the orbital speed is 32,000-9,600 RPM. The speed is controlled by locking paddle shifters and a disc-type speed selector.
The Flex XC 3401 is quite large, but it has handles on the bottom and above the polishing head for easy maneuvering. Even without using it, you can feel that this is a professional device. No surprise: made in Germany. So, yes, it is expensive, but, you know, this is the last polisher you need to buy in your life.
I am not a professional mechanic, not even close. However, I am a person who keeps his car clean, and although my car will never be the queen of the trailer, I still like to keep it in order. So please take my advice.
My gut feeling was that this tool was made for people like me. I don’t think it will give the deep shine you see on the exaggerated Concorde examples or auctions. It makes the car look new and presentable without being too dull. It’s a bit like an unarmed man in a tuxedo or dress sneaking into an aristocratic party. Frankly, this set of tools is just right for me.
Of course, the Charger was just a guinea pig to give us a chance to see how it handles rotten paint. However, a 60-year-old car that has only been painted once is no match for the Epic Paint Restoration Kit. I will also be cleaning up a few other modern cars for more accurate testing. Trust me, I will also be comparing the kit’s performance to my $50 Chicago Electric polisher and the fine polisher I received.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, questions, and testing suggestions in the comments. I’ll try to answer those questions in my full review.
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Hank was previously the business editor of The Drive. An avid mechanical enthusiast, he spends much of his free time taking apart and repairing various mechanical devices.
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