After doing more searching i dont think i found the price on a advanced model like you have. I think i found like a basic with out any thing.

That's what I thought. Believe me, I searched HIGH AND LOW for a cheaper price. Man, I about passed out when I initially saw how much they cost!

Actually, you are incorrect. That OTC megs Ultimate Compound is pretty good for what it is. Is it 105? No. But it's as close as you're going to get when buying a product OTC.

If you're using a PC and just working on your car, a paint gauge is not needed.

When polishing your car using a PC you are taking VERY VERY VERY little of the clearcoat off (talking microns here). You really only NEED a paint gauge if you are attempting to wetsand or using a rotary with a decently aggressive pad/polish combo.

You and I are at two different levels of paint correction. If OTC products satisfy you, then great. I on the other hand choose to use a professional grade product and my results reflect that.

Again, you are looking at this from an amateur standpoint. Using a PC on a setting of 5 with 9-14 pounds of pressure in combination with a normal to light cutting polish and pad will not require a paint thickness gauge. Using a PC on a setting of 6 with massive pressure and a yellow pad containing 3M super duty cutting compound is another animal. It totally depends on your setup with the PC as to how dangerous or lenient it will be. Also, it is smart to know exactly how much clear AND paint is on the car before you get wicked aggressive with it. I more than cover these topics in my many video series. You should take a look at them.

Please don't try and talk to me like I'm one of the novices browsing this forum that know nothing about the subject. I've been detailing for many years on a personal and professional level.

When it comes to polishes, I stick with the ones I like that provide the best results. Megs 105 and 205 handle mostly everything I encounter when doing a professional detail. I'll switch it up with poorboys SSR if need be, or resort to Menz SIP followed by IP and then their final polish. You see, I can use whatever professional polish you can (except for the testers that certain manufacturers send me to test for them). I have plenty of friends that work at autogeek (which is by far my favorite place to buy products, and is close to an hour drive..which I make often) and have taken several classes with Mike Phillips and can honestly say I know what I am doing and I am talking about.

In most cases, and in the case of a 1-2 year old 370Z, you're not going to need a yellow pad with the mentioned 3M products to remove swirls. Not to mention, if you need that much of a cut, you shouldn't be wasting your time with a PC in the first place and should move on to a rotary and a wool pad (You know, what an ACTUAL PROFESSIONAL WHO KNOWS HIS TRADE WELL would do..). For most details I encounter, and even with hard paint such as a corvette or BMW's, I find the most I need to go for correction is a yellow (which is rare) or orange pad with 105 using my flex. That will get the majority of scratches/swirls out and leaves just a *slight* marring which 105 on a white pad will clear right up. Hell, using the KBM with a white pad, 105 and my PC can provide proper paint correction and basically leave the paint ready for my LSP (and yes, I verify with a sun gun and halogen lights. Every step. Every time). Never, not once, on any of the many cars that I have done have I gone through a clearcoat.

Heck, even after wetsanding orange peel or wetsanding a touched up deep scratch (1500-2000-3000 grit) I have never needed to resort to a yellow pad with that aggressive of a compound (even though I have it sitting around just in case).


The Meguiars ultimate compound is decent for over the counter. Much more cut than 205 and not as much as 105. It shares the same micro-abrasive technology as the 2 mentioned products and is more abrasive than their scratch X product. So for the average consumer that doesn't know any better, it is a good choice when dealing with swirl marks.

Being you have established yourself as a professional detailer, you should know how incredibly hard BMWs paint (especially the leguna seca blue found on e46 m3's) is correct? Just given a couple of photos, I want to know what method you would normal take to correct this:

2001 Leguna Seca M3:
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...3/DSC_7424.jpg
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...3/DSC_7425.jpg
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...3/DSC_7434.jpg
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...3/DSC_7447.jpg

Would this even require a yellow pad with the 3m compound mentioned before?

i registered just to laugh at this part. you sir have no idea what you are talking about. the part in bold is a glaring representation of your ignorance.

PC, and all DA polishers have a built in failsafe, push to hard and it stops spinning. but you wouldnt know that. PROFESSIONALS know that. PROTIP, take a sharpie and put a mark on the backingplate so that you can see that the head is spinning. once you push to hard it stops spinning, and you see the line you made sitting still. this means the failsafe kicked in and the pad is no longer doing its job.

Whoa whoa whoa... no need to jump on Junkman, I can promise you the guy has MORE than enough experience and know how. I suggest maybe going back thru some of his MANY posts on this forum including his videos where he shows the proper use of a PC, demonstrates proper use, etc.

And TECHNICALLY speaking thats not really a fail safe, thats simply a function of the design of the machine. The rotation is simply caused by the centrifugal force of the oscillation and nothing more... the relation to pressure stopping the rotation has nothing to do with a "fail safe" theres not a mechanism in the machine sensing pressure and telling the pad to stop spinning, its simply the fact that with sufficient pressure the force of downward pressure is matching or exceeding the force of the centrifugal 'throw' of the pad. This is why at 3k opm or lower it won't cause more than just light pressure to stop the rotation entirely, but it requires much more pressure to stop it at 5-6000+ opm.

In any event, not cool just to join a forum to stir the pot and throw rocks.

If you think you can't completely cut thru a finish with a PC and an aggressive pad/compound/approach you may want to do a little more research. Used irresponsibly a PC can do damage, its not easy, but it can happen. I recently came across an instance where a gentlemen buffed right thru the paint on the fender of a Nissan Rogue. High speed, too much pressure, an aggressive pad, and improper technique - its rare but it does happen.

Very true. I managed to "shift" :mad: some paint on the hood scoop of my subaru with a PC on 4 with a LC white pad and menzerna 106. Much longer and it would have removed it...

Gaveup and camuman, I run into guys like you every blue moon on the web. I have absolutely no reason to prove what I know or what I can do, especially to you guys. If you want to know what my abilities are, use the search function. I have a ton of threads all over the web. I am on way to many boards trying to help way too many people to get into a "my dad can out-detail your dad" contest.

Really, you guys should get out more. :ughdance: