Need the pro's advice! (again lol)
 

I'll make this short and simple. My Z is getting swirls. I want a DA polisher.

1) Portercable 7424XP?
2) Meguiar's?
3) Griots?
4) Other?

Thoughts and ramblings please? I've been doing a detail here and there on the side, but just basic wash/wax/interior, and I want to expand a bit so I'll be using this.

I was too cheap to buy the PC, and I didn't want to wait for the damn thing...

Went to home depot and bought:
5 in. Random Orbit Sander-R2601 at The Home Depot

Has a backing plate PERFECT for the pads I use...
(Yes the OPM Orbits per minute is higher than most, BUT, the pitch of each orbit is smaller, and it doesn't do as many FULL rotations as the PC, so the speed is A-OK by me...

I use Meguiar's ONLY, I just like them... If it ain't broke, don't fix it...


IF your swirls are light, either use M205:
Amazon.com: Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish: Automotive

OR if you can't wait, go to your auto parts store and buy Ultra Polish:

Amazon.com: Meguiar's Ultimate Polish - 16 oz.: Automotive

and:

Meguiar's 6.5-Inch Soft Buff Foam Finishing Pad : Amazon.com : Automotive

Then follow up with NXT wax, I use the NXT because since it's a synthetic polymer it acts as a sealant as well...



Or is your paint is deeply scuffed, go M105:

Meguiar's Ultra Cut Compound : Amazon.com : Automotive

if you can't wait for that you can use this from the same auto parts store:

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound : Amazon.com : Automotive

and this pad:

Amazon.com: Meguiar's 6.5-Inch Soft Buff Foam Cutting Pad: Automotive


THEN follow it by the M205 and the NXT wax.




I KNOW the whole kit isn't cheap, but the M105 and 205 will last a REALLY long time, and you can use them for more than JUST your car... And again, I personally like the Dual action above because dual actions make it almost impossible to ruin your paint, and it is WAYYYYYYY harder with that one too.


Also, regarding the products (in order of harshness):
The professional products are thicker in consistency and make it a bit easier to really work into your paint.
M105:
you might think OH MY GOD, the M105 is called ULTRA CUT!!! I don't want to CUT my paint, it says its a 12 out of 12 for harshness!!!
It's not harsh...... I'll turn my orbital to 12k OPM with 105 and let it sit on my car... It's not going to ruin anything...
Ultimate Compound:
Is probably about a 6-8 on that scale
Ultimate Polish and M205:
About the same...


Make sure you clay bar your car before you do anything!



If you need any help or assistance or ANYTHING, or if you want me to send you a sample of the M105/205, send me a text or call me (310)eight nine three-4207



Cheers!:tiphat:
Andrew


EDIT: I have used the PC a handful of times, and its good, a little more ergonomic compared to the one I currently use, but under high speed camera, I still like mine more...
I use it for everything, take hard water spots off the glass in the showers, everything...

Just realized you said you have been doing detailing here and there, sorry if I over simplified things, I do not mean to judge your knowledge or skill level or anything, but I like to have someone treat me like a moron and tell me WHY they do what they do, so I gain an understanding!

My DIY for lightening the car is written so that a 4 year old could do it, LOL

Andrew...you sound like you know what you're talking about. So who's the best detailer or detail shop in SoCal?

Not a damn clue, LOL!!! Bring your car over, either I'll help you for free, or you can decide to pay me and I'll gladly take your money, LOL


Shoot me a text!

porter cable! cheap and the best imho

The one I use is like $70~, and you can usually pick it up locally... The PC runs $115~

No actually I appreciate it because I know next to nothing about polishers, pads, and all the different cutting pastes and whatnot.
I've always done everything by hand, even when trying to polish some of the swirls out. I've been doing a lot of reading here on the forum, a lot of youtube lurking, and I've been spending some time on different detailing sites and forums trying to learn more about this stuff. My main problem was keeping straight what the difference was between all the different colored pads and waxes and polishes and the difference between DA's and Random Orbitals. So thanks for spelling it out for me, it's helped out. I already like Meguiar's products a lot, I've been using that almost exclusively.

One other question. I hate claybarring, and I've been reading about the Nanoskin Autoscrub on autogeek.net, and they have nothing but good things to say about it, and the reviews seem pretty positive as well. Have you used it?

Few things. With the dual action polishers, I don't do a damn thing by hand... Well... I apply wax by hand, but buff it off using a machine.


I do HATE clay barring as well. But I haven't ever used anything besides it... Normally if I'm in a crap mood or not in the mood to be cheap, I'll use a whole 100g bar of clay at a time, vs using 10-20g and folding it into itself. And if I'm going to use a machine after, which is almost all the time, I use aggressive clay so it picks EVERYTHING up with 1-2 swipes, vs like 10 (if your car was kinda crappy to begin with) just have to be careful not to drop it, lol!

I'll post the clay I use when I get back to my computer. And if you're going to use Meg's Quik Detailer as lube, please cut it 1:1 with distilled water... QD is too damn expensive
I'll also post what I use instead too.

I have it- it's a pretty cool system. For certain parts of the car I think using the clay bar is a bit easier as its not as much of a pain to try to get the nanoskin pad in crevices (think by the brake lights, the front air dam by the fangs, etc)

However, for panels it's great. Note that the small nanoskin solution bottle that the kit comes with is diluted 7:1, which fills about a third of a standard spray bottle. This will last for maybe two full car decontaiminations but I can't see it going farther than that.

On another note, (I'm not a pro but I'll chime in anyway), I've had a great experience over the past several years with my PC. If you'd like to check it out, Detailer's Domain has a bunch of different pads you can get and goes into great detail on their site as far as what the pad colors mean and what they should be used with.

Sounds good guys, thanks for all the info!


Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new-fangled science stuff

I got a 6" Griots with like 20 pads plus a backing plate from Detailer's Domain on a special deal. It works for me.

??? Griots orbital buffer?