Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby (Post 1006471)

Hey Junger, yes thanks four8.is for the compliment, I should show a picture of the shelves in my garage.

For a starter set, I would recommend the GG6 Random orbital, it has a ton of power and will accomplish literally all that you need, and random orbitals are very user friendly machines.

I have a GG6 3rd gen I bought from Phil @ Detailers Domain this year, but I also have an original Porter Cable machine I was using for about 9 years, which I still use, I just now have a smaller backing plate on the machine and use it for dedicated 4" pad work (think pillars, headlights etc). All areas you can do with a bigger machine just fine, but I thought since the machine was still working like new I may as well give it a better use!

Don't get confused by the hype about having 10 different polishes, what you need is an aggressive compound for your heavier defects, and a medium or finishing polish that will finish down nicely. I apply my sealant/wax by hand as its therapeutic for me, and its easy, although some prefer by machine.

On my shelf currently as staples:

-Menzerna FG400 (compound), used with an Orange foam pad, OR a microfiber cutting pad from Meg's, the MF cutting pads cut more than the foam but finish EXCELLENTLY, actually I am doing this now on my X5 and its really a 1 step for me as my paint is well maintained

-Sonax Perfect Finish 4/6 - You can use this with an Orange pad for a bit more cut, or a Green pad as a final step after the FG400 if you have some hazing

-Menzerna SF4000 - Use with a Green pad after FG400 if needed as a final polish, similar to Sonax 4/6. Honestly you could pick either the 4/6 or the SF4000 and be fine.

For a Sealant/Wax you probably have a favorite, stick with it. I currently use Menzerna Power Lock as well as Sonax Polymer Net Shield, and I also have a bottle of Collinite 845 on my shelf.


I'd recommend this kit from Phil, as he includes the 5" vented backing plate and the 5.5" foam pads, you'll get a bit more correction power with 5" pads as opposed to 6".

http://www.detailersdomain.com/Griot...Kit_p_683.html

I'd get 2 Orange pads, 2 Green pads, and probably a Yellow Pad, although I don't use the yellow or blue pads barely ever. Also throw in a set of these into your cart.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/Megui...ack_p_553.html

The MF cutting pad will be the most aggressive with the FG400, but finishes down GREAT. Always start with Orange foam with FG400 and if you need more cut, throw a Meg's pad on. I always make sure to have 2 fresh pads PER step as a bare minimum, working clean always gets you better results. And this goes without saying, make sure you spend a ton of time decontaminating the paint with clay and/or an Autoscrub mitt (I use both) before even starting to polish.

After 11 years of age and 4 years being owned in NYC suburbs I have some deeper RIDS I can't get rid of without going really aggressive and risk removing too much paint, but I'm at about 90% correction now. Will post of pics of my "late summer/early fall" detail when completed, I got a late start this year because of house work.

I don't want to clog the thread up but if you need some detailing tips shoot me a pm, or feel free to email our sponsor [email protected], he's great at recommending products as well.



EDIT: Although I agree with TiAgX5 that the Cyclo is a great machine and Made in the USA to boot, for a beginner and at half the price for a starter kit including pads, the GG6 is the option I recommend for people just getting into machine polishing.

Originally Posted by bcredliner (Post 1006489)

I have done the A-Z detailing a few times. I thought I would like doing it but I don't and found a professional that uses a wheel daily does a much better job than I do. I do like maintaining it between the annual detail (the polish smells great and brings back great memories) but that's it. Point is to be sure you are going to be comfortable using a buffer and enjoy the process. In retrospect I should have borrowed what I needed and tried it first. Buffer sits on my detailing cart with all the right products gathering dust or drying out.

Originally Posted by Joshdub (Post 1006555)

We finally got home an hour ago. A 03 5spd popped up on CL last night at a dealer roughly 3 hours away. It was after hours and they didn't open until 10:30 am this morning. We decided to chance it and drive down today without even getting a chance to talk to them first. Turns out they literally just got the car yesterday. Long story short, we swooped it up and headed back home.

It is silver on black, leather, cold weather, sport everything, xenons, nav/premium sound, and the upgraded climate controls. It has a couple flaws, but at the price we got it for they are easily fixable. Ill post pictures after I am done detailing it tomorrow or Friday. Time to dig in!

Originally Posted by ants_oz (Post 1006530)

Just don't let your section dry out or you will burn the paint.

Originally Posted by Jungerishere (Post 1006562)

Wow. Thanks RB for detailed suggestions. :beerchug: Paint on all my cars are well maintained so I don't think I need anything for cutting. I'm afraid I might cut into the paint too much. However, I like to take care of light swirl marks and to polish with deep shine. Which pad would work best for light swirls? Orange? Or green will do? And thanks for the link. I'll pickup the kit from Detailers Domain. :thumbup:

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby (Post 1006573)

Junger,

you will NOT burn the paint with a random orbital, its impossible to do. The pad will stop rotating before you have a chance to, that is the beauty of orbitals is that they have the power to correct but since they are not forced rotation they will not burn paint if left in the spot too long or too much pressure is on the pad (with enough downward force the pad will stop, unlike a rotary)

For light swirls and a deep shine I would pick up either the Sonax 4/6 or the SF4000 and both the Orange and Green pad, start with green and make a pass and if you don't get your desired results then go to Orange.

However, FG400 although its a compound will not "take off too much paint" but is sometimes needed to get more effective cutting action. To take off enough clearcoat you'd have to be doing some heavy duty compounding with a wool pad on an orbital, and since Menzerna polishes use SMAT abrasives, the abrasives break down and won't cut any further when broken down. Which is why I recommend Menzerna polishes for a beginner/intermediate as opposed to the Pro line Meguiar's polishes like M105 and M101/100, because Meg's uses DAT abrasives, which don't break down, so you could be continually abrading paint as long as your machine it on.

For example I had some really stubborn water spots in the paint from winter, I made a pass with Sonax 4/6 and an Orange pad and they were about 50% better, but still there. I made one pass with MF cutting pad and FG400 and they were GONE.

You may want to pick up a bottle of FG400 and some MF cutting pads in case you have some heavier isolated defect areas to correct which might not come out with a medium finishing polish. However without seeing your car I couldn't say. In my example above, the one pass I made with FG400 and an MF cutting pad would have taken me 4-5 passes or more with Sonax 4/6 and an Orange pad. Same results just less time.


Point is always start with the least aggressive method regardless to tackle defects, but I like to have the option of going more aggressive if needed.

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby (Post 1006585)

Nice man, yeah Phil just had a 2 day 20% off sale so I'm sure a ton of his inventory is out of stock now. However I do recommend sending him an email with an eta on new shipment [email protected] because the kit I linked has the machine (which comes with 6" backing plate), Phil includes the Vented 5" backing plate with the kit as well, and the 5 5.5" foam pads. I like polishing much better with 5.5" pads than 6.5" personally. If you buy the machine from Turner you would have to buy the 5" plate, 5.5" pads and polishes/compounds separate from Phil. I think the backing plate alone Phil sells for $28 which is why I recommend the kit since he does a nice bundled price for all.

Shoot me a PM if you ever need to talk detailing. The Uber foam pads are some of the highest quality I've ever used, as long as they are cleaned well they will last for years.

Originally Posted by Joshdub (Post 1006555)

We finally got home an hour ago. A 03 5spd popped up on CL last night at a dealer roughly 3 hours away. It was after hours and they didn't open until 10:30 am this morning. We decided to chance it and drive down today without even getting a chance to talk to them first. Turns out they literally just got the car yesterday. Long story short, we swooped it up and headed back home.

It is silver on black, leather, cold weather, sport everything, xenons, nav/premium sound, and the upgraded climate controls. It has a couple flaws, but at the price we got it for they are easily fixable. Ill post pictures after I am done detailing it tomorrow or Friday. Time to dig in!