Noob already pwned by this forum....

[bhk1004]

Well I went to a detailing mini get together that was introducing some products and my interests got perked on this topic... well after reading all the information on some forums along with most of the information on this website... I was even more confused than when I originally started on which DA machine I should buy.

Well... I got so frustrated decided to just buy a Flex that came with a set of Chemical guy pads, and then remedied the only problem that people seemed to have with the Flex and bought a 3" Griot DA that came with a bunch of pads. Pad selection seemed almost even worse than DA selection so I just looked for some thing that was bundled so I could be "forced" to use those pads and i can worry about getting pads later when I screw up the ones that I already have.

So now ive been pwned out of 500 dollars cause of all the recommendations and such of this forum. Well now just wanted to make sure that my selection of polishes is appropriate.

I was planning on using the 205 scratch X ultimate compoud and 105. I kind of like meguiars because of the fact that I can get it locally very easily and its readily available all over the place. Do you think I am jumping too aggressive from the 205? or is this list okay? Thx for any feed back!!

[kemo]

Just a suggestion bhk, the experts here are probably going to need some more information .......they'll want to know what you're trying to repair (scratches, swirls, oxidation, etc). Is your Flex a DA or Rotary? Then they can help you decide by telling you what has worked best for them in similiar situations.

I'm new to using a polisher myself, so I know what you mean about all the info getting confusing. Good Luck.....and btw, it gets easier.

[bhk1004]

okay... for the car it is a 2008 audi s5 black. the reason im doing this is cause this car shows every single scratch in the world. So after washing/claying/sealing,waxing all i can see is scratches everywhere. mostly just surface scratches but i need them to be gone. there are some places where there is some bad scraches but nothing insane. mainly me wiping things off from my car using walmart brand microfiber towels before i knew the cheap stuff scratches your car...


This will mainly be used on my car, my wifes car, family members cars if they want me to help them out.

oh yah have been using liquid glass as my "wax" for a few months. i seems this stuff is more of a sealer? or something? haha im not really sure, but it looks great and is easy to put on and off. just wonder if this is a sealer or a wax? if its a sealer should I also add some wax ontop of it? thx for any help guys.

[dougaross]

Sounds like you need some megs 105/205 and a DA

[embolism]

first off welcome to AG

Sorry to hear this in your first post. If you had posted earlier, ppl would have chimed in with recommendations for what you wanted to do.

Flex is a nice machine but many started out with a DA like the Porter Cable or Griots or Meg's saving some scratch for lots of other detailing accoutrements.

Stuff I've read on the 3" Griots is that it is underpowered and a 3" bp with 4" pads on a DA is the way to go.

Anyways back to the topic at hand. In order to recommend stuff, it would be helpful to know what kind of vehicle you will be using it on, maybe include some sun shot photos of the defects you want to take care of (not everything can and should be fixed by buffing).

Depending on how much correction and time you are willing to invest, you can do a 1 to 3 step polish after washing & claying.

A typical 3 step with the Meg's line would be 105 or UC on orange, followed by 205 on a white, and maybe 205 on a black pad.

The key is to use the least aggressive method to get the job done and to do a test spot so you know what works on your paint before you do the entire car and find out you didn't get the level of correction you were looking for.

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by bhk1004

okay... for the car it is a 2008 audi s5 black. the reason im doing this is cause this car shows every single scratch in the world.

One thing I would recommend is doing a Test Spot with whatever pad, product and tool you choose to start with, make sure you can make one spot look good before buffing out the entire car.

I've come across Audi's with incredibly hard paint and Audi's with incredibly soft paint, so make sure you're getting the results you want and expect in one small area before moving on...


Audi Soft Paint - Making Generalizations about Hardness and Softness

[Buddy]

Welcome to Autogeek...

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by bhk1004

Well... I got so frustrated decided to just buy a Flex that came with a set of Chemical guy pads,

Where did you get this?

[bhk1004]

Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek

Where did you get this?

Amazon.com: Flex XC 3401 VRG Orbital Polisher (Dual Action) COMPLETE PAD KIT: Automotive

amazon. pad selection is just as much of a pain or worse because people dont name anything... the just mention a brand and a color.. and some brands have more than 1 shade of a certain color or different types of oranges or blues or stuff so I have no idea what im looking at. So decided to j ust get something that came with a few pads so I dont need to think about it.

So after reading your huge write up on Meguiar's Polishing compounds i wanted to get the 205/scratch X/ultimate compound/105. You think this is a good point to start off? or you think between the 205 and the scratch X im jumping too aggressively?

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by bhk1004

So after reading your huge write up on Meguiar's Polishing compounds i wanted to get the 205/scratch X/ultimate compound/105.

You think this is a good point to start off? or you think between the 205 and the scratch X im jumping too aggressively?

Have you already purchased the Meguiar's products?

M205 and ScratchX are very non-aggressive...

They might work and they might not, it depends upon how hard the paint is, how deep the swirls and scratches are and how good your technique for using the Flex 3401 is.

If you're new to the Flex, then I would recommend practicing on a car that's not your black Audi or practice on the trunk lid till you can prove to yourself you can get GREAT results on that paint system.

I'm worried that if the paint is really hard you might have a difficult time starting out for your first time machine polishing.

A good way to practice though would be with the M205 as it's a very easy product to work with and you certainly can't hurt anything with it... so maybe keep it simple and start there.

The Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and Finishing Glaze are also incredibly easy products to work with for first timers...