Help me pick pads and compound for HF DA.

[acv987]

I am picking up a HF DAtomorrow since I now have a place I can do details. Mainly just my own cars for now. I have 2 new cars both with dealer swirls and my accord has a scratch down the side where someone did a poor job of trying to key my car. ( cant feel it with fingernail) I read some of Mikes articles but he does not give an actual pad or compound recommendation. I need to get a backing plate and whiever set of pads works best for swirl removal, applying BF GEP and a sealant. Sorry I tried to research but I just dont want to pick something that sucks or will be ineffective. Which compound would you reccomend for swirl removal? Will I need to do a second compounding step to remove marring from the first step?

[Hjfowler]

I have two accords. Had some dealer swirls. I ALSO just bought the HF DA. Great machine for the price.

Pads: I went with Lake Country 5.5" pads. (Orange white and blue) (you'll need a new backing plate. 5")

Product: both of my cars are dark, but one is black. The Meg's black wax did AMAZING stuff to my black paint
There's a before and after. (Disregard the two stone chips)

I have also used Pinnacle XMT 360 on the dark grey Accord. Also great results. Just follow up with a nice wax or sealant.

All of this was recommended to me by a professional on AGO. You can't go wrong. Plus none of the above mentioned is expensive.

[Lemmuhj]

Is the HF backing plate and pads THAT bad? I'm considering getting one

[Hjfowler]

Is the HF backing plate and pads THAT bad? I'm considering getting one

Backing plate isn't flexible. I never tried the pads. But I've not read one good thing about them. But like I say, I haven't tried them so I don't know. All ican say is the LC pads are great

[acv987]

So the megs is.just a wax right, and the pinnacle is a compound? I have the black accord sport and a crv so Im sure the paint is similar. I put on a coating of Wet Diamond and it looked great not in direct sun so I couldnt see the swirls.

[Rmd]

A good starting point is a 5" backing plate and 5.5 inch pads. Get at least a couple each of orange, white, and black (or blue). Either flat or CCS, its mostly preference. The orange will work with compounds, the white with polish, or the black/blue for finishing work with regular polish or a fine finishing polish. The reds are good to have also if you plan to apply wax or sealant by machine.

For compound and polish, you can't go wrong with the AG Wolfgang line. The total swirl remover and finishing glaze (actually a polish despite the name) will cover most situations. The WG Uber compound is excellent too, if you are dealing with really messed up paint.

[VP Mark]

The HF backing plate IS that bad. It is a sanding plate and acts like it. Buy a LC backing plate and throw the stock one in the trash.

Lets keep this simple!

Compound: Optimum Hyper Compound

Polish: Optimum Hyper Polish

Pads: Optimum MF Cutting & Polishing pads

This is such an easy combo for someone new it is laughable. One squirt after each pass perfectly primes and loads the pad. Pads finish beautifully. One soft clear such as an accord you might be able to even get away with just the Hyper Polish and a MF Polishing pad.

You can use a MF polishing pad for sealant application as well, but a red or black pad is really smoother for that.

[Hjfowler]

So the megs is.just a wax right, and the pinnacle is a compound? I have the black accord sport and a crv so Im sure the paint is similar. I put on a coating of Wet Diamond and it looked great not in direct sun so I couldnt see the swirls.

The meguiars is an AIO and so is the Pinnacle. The Meg's is far less aggressive though. The swirls basically get filled in with minimal correction. (Still looks awesome). The XMT will actually do some correction, but still isn't very aggressive. I chose this combo because I didn't want to mess up my paint. Not that you will with a compound, but I'm new to the use of machines on anything but boats. If you're looking for actual correction, I would stick with what VP Mark said.

[acv987]

Thanks for the tips guys.

[KBsToy]

I have two accords. Had some dealer swirls. I ALSO just bought the HF DA. Great machine for the price.

Pads: I went with Lake Country 5.5" pads. (Orange white and blue) (you'll need a new backing plate. 5")

Product: both of my cars are dark, but one is black. The Meg's black wax did AMAZING stuff to my black paint
There's a before and after. (Disregard the two stone chips)

I have also used Pinnacle XMT 360 on the dark grey Accord. Also great results. Just follow up with a nice wax or sealant.

All of this was recommended to me by a professional on AGO. You can't go wrong. Plus none of the above mentioned is expensive.

Just use the KISS method . I likes the XMT 360 and did the Petes 53 . I like the Optimums pads ..