New Guy

[Vette 03]

Have been reading behind the scene for a while now! Have been on MOL for a while reading also! Have been doing everything by hand for years now with age old products, then one of my Son,s friend asks if he can come over and detail his car! He lives in the city 'no where to work on the street'. I say okay fine, then when he is here he has all this stuff cleaner polish wax , I am asking questions like no tomorrow which he tries to answer . Needless to say I was impressed to see that there are all of these type products ouy there for the average person to purchase. I think I am ready to purchase a DA and Products, But which one's? I own a '08 Avalanche and a '03 Corvette! Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.Feed back please

[Brennan Beasley]

Personally I just swapped from a Porter Cable 7424xp to the new Meguiars G110v2 and I love the Meguiars. Dont get me wrong the PC is a great tool. But in the same ballpark on pricing I believe the Meguiars is a step up.

On the Corvette these tend at times to have a little harder paint at least the newer ones do. I would go with Meguiars m105/205. The cut can be controlled to an extent of what pad is used. Get you some 5.5 pads as this size will allow ease of use on the polisher for your first go round. Get a 6 pack of Lake Country Flat 5.5's for $34.99 from AG and maybe go with two orange, two white, two black. Or substitute one black for a yellow which is the most aggressive so you have a solid range incase you run into heavier defects you wont have to order another round of pads. Remember rule of thumb is to do a test spot, and start with the least aggressive polish and pad. Then move your way up in aggressivness untill you find out what will give you the results needed. Then proceed with full vehicle. So in your case since I cant see the vette I would say try a test spot with the white pad and 105. If most defects are not removed in 5-6 section passes swap to the orange pad with 105. I believe the 105/205 combo is what will work good on both your vehicles listed and is pretty easy on the end user without getting close to damaging the paint. I think this would be a good start and if I can help more or you have any questions let me know. And Welcome to the forums!!

[Brennan Beasley]

Oh and dont forget after polishing or correcting the paint. You have removed all sealant's and waxes. So you will need to lay down a LSP= Last Step Product to protect all your work and effort. Get a good sealant like Wolfgang, Optiseal, or Menzerna Powerlock and or lay a good coat of wax. Personally for your goals and efforts and for cost I would go with Natty's Red, Pinnacle Signature Series II to get your feet wet. Any good Nauba will protect then shine. I prefer on my own vehicle to do both a sealant then top with wax. I think you will be suprised with your results.

[Vette 03]

Thanks for the reply ! The Vette is actually my Long awaited Toy! First I put all four of My Kids thru College Then I purchased the Corvette Anniversary Edition, It has only 2800 miles on it since purchased new in April of '03. The wife and I go for a ride:dblthumb2: about 5-6 times a year and we enjoy it quite a bit I don't see too much wrong with the paint at this point. I will be getting the Meguiars v2 and pads now that I have some kind of list, to possibly follow!Feed back please

[Brennan Beasley]

Since the car has that low of miles and paint is probably in good shape start out with the 105 on a white. Trust me once you get the hang of the DA you will be suprised how fast your product base will grow. I started with 105/205 now have a wide range of stuff. Once you get the feel for the polish and what it can remove and cant. Im sure you will find yourself trying something new and trying to master it also. Just make sure you keep the polisher moving! Have fun glad I could help.

[Vette 03]

My oldest son has a beater F150 silver truck I will probably start to practice on and then a Black Tahoe '04 to try next. Last year I had good results on the Tahoe by HAND but way to much work on the old shoulders. Also have to wait for the weather to get a little better here in CHICAGO!!!!!!!!! Used the Meguiars 3 step system for what it is worth, seemed to work pretty good but it was by hand and a lot of time about 2-3 days total but it shined like crazy when I was finished!!!!

[Brennan Beasley]

Sounds like a good way to get started. The siver will be easier on the eye then the black. Black is a fun one I tell ya. Sunny Florida here besides the frequent rain. When the weather gets better you should be well prepared.

[Vette 03]

How long have you been detailing Professionally? If too Personal a question I apologize ahead of time thanks for all of your help and Information. Respectfully Vette 03

[Brennan Beasley]

Professionally as a business I have worked on paint and polishing for 2 years. Before that I was the Service Director of Bentley and Rolls Royce Las Vegas, and Ferrari of Orange County. I oversaw all repairs, customer service, bodywork, quality control, and ran a crew of 18 techs, 4 writers, and a full detail crew. I have worked on exotics as a tech, bodyman, and manager for a total of 8 years. Body work and paint was a hobby and a job before being a manager a long time ago. But over the 8 years and personally having and maintaining a Bentley GTC for 2 years I believe I have a good knowledge of products and techniques on fine finishes. Although I am new to the G110v2 as I have used a rotary or my PC in the past. I am pretty new to this forum but thought I could share with you my experience in dealing with paint and highline vehicles in general. I ran across this forum through purchasing supplies at a great cost and now Im hooked. Also have met some really nice people with good info here.

[Mike Phillips]

Have been reading behind the scene for a while now! Have been on MOL for a while reading also!


Hey I know a guy that used to post over there...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/715/TopPosterMOL.jpg




I think I am ready to purchase a DA and Products, But which one's? I own a '08 Avalanche and a '03 Corvette! Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.Feed back please



Great questions, looks like Brennan has answered most of them for you, I would offer up this article,

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/22263-how-choose-right-polisher-your-detailing-project.html)


And may scan through here for anything that interests you...

Articles by Mike Phillips (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/23722-articles-mike-phillips.html)


I've written about 8 articles this week that I haven't added to the list yet but I"m working on that right now...


:)

[Brennan Beasley]

Also as seen above by Mikes Ginormous post count compared to my subpar less then 100. He is the guy with most answers. Definately check out the articles, I should have thrown them your way. You said youve been on here for a while viewing figured you would have came across them. Mikes thread, and vids are a wealth of knowledge and one of the best views on detailing and paint correction I know of. Happy Detailing and let me know if I can be any further help

[Vette 03]

Yes I have been reading behind the scenes a lot and yes I have read every one of Mike's articles on MACHINES , very informative!! The reason I asked you the time

question is your post seemed very authorative and correct and I did not think that you were at all new at this . You just seemed to understand the question I was asking with very definite answers . I will be asking quite a few questions in the near future and I hope you find the time in your schedule to answer . along with Mike Phillips the guy that used to answer them over at that other site also! Glad to be here with people who want to help and encourage others to suceed in their endeavors of the new world of detailing, for them anyhow!!!! For now have a GREAT DAY and I hope you are all very busy and making The almighty DOLLAR and lots of them!!!!!!!!!!! Respectfully Vette03:buffing: