Need help with product chioce

[MasterSprtn117]

Hope this is the right forum.

I've bought a Groit's Garage DA Polisher a month ago and need some help with giving my car a good polish to get back it's shine.

Car pictures
(http://imgur.com/a/AhFph)
Also, what's a recommended product and method to fix the chips? The rear tire lost it's tread (shouldn't have trusted the tires the car came with) and whipped onto the fender while I was driving on the highway.

I'm trying to keep the cost down so looking for the best deal! I don't have any pads and have some Meguiar's products. The car looked quite a bit more oxidized before I hand-applied the meguiar's paint correction kit.

After paint correction kit (http://i.imgur.com/0kJia.jpg)

[BobbyG]

:welcome: To Autogeek Online! :props:

Doctor Color Chip seems to have a good following for repairing minor chips and scratches and it's available through Autogeek's online store.

Since you need pads I would suggest looking at Lake Country's 5 1/2" flat pads and corresponding 5" back up plate.

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Meguiar's Ultimate Polish are great choices and when used with the right pad can really make that finish look like new.

Foam Pads

Yellow Cutting Foam - Use this pad to apply compounds or polishes to remove severe oxidation, swirls, and scratches. It is the most aggressive and should only be used on oxidized and older finishes. Always follow this pad with an orange or white pad and a fine polish to refine the paint until it is smooth.

Orange Light Cutting Foam - Firm, high density foam for scratch and defect removal. Use this pad with polishes and swirl removers. It’s an all-around pad that will work on most light to moderate imperfections.

White Polishing Foam - Less dense foam formula for the application of waxes, micro-fine polishes and sealants. This pad has very light cutting power so it’s perfect for pre-wax cleaners.

Gray Finishing Foam Pad - Composition is firm enough to withstand added pressure during final finishing to remove buffer swirls. It has no cut and will apply thin, even coats of waxes, sealants, and glazes.

Blue Finessing Foam – Pad has soft composition for applying glaze, finishing polish, sealants, and liquid waxes. Flat pad provides full contact with paint surface to minimize the pressure applied by the user.

[MasterSprtn117]

Which pad color would you say I should start at considering the pictures I linked to? I don't want to take too much paint off...
How many pads should I expect to use? Is one for each color/product enough?

Also, what's with meguire's two pad system?

What would I need a backup plate for? The Groit's polisher has a hook and loop plate.

Feed back please

[spiralout462]

What Bobby G was referring to is a 5" backing plate. That is the one you need for 5.5" pads. I am not familiar with the Griot's backing plate. I use the 5.5" Lake Country flat pads with great results. They are easy to use and clean. Generally you will need more of the pads that provide cut since they will be doing most of the grunt work. You can get away with fewer of the finishing pads. Mike Phillips explains this better than anyone.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/questions-about-porter-cable-7424xp-7424-7336-griot-s-meguiar-s-dual-action-polishers/38399-da-polisher-articles-help-newbies-machine-polishing.html