New member and need advice

[Smokey]

Proud new member to the forum and after spending the last few days shopping your website and reading the different how to articles/videos I am totally confused. I have a 2009 Audi S6 in silver and being silver and me being slightly OCD the paint looks good. No big problem areas but after a nasty Michigan winter i want to give the paint some special attention. So i am going to buy a porter cable 7424 but i need advice on what color lake country pads to get for applying a polish followed up with a wax /sealant? Also need some tips on what brand of wax and polish to go with ? I am just accustomed to picking up the usual products like mothers and mequiars from my local auto parts store

Thank You
Robert

[spiralout462]

Lake Country 5 1/2 x 7/8 inch Beveled Edge Foam Pads, buffing pads, Lake Country curved edge pads, polishing pads (http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country-beveled-edge-pads.html)
These pads are a great starting point. There is nothing wrong with Meg's consumer line products but the longer you are here the more products you will accumulate. :) Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish are excellent polishes to learn with that wont break the bank. After polishing, any good sealant will protect your work.

Welcome to AGO!!!

[Smokey]

thanks spiralout. What color pad should i go with and if i want to spend some more money what do you reccomend instead of the Mequiars ?

[spiralout462]

It's good to have a selection of pads since there is no way of knowing what will perform best until you do a test spot. You will need more cutting (orange) and polishing (white) pads than finishing pads since they will be doing the grunt work. It's hard to reccommend a particular brand. I like to try different stuff from everyone! The AG house brands, Pinnacle, Wolfgang, Blackfire, DP all have nice, effective products.

[Sicoupe]

^ what he said, ORANGE and WHITE:)

[Smokey]

Just out of curiosity why wouldnt i want to use the grey or blue pads to apply final wax

[Mike Phillips]

Just out of curiosity why wouldn't i want to use the grey or blue pads to apply final wax


A good selection of the Lake Country 5.5" pads for a DA Polisher would include,

3-4 Orange Light Cutting
3-4 White Polishing
2-3 Black Finishing
1-2 Blue Waxing


Of course, all of the above is relative to,

Size of vehicle
Condition of paint


A simple rule for fast polishing goes like this; more pads is better. Let your budget be your guide.


:)

[ski2]

BTW--welcome to AG!!!

Have you considered the Griots Garage Polisher ?? It is considerably more powerful the the PC (which you may appreciate if your Audi paint is as hard as some) and it has a lifetime warranty so after using it 10 or so times a year for 3 or 4 years if it breaks down just return to Griots. They will repair it for free but most often send you a new unit.

It comes with a usable 6" backing plate, but you'd be better off getting a 5" so you can start with 5.5" pads right from the beginning.

[AC in OC]

Welcome! I think we all started off with that same confused/overwhelmed feeling. This is definitly the place to be to educate yourself thoroghly.

I might add a few suggestions, since you're starting to fill your basket. Since you want to wash the winter off your car, you probably have some embedded dirt and grime in the paint and on the wheels. You'll want to clean the paint as best you can, so your polish and sealing process will finish out nicely. You'll want to pick up a clay bar and lubricant. Maybe some IronX.

Mike wrote a good article on this paint cleaning step: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/56794-how-remove-stains-embedded-dirt-out-paint.html

By the way, nice car. Love those S models from Audi. Look forward to seeing your 1st post w/ pics.