Newbie needs some help

[terrymo]

Hello,
I have read alot on this forum and gained alot of information. Here's what I got I have 2 new cars 2013 Ford Fusion Pearl White and a 2013 Ford Explorer Tuxedo Black. Both cars are only about 6 months old so paint swirls shouldn't be a issue. I bought a porter cable orbital buffer. I plan on using Merguair's Ultimate wax,soap and polish and I plan on clay bar both cars. My question is what color pads do I want and what brand to wax and polish? I want to get a 3" and a 5 1/2" from what i'm reading on the forums.
thanks

[CDot]

Welcome to AG!

Check out these threads if this is your first time using a DA:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/27166-how-maximize-your-da-polisher.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/20021-definitive-how-article-removing-swirls-scratches-water-spots-using-porter-cable-7424xp-g110v2-griot-s-garage-polisher.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/26962-how-much-product-do-i-use-my-da-polisher.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/20135-how-clean-your-foam-pad-fly.html

Take a look at the 5.5" Lake Country Pads and this chart to determine what pads you might want: Autogeek Buffing Pad Comparison Chart (http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/buffing-pad-chart-lc.htm)

You can use whatever brand you'd like to polish. Look here to determine what you might want to look at based off your paint's condition: http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-chart.pdf

This link also gives a good break down of what you might want for each stage: Learn how to use the Porter Cable 7424 dual action buffer with CCS Smart Pads by Lake Country. Polish swirl remover car wax polisher wax buffing pad (http://www.autogeek.net/ccs-polishing-how-to.html)

As far as wax, what are you looking for in a wax? Some last longer than others, some look better than others, and some cost more than others. You want a paste or a liquid?

[c8n]

I am assuming this is a purchase question as to which pads to buy and that is a difficult question to answer in that every paint will react differently to a product. There are pads that cuts faster than others but that's not always necessarily a good thing. As mentioned each paint will react differently. Having said that I have had good sucess with LC CCS and MF and Megs pads. But that's not to say other brands are bad. I would search the forum for works other AG members have done on a similar car to your and look up which products they have used and go from there.

[tuscarora dave]

I sometimes work with cars and trucks right from the factory or the dealerships and just about everyone of them has swirls and light scratches. The ones that don't are typically covered up with a filler that eventually wears off with routine washing.

The question you need to ask yourself is this... Do you want to spend a lot of time working on the appearance of your vehicles? Do you want to do the work as a hobby of enjoyment or just get it done and move on with other things in life?

There are a few different approaches you can take. You can go with glazes that require much less work each time you do the work, or you can go with compounds, polishes and waxes and actually correct any paint defects as you see them crop up. The paint correction approach (compounds and polishes) removes valuable clear coat each time you perform the work, where the glaze approach will cover, fill, hide etc. any minor paint defects that you have as a result of washing your car and truck.

The paint on your Fords is rather hard so if you do end up having to correct or buff off a thin layer of clear coat to level out the defects, you'll be needing a good compound and some good polish that are intended for harder clear coat finishes.

I personally would recommend going with a glaze until you get the hang of running the polisher efficiently to fill any light paint defects and create a nice glossy look to your paint without removing clear coat.

I'm certain there will be some folks chime in on your thread who could offer suggestions of a good glaze to use as I really don't use them in my shop.

If you want to polish just to brighten things up, create a nice gloss and actually get some light paint correction along the way (depending whether you want to use a dedicated wax or not) a nice all in one polish with protection right in the polish might be a good choice.

Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #205 does a very nice job of glossing things up and providing some light paint correction along the way, and is pretty newbie friendly too. #205 however is quite an oily product so a wash should be performed between the polishing and the application of your dedicated sealant and or wax.

If swirls really aren't an issue, either way you go (AIO or polish) polishing pads should be a good choice to go along with the machine and products you go with. Being that Ford paints are a little on the harder side, a finishing pad probably won't really be necessary but certainly optional to take the gloss over the top.