To many products, what to use?

[TravelWtoE]

Greetings,

I am new here and just started getting into detailing. I didn't realize how easy and relaxing it is. I got a PC 7424XP 2 years ago and just decided NOW to give it a shot. What a breeze!
I had a few decent sized scratches on my 2011 subaru and foolishly used my fathers Turtle Rubbing compound to remove them by hand. Worked great except now I have a dull and hazy finish throughout parts of my car. I also noticed some swirls marks and bird crap etching. From what I have been reading online through research and what not, it is to my understanding I need a polish to get rid of these imperfections. Not hard right? Wrong!

After looking around on AG, I noticed countless different polishes and rubbing compounds all claiming to remove swirls. Theres Megs #9 swirls remover, Megs #2 fine cut, Megs ultra finishing polish and numerous different types of cutting compounds all stating to remove swirls. Same goes for 3M. How am I supposed to know what to use and with what type of foam pad for my porter cable? There are just too many countless combinations to use.

Can someone point me in the right direction here? Perhaps link me to a few articles they know of or even explain this to me if someone has time?

I already have the PC stated above with a Lake Country's 5in backing plate and a red and orange CCS 5.5in foam pads. I also used Wolfgangs paint sealant this past weekend and wasn't all that impressed. I have DP clay and lube and collinite 476s past wax which I am supper excited to try out but am curious hot to apply a paste wax via Porter cable.
I am also going to get Optimum no rinse to use as a clay lube and detail spray.

I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks guys and gals,

-Anthony

[dennis hiip]

For me that's what makes it fun and challenging. It's an adventure and you really can't make a bad decision. This new stuff is all good, but some of it is amazingly good. I like reading and researching and looking forward to trying.

[Ryan509]

As the great mike phillips would say, "Kiss", meaning keep it simple simon. When i first started i OVERTHOUGHT everything about detailing due to the overwhelming amount of product.


When it comes down to it, you want an orange/white/gray (red instead of gray is fine) ccs pad. if you plan on doing your whole vehicle make sure you have 3 orange/3white/1red.

What your looking for is a compound & Finishing polish

Autogeek Buffing Pad Comparison Chart (http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/buffing-pad-chart-lc.htm)

Above link is a pad comparison chart

Below is a polish chart. Most agressive being a compound, least aggressive being a usually being some sort of glaze or All in one polish.

Personally i'm very happy with menzerna products, pricey yet a little goes a long way. i use FG400 which is the compound and removes the majority of your holograms/swirls/oxidization. Then i follow up with SF4000 which is a finishing polish, it removes as i say "The left overs" of the compound such as very light marring & minor cobwebs.

Orange=compound
White=finishing polish
Red=wax/sealant

ALWAYS START WITH LEASTE AGRESSIVE PRODUCT FIRST. least being a finishing polish



I already have the PC stated above with a Lake Country's 5in backing plate and a red and orange CCS 5.5in foam pads. I also used Wolfgangs paint sealant this past weekend and wasn't all that impressed.

Did you clay the vehicle and make sure it was smooth? how come you weren't impressed with it? Keep in mind subaru paint is usually soft and can damage very easy.

[kevin_1981]

Travel - My recommendation for a new person (like myself) is to try out Meguiar's Ultimate Line (Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish). Its all I've used, and for a daily driver it has been excellent. You can find it practically anywhere also, which is nice.

As the other mentioned in previous comments, I think you may need another pad for polishing - i dont think the red will do much for polishing. I personally use Orange, Green, and Black ( I would have bought white instead of green, based on learning stuff, but I didnt do enough research). On my Scion TC, I found that the Ultimate Compound finished out good enough for me. The Ultimate Polish did end up making the finish look a bit shinier.

As far as Collinite 476... I just got mine a couple days ago also! Can't wait to try it. I think if you want to machine apply, youd have to have a 3" backing plate/pad. You can also try to coat the pad with some wax before putting it onto the backing plate. From what I hear, make sure to apply it very thin.

Hope this helps.

[Hoytman]

For your needs the Meguiar's Ultimate line, both compound and polish, should work just fine while still being very user friendly.

I believe Mike generally recommends Lake Country orange, white, and black pads or red pads for the compouding, polishing, then waxing steps.

Wolfgang sealant comes highly recommended usually by many forum members. Not sure why you didn't like it. I've never used it, yet. The 476 is an awesome choice and at least one forum member who owns a detailing business and frequents this forum highly recommends Meguiar's Ultimate Paste wax. That would be forum member VPMark.

In that case you could try the entire Meguiar's Ultimate line of products if you like. You could also top the UPW with 476 if you like.

At VPMark's recommendation I've recently bought and tried (2 days ago) UPW. It was a breeze to work with and Mark says it's longevity is decent. (How he would compare UPW to 476; I have no clue, but you could send him a pm. He always replies back.)

[tenblade2001]

As the great mike phillips would say, "Kiss", meaning keep it simple simon. When i first started i OVERTHOUGHT everything about detailing due to the overwhelming amount of product.


When it comes down to it, you want an orange/white/gray (red instead of gray is fine) ccs pad. if you plan on doing your whole vehicle make sure you have 3 orange/3white/1red.

What your looking for is a compound & Finishing polish

Autogeek Buffing Pad Comparison Chart (http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/buffing-pad-chart-lc.htm)

Above link is a pad comparison chart

Below is a polish chart. Most agressive being a compound, least aggressive being a usually being some sort of glaze or All in one polish.

Personally i'm very happy with menzerna products, pricey yet a little goes a long way. i use FG400 which is the compound and removes the majority of your holograms/swirls/oxidization. Then i follow up with SF4000 which is a finishing polish, it removes as i say "The left overs" of the compound such as very light marring & minor cobwebs.

Orange=compound
White=finishing polish
Red=wax/sealant

ALWAYS START WITH LEASTE AGRESSIVE PRODUCT FIRST. least being a finishing polish




Did you clay the vehicle and make sure it was smooth? how come you weren't impressed with it? Keep in mind subaru paint is usually soft and can damage very easy.
great post for newbies like myself:xyxthumbs:

[TravelWtoE]

Thanks for the reply guys and sorry for the late response.
I washed the car twice, followed with claying and then the paint sealant. I am not impressed with it because it doesn't sheet like in the videos and there are water spots all over my car again the day after the detain from the rain. The car didn't get wet until after the 12 curing period. I feel for the price, it wasn't worth it.
http://i60.tinypic.com/2558dx4.jpg

Is there a reason for the recommendations in the ultimate line and not any of the professional lines? I don't mind spending the money if the product is good.

[tenblade2001]

Thanks for the reply guys and sorry for the late response.
I washed the car twice, followed with claying and then the paint sealant. I am not impressed with it because it doesn't sheet like in the videos and there are water spots all over my car again the day after the detain from the rain. The car didn't get wet until after the 12 curing period. I feel for the price, it wasn't worth it.
http://i60.tinypic.com/2558dx4.jpg

Is there a reason for the recommendations in the ultimate line and not any of the professional lines? I don't mind spending the money if the product is good.

I'm a newbie myself, but it looks like its beading

[AeroCleanse]

Try Sonax Perfect Finish and / or the Rupes polishes. Get the smallest sizes.

[EVOlved]

Looks like fairly good beading to me. The water won't sheet until the beads are big enough to create enough surface tension for it to run off.

[dlc95]

I think the Ultimate line comes recommend, because it historically works well. It's something that may be viewed differently if it were only available as a specially item. Also, the abrasive technology is derived from their professional lines (Super Micro Abrasive Technology, or SMAT).

[TravelWtoE]

If I were to use the professional line of polishes, which one would i use because I noticed there are multiple types all claiming to remove swirls?

There has to be a difference in the ultimate line vs professional line.

[kevin_1981]

Travel - From the professional line, a lot of people use M105 (compound), M205 (polish), then a sealer/wax.

The Ultimate line is supposed to have longer working times, but the compound does not have as much cut as M105.

Here is the first car I ever did with my polisher (using the ultimate line):

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/79521-1998-civic-paint-correction-newbie.html

This should show you what the UC is capable of... especially on the door/trunk lid.

[custmsprty]

Do yourself a favor and get some Menzerna FG400 and forget about the other stuff. It's just about the best one step polish you can get these days. It has aggressive cutting and finishes down like their finer polishes. It's amazing and I'm sure you will be pleased with it. A 16oz bottle is plenty but the 32oz is a better value.