First Inquiry

[rohnramirez]

Hi Guys. I just purchased the PC with the choose your CCS pads kit, it says it comes with the 5" backplate but the pad choices are 6.5", so i also went ahead and purchased 6.5 bonnets and whool pads. My question is, is it okay to use 6.5" pads/bonnets under the 5" plate? Will i still be able to produce consistent results? Do i always need to spray a polishing foam pad conditioner everytime i use a foam pad?

On a different note, i have a freshly painted crystal pearlescent orange DD and have decided to get these as my combo but haven't actually purchased them yet:

Glaze - Megs #7 Show Car Glaze with the gold pad
Pure Sealant - 4* UPP with the red pad
Pure Wax - Natty's Red Wax with the free red pad

I'm hoping to get ideas and suggestions from you guys first for a light pearl colored car before i go buy it. I just want to know if this is gonna work wonders for the finish during a show. I'm gonna use a different glaze during non-carshow days. Upon making it to the 13th page of this subsection, i read from Mike that the #7 was made for 1stage paints (acrylics/enamels), now i'm a bit hesitant on what glaze to use. Any suggestions to take its place? Thanks in advance for all your insights.

[Matt S.]

The 6.5" pads will work great on a 5" backing plate.

You only need to condition the pad when it's fresh and clean. After it's been used to work in some product, there's no need to spray the conditioner.

The combo you selected looks good, but there are a few better choices than #7 or Natty's IMO. I would go with Poorboy's White Diamond or even a final polish such as Optimum Finish. This is assuming your paint is already in perfect shape. If not, it would make more sense to fully correct your paint of swirls/etc before using this process.

Natty's Red is good, but not really my first choice when I'm looking at carnauba paste waxes under $50. Check out Pinnacle Signature Series II (awesome on metallics, will really make the orange pearl "POP"), or DP Max Wax if you want to keep it on more of a budget.

[rohnramirez]

Thanks for recommending the right products for my paint color Matt!

what can i use as an alternative to foam conditioners when i run out of it? I don't think i can afford to continue buying it

Hope i got it right with:
Glaze - PB World White Diamond with gold pad
Sealant - 4 Star UPP with free red pad
Wax - DP Max Wax with gold pad (Yeah i can't afford pinnacle)

What would be a good QD for this combo? Yes,i'm pretty sure my paint is in excellent condition. I'm so excited to try the PC when it gets here. Thanks again Matt.

[rohnramirez]

Anybody wanna lend a hand here?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Guys. I just purchased the PC with the choose your CCS pads kit, it says it comes with the 5" backplate but the pad choices are 6.5", so i also went ahead and purchased 6.5 bonnets and whool pads. My question is, is it okay to use 6.5" pads/bonnets under the 5" plate? Will i still be able to produce consistent results?

Here's an article on backing plates and pads sises with pictures to show the margins...

5" and 6" Backing Plates on 6.5" pads (Pictures to show safety margin)

5" backing plate = 4 7/8" Diameter
6" backing plate - 5 7/8" Diameter

On a different note, i have a freshly painted crystal pearlescent orange DD and have decided to get these as my combo but haven't actually purchased them yet:

Glaze - Megs #7 Show Car Glaze with the gold pad
Pure Sealant - 4* UPP with the red pad
Pure Wax - Natty's Red Wax with the free red pad

M07 Show Car Glaze is safe for fresh paint as it's a body shop safe product.

How old is your paint? Over or under 30 days?

All paint manufactures recommend waiting at least 30 days before sealing the paint with any kind of wax or paint sealant, some paint companies state to wait longer but 30 days is the norm.

I'm hoping to get ideas and suggestions from you guys first for a light pearl colored car before i go buy it. I just want to know if this is gonna work wonders for the finish during a show. I'm gonna use a different glaze during non-carshow days. Upon making it to the 13th page of this subsection,

If you want to take your car's paint to its maximum potential you want to make the paint as smooth as possible and as defect-free as possible. If you just had your car painted the first thing I would do is wash it and then pull it into the sun and see if the shop that painted it then buffed it out and instilled swirls into the paint. That is the norm.

IF so then you'll need to remove the swirls. If they sanded the paint then you'll want to inspect for sanding marks, either tracers or pigtails.

Check out this article for more information or pictures...

Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring

i read from Mike that the #7 was made for 1stage paints (acrylics/enamels), now i'm a bit hesitant on what glaze to use. Any suggestions to take its place? Thanks in advance for all your insights.

M07 Show Car Glaze or #7 Show Car Glaze is what Meguiar's calls a "Pure Polish" in Meguiar's terminology this means it's a non-abrasive polish to maximize gloss, clarity and in the case of a single stage paint, bring out the full richness of color.

It came out probably in the 1920's, hard to say because there's no one around any longer that knows when the early Megs products were introduced.

Here's a few incarnations over the decades...




It works equally well on all paint systems for what it does but no days modern waxes and paint sealants will give you the same kind of results and last longer because M07 Show Car Glaze is water soluble. Remember, its not a "Protecting" product it's a body shop safe glaze for FRESH PAINT, it's made to protect or last, it's made to create gloss.

Just to note because a lot of people don't know this, Meguiar's history is in making product for fresh paint for use in body shops and car manufacturing assembly lines starting out in 1901, back when cars were invented. They didn't introduce products for do-it-yourselfers working on cured paint till 1973. So there's a different approach to making products for body shops versus cured paint.

Before you start buying chemicals, first inspect your car's paint under BRIGHT sunlight and hope you don't see anything that looks like this,

Rotary Buffer Swirls


Cropped out section focusing on the Zig-Zag pattern of Buffer Swirls

[rohnramirez]

How old is your paint? Over or under 30 days?

A little over 2 months now.

If you want to take your car's paint to its maximum potential you want to make the paint as smooth as possible and as defect-free as possible. If you just had your car painted the first thing I would do is wash it and then pull it into the sun and see if the shop that painted it then buffed it out and instilled swirls into the paint. That is the norm.

IF so then you'll need to remove the swirls. If they sanded the paint then you'll want to inspect for sanding marks, either tracers or pigtails.

Yes, they wet sanded it about a month after it got painted, and buffed it good. But they left swirl marks indeed. I've had it for over a month after buffing now. I'm planning to have a few passes with some 205 on orange pad, then 205 on white/coarse green, then another few passes with 205 on the gold (for jeweling).

But i'm pretty sure i don't have rotary buffer swirls on there. It's in very good condition aside from the very light swirl marks. Cause i was able to hide most of it under a glaze when it was in a carshow last saturday.

Thank you for taking time to answer all my questions. I have no experience using machines but have been detailing by hand for years now and am very interested in trying out new products that my light colored paint will benefit from. I am also wondering if there is a substitute product i can use for the foam pad conditioners aside from my interest in a polish-glaze-sealant-wax combo. I appreciated both your responses really.

[Mike Phillips]

A little over 2 months now.

That's cured enough by most people standards to seal with a wax or paint sealant.

Yes, they wet sanded it about a month after it got painted, and buffed it good. But they left swirl marks indeed.

Why am I not surprised. Your experience is the norm just to point out.

I've had it for over a month after buffing now. I'm planning to have a few passes with some 205 on orange pad, then 205 on white/coarse green, then another few passes with 205 on the gold (for jeweling).

The M205 is a VERY light cleaner/polish, it probably won't be aggressive enough to remove the swirls they left in the paint but it might,

"You never know what you can do until you try"

But I'm pretty sure i don't have rotary buffer swirls on there. It's in very good condition aside from the very light swirl marks. Cause i was able to hide most of it under a glaze when it was in a carshow last saturday.

Most "Painter's Helpers" use a rotary buffer to buff the paint after sanding, even if you don't see a pattern inflicted in the paint by the way the buffer was moved over the paint it could be and probably are swirls inflicted by the rotary buffer and poor technique.

Thank you for taking time to answer all my questions. I have no experience using machines but have been detailing by hand for years now and am very interested in trying out new products that my light colored paint will benefit from.

IF you're learning to use a Porter Cable, then check out the new video below...


All of these things and more are covered in the new extended version Porter Cable 7424XP How-To video...

[rohnramirez]

This photo was taken 2days after actual painting and a month prior to wetsanding. I just wanted to share how the car looks like to give you an idea of the paint. I apologize for the bad lighting conditions. Will try to post of it current state when i get my hands on a camera.



Thanks Mike. I've actually already went through the videos from polishing to light swirl mark removing. This is really addicting. I've been just a lurker for about almost 2years but never really bought anything for finance limitations. Only now that i purchased your kit that a previous addiction has taken a huge leap.

Would you point me at a good combo for my light colored paint..it changes color at angles and lighting conditions.

[Mike Phillips]

More Photobucket...

Here, I uploaded your picture into your gallery here on AG so it won't ever turn into a red x


Here's your picture...



Nice color!

[Mike Phillips]

Would you point me at a good combo for my light colored paint..it changes color at angles and lighting conditions.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you've removed any and all swirls, you mentioned previously you were going to use some M205 with different pads and if the swirls are not to deep, (and it doesn't sound like they are), and the paint isn't too hard then the M205 should remove them.

Just do a Test Spot like discussed in this video,


How to do a Test Spot using the Porter Cable 7424XP with 6.5" CCS Pads and the Wolfgang Twins
(Note the techniques will work with any D.A. Polisher, pads and chemicals)


And then wipe the area with some Isopropyl Alcohol or Mineral Spirits and then inspect in bright light like overhead sun at noon or with a Brinkman Swirl Finder Light.

Once you've proven you're removing the swirls to this one spot then duplicate that process over the rest of the car.

A forum favorite for a finish polishing after the M205 is the Menzerna PO85RD with a finishing pad on the 5.0 Speed Setting if you're using a DA Polisher.

Just make sure the M205 is removing the swirls in the first place if not then let us know and we can either tweak your technique or recommend s more aggressive pad/product combination.


Then go to your sealing step with a wax or paint sealant.