Beginner

[azacura]

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing equipment (polisher) & necessary supplies to maintain my car. I've been waxing my car by hand so this will be my first time will be using professional equipment & supplies. So I'm here hoping I get recommendation as to what polisher I should purchase, wax, sealer, compound, microfibers drying towels, tire cleaner & brush, window cleaner, interior care supplies, water spot removers, etc.. Basically I'm looking for a good starter kit.

Thank you very much in advance for your recommendations.

Sincerely,

Alvaro

[Kamakaz1961]

Welcome to AGO! You will learn quite a bit from this forum. My suggestion is to look at the How To's and get one of Mike Phillips Books on Show car shine. That will be your source of good information from paint technology to products and tools.

Have a great day and Happy New Year!

[azacura]

Hello all,

I'm looking into purchasing equipment (polisher) & necessary supplies to maintain my car. I've been waxing my car by hand so this will be my first time will be using professional equipment & supplies. So I'm here hoping I get recommendation as to what polisher I should purchase, wax, sealer, compound, microfibers drying towels, tire cleaner & brush, window cleaner, interior care supplies, water spot removers, etc.. Basically I'm looking for a good starter kit.

Thank you very much in advance for your recommendations.

Sincerely,

Alvaro

[VISITOR]

Here's what you need to get into machine polishing - Recommendations for a beginner by Mike Phillips

[glfnaz]

Azacura:
By your name, are you in Arizona?
If so you are welcome to come by my home garage and use my polisher, compounds & polishes, my wash products, my microfibers, my trim products, my sealants or my coatings.
I have way more than I need.
No charge, just come by and work with me, test products, learn some of the techniques.
I am not a pro, just a guy who likes our cars taken care of properly.
I am in Scottsdale. AZ.

[jdgamble]

I was in your shoes 6 months ago. This is what I would recommend:

Griots 6 in DA
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant
Griots BOSS compounds/polishes
HD Speed for quick work
Optimum No Rinse
A variety of pads... The Griots work best for the BOSS products, but I have 3 or 4 types and they all work well.

That would be a good start with polisher, chemicals and pads. I'm less sorted on the rest of the products you are asking about.

I just can't say enough good stuff about the WGDGPS.

Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline

[Desertnate]

I don't think there is a single starter kit that will cover all the areas you mention above. ALso I wouldn't get a kit that locks you into a single brand for EVERY product. I'd stick to a polish "family", but by picking and choosing from various brands for everything else you often can actually save money and cherry pick the best from various brands in your budget range for each type of product.

The polisher, pad and polish advice you've received so far is solid.

One tool I've found I can't live without is my Speedmaster wheel brush. I put off buying one for years, but once I did I've never been happier. It has greatly improved my ability to clean the barrels of wheels and has cut my wheel washing time dramatically.

Keep in mind you don't have to go high dollar brands on everything. For me, I go with high quality polishes, pads, and sealants. For things like glass cleaner, and all purpose cleaner, I'll go with cheap/reputable brands. Interior products I'll shoot for somewhere in the middle.

Some examples:
Interiors: I use McKee's 37 or Meguiars products. 303 Aerospace has worked well too.
Glass: Sprayway glass cleaner. It's really cheap and you can find it everywhere, to include here and most grocery and hardware stores.
APC: Poorboys. It dilutes out to various concentrations and a bottle will last a really long time.
Trim: McKee's 37 Trim Restorer is my current favorite and I expect to get years from my current bottle since a little product goes a VERY long way.

[dlc95]

Here is what I set up new comers with locally:

Porter Cable 7424xp polisher
5" Buff and Shine d/a backing plate
2 - Buff and Shine Red Finishing pads
4 - Buff and Shine Blue Polishing pads
4 - Buff and Shine Green Polishing pads (I find that they work great for basic cutting).
4 - Buff and Shine Microfiber cutting pads. (Optional. Great to have on hand if you need more cutting power. These pads have an orange foam interface).
Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax
Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer
Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Wax
Meguiar's Clay Bar Kit
Meguiar's Supreme Shine Microfiber towels
Meguiar's Hot Rims All wheel cleaner
Meguiar's Ultimate Tire Coating
(Extra) Meguiar's foam applicators

[Paul A.]

Some great advice from all so far but I especially like glfnaz's offer to visit. There's nothing better than to actually get some things in your hands and "feel" this stuff.

My advice? Read and read EVERYTHING Mike Phillips has put out for us on the basics of just starting out. Watch Mike's videos and then take glfnaz up on his offer and a lot of it will come together in wonderful 4D! That is, get as much head knowledge of the concepts involved with each step and learn the objectives via research. Basically...go to school first. There is so much of it right here online and in Mike's books.

Then do the "Practicals" with someone nearby and get your hands on this stuff.

In my opinion that is the fastest and most thorough way to learn all this stuff. the BEST way is to take Mike's class. That's just about everything in 2-3 days.

It takes a while to find exactly what you like best in all areas and I would suggest getting small sizes of things like compounds, polishes, waxes, sealants, interior cleaners, dressings, soaps etc. at first. Try some different products to compare YOUR use and application.

It takes a while to find what you like to work with the best. You may go through several product lines to determine your favorites but to me that was the fun part!

[azacura]

Thank you Kamakaz1961.