Before I start picking up a DA polisher I have a lot of unanswered questions ...

[Kamakaz1961]

I would look at more videos on DA as well as techniques or get Mike Phillips book the Art of Detailing (I believe it has been updated since then). That will give you all the information to have a good start. Good luck and good hunting! But the biggest and MOST IMPORTANT thing when you are detailing is HAVE FUN!

[pilotpip]

Get Mike's "Art of Detailing" book.

I'm an amature, I've corrected 4 vehicles a total of maybe 10 times.

I went with a Porter Cable polisher because of the price, and reputation. If I had to do it again, I'd probably get the 6" Griots polisher. Both are good, but the PC leaves me wanting a little more sometimes. For a newbie, that's a good thing. The moment I put too much pressure on it, or get in a tough spot that I could make a mistake, it stalls.

When you decide which route to go, buy as many pads as you can. Clean pads are the most effective and changing them often will give the best results. Using an AIO on my truck or explorer I use 10-12 pads. Pricey, but faster and ultimately it saves money because the pads will last me years.

As far as your edge, depending on what year it is, they're very easy to do. This was my second or third car, and by far the worst shape. I ended up doing a 2 step using Compound, then all in one as documented. Mother in law's ford edge

The amount of products, and info here is daunting. Whatever you decide, stick with it for a while then start branching out. Meguiars makes great products, and much of the stuff you buy at the local auto store is sold here in bulk quantities for much lower prices. As for worry about damaging anything, don't. Take your time, stick with an all-in-one or a lighter polish for the first couple goes and you'll be addicted. Even a slight correction is going to make your paint pop and will look 10 times better than almost every one of the cars in the parking lot where ever you go.

[Wanna Learn]

Thanks for the info and thanks Mike Phillips for chiming in! I thought every last millimeter of the car's paint was detailed but it makes sense that there will be places you just can't get to. I thought that the pad was a sacrificial item, choose one you know will get destroyed and get close to whatever to get the job done. Pilotpip, thanks for the tip of multiple pads, I did see a video where it was said to use 4 to 6 pads per car... I thought 1 pad would do it! And nice job on that Edge.

Taping seems the way to go, so I will plan on doing that to the areas I want to protect. I see I'll have to get at least 2 sizes of backing plates and pads. I was planning on going cheap with the DA and get the Harbour Freight one as it's only 2 family cars and it has gotten good reviews from people. The backing plate(s) will probably be from someone like Lake County. I won't be buying 2 machines anytime soon as I may attempt this once and say forget it.

I don't plan on getting too aggressive with any correction and will probably use a polishing cream, something like Sonax perfect finish. I like the fact Mequiars liquid wax can be used on anything. As I am looking around at other waxes/sealants I'm looking for that quality in them. If I gain experience I may venture to be more aggressive but these are daily drivers and not show room pieces.

I was thinking about using a fine or very fine foam pad but I notice that orange pads are used a lot and it sounds like there's a standard color coding. I've seen orange pads used with finishing polishes to keep things not too aggressive. Recently I've seen things about wool pads being better as they run cooler and produce a better shine. I'll have to research some more on that.

I will watch and/or read the links given and appreciate all the advice given so far.

Thanks!

[VISITOR]

if you're looking to get your first DA polisher, i would get the GG6. it's versatile with all the backing plate and pad options available. plenty of torque/power and a lifetime warranty too...




Griots Garage 6 Inch Random Orbital Polisher

Griots Garage 3 inch HD Backing Plate

Griots Garage 5 Inch Vented Orbital Backing Plate

Griots Garage 3 inch BOSS Foam and Microfiber Pads

Griots Garage 5.5 inch BOSS Foam and Microfiber Pads

OR (pad choice)

Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pad System 3.5 Inch

Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pad System 5.5 Inch

in the video below they (Dave and Mike) are discussing the force hybrid foam pads which are thicker than the thinpro's, but use the same exact foam just thinner with no center hole...

[pilotpip]

The griots polishers and boss line of products are very highly regarded here. Check them out. The short-throw GG-6 could easily grow with you if you decide to upgrade to a long throw later by switching it to a 3" pad and using on those hard to reach places. They also have a lifetime warranty.

[MarkD51]

I'd like adding about the mention of getting around areas like windshield washer nozzles that are sometimes placed right on a vehicle's hood-bonnet.

I agree that this is an area that by going around such, in time you will see the evidence of swirling in this area. Same can happen around badges.

Many badges on today's vehicles are often applied with double faced tape, thus no easy way to remove and re-install them. Best to then detail-polish by hand best you can.

As for the washer nozzles, they can be removed, and re-installed with no problems if you are careful. I've done it on a number of vehicles myself.

[Grimm]

I'd caution against a HF polisher. I had the same thought a few years ago when I bought one of their inexpensive rotary polishers. I figured doing my own cars once or twice a year would be fine. I was wrong. I only got partway through I think the second time of polishing a car and it died. It's not that much more for a Griot's which has the lifetime defect guarantee, and it's also more powerful.

[chet31]

I started with a Porter-Cable, but got tired of spending hours polishing. I bought a Flex and it cuts polishing time in half at least. The Porter-Cable is a good machine and I use it now with 3 inch pads. The 3 inch pads allow you to get into tighter spaces, but as Mike says, it's not worth getting too crazy about it. You just don't get reflected light off those tight spaces and therefore, you don't see any swirls there anyway. The big flat spaces are what are visible, focus your efforts there.

[Paul A.]

Badges do rip foam pads. I always tape them over and clean them thoroughly after I've polished and removed the tape. I also raise the hood and trunk lid when polishing to avoid polish deposits in the seams.

I don't tape any seams that can be opened, like doors. I open the doors when done and carefully wipe away any polish. It does help me immensely to tape up any immovable panels, trim etc that don't get machined. I hate spending time cleaning white polish residue unneccesarily. It's much easier to take a few mins to tape and remove.

[Wanna Learn]

Thanks Paul A! I knew about the tape but didn't realize it was used frequently. If I do this, tape it will be! I remember the days when I was in my 20's hand waxing a car and getting white residue from slipping on areas of black plastic trim ... what a PITA it was to remove. I heard about the Mequiar's Ultimate liquid wax and was happy to find a wax I can go from top to bottom of the car without worries of residue.

Based on all the advice I have gotten here I need to do some more learning. I had the HF DA in mind but the Griots is not that much more and I was being cheap.

I appreciate ALL the help I've received so far - THANKS!