Recommendations on polishing products to start with?

[Mike Phillips]

It's always a little wonky quoting yourself but to this point,

When I posted --> you (it's actually not just you but EVERYONE), when you buff out a car you need lots of pads.

Great starter kit. --> You'll want to get more pads.

For any correction step or anytime you're using an AIO to correct paint, you need about 6 pads minimum.

Here's to new product reviews I posted that included 2 cars I just detailed. Pay attention to any write-up I share because without a hitch, I always include a LOT of pictures.

Before pictures
After picture
During pictures

And - the shot that shows how many pads I used. I do this to try to telegraph or send the message to people that you need more than one pad to buff out a car. You nee more than 2 pads, you need a few pads.


Here's recent cars I detailed, the links to the write-ups and the pictures that show how many pads I used.


Review: Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Polish & Wax

6 pads for this ONE-STEP product.





Review: Wolfgang Si02 Paint Sealant

7 foam cutting pads and 8 foam polishing pads






Hope this helps....

[ebrammer252]

TONS of fantastic information, thanks Mike! I've been watching your videos for a few weeks now trying to get myself up to speed to attempt this on my car, finally pulled the trigger on buying the polisher!

Great info on the Test Spot! I'll absolutely make sure I do that before anything else!

The link on polishing in the sun is super handy, as is the beginner's guide to machine polishing, I'll be sure and add some more pads to my order. Since I'm working on a budget, should I do my test spot to see if the white works over orange before ordering a few more of one or the other?

Any recommendations for a pad cleaning brush for the Lake Country CCS pads?

[PaulMys]

To be honest, the Orange pads are always my go-to's.

Try and work early in the am, later in the day, or on a cloudy day. All of those help.

Also, I would consider the Griot's Correcting creams over the Meg's stuff. Easy to work with, no dusting, and easy removal.

As for the pad brush, I have the one made by Griot's, but there are cheaper ones that work just as well.

[pilotpip]

Keep it simple. Pick a line, and stick with it for now. All-In-one's (AIO) are I think a great place to start. They are basically a mix of polish and sealant. You're going to get some correction to make your car look better than a vast majority out there, some protection from the elements, and you're going to be able to do it while not damaging your paint unless you're totally ignorant of what's going on. Lots of newer polishes like the one mentioned by Paul above are simple to use too. I like AIO because I have two young kids and a busy schedule. I don't have time to 3 step a vehicle.

As far as pads, CCS are good and I went with them to start, but I switched to the thin pro line and like them better on my PC. I have orange, and white. While the white is supposedly for AIO and polish, I've found I like using the orange better because I personally get better results on my fords with my once a year correcting. As has been said here, do a test spot. I have a couple black CCS pads I'll use for applying sealant. The orange cheapie brush they sell here works fine. One thing I would suggest is buying as many pads as you can. A clean pad is a happy pad. Having several allows you to work faster, and get better results because you're not stopping to clean. I have 6 of each orange and white, and 2 black.