Getting a PC for the first time -Need product suggestions

[Cobra04]

Im leaning towards the edge system offered in this kit
The Edge 2000 Porter Cable 7424 Complete Kit

Then I want to get a pretty good, beginner friendly set of polishes, glaze, wax, and anything else i need to do a full detail. Im planning on doing my moms 99 silver'ish accord that has some medium swirls (washed with one of those hard-bristled scrub brushes you clean a bathroom with, a few times) . Then I plan on doing my step dads 98 dark green plymouth minivan:chuckle: more just for practice on a dark not in so great of shape exterior. Then after I feel comfortable with it Im gonna do my dads 2004 Cobra thats black and has a bad case of the swirls Then this summer maybe pick up a few extra dollars washing/detailing cars. Anyway, Id really like some help and input on what polish's, glaze, wax, and anything else i need to do a good job.

Im looking at the XMT line of polishes from pinnacle. Would getting #3, #2, #1 XMT polish be a good setup to have with the set of edge pads? Im also really leaning towards Poorboy's stuff, is there stuff give just as good of results? What products of theres are good with removing medium swirls?

Im also kinda lost with waxes, ive seen many different reveiws and want one right now that will be better on dark cars if that matters. And a good caruanuba with no cleaners. Suggestions?

Also what about a glaze? Would a glaze really add to the shine and depth some? Whats a good glaze thats meant to be applied after polishing and before waxing that will really make it look good? On the cobra im gonna be going for the ultimate finish and depth i can get, and dont care too much about durability this first time i just want an awesome finish for about a week.



Could you guys point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance to whoever reads through all this and replies

[Nimble]

First off welcome! It's always nice to have a new member here seeking knowledge. We were all there at one time, so don't feel weird asking lots of questions.

I'll try to keep my views unbiased here, so here goes:

For pads, the Edge 2K starter kit would be *my* choice for sure, I love the quick disconnect and double sided pads. However, an equally impressive pad that Autogeek offers, is the Lake Country CCS pads and a flexible backing plate. You might try the 6.5" with the 5" BP.

For polishes, I'll give you the benefits/possible downfalls of the best lines of polishes AG sells.

Poor Boy's SSR's: Sun friendly, work well with the PC, nice scent, easy to use. Only slight downfall I have experienced is they do dust up some.

XMT from Pinnacle: Sun friendly, work well with the PC, nice scent, easy to use. Also on downfalls I'd say slight dusting, as well as the kind of weakness in some of the grades....meaning, you definitely do not need all 4 of them, I'd pick up the 1, 3, and 4, as the 2 isn't all that great on any but the most minor swirls.

Optimum (my personal choice): Great work time even in full sun, no dust at all, work great with PC and rotary, great performance without that really "abrasive" feel to even the compounds, very price competitive at $16 for 32oz, where the others listed are more like $15 for half that, 16oz. I don't see any downfalls with them, other than the fact that some prefer a polish that breaks down a bit quicker.

Menzerna (new to autogeek last week): Best polishes on the market no questions asked, finish beautifully, work with both the rotary and PC. Only slight downfalls are lack of use in sun, they dry up too quickly, and they do tend to dust some.

A word on "dusting," the only reason why optimum doesn't dust is because it has oils in it that keep it from dusting, and also extend the work time and allow ease of use in the sun. The polishes that dust, tend to be more water based.

For a wax good for all colors, try Pinnacle Signature series 2, however, you just missed a half price sale on it. Doh! Poor Boy's Natty's Blue is especialy nice on dark colors. Also, liquid pinnacle souveran is great and can be applied via PC in no time.

Glazes are ok for adding some depth, but a properly polished vehicle with a quality wax topping will blow you away. I look forward to seeing your progress with that sweet 04 Black Cobra you have. Good luck!

[Truls]

XMT (1-3) line is good, and take a look at the xmt360 also.

Durability is DuraGloss 101 and the 105 imo. great looks too

Pinnacle Liquid Souveran is GREAT on dark cars (i like it on light colours also)
Pinnacle carnauba wax also gets thumbs upp around here.

Menzerna (new kid in town) gets great feedbaks, not experienced it my self yet, but sounds good. May work best with a rotary...

XMT + Duragloss 101 + Pinnacle LS x2 or 3 times on the cobra should make your dad happy

And welcome to AGF

[P1et]

Now that Menzerna is being sold on AG, don't even think twice about picking up one of their kits!!!

[Nimble]

That's true Truls, I forgot about Duragloss, the 101 as a finishing polish and the 105 for a sealant that does look good on all colors.

[AUdakota]

i have almost the full line of XMT polishes (missing #4) and I am very happy with them. However I think that if you pick up some optimum polish and optimum compound you could take out just about anything.

[Cobra04]

Thanks for the quick and really good replies

Im sorta leaning towards getting the menzerna stuff, but also really like the sound of optimum and its allot cheaper, and I already have an outrageous shopping cart on autogeek to begin with. Is the finish menzerna would leave much better then optimum? For someone using the PC for the first time benefit from using the optimum over the menzerna becasue of it drying quickly and dusting?

For the wax, both pinnacle souveran's look great but it sounds like the paste would yeild a better finish. Can you apply the paste with the PC? Does it really have a better finish/look to it?

For a sealant im looking at poorboys sealant EX with carnuaba, from the reveiws it sounds like pretty good stuff and I think it would be good to use on cars that i wanna get more durability out of. Or should I jsut go with there Pure Sealant?


And for clays, is it fine if i mixup my own lube using some nxt wash shampoo and water in a spray bottle? And the claybar(well actually ill proably buy 2 bars) im looking at is the DP universal detailing clay as it sounds like a decent clay and im going to be claying cars that havn't been clayed in over a year.


Thanks

[Cobra04]

Also sorta offtopic but how hard/soft are the clearcoats on black, on a 2004 mustang cobra? Im assuming ford used the same color/clearcoat for all of there vehicles for that year so maybe someone could chime in if they have any expeirence with them.

[orngez]

for the menzerna line i prefer the nano polish and the super intensive polish...but i work out of a garage...if you work out in the sun i recommend optimum and xmt...i used to recommend the pb line but i feel xmt360 has given the xmt line the edge...optimum is good stuff but very time consuming on the pc as it takes a long time to break down...for xmt i would recommend xmt4,3,360...no need for xmt1/2 now that 360 is out...oc/op is definitely a good bang for the buck....as far as glazes...no need for them if you are polishing...consider them cover-up makeup for cars...they wash away and everything it was hiding comes back....

[ScottB]

the Poorboys kit w/ or w/out buffer is a great kit. Now with Menzerna hard pressed not to offer one of those also. Cobra paint is medium in hardest and Ford paint in general is correctable.