Helping a noobie choose the correct products for paint correction!!

[440hsp]

Hello, my name is Rickey and this is my first official post. I have a black srt4 that was repainted earlier this year and the paint looks horrible. It is in need of some serious paint correction. I would appreciate the input of all you knowlegable guys and gals here with advice on a few things. I have recently bought a griots da to help me with the situation and now i need to know some products to use that would helpme on my quest for a better looking paint job free of the swirls,scratches, and burn marks left from a rotary. I apologize for the long description but just trying to lay out the facts first. Btw; i will post pics up tomorrow of the way the paint looks as soon as i can.

1. What compounds and polishes are a little easier to use for a new guy like me but yield good results on a black car?

2. What pads would work best with whatever products you suggest using the griots that i have purchased?

3. Is there a kit that offers these fine products in one package or do you find you yield better results mixing products?

[Mikertt]

Well, I'm kind of a newbie myself. But from my experiences, I've had great success with Meg's Ultimate Compound and a Lake Country Orange pad and used M205 with a white polishing pad from LC to clear everything up. I then used a prewax cleaner from Mothers on a dark grey pad, topped with Meg's NXT 2.0 Tech Wax and then applied Mother's Pure Carnuba Wax on the top. I like to mix and match even though they say it is best to stay within one brand. So far, the results look good. I will say though that the microfiber towel you wipe off the Carnuba wax with makes a big difference. I used a cheap-O towel from Costco and it doesn't wipe off all the wax. I used a Chinchilla towel I got from AutoGeek and that made all the difference and removed all traces of wax.

[440hsp]

Mikertt thanks for the reply and the helpful info. i was getting worried with all the views on my post and no replies. Then i realized it's almost 4am. Lol

[Mike Phillips]

Hello, my name is Rickey and this is my first official post. I have a black srt4 that was repainted earlier this year and the paint looks horrible. It is in need of some serious paint correction.

Btw; i will post pics up tomorrow of the way the paint looks as soon as i can.

I remember your post in the "Introduction Forum" where you shared the horrible condition of your new paint job.

Sad to say, that's the norm for body shops, dealerships and even detailers and detail shops except for people that hang out on forums like this and educate themselves.

1. What compounds and polishes are a little easier to use for a new guy like me but yield good results on a black car?

Like recommended, the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound is a true cutting compound that finishes out like a polish and it's easy to work with. Optimum compounds are also very easy to work with as is the SRC Compound in the Blackfire Line, see what we did with it here last week...

Beauty Shots from the 2012 Camaro Live Broadcast





We recently used UC by hand for this project but it works faster and easier by machine...


Video and Pictures - 1970 Mustang Mach 1 Detailing Clinic at AutogeekOnline.net





We used Optimum on this projects...

1954 Ford F-100 - Extreme Makeover - Process and products used







Point is all of these products work really well if you use good technique and the members of AGO will help you with this...

2. What pads would work best with whatever products you suggest using the Griot's that i have purchased?

5.5" foam pads and a 5" backing plate. I wrote an article about this here,

5 inch Backing Plates on Meguiar's, Griot's and Porter Cable DA Polishers


From left to right...

Factory Griot's 6" BP, Lake Country 5" BP, Meguiar's 5" BP and 5" Black Heavy Duty BP






And I share this in my how-to book...

Info Resources

Paperback

3. Is there a kit that offers these fine products in one package or do you find you yield better results mixing products?

Check on the Autogeek.net store or give Customer Care a call and they can put together a custom kit just for you...

1-800-869-3011

[Buckskincolt]

You need to get a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads. If it were me I'd use the Optimum polishes with the lake country Hydro Tech pads. They are much more forgiving than the Meguires polishes IMO.

I also really like the WolfGang duo polishes. They finish awesome! The only thing is they are not very aggressive so if you have hard paint they might not be enough to get out some of the worst defects without extra effort. They also work extremely well with the Ht pads. My second choice for either polish is the Lake Country flat pads.

[swanicyouth]

You need to get a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads. If it were me I'd use the Optimum polishes with the lake country Hydro Tech pads. They are much more forgiving than the Meguires polishes IMO.

I also really like the WolfGang duo polishes. They finish awesome! The only thing is they are not very aggressive so if you have hard paint they might not be enough to get out some of the worst defects without extra effort. They also work extremely well with the Ht pads. My second choice for either polish is the Lake Country flat pads.

We always seem to agree on this. Also, a yellow LC CCS pad works well with Wolfgang TSR on harder paints or worse deffects. Me personally, I don't use microfiber pads as they remove more clear coat and likely will not finish as well as soft foam on darker colors. They are faster to cut with, but I'm only working on my own cars, so I want to remove as little clear coat as possible.

[440hsp]

thanks Mike, Buckskincolt, and Swanicyouth for your input. I have a few questions though. Trying to figure everything out so i can make a first purchase.

1. Would using m105,then the swirl remover 3.0, then wolfgangs finishing glaze be too much cut with the m105 and the 3.0 being somewhat close in the abrasive department?

2. What would be good to use after using the polishes to reall bring out the shine? I have been looking at the Klasse products but don't know where they fall in order after the polishing process. It has also been suggested that the pinnacle finishing polish with a jeweling pad is a good option.

3. How many pads should i order to complete this correction on my car only as this will be the only one i will attempt this on?

[john b]

another thing you can do is read up on some of the reviews on products,read mikes articles ,and follow some of the folks that detail full time.richie,flanagin are a couple of guys to read up on.also bobby and cee dog

[AutowerxDetailing]

thanks Mike, Buckskincolt, and Swanicyouth for your input. I have a few questions though. Trying to figure everything out so i can make a first purchase.

1. Would using m105,then the swirl remover 3.0, then wolfgangs finishing glaze be too much cut with the m105 and the 3.0 being somewhat close in the abrasive department?

2. What would be good to use after using the polishes to reall bring out the shine? I have been looking at the Klasse products but don't know where they fall in order after the polishing process. It has also been suggested that the pinnacle finishing polish with a jeweling pad is a good option.

3. How many pads should i order to complete this correction on my car only as this will be the only one i will attempt this on?

1. I don't have experience with the wolfgang line but megs 105 finishes out VERY well even with a heavy cut pad. For heavy defect I like m105 and yellow or orange ccs, then m205 on white ccs, depending on the paint I might add a final step with m205/megs new car glaze on gray ccs.

2. I would say that you can use essentially anything you want for wax/sealant. Even the cheapest tub of turtle wax would look great if you have polished the paint to perfection using the proper tools, products and technique.

3. Min you could (safely) get away with on one car would be 2 heavy cut pads, 2 polishing pads, 1 jewelling pad, 1 lsp pad. A 6 pack of pads would be perfect for 1 car. Just remember to clean them on the fly often.

Sent from my LG-VM701 using AG Online

[Mike Phillips]

1. Would using m105,then the swirl remover 3.0, then wolfgangs finishing glaze be too much cut with the m105 and the 3.0 being somewhat close in the abrasive department?

The M105 is a true aggressive compound, able to remove #1200 grit sanding marks.

Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover is a Medium Cut Polish
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze is a Fine Cut Polish

If you bought all three you would have everything you need to tackle whatever pulls into your garage.

See my article here, it's under this heading on my article list...


Words mean things... just ask any Lawyer...

Word Definitions - Compounds, Polishes, Glazes, Paint Cleaners and Waxes

I also cover this in my how-to book.

2. What would be good to use after using the polishes to reall bring out the shine? I have been looking at the Klasse products but don't know where they fall in order after the polishing process. It has also been suggested that the pinnacle finishing polish with a jeweling pad is a good option.

Klasse AIO is a cleaner/wax or cleaner/sealant for the anal retentive. The SG is a non-cleaning acrylic sealant or "finishing wax" (or finishing sealant for the AR).

If you want a deep, wet shine then look at some of the products I've used for the show cars we work on. Try to find a write-up I've posted where the paint doesn't look wet.

If you want to know more about cleaner/waxes, cleaner/sealants, finishing waxes, etc. I explain all of this here,


The Difference Between a Cleaner/Wax and a Finishing Wax
Subtitle: How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project


The above can be found in my article list under,

Waxes, Paint Sealants & Coatings


And also in my how-to book.

3. How many pads should i order to complete this correction on my car only as this will be the only one i will attempt this on?

More pads is better...

If you have to do a heavy correction process then get 4-6 foam cutting pads, it will make the job so much faster. You can do it with less, say 3-4

For polishing, get 3-4

For machine applying a wax you only need 1.