So many questions

For machine I would recommend a GG6. More powerful than a pc and lifetime warranty. I would call and see if you can get a 5" backing plate and get 5.5" boss pads though. You will need 4 of a correcting pad and 4 finishing pads.

A lot of questions, but I'll only address the one about compounds and polishes. You can mix and match if you want to, but I would recommend sticking to a system. I highly suggest trying out Meguiars M105 and M205. Very user friendly and you get great results. Many other compounds use DAT(diminishing abrasive technology). Which means that as you use the product, the abrasives start breaking down finer and finer. You really need to keep working the compound long enough to allow it to break down properly. Otherwise you'll end up hazing and you'll be pulling your hair out trying to figure out what went wrong. Meguiars, on the other hand, use SMAT(super micro abrasive technology). The abrasives in SMAT do not break down like DAT. This allows you to work the product only as long you need to get the finish you want. In my opinion, it's much more user friendly.

The Rupes 15 is an excellent machine, you really can't go wrong with it. If you want to keep it simple they also make polishes and pads that are designed to work together and produce excellent results. It comes with a 5" backing plate and is meant to work with 5.5" pads (The Rupes 21 has the 6" backing plate). Theres is no 3" backing plate available for the Rupes 15. With the Porter Cable or the Griots Garage GG6, you can buy a standard 3" DA backing plate for smaller pads, but Rupes uses a proprietary backing plate system so it's not an option with that machine.

With regards to Chemical Guys, there's a lot of hate that goes out towards them for various reasons. They have a huge social media and marketing department and they do make a number of excellent products. I personally do not feel their polishes are in that category. I've used them in the past and found much better abrasive technology in other brands, plus the CG polishes are super oily which can actually work to make you think the defects are removed when they are actually only being masked by polishing oils.

Defender mentioned Meguiars M105.... This is a super high cut professional grade compound. It has a very steep learning curve and it's certainly NOT user friendly if one has never machine compounded a car before. A better choice, IMHO, would be Menzerna FG400 and PF2500. The 400 has a higher cut but won't finish as well. 2500 is better geared towards a one step polish.

Pads vary slightly by manufacturer but the information should be relatively easy to find. The product pages on the Autogeek website do a really good job of breaking down which color pad is suitable for which job. Just make sure you have plenty of pads on hand so you can switch to a clean dry one when they get loaded up with gunk.

I encounter this question a lot among friends, and enthusiasts in my area, looking to get into machine polishing. This following is what I typically recommend

Polisher - Porter Cable 7424xp - Reliable, durable, effective.
Wax (optional) Meguiar's M26 paste wax
Sealant - Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax
Polish - Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
Compound - Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
Pads - Lake Country Hydrotech series. Very simple line up - cutting (cyan), polishing (tangerine), sealant (crimson). I also recommend grabbing a few microfiber pads in the event the Cyan cutting foam struggles.

An alternate pad selection I use are Buff and Shine:
Green, blue, and red. That's actually the pad system I most often use. I find that the green pad will out cut the Cyan, orange, and yellow foams, and are smoother operating.

If you go Rupes, I'd get their pads and Polishes as well.
A good starting point would be their blue/yellow team of polishes and pads. Their 808 Protective Sealant has been handling the salt, snow, and slush beautifully! The Rupes is very high performance in every aspect - the tool and the consumables.

As you're learning, lots of options. And you'll get great advice here. I might take a look at the following:
GG6 with a 5.5" backing plate and the new Griots HD 3" backing plate.
Griots BOSS pads 5.5" and 3" (the more the better- haha as many as you can afford).
Actually, twelve 5.5" and six 3" would be nice (which to choose? I'd start a separate thread to address this).
And I'm seeing lots of great reviews for the Griots BOSS Cremes, although I've not yet used them.

Mix and match is great, but I also kind of like the idea of sticking with a "system" as a newbie.
The above "system" is what I've slowly been building and adding to.
I've been very happy with the quality of everything I've purchased.
And it kind of has the feel of a "professional" set-up without the professional price tag.

Just thought I'd throw this out there as an option.

Well, you ask a lot of questions, you get a lot of answers. Don't stop asking though. I'm not going to give any product suggestions because I feel I would just be adding fuel to the confusion fire. I used to buy every product that got a great review because I had to have the latest or "best" thing out there. Now I have a lot of stuff, and granted I'm working my way through it, but I would definitely do it differently, knowing what I know now. Take your time, do some research and settle on a good system. There are many out there. I was fortunate to have a fellow "geek" across the country reach out a hand to me and send me some stuff to try out. If you like, I would be happy to pass Don's kindness forward and send you some samples of the many products I've accrued along the way. Pm if interested. Good luck and have fun.

Peace,

Darrin

You came to a great place to get lots of input.

My opinions -

GG6 or the PC are the most versatile of the DA's, and conveniently the most budget friendly. You can get different size backing plates to make each either a 3", 4", 5.5" or 6" DA. There are even brushes you can attach and turn the machine into a carpet, upholstery, tire, bumper or anything else scrubber. Not to mention they will accept almost any pad you choose.

Reading all the great and warranted reviews of the higher end DA's (Flex, Rupes, GG large throws) may leave a beginner feeling that the GG6/PC are not capable of accomplishing the same results. I believe both can accomplish 95% of what their big brother's can, it just takes a little longer and perhaps not be as smooth.

Regarding compound and polish I cast another vote for Meguiars M105 & M205 or Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Polish combo. I have not found paint that these two products cannot produce amazing results. I believe they are both incredibly user friendly.

Final recommendation is go to Autogeek's You Tube Channel. Mike Phillips has done some incredible videos, most of all I recommend the Detailing 101 play list.






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Coopers ST said:

For machine I would recommend a GG6. More powerful than a pc and lifetime warranty. I would call and see if you can get a 5" backing plate and get 5.5" boss pads though. You will need 4 of a correcting pad and 4 finishing pads.

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Simply said .without all the confusion gg6 with 3 orange and 3 finishing pads will do.As far as polishes advanced pinnacle swirl remover and pinnacle polish then a paint sealant like jescar.Those are 100 percent products that will work on 99 percent of all vehicles.If you want to step it up try the griots twins.

ekennett said:

The Rupes 15 is an excellent machine, you really can't go wrong with it. If you want to keep it simple they also make polishes and pads that are designed to work together and produce excellent results. It comes with a 5" backing plate and is meant to work with 5.5" pads (The Rupes 21 has the 6" backing plate). Theres is no 3" backing plate available for the Rupes 15. With the Porter Cable or the Griots Garage GG6, you can buy a standard 3" DA backing plate for smaller pads, but Rupes uses a proprietary backing plate system so it's not an option with that machine.

With regards to Chemical Guys, there's a lot of hate that goes out towards them for various reasons. They have a huge social media and marketing department and they do make a number of excellent products. I personally do not feel their polishes are in that category. I've used them in the past and found much better abrasive technology in other brands, plus the CG polishes are super oily which can actually work to make you think the defects are removed when they are actually only being masked by polishing oils.

Defender mentioned Meguiars M105.... This is a super high cut professional grade compound. It has a very steep learning curve and it's certainly NOT user friendly if one has never machine compounded a car before. A better choice, IMHO, would be Menzerna FG400 and PF2500. The 400 has a higher cut but won't finish as well. 2500 is better geared towards a one step polish.

Pads vary slightly by manufacturer but the information should be relatively easy to find. The product pages on the Autogeek website do a really good job of breaking down which color pad is suitable for which job. Just make sure you have plenty of pads on hand so you can switch to a clean dry one when they get loaded up with gunk.

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agreed on the 105 not user friendly.

Wow, I'm surprised there's not a lot of mention for the Flex.... it was my first machine AND I started out using M105/205. I guess I was thrown in and was able to swim.

I love HD Speed as an easy-to-use AIO. I also like a lot of Menzerna products mentioned here. For tough stuff I always go back to M105.
Just my 2 cents.

Regardless, good luck! You will figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

I started down this whole rabbit hole last year. Given what I've learned and what worked for me being a complete neophyte to machine polishing:

Machine: GG6 w/ 25ft cord - Griots Garage 6 Inch Heavy Duty Random Orbital Polisher FREE BONUS!
Backing Plate(s):
5" backing plate - lake country 5 inch backing plate, 5 inch backing plate, 5 inch hook and loop backing plate
3" Backing Plate - 3 Inch Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate, da backing plate, random orbital backing plate

Start with LC Flat Pads:
5.5" - Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Flat Pads 12 Pack - Your Choice!
(6) Orange
(6) White
(3) Blue
(3) Black

3" - Lake Country 3 Inch Flat Pads 6 Pack - Your Choice!
(3) orange
(3) white
Throw some blue & black if you like but since mostly used for applying sealant/waxes, etc can always do those tight areas by hand

For the Pads LC Thin Pros work nicely as well but a bit more rigid so they don't adapt to contours as well and if you're just starting out the regular flat pads are a bit more forgiving.

Polishes:
Menzerna 2400 or 2500 and 3500

Compound:
Could go with Menzerna FG400 or get some Megs D300 w/ some Megs Microfiber Cutting Discs. With the GG6 this combo is great for severely beat up paint and actually finishes quite nicely as well.

Knowing what I know now, that's what I'd go with as a 'starter' collection for machine polishing/correction; it'll likely take care of 85% of the vehicles you run across if you're just doing your cars and cars for friends/relatives. I started last year with Wolfgang Compounds/polishes but found Menzerna to be the equivalent for the most part and a bit less costly.

If'n you're not in a particular hurry, don't be sucked in by 15% off sales as something better is usually on the way soon. With Presidents Day and Spring itself coming up you'll likely see 20% to 20% of sales coming as time passes.

And if you're looking for a paint coating, McKees Paint Coating is nearly impossible to beat on a cost/performance aspect.

Just beware...if you find you enjoy this stuff and want to expand your collection there is just an unbelievable amount of options and toys out there to buy, try and decide if'n you like 'em. Like literally $1000's of stuff; sometimes I think being a cocaine addict would be cheaper. But it do make me smile...

Edit: While I like M205 I finally gave M105 a try about a month ago; after 1 section I chucked the (fortunately) small bottle in the trash...just not worth the trouble when there are other liquids that are more 'Fire and Forget' without having to jump through hoops to get it to work easier. Megs M101 being one, albeit it more costly. I used M101 recently on a 105k mile work van with a Flex 3401, gray LC Force Hybrid cutting pad and had it 'good enough' in only 4 section passes. Great stuff with no peculiarities in usage like M105, the 'Devils Compound' to me.

As a new person also trying to learn, this thread exemplifies the challenge of getting into this stuff. Every other post praises or curses the M105 as user friendly.

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You have many sound pieces of advise but I will add that if you can try them before you buy and see what's suits you that's the winner to me.

I am blown away with the griots boss line from machine to pads down to the creams, seriously top notch stuff and underrated by many. The creams are very easy wipe off, good smelling (for compound and polish) not a harsh chemical odor, spectacular results.

Check out you tube there's some good videos where you can see people using the products. Autogeek has a channel as well.

I would say go with the gg6 machine and get a 3 in backing plate with the boss pads and creams and you would be happy. You get a lifetime polisher warranty and they back their products 100% if you don't like it call and they will take care of you.

amalik said:

As a new person also trying to learn, this thread exemplifies the challenge of getting into this stuff. Every other post praises or curses the M105 as user friendly.

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Hours and hours of reading forum posts and watching how-to videos helped me in my initial product/equipment purchase decisions. Another key aspect is "getting your hands dirty". I've found that the "art" of detailing isn't much different than other "arts". Carpentry, ceramics/pottery, auto mechanics, painting, wood working, fly tying, quilting (yikes), the list goes on. Sometimes, with more knowledge comes more questions. I think identifying your specific goals helps in choosing the "direction" you go. "I want to polish my car" means different things to different people. One thing I can say- this forum was invaluable to me. And the patience and "helpfulness" of this community was first rate. All questions are good questions, and we all have to start somewhere. Even simple questions help the next guy that comes along.

If you can swing the price,either the Griots Boss 15 or the Rupes 15 with the pads & polishes that make up each system,you would be happy with either one. And you have a machine you can grow into.Yes it is an addiction or can turn into one but at least it's legal.