GG 6" DA Polisher Taking out spider web scratches?
- Thread starter evob
- Start date
Jpatchley
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- Jul 11, 2013
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I agree with the smaller pads (5.5 with 5 inch backing plate) as well as claying the car before you polish. When I first started I used the 6.5 inch pads and really got lackluster results. Now I've cut the 6.5 inch pads up and use them for hand polishing so they're not wasted. One other tip I've seen in Mike's vids and can attest to, take the handle off of the GG and hold the machine itself. You can control it a lot easier imo.
evob
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- Dec 1, 2013
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- #23
Hey everyone! Sorry for taking long to respond. Busy, busy, busy day. Anyways, it seems like a majority of everyone is saying the backing pad and clay bar the car. So if I get a chance this weekend I will do as wdmaccord said. Since the AG sale is still going on I will put in an order really quick for a 5.5 in backing pad as well, like dpk20x and jpatchley have said.
I'm thinking that I will probably use my orange pad for cutting, and then use either 3m rubbing compound or megs m205. Not sure. But I will run different test spots and see what results I get and go from there.
When I do everything this weekend or next I'll take notes and pictures and post everything that is done on here so everyone can see and see what the results are
-Brant
I'm thinking that I will probably use my orange pad for cutting, and then use either 3m rubbing compound or megs m205. Not sure. But I will run different test spots and see what results I get and go from there.
When I do everything this weekend or next I'll take notes and pictures and post everything that is done on here so everyone can see and see what the results are
-Brant
kevin_1981
New member
- Apr 11, 2014
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Brant,
To clarify, it would be a 5" backing plate with 5.5" pads... but maybe having the paint properly prepped by claying will allow your 6.5 pads to work well.
Also, I believe 3m rubbing compound would basically be compounding again. I believe you should be using 3m polishing compound... just going by memory. From what I've heard of 205, it should be awesome after your compounding step. Don't forget to seal/wax, once you get it corrected
Sent from my Nexus 5 using AG Online
To clarify, it would be a 5" backing plate with 5.5" pads... but maybe having the paint properly prepped by claying will allow your 6.5 pads to work well.
Also, I believe 3m rubbing compound would basically be compounding again. I believe you should be using 3m polishing compound... just going by memory. From what I've heard of 205, it should be awesome after your compounding step. Don't forget to seal/wax, once you get it corrected
Sent from my Nexus 5 using AG Online
evob
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- Dec 1, 2013
- 26
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- Thread starter
- #25
Brant,
To clarify, it would be a 5" backing plate with 5.5" pads... but maybe having the paint properly prepped by claying will allow your 6.5 pads to work well.
Also, I believe 3m rubbing compound would basically be compounding again. I believe you should be using 3m polishing compound... just going by memory. From what I've heard of 205, it should be awesome after your compounding step. Don't forget to seal/wax, once you get it corrected
Sent from my Nexus 5 using AG Online
Kevin-
Right, yes, sorry, I was in such a rush to get a response out that I confused myself on what size hahaha.
I guess I'm confused on the compounding part you are talking about. So I should be using the polishing compound to take the marks out or the actual compound? Or just skip the 3m stuff all together and use one of the megs compound stuff?
The way I am thinking is,
1. Wash car with dawn (to remove all sealants and wax and other stuff)
2. Clay bar (to get rid of anything on the clear coat)
3. Do test spot (I'm thinking orange pad, with a compound (not sure on what to use though) on speed 6
(4. Polish car (if 3m is used))
Or
4. Seal with wax, using black/blue (or maybe white pad? Probably us some new pinnacle liquid souveran wax that I just got yesturday Or I have some other synthetic wax, it's megs mirror glaze synthetic sealant 2.0 )
In my mind this is what I think I should do. But I could be completely off being a noob at this. Anyone think that's a good way to go about it? Suggest are very welcome haha
-Brant
David Hayward
New member
- May 8, 2014
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If you are going to do a full polish you will not need to use dish soap to wash the car with intent to strip the wax. The cutting compound and polish will be abrasive enough to remove any wax or sealant on the vehicle ready. Everything else looks good though. And for the wax I would use a blue pad if we are talking about standard Lake country colors.
evob
New member
- Dec 1, 2013
- 26
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- Thread starter
- #27
Trutech,
Ya I'm planning on doing a full polish to get any and all small scratches and what not out of the car. I've got the compound and polish from 3m, but I also have various other products from megs that I have listed in my first post. I'll probably start with m205 on a yeast spot, see how that works. If it doesn't do what I want I will jump up, one or two products in the megs line, and if by,some chance they don't work, I'll jump to 3m.
I think my last and final thing I'm not to sure on is this. I'm just going to give an example. Say I start with an orange pad, and I prime the pad with m205 (just a compound off the top of my head). I do my test spot and I'm not happy with it. Can I put a different compound on the same pad? Like put m105, (another random compound, no special reason for selection other than it was the first on my mind), on the pad and just redo a test spot. Or do I need to wash the pad out and use a different orange pad, and start fresh? I honestly have looked around much on the forums for this question, but from the things I have read I never see the question and I'm not sure on what is right or wrong to do. Help? Haha
-Brant
David Hayward
New member
- May 8, 2014
- 655
- 0
Honestly I don't know the best practice for that but if you are going from a light polish to a heavier cut I don't see that being an issue. Maybe someone else can chime in on that. Maybe just do a clean on the fly with a terry towel and then test a more aggressive product.
Tector
New member
- Jun 19, 2014
- 61
- 0
Hey, Evob, are you getting anymore successful at getting rid of your scratches? I've had mixed success with a PC DA, and sometimes it doesn't seem to cut much at all. The smaller pads helped, but it still takes an awfully long time to polish an entire vehicle. I usually just go back to using a rotary like I have for years.
evob
New member
- Dec 1, 2013
- 26
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- Thread starter
- #30
Haven't really had a chance to try anything yet. Probably come this weekend I might get a shot, but I'm not to sure yet. A couple guys at the paint shop I work at said rotary as well. I'm thinking if the da just doesn't do the trick then I might have to pull out my rotary to do the job. I really want the da to work, but I'm having mixed feelings on how this will turn out :/. I'm going to try and do my best to get the da to do the trick, but if all else fails I will do the rotary, and then from there use the da. But we will see haha
-Brant
kevin_1981
New member
- Apr 11, 2014
- 235
- 0
Brant,
I might have misunderstood the original post of yours that I was replying to. I interpreted as you were going to do:
- Meg 105 Comound
- 3M Compound
- Wax/seal
(meaning 2 compounds/no polish)
as opposed to:
- Compound (3M or Megs - whichever works best for your car)
- Polish (205 or whatever other product you choose)
- Wax/seal
Like I said, I'm still new to this, but spend plenty of time trying to "book learn" in these forums. I know some people do just do the compound/seal for compounds that finish down well (no marring/hazing). I personally think the 3-step compound/polish/seal (and also covering sealant with carnauba or spray wax works best). Side note: Meguiars Ultimate Spray Wax (USW) is awesome... as is Duragloss Aquawax... I kinda prefer Megs though.
evob
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- Dec 1, 2013
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- Thread starter
- #32
Kevin,
No worries, I have gotten pretty turned around myself. I wasn't even aware that you could do it the way you described. Its still worth a shot if the other way doesn't work. Always good to have other options. I did a bunch of book learning back in December and January, but I tend to learn through trial and error and just having my own experiences. When all of that fails then I tend to go back to the book haha. I've read several of Mike's step by step directions on how to get small, hair line scratches out of the car. I'm just to the point now to where I have to try it myself and see if it works, and that where I have hit the brick wall.
-Brant
No worries, I have gotten pretty turned around myself. I wasn't even aware that you could do it the way you described. Its still worth a shot if the other way doesn't work. Always good to have other options. I did a bunch of book learning back in December and January, but I tend to learn through trial and error and just having my own experiences. When all of that fails then I tend to go back to the book haha. I've read several of Mike's step by step directions on how to get small, hair line scratches out of the car. I'm just to the point now to where I have to try it myself and see if it works, and that where I have hit the brick wall.
-Brant
kevin_1981
New member
- Apr 11, 2014
- 235
- 0
Well, like i said, I'm still very new to this world, and some of the senior members here definitely have more valuable info than me . Hopefully you can get some good correction done this weekend
. Hopefully you can get some good correction done this weekend
evob
New member
- Dec 1, 2013
- 26
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- Thread starter
- #34
Hey everyone! So, I got off work early today and I right away thought that it was perfect timing because I could do some test spots and see what works and what won't. SO, I documented everything that I did, and even better, I took pictures for you guys 
icture:!!!
The first thing I did was fill a small tub up with warm water and some dawn dishwasher soap. The only reason I did this was to that I could remove any sealant, wax, or what ever else might be on the clear coat. I just did the hood of the car since it was a nice flat surface to work with. Once I was done with the soap, I dried off the car and while it sat I got the clay bar ready. I bought the Mother's clay bar kit from a local auto store yesterday.
After clay baring the whole hood I was actually happy with how much it smoothed out the paint. I got a little bit of marring but not too much. I went over the paint till the clay bar slid across the hood with no problem, and could glide without my help.
Photo of the side that was clay bared.
Side that was not clay bared
I the measured out my 2x2 sections. I was able to measure out my 2 foot height but I wasn't able to get close to 2 feet on weight, so I got as close as I could.
I used only the orange pad since it is technically the light cutting pad. And used only the 6th speed. I used enough pressure to squish the pad a little bit, but not mash it into the car.
I started with second lowest cutting compound I had, Swirl Remover 2.0. I spread it around on the pad. On this test section I used a 6 inch backing pad.
After I was done I took a look at the paint. I noticed that in low light or poor light, you couldn't see anything and the paint looked good, but once I rolled the car into the sun all the marks came out again.
This time I changed it up a little bit. Now I moved to a 5 inch backing pad that I was able to get through work and test on my car.
With that backing pad on the DA I did a quick clean on the pad and tried another cutting compound. I stayed with the same orange pad but went for M205 (Megs ultra finishing polish). (below pics)
I ended up with the same result as the first test, but I did notice that using the 5inch backing pad was a lot easier and nicer. I didn't feel like I needed as much pressure and that the pad was doing more work.
Walked around the car and started on the other side of the hood. I stayed with the 5 inch backing pad, the same orange pad (did a quick cleaning on it after last test), but this time I used Megs Fine-cut cleaner. I didn't take pictures of this one but the end result was inconclusive. As I was workiing on the car I noticed my black mark started to stay in one place and was no longer going around in a circle to get the duel action. My only guess is that the pad had to much product in it and was over lubricated. I only got 2.5 passes in before the buffer started doing this. But I still took a picture of the end result. The sun was in the wrong spot for the picture so I tried to use the flash on my phone.
The last test I did was with a 5 inch backing pad, a new orange pad, and 3m compound and polishing compound. Didn't take a picture of the pad, but the end result was the best of the 4 products I used. I am not sure why the other products didn't get anywhere near the same result. I have no idea why. I can already see that someone is probably going to go after me since it was a new pad. I will probably go back and redo the Fine-cut cleaner with a new pad and see what happens. If the fine cut cleaner does not get any good results then I know the other two lower compounds won't matter either.
The last couple of days one of my co-workers has been up and down my back to do a rotary buffer. Claiming "a DA is garage and will not have the same awesome cutting power as the rotary will". He is a car painter and has been painting for 20+ years. Before anyone gets offended by his comment keep in mind, he said that to annoy me and give me a hard time, and he has only used a rotary buffer and has never used a DA before. So, to satisfy him I pulled out my rotary buffer. I am going to leave on this comment, and you can take it how ever you want. After not using a rotary buffer in several months, and using a DA for all this time, I will never go back.
Anyways, this is my full look at all my test spots. Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any other ideas or something that I might have done wrong. Thank you everyone for your help, advice, and knowledge on the subject and helping me figure out what is going wrong. Hopefully for other noobs out there, like myself, this will be useful for them.
icture:!!!The first thing I did was fill a small tub up with warm water and some dawn dishwasher soap. The only reason I did this was to that I could remove any sealant, wax, or what ever else might be on the clear coat. I just did the hood of the car since it was a nice flat surface to work with. Once I was done with the soap, I dried off the car and while it sat I got the clay bar ready. I bought the Mother's clay bar kit from a local auto store yesterday.
After clay baring the whole hood I was actually happy with how much it smoothed out the paint. I got a little bit of marring but not too much. I went over the paint till the clay bar slid across the hood with no problem, and could glide without my help.
Photo of the side that was clay bared.
Side that was not clay bared
I the measured out my 2x2 sections. I was able to measure out my 2 foot height but I wasn't able to get close to 2 feet on weight, so I got as close as I could.
I used only the orange pad since it is technically the light cutting pad. And used only the 6th speed. I used enough pressure to squish the pad a little bit, but not mash it into the car.
I started with second lowest cutting compound I had, Swirl Remover 2.0. I spread it around on the pad. On this test section I used a 6 inch backing pad.
After I was done I took a look at the paint. I noticed that in low light or poor light, you couldn't see anything and the paint looked good, but once I rolled the car into the sun all the marks came out again.
This time I changed it up a little bit. Now I moved to a 5 inch backing pad that I was able to get through work and test on my car.
With that backing pad on the DA I did a quick clean on the pad and tried another cutting compound. I stayed with the same orange pad but went for M205 (Megs ultra finishing polish). (below pics)
I ended up with the same result as the first test, but I did notice that using the 5inch backing pad was a lot easier and nicer. I didn't feel like I needed as much pressure and that the pad was doing more work.
Walked around the car and started on the other side of the hood. I stayed with the 5 inch backing pad, the same orange pad (did a quick cleaning on it after last test), but this time I used Megs Fine-cut cleaner. I didn't take pictures of this one but the end result was inconclusive. As I was workiing on the car I noticed my black mark started to stay in one place and was no longer going around in a circle to get the duel action. My only guess is that the pad had to much product in it and was over lubricated. I only got 2.5 passes in before the buffer started doing this. But I still took a picture of the end result. The sun was in the wrong spot for the picture so I tried to use the flash on my phone.
The last test I did was with a 5 inch backing pad, a new orange pad, and 3m compound and polishing compound. Didn't take a picture of the pad, but the end result was the best of the 4 products I used. I am not sure why the other products didn't get anywhere near the same result. I have no idea why. I can already see that someone is probably going to go after me since it was a new pad. I will probably go back and redo the Fine-cut cleaner with a new pad and see what happens. If the fine cut cleaner does not get any good results then I know the other two lower compounds won't matter either.
The last couple of days one of my co-workers has been up and down my back to do a rotary buffer. Claiming "a DA is garage and will not have the same awesome cutting power as the rotary will". He is a car painter and has been painting for 20+ years. Before anyone gets offended by his comment keep in mind, he said that to annoy me and give me a hard time, and he has only used a rotary buffer and has never used a DA before. So, to satisfy him I pulled out my rotary buffer. I am going to leave on this comment, and you can take it how ever you want. After not using a rotary buffer in several months, and using a DA for all this time, I will never go back.
Anyways, this is my full look at all my test spots. Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any other ideas or something that I might have done wrong. Thank you everyone for your help, advice, and knowledge on the subject and helping me figure out what is going wrong. Hopefully for other noobs out there, like myself, this will be useful for them.
kevin_1981
New member
- Apr 11, 2014
- 235
- 0
Brant,
Im not sure if there was a problem with your post, or my computer, but the pictures arent showing up.
In regards to the Rotary... yeah, its more powerful... which is why it scares me!
Im not sure if there was a problem with your post, or my computer, but the pictures arent showing up.
In regards to the Rotary... yeah, its more powerful... which is why it scares me!
evob
New member
- Dec 1, 2013
- 26
- 0
- Thread starter
- #37
Sorry for posting this twice guys. I couldn't delete the old one so I had to redo it. Sorry again.
Hey everyone! So, I got off work early today and I right away thought that it was perfect timing because I could do some test spots and see what works and what won't. SO, I documented everything that I did, and even better, I took pictures for you guysicture:!!!
The first thing I did was fill a small tub up with warm water and some dawn dishwasher soap. The only reason I did this was to that I could remove any sealant, wax, or what ever else might be on the clear coat. I just did the hood of the car since it was a nice flat surface to work with. Once I was done with the soap, I dried off the car and while it sat I got the clay bar ready. I bought the Mother's clay bar kit from a local auto store yesterday.
After clay baring the whole hood I was actually happy with how much it smoothed out the paint. I got a little bit of marring but not too much. I went over the paint till the clay bar slid across the hood with no problem, and could glide without my help.
Photo of the side that was clay bared.
Side that was not clay bared
I the measured out my 2x2 sections. I was able to measure out my 2 foot height but I wasn't able to get close to 2 feet on weight, so I got as close as I could.
I used only the orange pad since it is technically the light cutting pad. And used only the 6th speed. I used enough pressure to squish the pad a little bit, but not mash it into the car.
I started with second lowest cutting compound I had, Swirl Remover 2.0. I spread it around on the pad. On this test section I used a 6 inch backing pad.
After I was done I took a look at the paint. I noticed that in low light or poor light, you couldn't see anything and the paint looked good, but once I rolled the car into the sun all the marks came out again.
This time I changed it up a little bit. Now I moved to a 5 inch backing pad that I was able to get through work and test on my car.
With that backing pad on the DA I did a quick clean on the pad and tried another cutting compound. I stayed with the same orange pad but went for M205 (Megs ultra finishing polish). (below pics)
I ended up with the same result as the first test, but I did notice that using the 5inch backing pad was a lot easier and nicer. I didn't feel like I needed as much pressure and that the pad was doing more work.
Walked around the car and started on the other side of the hood. I stayed with the 5 inch backing pad, the same orange pad (did a quick cleaning on it after last test), but this time I used Megs Fine-cut cleaner. I didn't take pictures of this one but the end result was inconclusive. As I was workiing on the car I noticed my black mark started to stay in one place and was no longer going around in a circle to get the duel action. My only guess is that the pad had to much product in it and was over lubricated. I only got 2.5 passes in before the buffer started doing this. But I still took a picture of the end result. The sun was in the wrong spot for the picture so I tried to use the flash on my phone.
The last test I did was with a 5 inch backing pad, a new orange pad, and 3m compound and polishing compound. Didn't take a picture of the pad, but the end result was the best of the 4 products I used. I am not sure why the other products didn't get anywhere near the same result. I have no idea why. I can already see that someone is probably going to go after me since it was a new pad. I will probably go back and redo the Fine-cut cleaner with a new pad and see what happens. If the fine cut cleaner does not get any good results then I know the other two lower compounds won't matter either.
The last couple of days one of my co-workers has been up and down my back to do a rotary buffer. Claiming "a DA is garage and will not have the same awesome cutting power as the rotary will". He is a car painter and has been painting for 20+ years. Before anyone gets offended by his comment keep in mind, he said that to annoy me and give me a hard time, and he has only used a rotary buffer and has never used a DA before. So, to satisfy him I pulled out my rotary buffer. I am going to leave on this comment, and you can take it how ever you want. After not using a rotary buffer in several months, and using a DA for all this time, I will never go back.
Anyways, this is my full look at all my test spots. Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any other ideas or something that I might have done wrong. Thank you everyone for your help, advice, and knowledge on the subject and helping me figure out what is going wrong. Hopefully for other noobs out there, like myself, this will be useful for them.
Hey everyone! So, I got off work early today and I right away thought that it was perfect timing because I could do some test spots and see what works and what won't. SO, I documented everything that I did, and even better, I took pictures for you guys
icture:!!!The first thing I did was fill a small tub up with warm water and some dawn dishwasher soap. The only reason I did this was to that I could remove any sealant, wax, or what ever else might be on the clear coat. I just did the hood of the car since it was a nice flat surface to work with. Once I was done with the soap, I dried off the car and while it sat I got the clay bar ready. I bought the Mother's clay bar kit from a local auto store yesterday.
After clay baring the whole hood I was actually happy with how much it smoothed out the paint. I got a little bit of marring but not too much. I went over the paint till the clay bar slid across the hood with no problem, and could glide without my help.
Photo of the side that was clay bared.
Side that was not clay bared
I the measured out my 2x2 sections. I was able to measure out my 2 foot height but I wasn't able to get close to 2 feet on weight, so I got as close as I could.
I used only the orange pad since it is technically the light cutting pad. And used only the 6th speed. I used enough pressure to squish the pad a little bit, but not mash it into the car.
I started with second lowest cutting compound I had, Swirl Remover 2.0. I spread it around on the pad. On this test section I used a 6 inch backing pad.
After I was done I took a look at the paint. I noticed that in low light or poor light, you couldn't see anything and the paint looked good, but once I rolled the car into the sun all the marks came out again.
This time I changed it up a little bit. Now I moved to a 5 inch backing pad that I was able to get through work and test on my car.
With that backing pad on the DA I did a quick clean on the pad and tried another cutting compound. I stayed with the same orange pad but went for M205 (Megs ultra finishing polish). (below pics)
I ended up with the same result as the first test, but I did notice that using the 5inch backing pad was a lot easier and nicer. I didn't feel like I needed as much pressure and that the pad was doing more work.
Walked around the car and started on the other side of the hood. I stayed with the 5 inch backing pad, the same orange pad (did a quick cleaning on it after last test), but this time I used Megs Fine-cut cleaner. I didn't take pictures of this one but the end result was inconclusive. As I was workiing on the car I noticed my black mark started to stay in one place and was no longer going around in a circle to get the duel action. My only guess is that the pad had to much product in it and was over lubricated. I only got 2.5 passes in before the buffer started doing this. But I still took a picture of the end result. The sun was in the wrong spot for the picture so I tried to use the flash on my phone.
The last test I did was with a 5 inch backing pad, a new orange pad, and 3m compound and polishing compound. Didn't take a picture of the pad, but the end result was the best of the 4 products I used. I am not sure why the other products didn't get anywhere near the same result. I have no idea why. I can already see that someone is probably going to go after me since it was a new pad. I will probably go back and redo the Fine-cut cleaner with a new pad and see what happens. If the fine cut cleaner does not get any good results then I know the other two lower compounds won't matter either.
The last couple of days one of my co-workers has been up and down my back to do a rotary buffer. Claiming "a DA is garage and will not have the same awesome cutting power as the rotary will". He is a car painter and has been painting for 20+ years. Before anyone gets offended by his comment keep in mind, he said that to annoy me and give me a hard time, and he has only used a rotary buffer and has never used a DA before. So, to satisfy him I pulled out my rotary buffer. I am going to leave on this comment, and you can take it how ever you want. After not using a rotary buffer in several months, and using a DA for all this time, I will never go back.
Anyways, this is my full look at all my test spots. Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any other ideas or something that I might have done wrong. Thank you everyone for your help, advice, and knowledge on the subject and helping me figure out what is going wrong. Hopefully for other noobs out there, like myself, this will be useful for them.
kevin_1981
New member
- Apr 11, 2014
- 235
- 0
Brant,
I think that last shot looks great! Is that after polishing also, or just compounding. I think some carnauba wax might make it look even better too.
It looks too me like you have LOTS of product on your pad, which may be slowing it a bit. Have you been cleaning the pad between section passes?
Take a look at Mike's video (i found this helpful as I was letting too much product stay on my pads when i first started):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuyrBrqz_YU
I think that last shot looks great! Is that after polishing also, or just compounding. I think some carnauba wax might make it look even better too.
It looks too me like you have LOTS of product on your pad, which may be slowing it a bit. Have you been cleaning the pad between section passes?
Take a look at Mike's video (i found this helpful as I was letting too much product stay on my pads when i first started):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuyrBrqz_YU
evob
New member
- Dec 1, 2013
- 26
- 0
- Thread starter
- #39
The last shot is with polish on it. But,no wax. I cleaned the pad after each section pass. I put the amount that I did on the pad to prime it. Looking back on it now, I probably didn't have to prime it with each product and could have used 3 small pea dots. Either way I will probably try again on a different panel just for fun, this weekend if I get time.
-Brant
kevin_1981
New member
- Apr 11, 2014
- 235
- 0
I think it looks really good, and the sealant (or/and) wax will make it look even better.
You should throw some pics in the show and shine forum
Sent from my Nexus 5 using AG Online
You should throw some pics in the show and shine forum
Sent from my Nexus 5 using AG Online