First DA Setup - which pads & compounds for these imperfections?

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k12354

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I got my car back from the body shop with some minor swirls all over the car and holograms just on the hood and passenger fender (which were re-painted). The car is 6 months old and I just want my paint looking "perfect" the way it did before the shop touched it. The car would be due for its first polish/wax job anyway right around now.

I'm looking at getting the PC 7424xp and some pads to help correct the paint imperfections. I plan to wait about a month to let the paint fully "settle" so I don't risk marring the paint even more.

Here are two quick walk-around videos I took the other day:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw-cCgfk8LQ]Body & paint work - 2013 Optima SX (1 of 2) - YouTube[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xp5hGGol1I]Body & paint work - 2013 Optima SX (2 of 2) - YouTube[/video]

The video doesn't show the swirls and holograms perfectly, but hopefully you can see the magnitude of the imperfections. In my beginner's opinion, I would classify the swirls as "light to moderate."

I'm reading that it's best to use the least aggressive product possible. Since this will be my first DA polishing setup, I'm at loss as to what color pads to buy, which compounds, etc. I don't want to overdo it, but I also don't want to spend weeks by trial-and-error trying to find the right setup. I'm hoping you guys can get me in the neighborhood.

My main goal is to correct the imperfections created by the auto body shop and to keep up on the paint over the life of the car.

I currently own Klasse All-in-One and Klasse sealant glaze, both of which I have not applied before (by hand or by machine). I'm thinking of getting the following:

PC 7424xp
5" backing plate
5.5" orange, white, and red pads
Megs M105 cutting compound

Based on what you can see in the videos, do you think this sounds right? Would you recommend something else/more? Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
I'd go Meg's 205 first. Doesn't look bad at all. 105 you'd be removing unnessary clear.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. How does this process sound?

M205 with an orange pad (testing a small section first, of course)
Klasse AIO with a white pad
Klasse SG with a red pad
 
Seems to be perfect for Fixer and MF pad or LC yellow cutting pad. Enough cut but finish very smoothly with no marring/haze.

Try the least aggressive method first. You'll be amazed at how powerful it is a light cutting polish performs, such as 205.
 
Yes do the white pad with Meg's 205 and that fails go to orange. Like autoheed stated least aggressive first. You can always remove more clear but once it's gone....it gone
 
I'll give 205 with the white pad a try. Thanks for the tips.
 
Are the swirls only on the reppainted panels? I would go for hybrid pads and try a finish/fine polish with a finishing pad first. I dont see needing to use an orange pad on any of the defects unless you have some isolated scratches that a polishing pad won't remove. LC hydro tech tangerine pad is a good pad for use with a polish like Menz 106 or M205. If you haven't used a polisher before then I would practice on your fresh paint unless you know the thickness and ornhow much clear was sprayed on the repainted panels. It would just be a lot less stress to practice on something not so new. While you can pickup the DA and learn how to do basic swirl removal in an hour or so, this usually occurs with hands on training /instructions first. You need tonlearn how to inspect paint properly and learn how efficiently use the DA on flat panels before tackling complex curves and expecting perfection. So realistically it could take you a couple weeks before you get the results you're looking for when working on your own; especially with no prior knowledge of proper technique.
Where are you located?
 
If I was you knowing what I know now I would:

1. Buy a GG6, not a PC.

2. Buy 3" & 5" LC backing plates.

3. Get an assortment of foam pads in different sizes. In my opinion you need 3" and 5.5" pads to do the job right(whole car - all surfaces painted). Most cars have small spaces like pillars, bumpers, around emblems, etc.. where only a 3" pad will fit. 3.5", 4", & 6.5" pads are nice but not mandatory.

Hydrotechs are one of the few pads AG has in 3" (not 3.5"). They are also good because you only need 3 types to cover all your bases. If your not going to apply wax with them, its only 2 types.

4. Buy 1 8oz bottle of Optimum Compound, Polish, and Finish Polish.

5. Buy a pad conditioning brush and a small bottle of Blackfire pad cleaner.
 
ShaunD said:
Are the swirls only on the reppainted panels?
Click to expand...

No, there are swirls everywhere. The swirls are the worst/most noticeable on the repainted panels.

ShaunD said:
If you haven't used a polisher before then I would practice on your fresh paint unless you know the thickness and ornhow much clear was sprayed on the repainted panels. It would just be a lot less stress to practice on something not so new.
Click to expand...

I am going to practice on my wife's car with my brother (who used to detail professionally) supervising and instructing me. After I do my wife's car a few times and I feel comfortable with the DA, I'll do a test section on my car and go from there.
 
swanicyouth said:
If I was you knowing what I know now I would:

1. Buy a GG6, not a PC.
Click to expand...

I have read that the GG6 and PC are comparable in almost every category. I already ordered the PC for a few reasons:

1. My brother at one point detailed cars professionally. He used a PC and recommended it to me when I told him I was interested in buying a DA polisher.

2. I'm sure the GG is a fine unit and it seems to be gaining a reputation, but the PC seems to be a bit more established as a trusty and easy to learn and use DA polisher.

I'm curious, what made you recommend the GG over the PC?
 
I have the same car but black with the same imperfections waiting on my PC to come in to fix it.

I'm thinking about trying megs da microfiber system to fix it.. I'm like u though not real sure

Sent from my SCH-L710 using AG Online
 
k12354 said:
I have read that the GG6 and PC are comparable in almost every category. I already ordered the PC for a few reasons:

1. My brother at one point detailed cars professionally. He used a PC and recommended it to me when I told him I was interested in buying a DA polisher.

2. I'm sure the GG is a fine unit and it seems to be gaining a reputation, but the PC seems to be a bit more established as a trusty and easy to learn and use DA polisher.

I'm curious, what made you recommend the GG over the PC?
Click to expand...

I have an original PC and a GG6. While the PC XP has slightly more power than the original PC, they are still pretty similar. Why a GG6?

1. GG 6 has much more power. This is significant. A GG6 can spin large pads (6.5") almost like a direct drive machine, no bogging down or skipping on curves. The PC is more "all or nothing". A lot of times you have to crank the speed up to get decent pad rotation, making slower speeds useless, as it has a harder time spinning the pads.

The extra power of the Griots is not just a little, its a lot! Power wise (motor amps) the GG6 is in league with the Flex. Maybe my Griots is unusually powerful, but the machine does not bog down, skip, or stall under any conditions regardless of pad size. Even when using the GG6 at slower speeds (under 4) its still able to doing pads effectively. This is helpful for applying wax, glaze, or a fine polish. PCs do not spin pads well at slow speeds (if a all) in my experience. I was even able to correct scratched glass with my Griots! A task usually only thought I rotary could to.

2. GG6 comes with a useable (6") backing plate (~ $20 value). The PC comes with no backing plate, but a foam pad glued to plastic mount. This pad is completely useless for detailing.

3. GG6 comes with a bale handle which I really like. You can flip it in front of the machine or at a 90 degree angle. Even if your not holding the machine by the handle directly, when you hold it by the head, the handle helps to stabilize it against your hand. Of course, many people just remove the handle. But, I find using the handle in different positions does help me a lot to hold the machine in different ways. However, the handle on the PC is 100% useless IMHO.

4. GG6 comes with a lifetime warranty from a very trusted company who does stand behind it. PC, is 90 day guarantee, 1yr mfg & 3yr parts warranty. Even so, I'd much rather deal with Griots than Porter Cable if the warranties were equal, which they are not.

5. GG6 comes with a little Velcro loop thingy in the power cord. While not a big deal, I always had to tie my extension cord in a knot to keep the PC plugged in. The Griots you can do this:

ysusu9as.jpg


*** After all these reasons, the PC is still a fine machine. Likely it is built a bit "tougher", as although my Griots has worked flawlessly, my experience on these forums does tell me there tends to be more Griots failures than PC failures. Also, another possible drawback of the Griots is all the extra power can generate a lot of heat and cook pads and backing plates. While this is 100% related to user error, this is virtually unheard of with a PC. So, in the hands of a new user, a PC may be more user friendly.

I used a PC for years with great success. It is a great machine, I just think the Griots is better.
 
swanicyouth said:
I have an original PC and a GG6. While the PC XP has slightly more power than the original PC, they are still pretty similar. Why a GG6?

1. GG 6 has much more power. This is significant. A GG6 can spin large pads (6.5") almost like a direct drive machine, no bogging down or skipping on curves. The PC is more "all or nothing". A lot of times you have to crank the speed up to get decent pad rotation, making slower speeds useless, as it has a harder time spinning the pads.

The extra power of the Griots is not just a little, its a lot! Power wise (motor amps) the GG6 is in league with the Flex. Maybe my Griots is unusually powerful, but the machine does not bog down, skip, or stall under any conditions regardless of pad size. Even when using the GG6 at slower speeds (under 4) its still able to doing pads effectively. This is helpful for applying wax, glaze, or a fine polish. PCs do not spin pads well at slow speeds (if a all) in my experience. I was even able to correct scratched glass with my Griots! A task usually only thought I rotary could to.

2. GG6 comes with a useable (6") backing plate (~ $20 value). The PC comes with no backing plate, but a foam pad glued to plastic mount. This pad is completely useless for detailing.

3. GG6 comes with a bale handle which I really like. You can flip it in front of the machine or at a 90 degree angle. Even if your not holding the machine by the handle directly, when you hold it by the head, the handle helps to stabilize it against your hand. Of course, many people just remove the handle. But, I find using the handle in different positions does help me a lot to hold the machine in different ways. However, the handle on the PC is 100% useless IMHO.

4. GG6 comes with a lifetime warranty from a very trusted company who does stand behind it. PC, is 90 day guarantee, 1yr mfg & 3yr parts warranty. Even so, I'd much rather deal with Griots than Porter Cable if the warranties were equal, which they are not.

5. GG6 comes with a little Velcro loop thingy in the power cord. While not a big deal, I always had to tie my extension cord in a knot to keep the PC plugged in. The Griots you can do this:

ysusu9as.jpg


*** After all these reasons, the PC is still a fine machine. Likely it is built a bit "tougher", as although my Griots has worked flawlessly, my experience on these forums does tell me there tends to be more Griots failures than PC failures. Also, another possible drawback of the Griots is all the extra power can generate a lot of heat and cook pads and backing plates. While this is 100% related to user error, this is virtually unheard of with a PC. So, in the hands of a new user, a PC may be more user friendly.

I used a PC for years with great success. It is a great machine, I just think the Griots is better.
Click to expand...

How do you like the cool wave pads? I'm not a fan of the regular lc ccs pads, but these look interesting. I'm always on the lookout for new things that work better.
 
Totally agree with swanicyouth's post. I started in machine polishing with the GG6 V2 with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads so have no experience with the PC, but as a beginner I've had no problems burning up pads, no problems with the GG6 bogging down and have had fantastic results. And, for the weekend detailer I think the lifetime warranty is very important. Imagine after using your polisher say 10-12 times a year over a 3 year period it breaks down--with the GG6 you call Griots, send it back and most liekly they will replace it with a new unit. With a PC you'll at the very least have to pay for repairs which we all know can sometimes be more expensive than a new unit.
 
On another note: swanicyouth--don't know how much length you need on you power cord, but Home Depot has a 12' 16 guage 2Way extension cord for $8. I just taped it to my 10' GG6 cord for a permanent 22' cord--works great.
 
ShaunD said:
Are the swirls only on the reppainted panels? I would go for hybrid pads and try a finish/fine polish with a finishing pad first. I dont see needing to use an orange pad on any of the defects unless you have some isolated scratches that a polishing pad won't remove. LC hydro tech tangerine pad is a good pad for use with a polish like Menz 106 or M205. If you haven't used a polisher before then I would practice on your fresh paint unless you know the thickness and ornhow much clear was sprayed on the repainted panels. It would just be a lot less stress to practice on something not so new. While you can pickup the DA and learn how to do basic swirl removal in an hour or so, this usually occurs with hands on training /instructions first. You need tonlearn how to inspect paint properly and learn how efficiently use the DA on flat panels before tackling complex curves and expecting perfection. So realistically it could take you a couple weeks before you get the results you're looking for when working on your own; especially with no prior knowledge of proper technique.
Where are you located?
Click to expand...

After seeing how much reading I've done and how many videos I've watched, my wife agreed to let me practice on her car with the DA. Her car is older and her paint could use some work. Also, my brother will be around this weekend. He is going to give me some hands-on training with the PC.
 
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