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T0RCH3D

T0RCH3D

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I plan on getting a little detailing setup going. I always had a passion for cleaning cars and always have been meticulous with my own cars. I just sold my silver 2002 Mustang GT three weeks ago (was the best color to keep clean) and I am picking up a black 2003 Mustang Cobra SVT next weekend. It is in pristine condition and want to keep it show car quality. I also have other family members and friends that have nice cars that have shown interest in me detailing their car for them. I only plan on working in family and on friends vehicles but I wouldn't mind if it would escalate further from a hobby to a small business for extra cash on the side. Below is my list which is quite a hefty fee of around 500 bucks and I am sure there are things I am missing or maybe I dont need. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Paint Finish/Correction
-Pinnacle Porter Cable 7424 Kit (280.00)
Kit Includes:
Porter Cable 7424XP Polisher
Porter Cable 7424XP Wrench
Porter Cable 7424XP Counter Weight
16 oz. Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish
16 oz. Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover
16 oz. Pinnacle Liquid Souveran™ Wax
16 oz. Pinnacle Crystal Mist Carnauba Detail Spray
6.5 Inch CCS Orange Light Cutting Pad
6.5 Inch CCS White Polishing Pad
6.5 Inch CCS Blue Finessing Pad
5 Inch Flexible Backing Plate
2 Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels, 16 x 16 inches
-Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay Kit (30.00)
Kit Includes:
4 oz. Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay
16 oz. Pinnacle Clay Lubricant
2 Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels, 16 x 16 inches
-Diamondite Bug Eraser Waterless Bug Remover (15.00)

Paint Finish/Correction: 325.00

Interior Care/Glass Cleaning
-Wolfgang Spot Eliminator (20.00)
-Detailer's Pro Series Total Interior Cleaner (20.00)
-Detailer's Krystal Vision Glass Cleaner (17.00)
-Mat & Carpet Scrub Brush (5.00)
-Two Way Mini Detailing Brush (5.00)
-Detailer's Plex-All Cleaner & Polish for All Clear Plastics (13.00)
-Pinnacle Vinyl & Leather Protectant (25.00)

Interior Care/Glass Cleaning: 105.00

Wheels/Tire Cleaning
-Wolfgang Tire & Wheel Cleaner (20.00)
-Tire Shine (Walmart)

Wheels/Tire Cleaning: 20.00

Engine Detail
-Detailer's Engine Degreaser (20.00)

Engine Detail: 20.00

Miscellaneous Supplies
-Detailer's Cleanse-All Exterior Cleaner (20.00)
-Microfiber Towels (5) (Walmart)
-Brushes/Applicators (Walmart)
-Spray Bottles (Walmart)

Miscellaneous Supplies: 50.00
Total Cost: 520.00
 
Ditch the PCXP and get a Griots. You also dont want to pair a 5 inch backing plate with 6.5 inch pads, that is alot of pad not making contact with the backing plate.

I would use 5.5 inch pads, as you will soon learn when you start reading around here. I would strongly consider the Meg MF system. It is tried and true, not to mention easy to use.

Read, read, and read around here and you will get alot of answers. These types of threads pop up every few days.
 
Also, if you are already going to place an order save yourself a trip to Wally world and purchase said items from AG. You will be happier that way and get better, more professional results/appearance.
 
On my phone so this will be short I'll go more in depth in a bit. Biggest savings item I can offer is get some OPC OPTIMUM power cleaner in a gallon and get rid of all your separate wheel, tire, spot, interior, exterior, bug remover. This will save you a lot of money with just doing that. Also I would get some onr for clay lube and quick detailer, and get the pinnacle clay that is on Bogo.its all about fewer products that do more.
 
Thanks for the quick responses. Sounds like I need to reevaluate my list. Man am I glad I am doing research and and asking advice from the experts here!
 
LuxuryMobile said:
Ditch the PCXP and get a Griots. You also dont want to pair a 5 inch backing plate with 6.5 inch pads, that is alot of pad not making contact with the backing plate.

I would use 5.5 inch pads, as you will soon learn when you start reading around here. I would strongly consider the Meg MF system. It is tried and true, not to mention easy to use.

Read, read, and read around here and you will get alot of answers. These types of threads pop up every few days.
Click to expand...

+1.

Start off with the 5.5" LC flat pads. The learning curve on them isn't too bad. I'd also like to second the Megs DA kit for you. It's easy to use and it simply gets the job done. For compounds, I personally like the Wolfgang/Menzerna lineup. I found them to be much more user friendly for me when I started detailing.
 
I think you'd be better off not ordering the kit. The pads are too large. Go with the 5.5" pads which are 7/8" thick and a 5" backing plate- much easier to work with and control. I'd go with orange and white pads. More white than orange as the white are very versatile.

As far as product, check out the M105/205 combo. You can achieve very good results with the combo. If you plan on doing family vehicles, I'd recommend a good AIO. I use XMT 360 Corrects, Cleans, Seals for daily driven vehicles and for family vehicles. It provides decent correction and leaves a great finish. It is very easy to use and has a good working time. Many folks on this site like Meguiars D151 as an AIO. I have not used D151 so I cannot comment on it.

As far as a LSP, I was a big fan of S100 carnauba wax until I tried Optimum Car Wax. I plan on switching to Optimum Car Wax.

Mobile detail said:
its all about fewer products that do more.
Click to expand...

This is very good advice.
 
You are going to need more than 5 microfiber towels that is for sure. You may have to bite the bullet here and buy better quality mf towels for LSP removal and drying. The Walmart ones will be oaky for wheels and jambs.

As you get into detailing regularly you will quickly find exactly what you need and what you do not. Takes some trial and error for everyone.

Good luck,
Sparty
 
Great advice so far! Seems like the less products that do more approach sounds like a cheaper and more organized method, but my question is will it have the same quality as using different solutions. I am after the best quality here. Also, the 5.5 inch pads seems to be a good point if that is the case which pads and DA polisher should I go for? And I will keep in mind cant have too many mf towels! Guess I need an entirely new list!
 
Congrats on the upgrade to the termi, post up a couple pictures of it and does it have any mods done to it already?

Go with the griots and m105 m205 po85
For a wash cg wash and gloss is my current favorite
d0d5dcd0.mp4

Click to play

If its in your budget to get a foam gun, do it, I love mine
Wheel and tire cleaner mothers is the best by far that I've used
Go 5.5 pads
I like innerclean as an interior protectant
0a1c0f7c.jpg

Just some recommendations.
 
Thanks for the advice! I do not have her yet but I will soon, so pics will follow. It has 13,136 miles on the clock. 1 owner. Bone stock down to exhaust, the car was a garage queen! Which is one of the reasons on top of a general hobby of mine and why I want to get into auto detailing, to keep her clean!
 
Thats pretty sweet man, within several years I'll hopefully have an 04 termi either comp orange sonic blue or torch red .. Or maybe black, hard decisions lol
That's nice you'll have a clean slate, it's basically a brand new car from the sounds of it
 
Griots DA - $130 (IIRC, includes a backing plate)
5.5" LC Flats - $70 (12 pads, 2 Yellow, 4 Orange, 4 White, 2 Black)
4" LC Hydro Tech Pads - $30 (6 pads, 2 Cyan, 2 Tangerine, 2 Crimson)
3.5" LC Backing Plate - $12
M105/M205 Combo - $65 (32oz bottles)
Wolfgang TSR/FG Combo - $35 (8oz bottles)
Menzerna PO85RD - $40
Cobra Supreme 530 - $8 (Currently on BOGO - Buy AT LEAST 4!)
Cobra Deluxe JR 600 - $8 (Currently on BOGO - Buy AT LEAST 4!)
Cobra Guzzler Combo Kit - $28
Pinnacle Poly Clay - $20 (Currently on BOGO - Buy AT LEAST 2!)
Daytona Wheel Master - $30 (Also on BOGO)
Meguiars Wheel Brightener - $20 (Gallon - buy the spray bottle as well)
ONR - $16
Supreme Micro Chennile Wash Mitt - $10
CarPro Trix -$26 (1000ML)
Blackfire Wet Diamond - $35
Pinnacle SSII Paste Wax - $50
CG Citrus Wash n Gloss - $28 (Get the gallon!!!)
Grit Guards - $15 (Get 2!)
Home Depot Homer 5 Gallon Buckets - $8 (Get AT LEAST 2!)

Not sure what that adds up to but you can do some serious detailing with the above mentioned lineup.
 
SON1C said:
Thats pretty sweet man, within several years I'll hopefully have an 04 termi either comp orange sonic blue or torch red .. Or maybe black, hard decisions lol
That's nice you'll have a clean slate, it's basically a brand new car from the sounds of it
Click to expand...

Yeah, they are unbelievable cars. Can keep up with most of the newer cars runnin the streets today. Problem is finding them in mint condition anymore, which I think I might have struck gold with this one!

TimmyG said:
Griots DA - $130 (IIRC, includes a backing plate)
5.5" LC Flats - $70 (12 pads, 2 Yellow, 4 Orange, 4 White, 2 Black)
4" LC Hydro Tech Pads - $30 (6 pads, 2 Cyan, 2 Tangerine, 2 Crimson)
3.5" LC Backing Plate - $12
M105/M205 Combo - $65 (32oz bottles)
Wolfgang TSR/FG Combo - $35 (8oz bottles)
Menzerna PO85RD - $40
Cobra Supreme 530 - $8 (Currently on BOGO - Buy AT LEAST 4!)
Cobra Deluxe JR 600 - $8 (Currently on BOGO - Buy AT LEAST 4!)
Cobra Guzzler Combo Kit - $28
Pinnacle Poly Clay - $20 (Currently on BOGO - Buy AT LEAST 2!)
Daytona Wheel Master - $30 (Also on BOGO)
Meguiars Wheel Brightener - $20 (Gallon - buy the spray bottle as well)
ONR - $16
Supreme Micro Chennile Wash Mitt - $10
CarPro Trix -$26 (1000ML)
Blackfire Wet Diamond - $35
Pinnacle SSII Paste Wax - $50
CG Citrus Wash n Gloss - $28 (Get the gallon!!!)
Grit Guards - $15 (Get 2!)
Home Depot Homer 5 Gallon Buckets - $8 (Get AT LEAST 2!)

Not sure what that adds up to but you can do some serious detailing with the above mentioned lineup.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the list. Very detailed and informative, I am going to have to look into these. Any other input guys? I was originally set on the PC 7424XP, but everyone is saying turn to Griots DA!
 
Griots is a more powerful pc with a lifetime warranty vs pc weaker and 3 year warranty, to me that was an easy decision.
 
More powerful but still user friendly and minimal chance of burning paint if used with care by a novice operator? Also, it comes with a 6 inch backing plate so wouldn't the suggested 5.5 inch pads be too small?
 
You won't damage your paint if you have any common sense if you YouTube the junk man he shows it's kind of impossible to do with a da, a rotary is a different story however and it depends which kit you get
 
Halverso_99 said:
For glass cleaner get stoners invisible glass. Congrats on the new stang!
Click to expand...

Thanks bud. And yeah I will look into that, from articles I read on here it is more texhnique and using two towels than the solution itself, not sure if t is 100% true but it does make sense. Now, that I got the DA polisher decision down it is just finding the corresponding solutions and pads to go with everything!
 
I've found that for some decent MF towels, you can get 30 or so 16" x 16" at Costco or Sam's for a great price. By far better than the WM ones, and great for many areas. For the LSP, I'd stick to the Cobra's.
 
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