Completely overwhelmed noobie!

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Hello Mike,

My name is George and I have been poking around the forums for a while and researching products on the Autogeek website. I am looking to make my first foray into the detailing/paint correction world and being a complete noobie, I have more than a few questions and hoping for some advice.

I have access to a Porter Cable 7424XP but I do not know how much or what else I will need. I own 2 vehicles; a silver 2000 Cadillac Deville and a black 2007 Kia Sportage. Neither have ever had any paint correction and nothing more than some clay barring and a few coats of Zaino for each one. Both cars are daily drivers and live outdoors. The paint is in good shape on both but are daily drivers and have a lot of swirl marks and scratches, maybe a handful of deep scratches between the two of them.

After looking at countless products from the website, I have become overwhelmed. Paralysis by Analysis so to speak! I would like some advice or recommendations on what products will work best for my situation. How many pads would you recommend I purchase? How many and what type of microfiber towels.

Thank you very much for the time, Mike. I greatly appreciate any information you can provide me with. Thanks and have a great day!

Respectfully,
George D.
 
Do you have any photos that you could post that show us what kind of defects you are trying to remove?
 
Being new here myself I understand the challenges of finding the right products. Asking for specific products to choose will net you many varying opinions. What I did is just ordered based on some of the most popular responses found on here in various posts. Some may me the best some may not. I will just find what works for me as I go along now that I have ordered a decent arsenal of products to throw at my vehicles. Good luck with your vehicles.
 
Welcome to the forum. I find that Meguiar's ultimate compound and ultimate polish are very user friendly and work very well. You could pick them up locally at any auto parts store. Another brand that is recommended is Wolfgang.

I just remembered that someone posted this a few weeks back. It comes with everything you need other than the pads and backing plate for the porter cable.
Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax Bundle - Walmart.com
 
George,

You can get great results with just about any product offered on AGO.

I have become somewhat of a detailing product snob over the last few years, but last weekend, I used the Mother's Compound and Polish that are available over the counter and got great results.

I would concentrate on making sure your compounding and polishing technique is spot on, before spending a lot of money on exotic supplies.

There are lots of great videos on this website and on YouTube that will point you in the right direction. Search "Junkman", he does some very good basic videos on everything from wash technique to high-level polishing. He says, "Technique trumps product every time" and I tend to agree with him.
 
Product selection aside...when you begin, just take your time. You are "not on the clock." Always do a test area first and remember, 'least aggressive method first.'

Good luck and welcome to the party...

Bill
 
BillE said:
Product selection aside...when you begin, just take your time. You are "not on the clock." Always do a test area first and remember, 'least aggressive method first.'

Good luck and welcome to the party...

Bill
Click to expand...

+1! Also would 2nd Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish to get started. Did my first 3 cars with these and they are very user friendly products to start out with and work on your technique.

For protection, I like Blackfire Wet Diamond topped with Blackfire Crystal Seal. For winter I like to protect with Collinite 845.
 
Just a little thing to add, whenever you feel completely overwhelmed it's a good idea to just call us we can help you out with your personal situation and walk you through it. Tech support is available six days a week here at the office for you, just give us a call.
 
Hi George, Welcome to AG forums. A great place with alot of great info. My advice would be to try and decide what you are trying to do to your vehicles. If your interested in making the vehicles shine or are you trying to correct the swirls and scratches. For a nice shiney looking vehcile I would get a good soap and a 5 gallon wash bucket with some type of grit guard. Most use the two bucket system of wash water in one and clean water in the next to keep the wash mit as clean as possible. After washing you need to dry the vehcile with a good quality drying towel or blower. You can run your hand over the paint or place your hand inside a plastic bag and then run your hand over the paint. If you feel a rough surface that will be contaminents on the paint surface, these need to be removed before attempting to polish the paint. Most detailers use clay with a good clay lube spray. I have started using Nanaskin and it really speeds up the process. After claying then if you want to correct the paint defects you can try a compound. Always try a test spot on the paint to see if you get the intended results, if not you might need to go to a stronger compound. You may not need to compound the whole car just the places with scratches and swirls. After compound you need to follw this up with a good polish and then a good sealant or wax. For the compounding use an orange or white pad most of the time. For the polish I normally use a white pad. FOr waxing I use the red pads. You can use wax over top of a sealant, but putting a sealant over a wax in usually not recommended. If you just looking to have a good shine on your vheicle after claying I will normally use a good All In One Polish. I like XTM360 or Poorboys Polish with Canauba. I will follow that up with a good wax for a nice shine and protection. A lot of times a good All In One will correct minor problems with the paint too. Poorboys Natty's Wax or Collinite 845 for great waxes and not expensive. A little wax goes a long ways with a Porter Cable. Read articles here and ask questions there is always someone whom will try and help answer your questions. Hope that helped a little.
 
Thank you all so very much for the information and suggestions. I will get some pictures up of what I am working with this weekend.

Do you generally need more than one pad for each step, ie: compounding, polishing, waxing or can you make do with one pad for each?

Thank you all again for the help! Have a fantastic weekend!
 
To polish you would be fine with a lake county orange flat pad and wolfgang total swirl remover to start.
 
What I was getting at is the number of pads. Is one pad usually sufficient to compound an entire vehicle or will I need multiple pads for each step, compounding, polishing, waxing?

Thanks again!
 
George, I am a newbie too and it was very overwhelming. I spent days watching the How To videos offered on AGO. I took notes. I have two types of cars, one has a beautiful clear coat black w/pearl purple paint that I want to "get in shape" and my other cars have horrible/old paint. I had to purchase two sets of products. But didn't know where to start. I took notes based on what problems I was looking at dealing with on both types of paint. For my clear coat, I bought a polishing pad and a finishing pad (one each to start until I see how long they last etc. I am comfortable knowing I can purchase more if need be), each with their proper backing plate for my Meguiars DU Polisher. I bought a cutting pad for my other cars with oxidized/crappy paint. I would recommend watching the videos and take notes as you go along. This worked for me. I had a list with some crossed off, some added, by the time I was done. I then went to work on buying. I have NOT received my product yet, it comes next week and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! So excited with my new hobby. The videos are amazing. Read up on each product as well. Excellent info on this site. Of course, price was a factor in mine. I ended up with many Meguiars and Mothers products, and a few Wolfgang and Pinnacle. But there are so much to choose from. Pick what works for your application to start. I spent days researching before the purchase. Good luck :) I LOVE THIS WEBSITE, you know, just......by the way
 
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Ditto what Van185 said. What is it you want to do or eventually learn to do. If you want a clean, shiny car- basic wash, clay, wax/sealant/ or AIO product. If you have the $$$, something like a PC7424xp. Vacuum and wipe down inside, dress the tires. That's a lot of work and your car will look amazing.
If you want to do some paint correction, read-read-read. You may want a Flex or Rupes, an assortment of pads & products- and a lot of time.
What is it you want to do? That's the primary question.
 
George, I'm just a weekender, same as you, but after soaking up as much info as I could the past four years, here are my thoughts for a starter kit: I'd do the six-pack special of LC 5.5" flat pads. The smaller pads are more suited for the PC polisher and also easier for a beginner. Two each of orange, white and black should be a good start, along with a backing plate. As mentioned Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and polish are very user-friendly, available just about anywhere and packaged in consumer-size bottles to minimize your initial expense. The blue and green rolled edge MF's from AG are also a great value. I'd pick up a package of the yellow Kirkland mf towels from Costco as my "utility" towels for things like jambs and interior work, to maximize the life of my better towels. AG has an unmatched selection of "beauty" waxes, but to start out on DD work, I'd look at Collinite 845 and 476 for their outstanding durability, as well as Duragloss 501 as a superb DD cleaner wax. Get a gallon of Meguiar's APC, as it's both inexpensive and versatile. Don't forget to add a free sample to any qualifying AG order you make. That'll give you a chance to try some Pinnacle or Wolfgang products before you spring for a full size bottle.
Above all, spend as much time as you can here reading and watching videos. Product choice is always important, but learning good technique is more valuable for maximum efficiency and superb results.

Bill
 
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