Confused on which products to buy?

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dthor68

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Figuring out which DA Polisher to get was pretty easy. In fact, I ordered the Porter Cable after just a couple hours of research.

Trying to figure out which products to buy to do the job has been a nightmare. I am as confused today as I was a week ago. I have read countless threads and they have helped none.

I have a 2008 Honda CRV, midnight black. I have some small door dings and paint chips that need repairing. The truck is covered in swirls and I would say that the swirls are light to medium. It looks great in the shade and alright in the sun. I have learned that Honda paint is soft.

My question is pretty simple, which product do I need to do the job? If you were using Meguires Products, what would you use in what order and which foam pad would you use with each product? The same question with all the other brands (Blackfire, Wolfgang, Pinnacle, etc)

What I have come up with so far is to start with a wash, claybar, Meguires Ultra Compound, Ultra Swirl Remover, Ultra Polish and then seal with wax. But I have no idea if this is to harsh, not harsh enough, which pads to use, or the many not so good reviews that these Meguires Products get.

I would really appreciate any help. Sorry, I am unable to upload photos of the paint.
 
Yeah, well, there are 100 ways to skin that cat. The flip side is there are so many good products today, it's hard to make a bad choice.

You have to look at this as a process question first, rather than a product. Have you seen this flow chart? Auto Detailing Facts, auto detailing Tips, How to detailing Guides, how to polish, how to wax, DIY detailing, do it yourself guides

Basically, you'll want to clean and decontaminate the paint (wash and clay etc.), compound if you have deep defects, then polish, then protect.

If you have dings you won't be able to fix those yourself, you can do the chip touchup but I would consider that to be more of an "advanced" project.

Generally speaking, compounds/polishes are in 3 groups, 1) compound 2) medium polish 3) fine polish. With today's technology, you usually only need to do 1 or 2 steps, rather than the 2-3 of the old days.

If you think your paint isn't that bad, you should be able to just use a medium polish and maybe be done, or you can follow up with a fine polish. If you think you need a compound, you can usually just follow that with a fine polish.

Pick a brand you like and go with it. You'd probably use something like an orange pad with the compound or medium polish, and a white or blue/black pad with the fine polish, but unfortunately there's a lot of variables.
 
To build on what has already provided, I'd add the following:

- Make sure you have a good selection of pads, orange and white, along with a couple black/blue for application of the LSP. The pad options allow you to play with various combinations to get the results you're after. I've never had to use an orange pad on my vehicles. A white pad with a compound has worked just fine, and I then finished off with a finishing polish on white pads too. Every situation is different.

- There are many good product lines here at AG. The nice thing is you don't have to go for the expensive stuff to get great results. I started with Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish and then moved up to Blackfire as it worked better on cars with hard paint. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably have started with HD Adapt and HD Polish. By all accounts they are great, inexpensive products when are easy to use.
 
Whatever products you choose, you will want to start out with a test spot on the car first before polishing the entire vehicle. The test spot will enable you to see which products/pad/technique work to give you the results you want.

Start out with the least aggressive method combination of product and pad you think will work first, and then move to more aggressive products or pads, if needed.
 
As usual, all great advice has been provided thus far. Don't worry too much about which products you select to start off with. Everything, and i do mean everything, offered here by AutoGeek is first rate stuff. You have a solid performer in the PC. I absolutely love the new thin pads for my PC. If your budget allows, get 2 6 packs - 5 orange, 5 white and 2 blacks or blues (or any combo of cutting, polishing/buffing and LSP). If only one 6 pack of pads i would be inclined to go 3 orange and 3 white. You can always do your LSP by hand as many do.

Honda paint has always been on the soft side for me and correction comes easy. If your experience is anything like mine, just pick a product line and try it. You may venture into different products after you experience the process of paint correction and techniques but you can't go wrong with your PC and anything recommended here. The best way to feel all this stuff out is to just dive in and try it.
 
I agree, great information and I really appreciate it.

However, let me re-word it, what would you do? What products would you use on a swirled black 2008 Honda CRV? When I go to buy the products, I don't want to be short something that I need or buy something that I don't need.

What I was hoping for would be for someone to come right out and tell me what specific product they would use, including brand names for both polishes and pads. 99 out of 100 times I would be against recommending any certain brand, as so many people have arterial motives. But in this case, I would really love to know. As we all know, Honda paint is soft. Maybe X brand is not so good with soft paint. Desertnate stated that Blackfire is better for hard paint. I have seen where a couple of people may only use Wolfgang Swirl Remover 3.0, nothing else. And, I just learned there are different types of microfiber towels, that should make thing even more confusing.

So please, just tell me exactly what you would use.
I really appreciate it
 
dthor68 said:
as so many people have arterial motives.

So please, just tell me exactly what you would use.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't know about that, I don't really think people have even ulterior motives, just brand loyalties and personal success stories.

If I were you I would just buy this:

Optimum Polish is a swirl remover, finishing polish & paint cleaner in one for the optimum shine! swirl remover polish, fine grade polish, final

and pair it with the white pads from here:

Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pad System 5.5 Inch


If you want to bracket it add this:

Optimum Compound is an aggressive compound that finishes like a mild abrasive polish! Remove swirls and scratches with your polisher with Optimum

and orange and black pads.

Do a test spot as suggested, starting with the polish and white pad. If you like that, you're done. If not, try the compound on the white pad, if that still doesn't cut enough, try the compound on the orange pad. Follow up either of them with the polish on a white or black pad.
 
Really appreciate it Setec. I really appreciate the link too, its been very helpful. I knew arterial was wrong, just went with what spellcheck offered. I am pretty sure "arterial" pertains to the vascular system and super highways. Played that off well, I think?

I have not noticed any "ulterior motives" here. Just spend some time at a car audio forum where everyone is a salesman trying to push their product.
 
Hey, I was just having a little fun with the ulterior motives, spell check can be pretty funny sometimes. The nice thing about the Optimum polishes is you can get them in little bottles so you don't have a ton of product that you won't use, although I see the Menz products come in 8oz bottles now, at least some of them. The Optimum stuff is really easy to work with.
 
dthor68 said:
What I was hoping for would be for someone to come right out and tell me what specific product they would use, including brand names for both polishes and pads.
Click to expand...

I did mention Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. I also referred to HD Adapt and HD Polish as alternatives. I found the Meguiars to be very easy to use for a new user

I've used the Meguiars pair with great success on both Mazda and Toyota paint. Both tend to be on the softer side vs harder German paint systems.

I think the reason people are fairly non-committal in cases like this is every situation is a little different. Paint hardness, amount of correction needed, level of perfection being sought, and most important - budget.

I tend to keep two brands on hand to cover most situations when working on my personal cars.
 
How many of the LC pads would I need for a CRV? How do you know when it is time to stick a new one on?
 
Desertnate said:
I did mention Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. I also referred to HD Adapt and HD Polish as alternatives. I found the Meguiars to be very easy to use for a new user

I've used the Meguiars pair with great success on both Mazda and Toyota paint. Both tend to be on the softer side vs harder German paint systems.

I think the reason people are fairly non-committal in cases like this is every situation is a little different. Paint hardness, amount of correction needed, level of perfection being sought, and most important - budget.

I tend to keep two brands on hand to cover most situations when working on my personal cars.
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I did notice your comment and I appreciate it. The Ultimate compound tends to get good ratings but Ultimate Swirl and Ultimate Polish do not. Maybe the reason for the ratings is due to those working by hand?
 
These are my favorites and would be what i would use for test spots on your paint:

German Final Gloss Combo

Or...

Menzerna Nano Polish PO 106 FA, Menzerna Final Polish, Nano abrasives, finishing polish, professional polish

Or even:

3D HD Speed

With:

Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pad System 5.5 Inch

But like previously mentioned, everyone has their favorites and personal preference. Any of our recommendations will be up to you as what looks best on your paint.

And about 10-12 of these:

Sky Blue Edgeless Polishing Cloth
 
if I were you, I would get 3D HD speed + C845 and I like buff and shine green pads for AIO.

great products for money.
 
choijw2 said:
if I were you, I would get 3D HD speed + C845 and I like buff and shine green pads for AIO.

great products for money.
Click to expand...

What is C845 and what does AIO stand for? So far 3D HD is at the top of the list as it has been mentioned 3 times. I love the idea of one product doing it all. Can I, should I still put a sealant over the finished product?
 
dthor68 said:
I did notice your comment and I appreciate it. The Ultimate compound tends to get good ratings but Ultimate Swirl and Ultimate Polish do not. Maybe the reason for the ratings is due to those working by hand?
Click to expand...

The Ultimate line is excellent. I use Ultimate Polish a lot.

I pair that line with green (compound), blue (polish), and red (wax) buff and shine pads. Color X is the cleaner wax I take with me to augment that line, and use the black pad with that.

I also use a lot of Menzerna polishes. They recently changed the labels, but I'm pretty sure it's SHC400, 2500, and 3500.

I pair the Menzerna with the Lake Country Hydrotech line of foam pads. I use the cyan with the 400, and 2500 (if doing one Polish step), or 3500 with the tangerine, and Duragloss 111 (sealant) with the crimson.

Aside from the Rupes pads I use with their system, those are my most used "systems" that I assembled for myself for use with the PC 7424xp, or Flex 3401. Occasionally I'll use the Meguiar's microfiber system, or products from their professional Mirror Glaze line interchangeably with their Ultimate line.
 
dthor68 said:
What is C845 and what does AIO stand for? So far 3D HD is at the top of the list as it has been mentioned 3 times. I love the idea of one product doing it all. Can I, should I still put a sealant over the finished product?
Click to expand...

C845 is collinite 845 wax, this might be one of the best wax out there for the price.

and AIO = All In One polish, also called as Cleaner Wax

It is light polish and wax or sealant (depends on manufacture) mixed in as one product.
(think of it as shampoo and conditioner in one bottle)

HD speed is one of popular AIO/ Cleaner wax out there with very good price.
 
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