Duped by local "detailer", now need to make it right

I agree with Stone on the CCS pads. I got the 6.5" in the kit from autogeek. In addition to all his reasons, it also produced some splatter on curved body panels that I hadn't experienced with other pads.
 
Wow, this should be a 5 star thread. Just spent 30 minutes of my life reading all this :o

Looks like everyones already hit on everything and givien you some great advice. I can only ad, Gift Certificates are a terrible idea if your purchasing manual labor. When it comes time to "Pay Up" for the person doing the labor, your money is long gone and their will to do their absolute best is not going to be there

Gift Certificates do work great for somethiing like We Are Car Care -- Car Wax, Car Polish, Auto Detailing Supplies, Car Buffers & Car Accessories Store. You might pass this info along to your wife for next year ;)

God bless,

Flash
 
I was hesitant to even start this thread after seeing how many other just-getting-started threads had been popping up, but I felt as though I had my own questions to ask and I didn't want to hi-jack someone else's thread. Man am I glad I started this though. So much help and great advice, it's almost overwhelming! As I said before, I've been a member of a number of forums over the years. This is definitely one of the best ones I've ever been on, in terms of helpful members and being welcomed in with open arms.

Now, back to the topic at hand. Can anyone tell me what size backing plate the Griot's polisher comes with? I know it says it's a 6" polisher, but I just want to confirm whether that means it's a 6" backing plate. If it is, is there a way I can order it with a smaller BP, like a 5"? I'm not going to buy 3 sets of pads, so I'm wondering about either a set of 4" pads (and 3.5" BP) with matching 6.5" pads to go with the Griot's BP, or the set of 4" pads and 3.5" BP with matching 5.5" pads and 5" BP (and have the extra BP that comes with the Griot's polisher). What do you think? Am I better off with 4" and 6.5", or 4" and 5.5"?
Also, on the note of pads, StoneRaizer, do you have any experience with the Hydro Tech pads at all? You said you don't have any with the 4" ones...but have you tried larger ones? Althought they're more expensive, it would appear that I might actually save a little money going with them since there are only 3 levels of cut to choose from. I've also read a few comments around here that they might last a little longer too...? *shrug*
When it comes to quantities of pads, can I ask why you suggested the numbers you did? Does one generally use more then one pad of a specific cut on a vehicle? How long do these things last, anyway?

Thanks again.
 
I use 6.5" pads on the Griot's and it works fine. I use mainly orange, white, black and red & blue wax pads. I use the diffrent color wax pads for different wax/sealants I use.
 
I'll give you my 2 cents about the Hydro-Tech pads--I love them! When you ask "does one generally use more than one pad of a specific cut on a vehicle", are you asking if you use more than one pad of each color per vehicle? That's generally a yes, for a variety of reasons. Pad saturation, dirt picked up from the paint, dead paint, or pad contam. (oops, I touched the tire when I slipped off the wheel arch) are all reasons you might use more than one pad. Or you might use the same polish with two different pads as a step-down procedure, which brings us back to the Hydro-Techs.

Your cutting effectiveness is a combination of the polish and the pad, and you are trying to start with an aggressive enough combination to remove your swirls, and gradually step down to a finer and finer combination until you "finish". The combination of some of the new SMAT polishes and the Hydro-Tech pads can allow you to use less steps than previously to get the same results.

So where you might previously have used a heavy polish on a yellow or orange pad, followed by a medium polish on a white pad, and then a finishing polish on a white or a black pad, you might now be able to do just two steps. Anyway, I love the H-T pads. Some say they take too long to dry after you wash them and that the velcro doesn't last as long as other pads, and that may be true, but it hasn't been a problem for me yet.
 
Wes8398 said:
Also, on the note of pads, StoneRaizer, do you have any experience with the Hydro Tech pads at all? You said you don't have any with the 4" ones...but have you tried larger ones? Althought they're more expensive, it would appear that I might actually save a little money going with them since there are only 3 levels of cut to choose from. I've also read a few comments around here that they might last a little longer too...? *shrug*

When it comes to quantities of pads, can I ask why you suggested the numbers you did? Does one generally use more then one pad of a specific cut on a vehicle? How long do these things last, anyway?

Thanks again.
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I don't have any experience with the HydroTech pads so I won't make any comments or recommendations. I only started this detailing thing last year so I haven't had a whole lot of time and practice experimenting with many things. I can assure you that all of the advice that I have given is based off actual experience with products I've used personally.

The CCS pads were in my starter kit last year and I had two orange, two white and two gray. When I was preparing my shopping list for this year I stepped up to the Flat pads based on forum recommendations and I'm glad I did. I'd post pics of my spring detail except that I'm not finished yet! I will once it's done, promise.

The reason why I recommended those quantities is because compounding and polishing are the most labour intensive steps. This is where you're removing all of the defects and polishing the paint to a high gloss. It's important to use as clean of a pad as possible at all times because as the pad cakes up with polish you're reducing the amount of clean foam touching the paint. Cleaning the pad after each panel with a the pad conditioning brush will remove some of the dried compound/polish but eventually it's best to switch to fresh pad. Having more pads on hand means that you'll be spending less time using dirty pads. Fortunately pads are washable so you should be able to detail several cars before the pads are worn out completely. I've washed my pads in Dawn but I have some Detailer's Pro Series Polishing Pad Rejuvenator on order so I clean my pads properly.

I recommended 3 orange and 3 white because it's a good amount to start with. An average sedan has 13 panels - 4 doors, 4 fenders, 2 bumpers, hood, roof, trunk. One pad for four panels should be sufficient. Gray and blue pads don't get caked up as much because they're for AIOs and sealants. With these products you're usually only using a quarter sized drop of product per panel and they're designed to be spread easier.
 
Get 2 each of the pads Griots offers (orange/red) and 2 6.5" Surbufs. This will be all you need for cleaning one car at a time
 
Flash Gordon said:
Get 2 each of the pads Griots offers (orange/red) and 2 6.5" Surbufs. This will be all you need for cleaning one car at a time
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On that note, is there really much of a difference between pad manufacturers?
I'm probably going to stick with the LC pads because that's what most others have used with the product combo I'm going to use. Given the results they've gotten, I don't want to deviate from their methods too much.
 
Wes8398 said:
On that note, is there really much of a difference between pad manufacturers?
I'm probably going to stick with the LC pads because that's what most others have used with the product combo I'm going to use. Given the results they've gotten, I don't want to deviate from their methods too much.
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Not really (difference in pads) I'm pretty sure there are only one or two actual manufactures of buffing pads. They may tweak the design a little, but the actual material (foam) all seems pretty standard

Be sure and order two 6.5 Surbufs for the rough stuff
 
So for pads, do you guys think I'm best off with 6.5" and 4", or 5.5" and 4"?

I see a number of people use those surbuf pads. Are they really the all-in-one pad that they claim to be? Or would you just use them when you need more cut? With the same product (M105), would the Surbuf pads work better than the aforementioned orange LC pads?
 
I would recommend 5.5" and 4". I don't know anything about the Surbuf pads so I can't comment. Everything that I've read on here says that 6.5" pads are too large for dual-action polishers because there isn't enough power to keep the pad spinning. 5.5" pads are what's most commonly used with dual-action polishers and they're what I personally use. I purchased a starter pack of 4" pads with backing plate recently and I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. They're awesome at getting into tighter areas like on bumpers and pillars.

A word of advice though - I would do all of your polishing with one size pad first before switching to another. Changing back and forth between 5.5" and 4" backing plates wastes time.
 
I actualy use 6.5" with my GG and it turns them fine. But my PCXP has a bit harder time turning bigger pads.

Definitly get the smaller 4" pads they are a life saver.
 
Something I'm not a big fan of with the Griot's is that it's a 6" BP that it comes with. I wish we had a choice what size we got with it. Especially if you wanted to buy Griot's pads to go with it; they don't have 6.5" pads. I'm of the assumption that most people like to go half an inch bigger than their BP with their pads, for that little safety buffer.
Needless to say, I haven't put my order in yet (saving up isn't easy when we're spending a lot right now), but it'll very likely include the Griot's DA as well as the products I listed earlier. Only thing I'm not totally sure on yet is pads.
 
Wes8398 said:
Something I'm not a big fan of with the Griot's is that it's a 6" BP that it comes with. I wish we had a choice what size we got with it. Especially if you wanted to buy Griot's pads to go with it; they don't have 6.5" pads. I'm of the assumption that most people like to go half an inch bigger than their BP with their pads, for that little safety buffer.
Needless to say, I haven't put my order in yet (saving up isn't easy when we're spending a lot right now), but it'll very likely include the Griot's DA as well as the products I listed earlier. Only thing I'm not totally sure on yet is pads.
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Can't ever go wrong with flat pads
 
My suggestion for your DIY to get you started.

Polishing:

Either a PC or a Griot's 6" both are good

Megs 5" backing plate
Megs DA MF cutting pads
Megs D300 correction compound 16 oz.
Megs M105 8oz bottle (starter)
Megs M205 8oz bottle (starter)
Menz PO106 or PO85 (PO106 is same as PO85 w/more powder)
Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Flat Pads 6 Pack
2) Orange 2) White 1) Black 1) Blue

10-14 hours to polish paint to perfection.

Last Step Product:

For your LSP do you want to use a wax or sealant?

Collinite #845 (wax)
Zaino Z-2 (sealant)

Both about $15

Yes there are MANY MANY other LSP's!
 
Flash Gordon said:
Can't ever go wrong with flat pads
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I was definitely taking the previous advice to skip on the CCS pads and just go flat. Unfortunately the smaller pads I was going to get (3.5") don't seem to be available in that size...
 
Wes8398 said:
I was definitely taking the previous advice to skip on the CCS pads and just go flat. Unfortunately the smaller pads I was going to get (3.5") don't seem to be available in that size...
Click to expand...

What about a 3 or 4" flat pad? I use the 3's myself
 
Sorry, I meant to say that the flat pads don't seem to be available in 4" ... not here anyway...

Merlin, thanks for the suggestions. I'm pretty much decided on products though, thanks to some great advice from you guys. I think my combo is going to be M105, M205, Optimum PoliSeal, and Collinite 845. Pad selection is all that's really left...
 
Hey fellas. What do you all suggest in terms of microfiber towels for product removal and so on? I alerady have a bunch of MF towels from the local wal-mart, etc, but I don't wanna mess up all my polishing work with crappy towels, if that's what they are...

Also, odds and ends ... what do I need besides a couple grit guards, MF towels, bug removal sponge thing, wash mit, etc? I have a synthetic "chamois" called "the absorber" that I've always used for drying - is that sufficient? Or is MF the way to dry too?

Thanks guys. As you can see, I'm still peicing together my order, but it's nearing the checkout stage. :)
 
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