First time using my DA, not thrilled..

[Weaverpsu]

Your machine, your pads, your polish - none of these would make anyone's top 10 list. But if you want to try to make this system work, I'd try different pads first, the HF pads I tried were way too soft to correct.

I didn't use HF pads. I bought then from Chemical Guys. An Orange, white, and black pad. I've also recently bought 2 MF pads (Griots). I've successfully used 2000 grit sandpaper on a couple deeper scratches on the 4Runner and Meguiar's 105 and 205. They can be seen if you really
look but otherwise you would never see it. Haven't had time to work on Ford for a while

 

[Weaverpsu]

Eldorado, I bought the HF with your suggestion and I believe it is a copy of the PC so I called it a "Knockoff". Also, I did the entire hood. I simply took a picture so you could see the difference before and after. I also bought the backing plate you suggested. Take it easy lol

 

[Weaverpsu]

How did my Explorer become a Toyota Tacoma lol. I have a 2006 Explorer and a 2013 4Runner. And thanks for tips

 

[Supatramp]

The word is troubleshooting....I'd say you have cracks in your Ford's paint. This is common on the hood of cars. If it is cracks, then the reason they are showing up is you filled them with compound/polish and it's really hard to get the residue out of the cracks.

I had my Civic SI's hood, with the same problem

 

[TJinFL]

I recently purchased a HF DA Polisher and I am very impressed with the quality and performance of it so far. In addition I spent a fair amount of money at AG on pads. I am with Eldorado in that the HF Polisher is not a 2nd rate polisher. It is quite quiet and has minimal vibration even with 4" pads. I like it!! I spent months going back and forth between a GG6 and various Rupes models before coming to my senses and realizing that initially the HF would satisfy all my needs in maintaining the finish on my two vehicles. It is kind of shame that HF owners kind of hunker back in shame and fear of being put in their place if they dare to speak out. I could afford a Rupes Mark II but I also believe in watching my spending. Also I like the idea of getting a bargain and I think I got one.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Eldorado, I bought the HF with your suggestion and I believe it is a copy of the PC so I called it a "Knockoff". Also, I did the entire hood. I simply took a picture so you could see the difference before and after. I also bought the backing plate you suggested. Take it easy lol

Lol. Hey man thanks for going easy on me.. I surely didn't mean to come off as bad as that may have sounded.. Calling it a PC knockoff, no biggie. But add to that the whole "you're working with a DA, if you only had a rotary" comment.. Then top that off with "that machine wouldn't make anyones top 10 list".. By then I had heard about enough! Lol.

That's pretty cool learn I somehow influenced your actual purchase of a DA and backing plate.
Call it what you want, just as long as it produces results. That's the real payoff. Thx again for being cool.

 

[dustbusterplus]

I had the same thing happen to the roof of my S10 Blazer when I tried to polish it after years of neglect. I have also gathered they are crow's feet and will need a respray, but if you look up a user tuscarora dave he seems to have encountered this type of defect and found ways to combat it. I have seen 2 main options, one is to weaken the stuck compound with IPA and then use a pressure washer to blow out the dried compound, and the other is to take a finishing pad and use a diluted APC with the polisher on a relatively slow speed and allow the pad to work the compound out of the cracks. Understand, I haven't personally tried either of these approaches on my own vehicle yet, but just wanted to pass along what information I found from my research. I'm planning to put together a write-up when I get around to attempting this myself to share with the forum.

 

[custmsprty]

I recently purchased a HF DA Polisher and I am very impressed with the quality and performance of it so far. In addition I spent a fair amount of money at AG on pads. I am with Eldorado in that the HF Polisher is not a 2nd rate polisher. It is quite quiet and has minimal vibration even with 4" pads. I like it!! I spent months going back and forth between a GG6 and various Rupes models before coming to my senses and realizing that initially the HF would satisfy all my needs in maintaining the finish on my two vehicles. It is kind of shame that HF owners kind of hunker back in shame and fear of being put in their place if they dare to speak out. I could afford a Rupes Mark II but I also believe in watching my spending. Also I like the idea of getting a bargain and I think I got one.

HF DA minimal vibration?

Try a Rupes Deutto and then comapre it to that HF rattle trap. LOL. I know it costs quite a bit more but it's also a far superior machine imho.

I'm glad you like your HF tool, but trust me when I tell you this, their is no comaprison. I started with a PC and it's a great machine. I still have a GG6 and it too is a good machine. But for quality, smoothness and correctability none of them can touch the Duetto. I also have the Rupes Mini. I ran my PC with a 3" and 3.5" backing plates and while they did the job they were far from smooth. I did a side by side comparison with my GG6 with a 3" bp compared to my Rupes Mini earlier this year. The GG6 was like a jack hammer compared to the Rupes Mini. I couldn't run it for more than a few minutes w/o my wrist throbbing.

In the detailing world it's been my experince you get what you pay for. Most of these machines will give you comparable results, but the journey will be faster and more pleasurable with certain machines vs. others.

 

[Eldorado2k]

HF DA minimal vibration?

Try a Rupes Deutto and then comapre it to that HF rattle trap. LOL. I know it costs quite a bit more but it's also a far superior machine imho.

I'm glad you like your HF tool, but trust me when I tell you this, their is no comaprison. I started with a PC and it's a great machine. I still have a GG6 and it too is a good machine. But for quality, smoothness and correctability none of them can touch the Duetto. I also have the Rupes Mini. I ran my PC with a 3" and 3.5" backing plates and while they did the job they were far from smooth. I did a side by side comparison with my GG6 with a 3" bp compared to my Rupes Mini earlier this year. The GG6 was like a jack hammer compared to the Rupes Mini. I couldn't run it for more than a few minutes w/o my wrist throbbing.

In the detailing world it's been my experince you get what you pay for. Most of these machines will give you comparable results, but the journey will be faster and more pleasurable with certain machines vs. others.

You bring up some good points.. And the fact that you speak from experience with these polishers further validates your opinion.. But in TjinFl's case, he's pretty much already done with the brunt of the work his polisher is going to have to do since he's only needing to maintain his 2 vehicles. He made out pretty good, less spent than if he would've bought a Rupes, and much less if he would've paid someone else to do it.

As far as vibration on the polisher, I'm sure it's not comparable to a Rupes of similar size, but I've never thought of it as a con to the machine. I can't imagine the vibration to be any worse than the Griots 6 or similar 8mm DA polishers. Plus in my case I use mine exclusively with a 3" backing plate since upgrading to the G21, and the time spent using it on those small areas is pretty minimal compared to the full panels.

 

[custmsprty]

You bring up some good points.. And the fact that you speak from experience with these polishers further validates your opinion.. But in TjinFl's case, he's pretty much already done with the brunt of the work his polisher is going to have to do since he's only needing to maintain his 2 vehicles. He made out pretty good, less spent than if he would've bought a Rupes, and much less if he would've paid someone else to do it.

As far as vibration on the polisher, I'm sure it's not comparable to a Rupes of similar size, but I've never thought of it as a con to the machine. I can't imagine the vibration to be any worse than the Griots 6 or similar 8mm DA polishers. Plus in my case I use mine exclusively with a 3" backing plate since upgrading to the G21, and the time spent using it on those small areas is pretty minimal compared to the full panels.

Cost aside, if you told me I had to pick two machines out of these that I curently have:
GG6
G21
Rupes LHR 15ES
Rupes Duetto
Rupes Mini
Flex PE-8

For me, my clear choice would be the Rupes Duetto and Mini.

 

[shadwell]

Pffttt... if someone told you you could only have two you;d tell them to b0llocks and keep using whatever the hell you like.. and rightly so

 

[Paul A.]

Getting back to weaverpsu's predicament, i would suggest you get a few of each color pad and continue to work your machine and product. I can absolutely say the Lake Country Thin Pro's are a dream on a DA! I don't know what size backing plate you have but the 5.5" Thin Pro's were meant for a free spinning DA. If you have a larger BP you could always try the 6.5" but my favorites are the 5.5". If you can swing it, get 6 orange and 6 whites. Maybe 4 orange, 4 whites and 4 blacks. The blacks may come in handy for the Toyota.

I don't have any experience working with any Chemical Guy's products but would suggest you try out some Menzerna FG 400 or Meguiars cutting and finishing products. In my experience Ford paint has almost always been on the hard side and has required me to get more aggressive than other paints that are on the softer side. On the other hand, Toyota paint has always been easily workable and responds better with a more gentle approach.

There is nothing wrong with a HF DA. Just get more pads so you can swap out to a clean one when the one you're working with gets all gunked up. Maybe slow down your arm speed and add enough pressure without stopping the pad spin. Take your time and you will see improvements. This stuff takes time to refine. It took me a few try's some years ago to feel "thrilled" with my results but it came! Don't get dejected. That first 50/50 shot you posted looks pretty damn good. :xyxthumbs:

 

[TJinFL]

HF DA minimal vibration?

Try a Rupes Deutto and then comapre it to that HF rattle trap. LOL. I know it costs quite a bit more but it's also a far superior machine imho.

I'm glad you like your HF tool, but trust me when I tell you this, their is no comaprison. I started with a PC and it's a great machine. I still have a GG6 and it too is a good machine. But for quality, smoothness and correctability none of them can touch the Duetto. I also have the Rupes Mini. I ran my PC with a 3" and 3.5" backing plates and while they did the job they were far from smooth. I did a side by side comparison with my GG6 with a 3" bp compared to my Rupes Mini earlier this year. The GG6 was like a jack hammer compared to the Rupes Mini. I couldn't run it for more than a few minutes w/o my wrist throbbing.

In the detailing world it's been my experince you get what you pay for. Most of these machines will give you comparable results, but the journey will be faster and more pleasurable with certain machines vs. others.

Custmsprty

I just was trying to say that the HF polisher far exceeded my expectations having never held or operated any type of car polisher, I was expecting a lot more vibration and noise from such an inexpensive tool. As I mentioned before I trust your opinions, but I am a novice and for now I think the HF will fill my needs. I just checked out the noise and vibration at 6 instead of 4.5 where I was initially running the polisher. Perhaps I was a little overzealous in my post about the minimal vibration. If I was operating this polisher daily I can certainly see where a smoother and quieter polisher would be much more desirable. But for my needs I think the HF will work out fine. I am surprised that the 3.5" BP and 4" pads don't seem to vibrate more than the 5.5" BP and 6" pads. I may just use 4" pads primarily.