Gonna Order One...

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jaguax

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I think I'm gonna jump the gun and get a 7424. Originally I was begging for any locals with experience to remove the swirls on my car for me, but since I didn't get the reply I wanted, maybe I should just try it myself and stop being scared to death of wrecking the paint. Good idea or no?

So yeah, I think I'm gonna order the one with the backing plate and orange pads. The purpose of this thread is to ask exactly what I need in addition to this buffer.

I want to be sure that I have EVERYTHING I need for the task, because it's the worst feeling in the world to be missing something during a project, and then having to wait another week for shipping!

So, my plans are to do a full body swirl removal on a 1997 BMW 328is. But what do I need besides the buffer? Microfiber wiping towels? Pad cleaner/conditioner? How about sponge/mitt types for the pre-wash? And soap?

If someone can provide me with a complete list of the things I will need for a pre-wash, and swirl removal, I would greatly appreciate it.

P.S. I don't want the most expensive and glorious products out there, I just want things that just plain work. So please, give a MINIMAL list if possible.

Thanks guys, much appreciated. :)

edit - And what about tape to protect side moldings, headlights, windows, etc? Necessary? What type? etc...
 
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I think its a good idea, although I believe Im one of the locals that responded to you?

Soap
DP xtreme foam
Pinnacle bodywork shampoo
Poorboy's super slick & suds
DG #901
Meguiars gold class
Meguiars NXT for really dirty cars

Sponge
The ShMITT
Anything by Cobra
Get something local for your wheels

Drying
GUZZLER!

Clay
Mothers clay bar- use their QD to spray onto pads to reduce dusting

Polish
XMT 360, #2, or #3 depending on paint condition

Wax
Natty's Blue
Liquid Souveran
Sig. Series II
Souveran Paste

Tires/ Wheels
DP wheel cleaner gel (or just use soap)
AA tire foam
DP wheel glaze

MF
Cobra Indigo to wipe away polish
Cobra Deluxe Jr. Microfiber Towel for final buff

Clean pads with dawn and hot water. Wash MF in washing machine, cold water, no softener, dry in drier with no/ low heat, or air dry. Store in plastic BIN (not bag) once everything is 100% dry.

Get this kit, XMT Porter Cable 7424 Light Swirl Remover Kit with CCS pads! Free Bonus! and the only other things youll need are soap, sponge, guzzler, indigo only (not deluxe jr. MF), clay, wax, and wheel/ tire stuff.

Hope this helps! If you dont want to do all this, then shoot me a PM, maybe we can work something out.
 
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A 7424 is a valuable option ... if looking for a kit checkout the Poorboys. Everything but soap is included !!
 
03gtmustang said:
Get this kit, XMT Porter Cable 7424 Light Swirl Remover Kit with CCS pads! Free Bonus!
Click to expand...

So how do I determine if that is enough to remove the swirls on my car. Because in direct sunlight it looks pretty bad (blue car). You can't see them at sunset/sundown, but during high noon, it's equivalent to a nuclear explosion of swirls. Maybe I need #3 or #4? I'll post some pics tomorrow.

And about all this prep you mentioned, is it really necessary? I would prefer to keep the process as simple as possible. I was expecting to just wash the car and get right to polishing. Do I really need to go over the whole car with clay and whatever else?
 
Yes, you really do need to clay to do it correctly. Pictures would help greatly to determine what kind of swirl remover you need.
 
jaguax said:
And about all this prep you mentioned, is it really necessary? I would prefer to keep the process as simple as possible. I was expecting to just wash the car and get right to polishing. Do I really need to go over the whole car with clay and whatever else?
Click to expand...

Proper prep work highly increases the quality of your work. Claying isn't always necessary, but if you run your hand over your paint with a plastic bag and you feel any resistance then you should clay the surface. The clay will remove surface contaminants to help smooth the surface. Claying also makes the polishing step much easier by reducing the amount of material being removed.
 
Some really nice tips here. Not much that I can add except welcome aboard!

Keep asking questions and all will learn.
 
travisdecpn said:
Proper prep work highly increases the quality of your work. Claying isn't always necessary, but if you run your hand over your paint with a plastic bag and you feel any resistance then you should clay the surface. The clay will remove surface contaminants to help smooth the surface. Claying also makes the polishing step much easier by reducing the amount of material being removed.
Click to expand...

Exactly, plastic bag test.
 
So after all is said and done it might be cheaper to just bring the car to a reputable shop?
 
For a one time thing, yes, in the long run, no. Plus once you get good, you could always get your money back by doing other peoples cars.
 
It might be cheaper to go to a shop for a one time only but if you really want to you could do the car once and then resell the PC and chemicals and make back a bunch of your money. You will only have your time and a little bit of depreciation factored into the cost of the polish. Hovever when you see your car you may want to keep the stuff and do it again at some point. That is when the PC begins to pay for itself.

Get the PC kit, best you can do for the money

My advice is this, get the PC with the CCS pads then get XMT3 not 2, I tried two and it took out most but not all of my swirls. Ended up ordering the XMT3 separately. You could get the CCS pad and PC kit plus the XMT swirl remover kit that includes XMT3 think it is the heavy or intermediate swirl remover kit. Together these cost about $250 shipping for free also. I bet if you ordered these and then decided to sell later you would get at least $150 to $175 quick and this ends up costing you at most $100 for a really good detail

Over the counter for the carwash soap, Use the heavy microfiber towl that comes with the kit to wash the car and then dry off using the flood with water method and another mf towel. Use the Megs or mothers OTC clay kit from wallyworld or autozone for the clay.

Some will freak about this but instead of washing it and buying soap etc you could go to the local carwash that has air dry etc and run through once right before polishing it. I only say this since you are going to be polishing it anyways and then you would have a relatively dirt free car to start work on at home. You would then only need to go around and check the paint for tar, bugs etc and get that stuff off. You would then start your claying and polishing.

Some will disagree about the carwash but it sounds like you arent in love with the idea of maintaining your own cars hardcore and I am thinking that an all day detail is not your idea of fun.

good luck
 
I agree with above. If you're not a detail freak then in the end it's easier and won't matter to you that you went through the car wash anyway. I used to do that because I didn't have an outdoor water source at home.
 
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