Help me with my equipment and products

vsupra123

vsupra123

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This is a kit that was put together between myself and a member from this forum. I was hoping that you guys could help me out on this list and clean it up a bit. The price of everything seems to hit around $400 and that's a tad too high for my liking at the moment.

Equipment:
Porter Cable 7424 or UDM(Preferred due to sale)
Dual Action 5” Flex Backing Plate
Cobra Microfiber Bonnets
Polish ‘N Wax Applicator

Pads:
Orange CCS 6.5 Inch Pads (3 pack)
White CCS 6.5 inch Pads (3 pack)
Gray CCS 6.5 Inch Pads (3 Pack)
Green CCS 6.5 Inch Pads (3 Pack)

Products:
XMT Ultra Fine Swirl Remover #1
XMT Fine Swirl Remover #2
XMT Intermediate Swirl Remover #3
XMT Heavy Swirl Remover #4
XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze
XMT Pad Care Kit
Poor Boy's Natty Blue Wax 8oz
DP Engine Degreaser 32oz
Klasse All-In-One Polish 10oz
Klasse High Gloss Sealant 16.9oz

Equipment/product on hand:
I have microfiber, washing supplies, tire dressing, clay bar, window cleaner, 303, etc. Typical things you'd find in any random car owners detailing kits.

Swirl Removers:
Do I really need all 4 of them? Can I get a swirl remover that would save me money and work just as well as all the others?

Pads:
Do I need to have all the pads I have listed? What's the most important pads to have? Are there better pads then the ones I have listed?

Degreaser:
Can I replace that with the exterior degreaser? Would it be able to work on the engine as well as the rims?

Background info:
I've never used a machine polisher. I have 4 cars with very different paint conditions. One red car, one gray car, one red truck and one blue SUV. The truck and SUV have plastic/vinyl trim on it which has some fading. Each car collectively has all the kinds of paint damage you can think of from scratches, keys, chips, swirls, water spots on windows and paint, etc.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm trying to get the best possible kit for the best possible price.
 
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i only use #3 and #1 and it works fine... kick #4 and #2 outta there...

the bonnets that i got i do not really use that much... they just don't work well like my towels do... so you can take those out if you have good mf towels

you really dont need green pads... you can use gray pads to spread waxes/glazes/sealants/ect.
 
just order the xmt udm intermediate swirl remover kit its on sale for $239.99 then get what ever else you think you may need
 
i just added that to my list and I'm asking if that kit is with the sale on the UDM. Hoping for something like $200 on the kit. $30 was slashed off the UDM alone for the sale so hoping for the best.

I deleted #2 and #4 swirl remover. Took out all the pads and everything that was already covered in that kit.

Still wondering about the degreaser. One of the cars has a bad case of brake dust on the rims.
 
Hey bro, glad to see ya joined!

You know what I think of the kit! ;)

I just want to say, the main reason I suggested the entire XMT line is because you have 4 vehicles with varied paint conditions.

Can't remember what you said, but check out the UDM KIT. Comes with 2 of the polishes, backing plate, the pad cleaner/conditioner, a few pads, your applicator, and a few other goodies. Then fill out the rest of what you need.

This is what I did way back when, when I started.
 
you know if the all purpose exterior degreaser will work with the engine bay? Or can the engine degreaser be used on rims and wheel wells as well?

Im definately going to get the intermediate kit with the UDM....Also all the other products you suggested minus the 2 and 4 remover. I'm just going to hope that 3 fixes the existing swirls enough.

If I can get a nice price near $300 + shipping then I'll be picking all this up for use during spring break.
 
Sounds fine, you can always order some #4 later if needed.

What exterior degreaser are you speaking of? The engine degreaser you have listed is very powerful stuff and I wouldn't use it on anything but the engine.

Some people use Megs APC or APC+ on wheels/fenderwells/engine. But for engine I would use a high concentrate, like 4:1 or even 2:1. For wheels nothing less than 7-8:1 for me personally.

I really like Megs Wheel brightener. Bought a gallon of it and dilute it 4:1.
DP's wheel gel cleaner along with a lot of others on this site are very good and much safer to use on wheels than a generic degreaser like APC, purple power, etc.
 
aww, the intermediate kit isnt on sale....it might be cheaper to gather everything separate....i will try and see what i can do with it. :D
 
Heh, I'm waiting for TOGWT to chime in. Whitethunder, if you've actually seen the condition of the paint on all 4 cars, let us know what that is. vsupra123, if you could post pics that would be even better.
 
Alright, I only have two of the four cars home right now so I only have those pics. Both cars are pretty dusty/dirty at the moment due to it raining this week. I'll take pics of the other two when they return home....They're dirtier then the two altimas.

If there are any requests on the cars I would be happy to go out and take more.

Here's the link:
vsupra123/cars - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

I also have pics of the 06 all clean, but they are not close ups of the paints condition.
 
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With the pics you supplied, no need for #4. Heck, if #3 can't take out that nasty scratch on your 07 to where you are happy, I'll send you an ounce or two of #4 or another aggressive polish.

Whatever kit you decide to get (#2 and #1) or (#3 and #1), I would STILL get the missing XMT link (#2 or #3). You can probably do with out #4.

The red car looks like mostly just some light marring and surface swirls. Definitely some hazing and light oxidation going on. I would start with XMT #2 and a white pad for the red, if no good, jump up to #3 and white pad.

The 07, (besides the scratch), looks to be pretty good. I'd use #1 and the green pad for most of the car. Any sections that might have some light swirls I'd jump up to #2 and the white pad just for those areas.

I'd be sure to get CCS Orange, white, green, and grey at the minimum for pads.

BTW, DP MaxWax OR Pinnacle Sig Series II would look DOMINATE on the 07 paint (metallic flakes).
 
wow, didnt think that the 06's paint was in that bad of condition other then the light swirls....And that its covered in a light coat of dirt and dust.

The key is real deep stuff. was thinking to do the touch up paint and then sand it but you said it might not work.
 
the nice thing about this hobby, you can always pick up something with your next order, because theres always a next order.
 
to update on the package im putting together....I have 4 orange, 3 white, 2 gray and 1 blue. All that comes with the intermediate kit minus 1 gray.

Should I really add 1 green pad?

My price right now is $300 before any discounts and shipping.
 
vsupra123 said:
to update on the package im putting together....I have 4 orange, 3 white, 2 gray and 1 blue. All that comes with the intermediate kit minus 1 gray.

Should I really add 1 green pad?

My price right now is $300 before any discounts and shipping.
Click to expand...

You don't have to.
 
Just get XMT 1-3 and skip out on green pad since you don't want it. You have a good idea on everything you want anyways. Like Scott said, you can always get more on your next order. TRUST ME, there will be a next order.
 
I'm going to guess on this....My wash process with these products....

1. Wash/dress tires, rims and wheel wells
2. Wash body
3. Clay bar
4. Dry
5. Swirl Remover, starting with 1 and moving to 3, if needed (Orange pad)
6. Glaze (White)
7. Polish (White)
8. Wax (Gray)
9. Sealant (Gray)

Is this correct?
 
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