Hey Folks, Some help.

evoxgsr

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Hey folks. So I'm pretty intent on purchasing my first polisher and taking advantage of the black friday sale. I will be primarily using this on Honda vehicles with thin paint.

My question is what pads and other accessories should I be purchasing?

I've concluded so far to purchase the GG polisher because of the extra added power, M105 and M205. I've also read somewhere to buy a Menzerna product to finish after 205. Any recommendations of that?

Also I want to purchase pads for the stock 6" backing plate. What should I be considering or purchasing. I'm fairly new to machine polishing and want to start this right!

Thanks for the help and hope y'all had a great thanksgiving.
 
Honda's have soft paint that is easily corrected. Probably don't need 105/205

I'd go with Menz SIP or Power Finish followed by 106FA or 85rd (SF4500)
I'd also get flat pads, either 7/8 in hydrotechs (tangerine and crimson -- cyan's not so good on soft paint) or LC flats (orange white black).

GG6 should be able to spin the 6.5 in pads no problem but they are a bit big. Might want to consider a 5in bp and 5.5 inch pads...
 
I previously owned an Acura RSX (also made by honda), i had the chance to use a paint thickness gauge on it. I found out the factory paint was very very thin. I would stay away from the 105. Its a pretty agressive product.Try some thing mid agressive like Wolfgang "total swirl remover". then a finer polish. 5 inch backin plate is great for the 5.5 inch pads which work well with the GG machine. XMT 360 is a great one step I used on my Acura. Not too agressive but leaves a great gloss behind.
 
I would go with Meguiar's D300, mf cutting discs, Menzerna PO85RD, Lake Country flat black pads. It wouldn't hurt to have M205 and a couple tangerine Hydro Tech pads on hand but I think the above combo will be just fine.
 
Honda's have soft paint that is easily corrected. Probably don't need 105/205

I'd go with Menz SIP or Power Finish followed by 106FA or 85rd (SF4500)
I'd also get flat pads, either 7/8 in hydrotechs (tangerine and crimson -- cyan's not so good on soft paint) or LC flats (orange white black).

GG6 should be able to spin the 6.5 in pads no problem but they are a bit big. Might want to consider a 5in bp and 5.5 inch pads...

good advice... don't use the griots pads

Menzerna polishes are the industry leader IMO.

Or go with Lake Country CCS pads. Orange, White, Blue or Gray
 
I would go with Meguiar's D300, mf cutting discs, Menzerna PO85RD, Lake Country flat black pads. It wouldn't hurt to have M205 and a couple tangerine Hydro Tech pads on hand but I think the above combo will be just fine.
I havent tried the RD85 but Richard is spot on regarding the Megs Cutting MF.
 
I dunno, D300 and MF cutting is the same as 105 and foam imo

You can probably get away with a one step using power finish on orange pads, maybe even hyperpolish on white...
 
^ First I've heard anyone say that. But then again, what foam pad w/ M105? That's what I like about discussions, it's fun to read others experiences because you never know when you'll pick up on something. :)
 
I just got done doing a winter detail on my car, a 2010 Acura TSX. The paint, of course, is soft as heck. I used a PC7424XP with Lake Country Tangerine Hydro Tech pads. For the product(s) I used the Wolfgang Twins (Total Swirl Remover and Finishing Glaze). I used grey CCS pads to apply the Finishing Glaze. I topped that with some machine applied Collinite 915 and another product. It came out great!!!

This past summer I did a 3 stage machine polish with Sonus SFX-2 through 4. I was amazed at the results. I would recommend, for your vehicle, using the Wolfgang Twins. The pads I recommend are either the Lake Country Flats or the Hydro Techs. The Low profile techs may last you a bit longer. You just gotta make sure that you're cleaning the pads and switching them out. If you go with the Hydro Techs, I recommend getting atleast 6 of them...and yes...use all 6 while polishing. You will find that these pads do not last long. Once they get saturated they will build up heat fairly quickly, which will cause the middle of the pad to degrade. Switch them out after each panel....trust me.

Top the polish off with a great carnauba wax and you'll be ready to roll!
 
I suppose it depends on the paint. This was a Honda Odyssey, 2007-2009 can't remember. Used 2 tangerine HT pads and M205. The whole thing was wiped down with CarPro Eraser before receiving Duragloss 601/105 combo.

Before

Odyssey-Before.jpg


After M205 on tangerine low profile Hydro Tech

Odyssey-After1.jpg


Odyssey-After2.jpg




2003 Mitsubishi Evolution VIII, softest and thinnest paint I've dealt with. Most of the car measured 2.3 mils except for the c pillars, 1.9 mils. Door jambs measured 1.3 mils if I remember correctly. Had to wipe the car down with a 4:1 solution of water/alcohol, stronger solutions and the paint marred even with PakShak Ultra Edgeless towels. This car took 5 days to finish due to the soft paint. LSP was Optimum Car Wax.

50/50 M105 on cyan HT pad - the paint did not like this combo at all

evo4.jpg


50/50 D300/mf cutting disc

evo5.jpg


Before

IMG_15301.JPG


After D300/PO85RD

IMG_15291.JPG


After PO85RD

evo6.jpg
 
Thanks for such great suggestions fellas. I also wanted to re-emphasize that I will be primarily on Honda, but will eventually reach other makes/models. I was hoping that the M105/205 I initially planned for would be great all around for Japanese cars as well as, say, luxury vehicles.

I'm looking into Menzerna more and the other mentioned brands. :)

But with all the information I will really consider the Lake County and possibly some Hydro Techs
 
^ First I've heard anyone say that. But then again, what foam pad w/ M105? That's what I like about discussions, it's fun to read others experiences because you never know when you'll pick up on something. :)

I really doubt that I have tried anything you haven't considering the huge gap in our experience levels.

That said, I was mainly talking about the aggressiveness which was something you didn't really need for cars with soft paint.

How they finish down notwithstanding, especially if you intend to follow up with a finishing polish, when a combo can correct in less than a couple passes then I worry about taking off too much clear.

for example, I need to take off 1 mil of clear to level some swirls but in one pass using an aggressive combo on soft paint, I've taken off 2 mil, maybe 3 mil. It'll still look great but it would have looked just as great if I'd only taken off 1 mil and left the rest of the paint on the car.

I know that in the interest of speed and efficiency, people are amazed when they get almost 100% correction after finishing a section pass. Since time isn't so much a factor for me, I'm of a different mindset in that I want to see a combo fail to take out swirls in my test spot so I can slowly ratchet up the aggressiveness. On soft paint, with my limited experience, I've never gotten to the point where I need 105 on orange or D300 and MF to get the swirls out.
 
honestly ive never had to follow up m205 with anything finer, i think after m205 it really doesn't make a "practical" difference. Then again, maybe i haven't dealt with a finicky paint
 
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