Meguiars DA Power system
- Thread starter sshazam
- Start date
emmjay
Member
- Feb 2, 2015
- 848
- 0
I too had the 240v dilemma, and forget ordering a polisher online. You would probably pay more for shipping than the actual cost of the polisher.
I hunted and found a forum from 2009 where someone wrote where to buy a flex in the UAE, not even a shop name just an area. I searched and searched and found it. I'm sure they sell most polishers in Australia, just need to hunt.
As for pads, it really depends on the polisher that you buy I think. LC CCS pads are overall good from what it looks like. However, if you buy a flex it goes very well the LC Hybrid pads, Rupes goes well with their own pads etc.
I personally picked up the 6 packs that AGO sells - 6 orange and 6 white in 6.5", after using them and reading reviews of the 5" pads, I ordered those in the same quantities. Those pads are amazing!! I haven't touched the 6.5" pads since. I got the 6 packs as I'm ordering once...no point in getting 1 or 2 and realising I need more and placing a second order + new shipping. Also, couple of times i've dropped a pad during polishing which ofcourse means switching to a new pad so its good to have a few on hand
As for compound, I bought ultimate compound and ultimate polish from meguiars when I started out from my local ace hardware, great polishes to learn with :xyxthumbs: . I then realised neither of my cars needed compound and stuck with ultimate polish on a white hybrid pad. I then moved up to meguairs M205 professional from which ultimate polish is derived and its my fav polish for now and used that on my second detail and it worked amazing.
Tried the compound on some scratches and it didn't make a massive difference, just made it smoother, those would need to be sanded and levelled, and I just left it alone.
Depending on your paint type (hard/soft) you can get away with m205.
I didn't bother making the paint flawless as you want to, as its a daily driver and is bound to get scratched, rained on etc. At least in Australia from what I remember when I lived in Melbourne lol.
A test spot with the pad and polish combo will show you if the paint is hard/soft and whether or not the combo that you use will give you the desired results.
Hope that helps
I hunted and found a forum from 2009 where someone wrote where to buy a flex in the UAE, not even a shop name just an area. I searched and searched and found it. I'm sure they sell most polishers in Australia, just need to hunt.
As for pads, it really depends on the polisher that you buy I think. LC CCS pads are overall good from what it looks like. However, if you buy a flex it goes very well the LC Hybrid pads, Rupes goes well with their own pads etc.
I personally picked up the 6 packs that AGO sells - 6 orange and 6 white in 6.5", after using them and reading reviews of the 5" pads, I ordered those in the same quantities. Those pads are amazing!! I haven't touched the 6.5" pads since. I got the 6 packs as I'm ordering once...no point in getting 1 or 2 and realising I need more and placing a second order + new shipping. Also, couple of times i've dropped a pad during polishing which ofcourse means switching to a new pad so its good to have a few on hand
As for compound, I bought ultimate compound and ultimate polish from meguiars when I started out from my local ace hardware, great polishes to learn with :xyxthumbs: . I then realised neither of my cars needed compound and stuck with ultimate polish on a white hybrid pad. I then moved up to meguairs M205 professional from which ultimate polish is derived and its my fav polish for now and used that on my second detail and it worked amazing.
Tried the compound on some scratches and it didn't make a massive difference, just made it smoother, those would need to be sanded and levelled, and I just left it alone.
Depending on your paint type (hard/soft) you can get away with m205.
I didn't bother making the paint flawless as you want to, as its a daily driver and is bound to get scratched, rained on etc. At least in Australia from what I remember when I lived in Melbourne lol.
A test spot with the pad and polish combo will show you if the paint is hard/soft and whether or not the combo that you use will give you the desired results.
Hope that helps
- Thread starter
- #23
I hunted and found a forum from 2009 where someone wrote where to buy a flex in the UAE, not even a shop name just an area. I searched and searched and found it. I'm sure they sell most polishers in Australia, just need to hunt.
As for pads, it really depends on the polisher that you buy I think. LC CCS pads are overall good from what it looks like. However, if you buy a flex it goes very well the LC Hybrid pads, Rupes goes well with their own pads etc.
I personally picked up the 6 packs that AGO sells - 6 orange and 6 white in 6.5", after using them and reading reviews of the 5" pads, I ordered those in the same quantities. Those pads are amazing!! I haven't touched the 6.5" pads since. I got the 6 packs as I'm ordering once...no point in getting 1 or 2 and realising I need more and placing a second order + new shipping. Also, couple of times i've dropped a pad during polishing which ofcourse means switching to a new pad so its good to have a few on hand
As for compound, I bought ultimate compound and ultimate polish from meguiars when I started out from my local ace hardware, great polishes to learn with :xyxthumbs: . I then realised neither of my cars needed compound and stuck with ultimate polish on a white hybrid pad. I then moved up to meguairs M205 professional from which ultimate polish is derived and its my fav polish for now and used that on my second detail and it worked amazing.
Tried the compound on some scratches and it didn't make a massive difference, just made it smoother, those would need to be sanded and levelled, and I just left it alone.
Depending on your paint type (hard/soft) you can get away with m205.
I didn't bother making the paint flawless as you want to, as its a daily driver and is bound to get scratched, rained on etc. At least in Australia from what I remember when I lived in Melbourne lol.
A test spot with the pad and polish combo will show you if the paint is hard/soft and whether or not the combo that you use will give you the desired results.
Hope that helps
That helps heaps thank you so much!!!
I've found a good cheap polisher but the local reviews say it's under powered so I want to change the backing. To a 5" one. If i use a 5" backing plate does the pad be the same side or does it have to be bigger ?
How do I know if I have to compound the car? There's a couple of small light scratches but the silver hides swirls well.
The. Paint is a bright metal silver but there are parts which have a slight black tinge to it. It's as if the paint is a bit dirty. I dont want to get the paint flawless but just restore the clarity. So im not sure if a polish will be enough or i'll have to conpound ?
How can i test to see if i have soft or hard paint ? Its a Kia Optima if that helps.
roguerobot
New member
- Aug 3, 2015
- 134
- 0
Your pad should be a bit larger than the plate. So a 5" plate uses 5.5" pads. Don't worry too much about which brand, etc. They are like toothpaste: they all work, its just preference. Whichever you purchase, just be aware of which pad for which purpose (cutting, polishing, buffing, etc)
The only way you know if you need compound is if the polish doesn't work. Products like Ultimate Compound are not like compounds of old that came in a can and were basically wet sand. These are far more refined, and often you can use the Compound alone, waxing over it, as they finish without scratches.
What matters really is how the products work for your car. You might find they work easily or that you have to do extra passes to get them to work. Easy= soft paint, Extra work=hard paint. Some products work better on some paints, its more or less trial and error.
For example, the Ultimate Compound/Polish worked easily on my Honda vehicles, but on my BMW, I needed to redo the Compound step again, and even then there were some remaining RIDS. This suggest that I might need to step up to something more aggressive, either in the pads I use or the product. As Mike says here on the forum and in his books: 'start with the least aggressive first." The Ultimate products are a good place to start.
- Thread starter
- #25
Thank you for the advice !
I'm struggling to find 5.5" pads so might have to stick with 6 or drop to 4"
To be honest I cannot imagine Kia having really hard paint since its prone to rock chips.
emmjay
Member
- Feb 2, 2015
- 848
- 0
You are very welcome
It would help if you could tell us the polisher name etc.
Meguairs definitely stocks their polisher down under, a little research will get you the stockist. Then based on the polisher you choose / have in mind the pros on here can help with appropriate pad choices.
As mentioned above, you might need compound, you might not. Its all based on trial and error and the level of perfection that you look for. A polish will definitely restore clarity.On some cars a compound should be followed by a polish before sealant. On some Ultimate compound from meguairs finishes very nicely!
Test test test
In this thread, I worked on a BMW 328i with metallic black paint. 80-85% of the car was done with a light polish and white pads, specifically M205 on white hybrids. And this was only the second car I ever detailed fully. http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/95929-my-2nd-detail-bmw-328i-sport.html
I was extremely happy with the results and the car looked new.
I would say spend some time on here and look and peoples results with different products etc. A simple google search with what you are looking for followed by "autogeek" is very helpful. Example...VW golf autogeek.
Good luck :dblthumb2:
- Thread starter
- #28
You are very welcome
It would help if you could tell us the polisher name etc.
Meguairs definitely stocks their polisher down under, a little research will get you the stockist. Then based on the polisher you choose / have in mind the pros on here can help with appropriate pad choices.
As mentioned above, you might need compound, you might not. Its all based on trial and error and the level of perfection that you look for. A polish will definitely restore clarity.On some cars a compound should be followed by a polish before sealant. On some Ultimate compound from meguairs finishes very nicely!
Test test test
In this thread, I worked on a BMW 328i with metallic black paint. 80-85% of the car was done with a light polish and white pads, specifically M205 on white hybrids. And this was only the second car I ever detailed fully. http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/95929-my-2nd-detail-bmw-328i-sport.html
I was extremely happy with the results and the car looked new.
Good luck :dblthumb2:
The polisher is a Rockwell DA polisher
Rockwell ShopSeries Car Polisher - Multi-Function, 180mm, 600 Watt - Supercheap Auto Australia
Apparently it has a 5/16" thread for the backing plate. I'll contact them in AUS to see if they carry them. I'm not sure if I need a compound or can skip for a polish, I don't want to compound and damage the paint if it didn't need it. I guess the best way is to start with he polish and see how it goes.
I'm not after perfect swirl free paint since it is a daily driver. I just want it to have some gloss and mirror to it.
I have discovered though that Kia clear coat is apparently soft. This means it should be easy to correct right ?
I note you are asking the same questions on this forum as you are on one of the Australian forums.
Unfortunately due to this forums rules I cannot tell you here where to buy the 5.5" pads and 5" backing plate in Australia as its a competitors website. Regardless of the fact they are on the other side of the planet.
You cannot buy the Meguiars DA machine in Australia. Megs don't make a 240v machine and Megs Australia don't stock the 110v machine. In fact Megs Australia only stock a very small range of products.
Anyway when it comes to where to source products your probably better off asking on the Australian forum.
I mean no disrespect to the folk on this forum but most would not have any idea what you can and cannot purchase in Australia, let alone where to purchase from.
I will send you a PM with details as to where you can get your backing plate and pads on Australia.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
Unfortunately due to this forums rules I cannot tell you here where to buy the 5.5" pads and 5" backing plate in Australia as its a competitors website. Regardless of the fact they are on the other side of the planet.
You cannot buy the Meguiars DA machine in Australia. Megs don't make a 240v machine and Megs Australia don't stock the 110v machine. In fact Megs Australia only stock a very small range of products.
Anyway when it comes to where to source products your probably better off asking on the Australian forum.
I mean no disrespect to the folk on this forum but most would not have any idea what you can and cannot purchase in Australia, let alone where to purchase from.
I will send you a PM with details as to where you can get your backing plate and pads on Australia.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
- Thread starter
- #30
Happy for people to give recommendations on whats a good brand for pads and backing plate. :xyxthumbs:
Sadly due to our small population we really do miss out on things down under.
This thread relates alot to me! Also situated down under, and i recently gave detailing a go for first time, black car with swirl marks galore. Unfortunately the end result wasnt the best. Washed, clayed and Meguiars Ultimate Compounded with the DA power system. It made some improvement, but didnt cut the swirl marks out completely. Car has been garaged for a fortnight now as i contemplate waxing it or giving it another shot 
