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Jas123

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Sorry everyone. I know these threads pop up all the time but was looking to buy some tools and products to paint correct a gray Altima. Its not in horrible shape. The paint hasn't been taken care of and of course theres swirls and such. It really is kinda hard to see them. I guess it being light color and all.

I've done some searching and vid watching and want to attempt this job myself. As you know there are tons of products and probably going to get all kinds of different replies.

The polisher that I'm looking at is the PC 7424xp with the LC pads.


The compounds are one thing thats holding me up. Like I said, this is new to me and the car isn't in that bad of shape. with that considered would you go with a milder compound first? If so which one? For instance, if I went with 3D HD polish, would I need even more of a lighter compound to go after the polish?

And sealant and wax wise. I was looking at BlackFire's Crystal Seal. It says theres no need for a wax after this product. Is this true? For whatever reason for me it would seem like a good wax would be better to protect the polish.

Anyway, sorry for the lame post.

Thanks
 
You might want to take a look at the Griots 6" polisher--it has more torque than the PC and equipped with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads it can handle anything you throw at it--and to top it off has a lifetime warranty.

Also you might want to take a look at the Buff & Shine 5.5" flat pads--very durable and they have a recessed Velcro for safety for polishing around protruding objects.

HD Polish is a good starting point--you could try it with a Green B&S pad, but if that's not enough cut step up to an orange for more cut. The orange pad with HD Polish finishes very well and you wouldn't need another step.

Make sure you get enough pads--more is better.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/88109-how-many-pads-do-i-need-buff-out-my-car.html
 
Jas123 said:
I've done some searching and vid watching and want to attempt this job myself. As you know there are tons of products and probably going to get all kinds of different replies.
The polisher that I'm looking at is the PC 7424xp with the LC pads.
Click to expand...

Yep, tons of combos and just as many opinions. The 7424 is a good unit and the LC Pads are good too.

The compounds are one thing thats holding me up. Like I said, this is new to me and the car isn't in that bad of shape. with that considered would you go with a milder compound first? If so which one? For instance, if I went with 3D HD polish, would I need even more of a lighter compound to go after the polish?
Click to expand...

Biggest suggestion I have is to use the least aggressive product and pad combo necessary. Based on what you're sharing one of the combo's I like and feel would work really well for you is HDSpeed with some Green Pads. It's great at removing light to medium swirls, finishes excellently and does have a mild sealant in it thus it could be a one and done AIO product for you.

It's nice on daily drivers like this as not everyone has tons of time to pour into creating perfection on the first day, nor do you even need to do that. You could realistically use the above combo and get darn close to it and then in a few weeks hit it again lightly and bring it up even further. My bet is though if you use HDSpeed you'll nail it on the first go-round. it's good stuff.

And sealant and wax wise. I was looking at BlackFire's Crystal Seal. It says theres no need for a wax after this product. Is this true? For whatever reason for me it would seem like a good wax would be better to protect the polish.Anyway, sorry for the lame post. Thanks
Click to expand...

Not lame. Good questions. Sealants and waxes are different products. Synthetic sealants like Crystal Seal are great products. I actually use and love CS. but also use their other product in their lineup. I personally would use their Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection and use the CS product for in between uses of the full paint protection product. Both work great and again, I use CS to compliment the full sealant.

Wax wise, there are good pure carnauba options or with Blackfire, I use their Montain Hybrid product. Not necessary but it's a step up IMO from the standard All Finish and I like trying different products out on different cars. YMMV. Just the same, I started using Meguiar's Ultimate Wax which is also a hybrid synthetic/carnauba product and really like it too. On and off is so, so easy that I might just use it this season.

Hope I didn't confuse you. What it shows is there are lots of great products and it's really hard to go wrong.

Welcome to the addiction :xyxthumbs:
 
Thanks for the replies.

So the pads. Theres the LC HT I didn't see the green ones but may have been looking at the wrong ones. And the thickness and bottom design. Does it make any difference?
 
Just to clarify the above, Ultimate Wax is a pure sealant, no nuba in it at all.
 
Jas123 said:
Thanks for the replies.

So the pads. Theres the LC HT I didn't see the green ones but may have been looking at the wrong ones. And the thickness and bottom design. Does it make any difference?
Click to expand...

Green pads are by Buff and Shine, and in Lake Country's CCS line. They are not the same in aggressiveness.

I use the Green Buff and Shine foam for my general cutting needs. This foam is comparable to the Lake Country pink CCS. For me, it out cuts the yellow and orange foams.

The Green CCS foam is comparable to the Blue Buff and Shine foam. The blue B&S is my general polishing pad. When used with a medium or fine polish, offers a slight cut which helps the polish do it's job.

A great place for a beginner to start is with Meguiar's Ultimate line of products. They get the job done effectively and efficiently.

The pads you're looking at are the Lake Country Hydrotech, which are excellent. I liked them best when paired with Menzerna polishes. HC400, and SF3500 would be the products to look at from their line.
 
@ dlc95-Have you tried the Rupes Yellow pad against the BnS Green? If so would love to know the results with the same paint/product.
 
I have the GG6 with lake county flat pads and the Wolfgang combo. All of it is really nice and easy to use. Best part about thenGG6 is the lifetime warranty
 
I know its kinda hard to tell from the pic but this is what I'm trying to get rid of.

Do you think HD Speed and an orange pad will get rid of it?
 
Zubair said:
@ dlc95-Have you tried the Rupes Yellow pad against the BnS Green? If so would love to know the results with the same paint/product.
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Not on a head to head basis. The Yellow Rupes reminds me of the yellow B&S. I only use the yellow Rupes with the Duetto, and the B&S pads on the PC.

It's the size of the pores that give me my cut. Like the green and blue Rupes pads are unbelievably aggressive, and when broken in get that fibrous texture that the green b&s pad has from the start.

My problem with the comparison would be the stiffness of the yellow pad. I never get as good a cut out of stiffer pads. Give me a wool, microfiber, or a medium density, lower ppi pad, and I can remove more paint.
 
Jas123 said:
I know its kinda hard to tell from the pic but this is what I'm trying to get rid of.

Do you think HD Speed and an orange pad will get rid of it?
Click to expand...

From what I've seen about Speed, you shouldn't have any problems removing that.

I use Meguiars M66 for my all in one, and wouldn't be afraid of tackling that with a white pad even.
 
Ok thanks. So what would you suggest as far as what color pads to purchase? Just some white ones?
 
Well I done a test spot with a white pad first and Speed. It seemed to get most of the swirls but there are a few that was still left. So I went to the orange pad but couldn't see much difference.

After you do test pass say a 2' x 2' section, do you apply more product to the pad when you start another section? After doing around 4-5 slow passes, it starts to flash? I put 6 pea size drops on the pad as the directions said.

Thanks
 
Jas123 said:
I know its kinda hard to tell from the pic but this is what I'm trying to get rid of.
Do you think HD Speed and an orange pad will get rid of it?
Click to expand...

Yep.

Jas123 said:
Ok thanks. So what would you suggest as far as what color pads to purchase? Just some white ones?
Click to expand...

HDSpeed is an All in One (AIO) and works well with Green Pads. Orange, Green or White would work. Use the least aggressive that does. In this case you will likely need to leverage green.

Jas123 said:
Well I done a test spot with a white pad first and Speed. It seemed to get most of the swirls but there are a few that was still left. So I went to the orange pad but couldn't see much difference.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you might just need to keep your arm movement down to a slower speed as you do the passes.

After you do lest say a 2' x 2' section, do you apply more product to the pad? After doing around 4-5 slow passes, it starts to flash? I put 6 pea size drops on the pad as the directions said.
Click to expand...

Here's a great video for you to view. Should explain things pretty well.
https://youtu.be/Q70g83mnTn4

Keep us posted. Remember, we all love pics! :)
 
Thanks for the vid link. That was one of the first vids I watched when I was thinking about tackling this myself. I will try to slow things down on the pass but I was going pretty slow with the test spot. Or I thought I was lol. I was actually going a tad bit slower than Mike in that vid.

I will try and post some pics up.

Thanks again
 
Jas123 said:
Thanks for the vid link. That was one of the first vids I watched when I was thinking about tackling this myself. I will try to slow things down on the pass but I was going pretty slow with the test spot. Or I thought I was lol. I was actually going a tad bit slower than Mike in that vid.
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What make of vehicle again? Paint hardness varies thus you might need to put a bit more downforce on the buffer. about 6lbs of pressure, essentially equal to the weight of the buffer, is about right for hard surfaces.
 
I tried to take some pics but its nearly impossible to get the lighting right to see what I'm talking about on that gray paint.

Its a 09 Altima.

I will try to add a bit more pressure and see what happens. I mean it looks pretty good just a few scratches that its not getting. And their not deep at all. I would think they should polish out.
 
Jas123 said:
I tried to take some pics but its nearly impossible to get the lighting right to see what I'm talking about on that gray paint. Its a 09 Altima. I will try to add a bit more pressure and see what happens. I mean it looks pretty good just a few scratches that its not getting. And their not deep at all. I would think they should polish out.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you did great for round one. You can always hit it again later in the season without having to lean into it so hard. Congrats!
 
This is a pic Mike posted up as a tracer. It looks exactly like whats left behind after I got all the swirls out. So I guess thats what they are called? Or RIDS? Just live with them I suppose?
 
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