Hi Mike, new member here. I just got through reading your book “The Art Of Detailing” and basically found out that I was doing a lot of things wrong, so thanks for the info in the book.
Hi Paul,
Glad you found the book informative, the most common thing I hear from people that attend any of my classes goes something like this,
"I found out I've been doing everything all wrong for all these years"
I just purchased both of the Griot’s DA polisher’s and I’ve never used one so I would like to ask you a few questions before getting started.
Do you have any advice that wasn’t in your book or are there any video’s you recommend I view before I get started?
I would recommend reading this before turning the polisher on,
DA Polisher Trouble Shooting Guide
Mark the back of your backing plate,
Video: Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see pad rotation
Learn to do a Test Spot
How To Do a Test Spot
(and why it's so important)
Learn to do a Section Pass
Video: How-To do a "Section Pass" when Machine Polishing with a DA Polisher
Learn to prime your pad before starting,
How to prime a foam pad when using a DA Polisher
Always use the wet buffing technique,
Wet Buffing Technique
Have plenty of clean terry cloth hand towels on hand to clean your pad on the fly often,
How to clean your foam pad on the fly
Tape-off any plastic, vinyl or rubber trim that you don't want to get splatter onto before starting,
Video: How to tape-off car trim before machine polishing
And watch this video as it shows all this,
Video: How to remove shallow RIDS and how to machine apply both a paint sealant and a finishing wax
- RIDS - Random Isolated Deeper Scratches
- Removing watches and any jewelery
- Using a DA Polisher without the handle
- Placing cord over shoulder
- Priming the pad on a DA Polisher
- Speed settings for removing isolated defects
- Downward pressure needed for removing isolated defects
- How to clean a pad on the fly
- Where and why to mark your backing plate with a black mark
- Rotating the body of the tool to keep the pad flat to a panel
- Why to allow the pad to stop spinning before lifting the pad off the paint
- How to swap backing plates from a 3.5" to a 5"
- Machine waxing using 5.5" Hydro-Tech Crimson Finishing pads with Menzerna Power Lock
- The "Kissing the Finish" Technique
- How to do the Swipe Test to check if a wax or paint sealant is dry
- How to remove dried paint sealant using a microfiber bonnet on a dry pad on a DA Polisher
- How to clean a microfiber bonnet on the fly with your fingernails
- How to apply a paste wax by machine - Souveran Paste Wax
- How to carefully wipe a WOWO wax off by hand using Microfiber Gloves and plush Microfiber Towels
- How and why to fold a microfiber towel 4-ways to wipe wax off
- How to break-open a coat of wax and then creep out to carefully wipe off a coating of wax
- How to do the "Final Wipe"
This one is actually pretty good to but keep in mind TV shows always edit DOWN the actual number of passes made to cut out SECONDS.
Motorhead Garage - Machine Polishing with Pinnacle - Episode 7
This one is pretty good too...
Video: How to buff tight areas plus concave and convex curved panels by machine
Watch the live broadcast tomorrow night I'll be showing people how to use DA Polishers and just for you I'll show a young man brand new to machine polishing how to use the Griot's Garage DA Polisher.
Blinky's 1948 Cadillac Convertible
Can a detail spray be used instead of a clay lubricant spray when claying a vehicle?
Yes, most major car care brands sell their spray detailers with their clay kits.
Is there a product you recommend for decals? My 1980 Trans Am has 8 decals and I want to do whatever I can to keep them in good condition.
In the past I've had really good luck with Meguiar's Trim Detailer.
Meguiar's Gold Class Trim Detailer
I have a very in-depth post on how to use this product on MOL and I may have re-created it here on AGO, let me look...
There's lots of detailing discussion forums, if you've found this one to be helpful, maybe
share us with your car buddies, especially the live broadcasts, which are every other Thursday nights.
That's called doing win/win business. You win with excellent help and information and we gain new members to help.
