Sorry I made thread about what pads to get for polishing and what polish but I don't think I'm ready to polish yet until I read the Mike P. Book and dvd I got on here. Hahha i got it signed so I'm hoping the connection will give me some confidence in doing this and not marre the paint.
Meanwhile, questions regarding waxing.
1). I won't be doing polish as mentioned until I practice on mazda3 first and watch Mike P lol. Then will do it my x3 bmw. But I will go ahead and do wax with the 7424xp so which pads should i get on here for wax?
2). Which wax should I get on here too. (I'm hoping more like small size so i can try different waxes and see which one works best. Plan on waxing every 2-3 months).
3). Since I'm not polishing, can I basically,
wash, claybar, ironx (or even omit this), and then wax?
4). I'm guessing wax doesn't need too much technique compared to polishing so don't have to wait for the Mike p book/dvd right
5). How many pads should I buy and how do i clean them so the wax doesn't like dry and end up scratching up the car..
Your thoughts are smart-wise ones, to be first practicing on a lesser vehicle first, to get the hang of what you're doing, and how to use a D/A machine like the Porter Cable.
Although I had Rotary Polisher experience beforehand, still, such a machine is a new tool to gain some mastery of.
And I did exactly like what you wish to do, I practiced on my lesser junkmobile Kia Spectra to see what processes and products worked, and to gain experience with the machine.
The very most basic set-up which basically all will agree on, is to outfit the PC Machine with a 5" Backing Plate. This can be either the Lake Country 5" Yellow Urethane, or the Griots Garage 5" Ventilated Backing Plate. I have both, and either are just fine.
The White Flat Lake Country Pads in 5.5" size will be the appropriate sized Pads to pair with the 5" Backing Plates.
In time, you may wish to acquire a 4" (3-7/8" actually) LC Backing Plate, and purchase 4" LC White Pads. Again White is the most basic of all types to use in most common applications.
To have some coarser Orange Pads will be good to have. As for waxing Pads for the Porter Cable Machine, either the Blue, Black, or Red Flat LC Pads will all be suitable if you should choose to machine wax.
Now here's the thing with Machine Waxing: Some waxes and sealants are quite durable, and also quite stubborn to remove from Pads. In some cases, there's almost no cleaner that can come along after and totally remove such from the Pads. Yes, some Polishes can be difficult to get out when cleaning Pads, even with dedicated Pad Cleaners, but Waxes can be considerably harder to remove.
It's why for certain very durable waxes, I'll choose to hand apply them with either a Microfiber, or Foam Hand Applicator.
Sure, you can do whatever you wish, wax protection, no matter what, and what has been done beforehand even if nothing but just a wash is still a good idea, that the paint has some protection. You can do as little or as much as you choose.
Trust that no hobbyist Clays, Decons with Iron-X and polishes every time they wish to throw a coat of Wax or Sealant on their vehicles, Just a simple wash and dry will do. That would be exhausting, and unnecessary.
Now as far as a good wax, or sealant, which as you wish would last a period of 3 months or so. There's hundreds!
And for every member here, you can likely get a different recommendation based on their personal likes.
If you want "really easy", then I might suggest a great product made my Optimum called "Opti-Seal" This clear liquid Sealant, as well as others similar, such as Ultima Paint Guard Plus are real game changers, called "WOWA" sealants, meaning "wipe on-walk away" types.
You apply very sparingly, spread with a hand applicator, either sprayed onto a panel, or onto the applicator, apply to panels, and then merely come back with a soft clean MF Towel to remove any excesses and/or high spots.
These are really cool products, and one beauty is they leave no nasty chalky dried residues behind in cracks, near trim. I especially love these two products best of all for protection of Door Jambs, Door Sills, under hood, and trunk areas, where there's paint, so easy, and yes, either of these will last a minimum of 3 months on a daily driver.
One bottle of either of these will do many vehicles, or one vehicle quite a number of times, since such little product is needed and goes a long way.
Going onto other more durable wax-sealant-hybrid products would be Collinite's #845 Insulator Wax, or even more durable, their #467 Super Doublecoat Detergent-Proof Paste Wax. These are a little more difficult to apply and remove in their respective order, but are both outstanding products, both been around a long time, and there's many dedicated loyal fans of these two products.
Any of the Autogeek Brands will not be disappointments, there's countless more I could name, but will try to end this post for now.
