Wow!
It's noon on Monday and I'm just now getting to this thread and I have a couple hundred threads still to get to...
One thing I learned about running a discussion forum is,
There's no such thing as a day off... just a day behind...
The question asked is interesting,
If I had to make a new DVD today, what would I use?
One thing for sure I wouldn't use a car with a single stage finish because although you typically do all the same things to single stage as you would a clear coat finish, it caused way too much confusion for people with clear coats.
Also, at the end of the DVD we added some BONUS material and too many people thought these were procedures you would do to the Corvette after buffing it out and that's just not the case.
In the DVD I demonstrated how to apply and remove #7 Show Car Glaze and How to apply and remove a spray-on wax.
But... after we applied the wax and then removed it from the Corvette the buff-out on the Corvette was 100% finished. The reason we showed the two bonus procedures was because,
We had some daylight left (We shot this in one day with no script)
We had a car with a flawless finish to demonstrate on
Since we had some daylight left and Steve Radigan's house was at least 100 miles away from both my house and Richard's house we're talking about at least 2 hours of driving time in SoCal traffic, so we figured, "Hey while we're here...
The other reason we added is because "one" of the many uses for #7 is to hand polish or hand glaze a flawless finish just to give it that wet-look. When used like this it's supposed to be used on a finish in EXCELLENT CONDITION, as in a true show car finish, not the old Ford Taurus sitting in the driveway that has never been waxed in 5 years.
So because we had just cleaned and polished the paint on this old Corvette to perfection, (it's maximum potential), we had a finish perfect for demonstrating how to apply #7 Show Car Glaze.
Technically, it was incorrect because we had just applied the Tech Wax to the paint and you typically apply #7 before the wax goes on but the bigger picture was the paint was in smooth, clean and defect free, (forget about the wax for a moment), it was the condition of the paint that made it qualified for rubbing down with #7
Because over the years there's been so much interest in this product that came out in the 1920's or 1930's I wanted to share how to apply and remove it so people could see the correct technique.
As for the spray wax, this too is a point of confusion for people. A spray-on wax isn't for a neglected finish, it's for a finish already polished, and in excellent condition. There are some spray-on waxes that can be used as a dedicated wax, or paint sealant, but the Meguiar's spray-on waxes in my opinion seem better suited to be used as booster waxes after a person has already applied a NORMAL coat of wax or paint sealant, as in either an application of either a liquid or paste wax/paint sealant.
So again, with the Corvette sitting there all polished-up and with a fresh coat of wax, it made an ALMOST perfect candidate. It wasn't exactly perfect because since it had just been waxed it didn't need to be waxed again, it was because the paint was in the right condition that it was qualified for the demonstration.
In the real world, Steve, the owner would probably not need to restore that just waxed look using a spray on wax till he had driven the car a bit or some time had passed, but again we had daylight and my nature is to show as much as I can when I can, so we filmed how to apply and remove a spray-on wax.
So if I had to do a video today I would use a clear coated car and I would not add any bonus techniques at the end, at least not the way we did it in that particular DVD.
We did shoot a rotary DVD that came out at 3.5 hours long using a red Viper with horrible water spots and swirls but that was pre-M105 and M205 so it's pretty dated now.
As for which products I would use today?
If I were to shoot a new DVD today I would borrow some of the ideas we used in the first DVD and then pick a line and showcase that line for the project at hand.
If I were to do a Meguiar's DVD then I would base my product choice upon the tool being used, for example I wouldn't show UC with SwirlX if I were going to do a rotary buffer DVD, if I were to do a G110/PC DVD then I would probably go with M105 and M205 as they do work well as a system with the dual action polishers and because they come in quarts. A DVD using UC and SwirlX could also work well.
As for backing plates, I think it's a matter of finding balance. By this I mean there are some expensive backing plates on the market but because they do wear-out I think you need to consider this and maybe not go withe the most expensive but also go with the most cost-effective to replace after you've obtained good value for your money. That kind of depends on who you are and how often you're swapping out pads and hours of buffing.
A professional detailer using a PC for a lot of their work will wear-out a backing plate faster than someone that only buffs out their own car or cars a few times a year.
Two of the better quality and most versatile backing plates for use with DA style polishers are,
The Edge DA-500 Backing Plate
Meguiar's W67DA
These both measure 4 7/8" inches across in diameter so they can be used safely with 5.5" and 6" diameter pads. You could use them with a 6.5 diameter pad but there will be a good size area of foam on the outer edges not supported by the backing plate. This isn't a super big issue but usually you want the back of the foam pad backed-up by some plate material or it will have a tendency to gush up instead of work against the paint as much as the foam that has support behind it from the backing plate.
If you're thinking about using the new Lake Country Hydro-Tech 6.5 Inch Foam Pads then you should probably stick with the 6" backing plates and the 5" backing plates, (which are 4 7/8" in diameter), leave a lot of cushion around the outer edge.
Just wrote a little article with pictures to give everyone an idea of the wiggle-room you have with the different backing plates using a 6.5" pad
5" and 6" Backing Plates on 6.5" pads (Pictures to show safety margin)
Below are the new Lake Country
Hydro-Tech 6.5 Inch Foam Pads with backing plates affixed to show the fitting comparison.
The backing plate on the Cyan Cutting Pad is the
The Edge DA-500 Backing Plate, which measures 4 7/8" in diameter.
The backing plate on the Tangerine Polishing Pad is the
3M Hook-It 6" DA Backing Plate and it measures 5 7/8" in diameter.
This is to give you an idea as to how much safety margin of foam there is surrounding the 5" and 6" backing plates.
Also there's more pictures and info in the link posted above.
