DA Polisher

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by dazed^

Damn, there I was hoping a DA polisher would cut the duration of my seemingly endless car washing sessions in half...

PS question: Can the DA be used to apply wax too?

Yes, with carnuba, I just let the tub warm a bit in the sun, and use a plastic knife to apply it to a grey finishing pad.

[santov]

Originally Posted by Hdoan86

I purchased the Porter Cable 7346sp, supposively this is the newer model against the 7424xp. I also purchased Meguiars M105 & M205 as well as the CSS Lake Country Yellow, Orange, White, and Gray pads. So far ive tested the M205 on the White pad and it didnt remove all the scratches I needed to be removed butt it gave a great reflection.

I think im going to try the M205 and Orange pad next and if that doesnt work i'll jump to the M105 and a orange pad.

Any thoughts or feedback on this? The porter cable is very hard to handle once in position 5 and 6 and causes great fatigue. I don't know how people can do the entire car in a couple of hours.

Your detail should start with a "testing phase". On the hood or nasty part of your car tape off some 1'x1' squares.

Start with least aggresive, in your case 205 with white, then examine results. Looks something like:

205 white speed 3-4
205 white speed 5-6
205 orange speed 3-4
205 orange speed 5-6
105 white speed 3-4

...on and on.

You can write combos down with a sharpie on the blue tape. The first few details you won't have a clue what combo is effective and which one is too aggresive. Be sure to examine your results in different lights.

Soon you won't need the testing squares, you'll just be able to spot a scratch and get the 205 with white on speed 4.5 and it will come out perfect. But until you get familiar with your rig invest the time to be OCD about learning.

Also, just because 105 with a white pad was perfect on the hood for getting those water spots out might mean it PUTS swirls in the fender or door. I learned that the hard way when I stepped back and saw horrible swirls. When you really get going take the time to rinse pads between sections. Even though the pad might be clean, it's probably saturated with chunks of clear coat. I keep a bucket of hot water to rinse and squeeze out the pad.

[santov]

Oh, and it's going to take HOURS. First detail I worked a few hours into the night, went to bed and another 3 hours the next morning. It was like a marathon for me.

But now I can wash, dry, do a light wax in under an hour.

Freakin dealer added a bunch of swirls so I'm getting psyched up to do another marathon.

[ANUSTART]

^ What he said. I broke it up into parts as i had a prettyy major correction to do. Several small scratches, one big one and swirls. Spent 3 hours one night and then all day the following day on the rest. Total time was around 12 hours. Several days to build up touch up paint on the scratch, Wash, clay bar, sctratch removal, swirl removal, polish and two coats of wax. Just have to maintain it now. Once the big one is done it doesnt take as much time.

[santov]

Anybody here interested in some LC pads? I have too many. Yellow, orange, white, and grey. My kit came with 4 of each and I won't use that many any time soon. Maybe I'll post something in For Sale later today.

[HaiDef]

Thanks for the great tips guys!

Does anybody know how or what to use to polish the door sills liek this person did in their m5? http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-pictures.html

Mine are all scratched up and i would love for it to look brand new instead of spending $200 on new door sills if i could do this on my own.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by Hdoan86

Thanks for the great tips guys!

Does anybody know how or what to use to polish the door sills liek this person did in their m5? http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-pictures.html

Mine are all scratched up and i would love for it to look brand new instead of spending $200 on new door sills if i could do this on my own.

If you have scratches in the metal areas of the sills, it's difficult to remove. Autosol or Mother's metal polish will bring back a brightness to the metal, but for the scratches, you'll have to shell out for new sills. You can get them coated in the same material as the clear bras, but they are not all that expensive.

[ANUSTART]

Originally Posted by Hdoan86

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/20303-petrucci-detailed-bmw-jet-black-e39-m5-lot-pictures.html

Bookmarked that for later reference. Quite impressive results.