Decisions...Decisions.....Help

suki22 · 05-12-08, 06:06

I know you get us noobs asking so many of the same questions but I would appreciate your help. I am finally taking the next step and purchasing a DA polisher. I have a 2007 G35 Infiniti ( paint is soft ) that has minor swirls/marring but has some water spots on the roof.I will also use it on my wife's BMW and my adult children's cars. I have always felt I would do more damage with a DA polisher then my hands.

Anyways......

I will buy a PC or UDM...at this point it is a coin flip.....concerned about the UDM reliability.

Pads....

Looking at the 5.5" LC CCS Smart pads
3 each 5.5" LC CCS orange smart pad
3 each 5.5" LC CCS white smart pad
3 each 5.5" LC CCS gray smart pad
My thinking is the 5.5" will give me a little better correction than the 6.5" pads, but not be as aggressive as the 4". I could still use the 5.5" pads for sealants,etc.

Polish....

Leaning toward the 1Z Paint Polish and 1Z Metallic Polish ( user friendly...tx.Accumilator)

Also....Meg.#83 and #80

I have been learning a great deal on this forum and appreciate any feedback.

victory · 05-12-08, 06:47

The 5.5" pads are a bargain right now at AG. I got a few and i like them. it's not as easy to bog down the PC when polishing. For LSP application i still use a larger pad as it just goes faster.

shine · 05-12-08, 06:52

The 5.5" LC CCS pads have worked great for me with my UDM. Good choice with the orange, white, and gray pads as those would be my choices also. I have not used the gray but blue instead and the blue seems to soak up a bit too much product (applying sealants). I think the gray is suppose to be slightly stiffer.

Chris223 · 05-12-08, 06:55

For the grey pads, I'd get them at Proper Auto Care, the 6.5" ones are like 2 for $12 right now.

fech · 05-13-08, 05:35

I know it's not on your list, but I have always been fond of the edge pads.

reaper34 · 05-13-08, 05:44

I stayed with a pc because after much research(I'm anal like that) the nutshell of what I found was the only thing relevant to me was the udm had 6700 opm at speed six and the pc had 6000. plus the pc has a far better track record.

Eliot Ness · 05-13-08, 06:26

I have both a PC and a UDM and between the two I prefer the UDM. Not a lot of difference, but it does have more power and is a bit smoother than my PC.

I haven't used the CCS style pads, but I agree that the 5.5" will be a good middle ground. You still might need 4" pads for some defects, but that is something you can buy later as needed.

EisenHulk · 05-13-08, 07:05

I'm currently using a PC, and I have recently switched to the 5.5" CCS LC pads. I'm pretty happy with them. I also second what Elliot Ness said about the 4" pads as well. I ordered the entire CCS LC 4" pad line. The 4" orange pad is GREAT with the PC.

Accumulator · 05-13-08, 09:24

suki22- Try to maintain reasonable expectations about the water spots

After some aggressive rotary work, my wife's A8 *still* has etching and she finally told me to just leave it alone lest I thin the clear too much. So really correcting etching with a PC just might not be too likely.