Opinions, new to the field...

[gonz0]

Well, I was quoted $700 to do a full detail on the exterior of my car and while it is likely worth it and I respect the work involved by the professional charging said amount, I still found it hard to swallow being an enthusiast with a budget.



I have a black Audi A4 with lots of swirl marks, light scratches and worst of all water spotting. Since my hand work isn`t cutting it I`m moving up to machine polishing and am about to bite the bullet on a PC 7424. I want to get everything I need to detail my car properly and maybe afterward, my bike as well I plan to do some detail work on the side as well so having the materials on hand for more than just my own vehicles would be nice. With that in mind I headed over to DetailersDomain and starting pricing things out. I think I have everything I need but I wanted to get the thoughts of those with experience before I pony up on some unnecessary items.



PC 7424

Backing plate for 5.5 inch pads

1Z Pro Line Intensive Paste

1Z Pro Line High Gloss

1Z Final Finish

1Z Glanz

1, Orange CCS Pad 5.5 inch

1, White CCS Pad 5.5 inch

1, Blue CCS Pad 5.5 inch

1, Black CCS Pad 5.5 inch

Adam`s Car Wash 16oz

Adam`s Clay Bar, gray

Adam`s Detail Spray, 16oz

Adam`s Glass Cleaner, 16oz

Adam`s Carpet & Upholstret Cleaner, 16oz

Adam`s In&Out Spray

8, Uber All Purpose Towels (yellow)

1, Uber MF towel 16x16, red

2, Uber MF glass towels

1, Uber Jumbo waffle weave MF drying towel, red

1, Uber yello wash sponge

1, Worlds Greatest Boar`s hair wheel brush

1Z Klima-Cleaner, A/C conditioner

1ZKristall Klar washer fluid





I use to care for my car with all Meguiar`s products and hand rubbed in my wax, etc. I just wasn`t seeing much improvement with hand working it in, although the paint felt better and I feel it maintained the current state. If I get rid of the water spots and a majority of the swirling I will be a happy man. The art of detailing interests me on a hobby level though so I hope to expand on my efforts with my car once I get the right tools.



Cheers,

-Kris

[Robb]

Id definately do it yourself. Those products all look good. I`ve honestly never heard of a quote that high. Great to have you here!

[JohnKleven]

The price doesn`t sound unreasonable at all. It will take 10 hours or so to correct a car like you have. I assume that also includes the engine clean and interior detail? If you were to detail the car yourself, and get the same results as a professional you`re probably looking at 20 hours of work. The best part is that you will have enough material to do it again when the time comes, BUT do you really want to do this yourself? If I wanted my shop painted, I`d pay a professional because they can do it faster, and probably better than the job I would do. It really just depends on the results you`re looking for, and also what your personal time is worth. Secondly, they can probably get the work done in one day, while if you were to do it yourself, you could be out of a car for a couple of days, or the whole weekend.





John

[gonz0]

The quote was only for exterior work, interior and underhood were an additional $100 each. I don`t find the rate unfair, as I said, I`ve seen the detailer`s work and it was fantastic! That said, I am always out to learn a new ability and when a cost cuts that deep, I`d rather take the risk of learning and then having lots of supplies left over for future use as opposed to spending the money on a service that will not reoccur. My time is valuable but not quite that valuable yet. So I can afford to sacrifice a weekend to get my car tip-top.

[KnuckleBuckett]

Forget the PC if you can. Get a Flex. This comes from personal experience.



I am betting well more than 10 hours with a PC.

[gonz0]

Forget the PC if you can. Get a Flex. This comes from personal experience.



I am betting well more than 10 hours with a PC.

I`ve read that the PC is better for beginners and a little more forgiving. What benefit does the Flex provide over the PC?

[stig-zzz]

Flex more power still safe and will break down polishes much faster about the same in owner learning curve ,cost about double imho worth the extra money in the amount of time you will save the flex can correct much more severe defects compared to the pc good luck

[docrice]

If you get a PC, get 4" pads and a smaller backing plate since your paint is most likely hard. You might not need the black or blue pads unless you`re going to "jewel." A few 4" orange and a few 4" white pads would do fine. If you want to save some money on the all-purpose towels, you can use the yellow Costco ones.



If you have the money, a water filtration system like CRSpotless will more or less eliminate the need for a WW drying towel. Good deal from Costco for that one as well.



You might also want to consider wheel cleaners or other degreasers like P21S TAW.

[KnuckleBuckett]

The Flex is simply the way to go. Safe and better n every way. I really wish someone had given me this advice and saved me the $100 on the PC.



YouTube - Flex XC 3401 VRG vs. Porter Cable 7424



It is so much more effective and does not cause my hand to go numb like the PC did.

[gonz0]

If you get a PC, get 4" pads and a smaller backing plate since your paint is most likely hard. You might not need the black or blue pads unless you`re going to "jewel." A few 4" orange and a few 4" white pads would do fine. If you want to save some money on the all-purpose towels, you can use the yellow Costco ones.



If you have the money, a water filtration system like CRSpotless will more or less eliminate the need for a WW drying towel. Good deal from Costco for that one as well.



You might also want to consider wheel cleaners or other degreasers like P21S TAW.

That water system looks awesome but seems a little more serious than I`m ready to jump into just yet. I am reconsidering the Flex model polisher now though, I`ll research some usage videos more this evening and make my decision from that. I have concerns about my hands and comfort since I`d be using it for awhile at a time.



A few questions about products,



Would I be better off with P21S TAW, Meg`s APC, Adam`s APC or something else entirely? I`ve read about people using the TAW as an initial wash for neglected cars to remove all the sealants/waxes, etc and then following up with a normal wash using their soap of choice. Would APC be too harsh for the same use?



Adam`s offers their undercarriage cleaner as well, I think I could use that for more things than the In&Out dressing which would make it more purposeful and get me away from aerosol products, which I`m not fond of.



Do you guys use a mixture of brands to accomplish the best results or do you stick to a single brand for all of your products? I`m thinking the polishing process should be single brand, and I`ll likely still go with 1Z since DetailerDomain offers a good deal on the polisher/1Z combo. Although I see a lot of people on this site are quite happy with Menzerna product line as well. I like the looks of the Adam`s products for washing and detailing but I don`t know if I should look to them for polishes as well.



Is there a big difference between the Uber MF yellow and blue/red towels? Some people have mentioned that some cheaper MF towels can scratch or be a bit abrasive to painted surfaces, I`m assuming the Uber-line is good and I`ll have no worries with them.



I`m also going to order a grit guard, but I`ll get my bucket and trolly locally if I can.



Thanks again guys I really appreciate the input so far.

[KnuckleBuckett]

The PC had my hands/wrists going numb constantly. It was very uncomfortable and took forever to get the job done. I hated that.



The discomfort was the number one reason I decided to try the Flex. The time and polish breakdown issues were tied for second.



I still use it for carpet once in a while with a brush attachment, but otherwise it is my Flex all the way. Excellent tool with excellent comfort.



Both are a bit noisy, but I never use power tools without earplugs, so neither was an issue. I think the PC is a higher frequency noise versus the Flex if that helps.



If you get the Flex be sure to remove the felt gasket, lube it (10W30), dry off the excess and reinstall it. Takes about 5 minutes.

[Accumulator]

If you get a PC, get 4" pads and a smaller backing plate since your paint is most likely hard..

Yeah, if you`re gonna correct an Audi via PC you really (and I mean *REALLY*) need the 4" pads, at least to do it in a remotely timely manner.



And even I get out the rotaries for the intial work on Audis. I can see this one needing PFW pads for the worst areas.



There`s a bit of a knack to using 1Z polishes via PC (and almost certainly via Flex too)...you don`t always want to use high speeds due to the "easy fracture" abrasives in those polishes. You work them at low speeds and then speed things up after the abrasives have broken down.



gonz0- Welcome to Autopia!



I`ve been an Audi nut for ages, so I have an idea what you`re dealing with.



Your paint will be hard and you need to have realistic expectations regarding the water spotting. Acid rain type depressions in the paint are probably not gonna come out without using extreme measures, which might not be a good idea on a driver anyhow.



I STRONGLY encourage you to buy a foamgun to use in conjunction with your wash media. IME it makes all the difference as it provides constant lubrication and flushing (when used correctly). Washing without marring is, IMO, the single biggest challenge in detailing.



I`d whittle your list down quite a bit and do things in a more simple manner, but that`s just me. If you really want my $0.02 say so, but it`s not like you`re going wrong with what you have listed.



I *would* encourage you to try FK425 for a finishing touch style detail spray though, it`s really good stuff.



FWIW, I *REALLY* like 1Z polishes but I use a wide-ranged mix of products from different manufacturers. It`s not like you need to stick with one or two brands, but you do need to make sure everything will work OK together (people here can advise you).



I`d certainly clay it before you polish, it`ll remove above-surface contamination that the polishing might smooth over. Even after the TAW/etc., the clay would be a good idea.



Oh, and tape off the "silver" trim before you polish (especially with the Pasta Intensiv). I never *have* gotten a definitive answer as to whether it`s clear anodized or clear powdercoated, but whatever it is that finish is *fragile* and once it`s compromised there`s nothing you can really do about it.