Recommendation?

[imported_Abrasive]

Hi All,



I`ve been lurking on these forums for awhile. I currently have a cable porter and a bit of experience using it.



I have 2 cars; a 2010 Candy White VW GTI (daily driver but parked in a garage at work and at home) and a Meteor Grey 2011 Audi A4 Avant (Wife`s car but she is about to be a stay at home mom so it will sit in the garage a lot).



Now I was thinking about going with the Meguiar`s DA MF system. Both cars have what I`d call average swirls. GTI might be worse but I haven`t taken a light to it yet just what I`ve noticed when the light hits it just right.



I`m looking for something that is fairly easy to use with good results on both cars if possible. From what I`ve read the D300 should probably fit the bill. What about the D301? It`s a "finishing wax" does that mean it`s considered a LSP? I do realize that no all products work equally well for one color as they do another which is one of the reasons I`m posting!



I didn`t get around to detailing my cars last year (different cars at the time) so I don`t remember what I used the year before. If i recall I used a compound, polish, then Meg`s NXT. I also later got a wipe on walk away product called Ultima(i think) that I recall reading a lot about 2 years ago but I haven`t seen mention of it since I`ve been back lurking.



I`m hoping to have both cars fully detailed before the :baby: comes at the end of this month. :chuckle:



Sorry for the long winded post.

[chris03tl]

Do you still have your old pads, etc for the PC? You might be able to get away with those again.



I finally got around to using the Megs system that I bought. I must say I was pretty impressed. The wifes Acura (anthracite gray, so a little dark metallic) started out pretty swirled (we had broken down and gone to car washes a couple times this winter just because we needed the car respectably clean). I used the cutting pad and compound, 3 or 4 passes with fairly good pressure, then another 3 or 4 with almost no pressure. I actually didnt feel the need to go to a next polishing step....it came out that good. Very glossy, very reflective and no haze that I could see. That experience might not be the norm (and I might be "missing" something also, I was in a hurry but from all the angles I checked the car looked excellent).



I chose not to use the finishing wax/compound because I havent read much about its durability (expected, considering the whole system is so new). Im going to reserve it for a select few people that I dont want to use my good stuff on

[Dan]

If you have stuff from a few years back, it might still be worth your time. Post up what you have. Also check that it still has the right consitancy.

[Accumulator]

Abrasive- Welcome to Autopia!



I too think you oughta consider sticking with what you already have, as long as it seemed OK in your opinion.



Don`t worry about the color of the paint. And with the baby on the way (congrats in advance!) I wouldn`t knock yourself out looking for marring that doesn`t bother you now (don`t look for new problems you don`t know you have ).



I *would* want to get pretty durable stuff on both cars so you don`t have to mess around with them very much; I suspect you`ll be busy enough without making detailing a big priority. So I`d maybe consider some wax like Collinite (either 845 or 476S), which you could apply over top of the Meguiar`s stuff. It`d last a lot longer than the NXT.



Oh, and, heh heh, your post wasn`t long-winded by my standards, not at all

[imported_Abrasive]

Chris,

I do have some old pads. I have some lake country ones. If I recall I had 1 orange, 1 blue and 2 grey. All of them were used except one of the grey ones- I didnt wash them, I stuck them in a ziplock bag. I had planned to come back earlier and use them again but never did. I`m seeing complaints about LC pads now, did their QC drop recently or are people just finding higher standards among competitors? I don`t recall having any real issues other than the grey one got super saturated, but then again I`m a novice.



Yakky,

I want to say that i used Megs ScratchX or ColorX (former i think), Megs show car glaze #7, and Megs NXT (2.0 maybe). I recall just getting the cable porter and just going to local auto store and picking fairly random things out. I was excited. It didn`t last very long and I don`t think I had used a high enough pad for the scratchX so the swirls improvement was marginal. But when I was first done it looked great!



Accumulator,

Thanks for the welcome! I actually registered 2 years ago. Went to register yesterday and realized I had already done it. :shifty: Durable stuff is along the lines of what I`m looking for and easy to use/wipe off. I just wanted a more solid plan going forward this time. I`ve been browsing the forums but there are so many good choices it`s hard to make a decision. The GTI doesn`t bother me too much but I noticed swirl marks on the Audi when I bought it with 9 miles on the odometer and I`ve just been waiting for a nice break in the weather!



-Abrasive

[Accumulator]

.. I noticed swirl marks on the Audi when I bought it...

If you weren`t already aware of it, the Audi`s clear will almost certainly be very hard. I dunno how close to perfect you want it, but keep that in mind when it comes to the aggressive step. E.g., Scratch-X won`t come close to doing anything to most Audis.



Meguiar`s M105 works well enough on Audis via PC *IF* you use small pads. Optimum`s Hyper (spray) Compound is much more gentle so it`s not as "effective" (scare-quotes as I dunno how aggressive you really want/need to get) but it`s *MUCH* more user-friendly.. as in, almost a pleasure to use.



Note that IME you really do need to use small pads with the PC to do effective work on paint`s like the Audi`s. The ~6" ones just impart too much friction and end up being far too gentle.

[imported_Abrasive]

Arg. Time-out ate my initial response.



Accumulator,



I did read yesterday while searching that Audi`s have pretty hard paint/clear. I also searched on VW`s but did not find anything conclusive. VW owns Audi and shares a lot of parts - is it as hard as the Audi by any chance?



What`s considered a small pad on the PC? 3.5"? 4"? I think i had 5 or 5.5. I can`t remember if the pads i have are LC or CCS. Thanks for the heads up!



I don`t think I need to get very aggressive with the Audi(at least I hope!). Part of the reason I was considering the Megs DA MF system was ease of use and I don`t mind trying something different.



Hadn`t heard of the Optimum Hyper spray, I will look into it as well! Thanks for all the feedback!



-Abrasive.

[Rei86]

A lot of people will tell you the sweet spot is 5" backing plate with a 5.5" pad for a DA like PC7424. Others are saying the power of a Griot`s Garage Six Inch DA you can get away with using a larger pad like 6.5 for paint corrections.



If you don`t have the tools on you right now the backing pads can be bought at most automotive stores like Auto Zone/Advanced or go to hardware stores like ACE/Harbor/Lowes etc etc.



I would think the hardest cutting compound on the market for consumers is Meguiar`s M105 which can be purchased OTC that can be used on your hard paint on the Audi.

[imported_Abrasive]

Hmmm. I think 5" backing plate is what i have now. I forgot to double check last night.



Not sure I want to start off with the 105 on the Audi. I`d rather start off a little lighter and if I`m not happy come back later with something a bit more aggressive.

[Scottwax]

VW and Audi? I usually don`t even bother trying the DA on them, I go straight to my rotary. I`ve tried the KB method on both and find that it just takes too long that way to get correction. Haven`t tried the new Meguiars pads so I can`t say for sure if they do better on VW/Audi paint than conventional pads.

[TedFred]

I have two BMW`s and the paint is very hard. On the white one I would consider using Megs D151 which has a little more correction than the finishing wax. You might consider the D151 or the finsishing wax if you are in a hurry. It works great for me on my wifes white 328. I use a DA although I am not bothered by Scottwaxes time sensitivities since I just deatail as a hobby.

[Dan]

VW and Audi? I usually don`t even bother trying the DA on them, I go straight to my rotary. I`ve tried the KB method on both and find that it just takes too long that way to get correction. Haven`t tried the new Meguiars pads so I can`t say for sure if they do better on VW/Audi paint than conventional pads.

For a pro, its is indeed a waste of time to hit hard clears with a DA, but for a hobbyist and a decent DA, its not too bad. Though its all relative, I`ve put in 14-16 hours on regular cars and I started off with a rotary and finshed with a DA.

[Accumulator]

Not sure I want to start off with the 105 on the Audi. I`d rather start off a little lighter and if I`m not happy come back later with something a bit more aggressive.

Then I`d start with the Optimum Hyper Compound. IMO it`s almost more like a "super swirl remover" than a true compound (at least via non-rotary means) and I`m confidednt it won`t be too aggressive for you.



But IMO M105 probably wouldn`t be too aggressive either

[imported_Abrasive]

Strange.. I think quick reply is eating my posts for some reason. D:



Anyways - ACC I think I`ll start off with the Opt Hyper Spray. Is there a particular size and cut pad you`d recommend? I`m not sure when you said "small" that meant anything under 6"

[Accumulator]

Strange.. I think quick reply is eating my posts for some reason. D:



Anyways - ACC I think I`ll start off with the Opt Hyper Spray. Is there a particular size and cut pad you`d recommend? I`m not sure when you said "small" that meant anything under 6"

The OHC will be pretty mind IMO with 5.5" pads, but it might work OK for you. I myself would want to use it with 4" orange pads, at least for the aggressive work.



Check out Kevin Brown`s recent thread on pad priming and the subsequent addition of water; whatever works with M105 will also work with the OHC, just more gently.