Best Options

[lester107]

Hey everyone been lurking here and absorbing as much information as possible for the past few months.



A little background on me. I`ve been doing hand wash, wax, and interiors for some family and a few of their friends. I finally have the funds to afford my first DA polisher but i`m not sure whats the best route to go with. I`ll probably only be doing one car per day as this is just a side job/hobby while i`m in school.



My father currently runs a small(as in selling one car a week) used car lot with a large repair business and currently sends his vehicles out to a local hack shop so I would be able to get those jobs. These cars don`t need to be perfect, just look better.



I`m probably going to get the PC 7424 XP as the polisher. Right now I work part-time at Fastenal`s northeast hub where we have a tool repair center that covers porter-cable so if anything breaks i could have it fixed fast. I`m going to check later today if the local store can get the XP in as we get a discount on anything.



So what i`m mainly looking for is what would be my best route for polishes and pads? The options are endless and i don`t want to spend money on things that will get used once then sit on a shelf. I would like have a pad for applying wax just to save some time on each job. I could also get any of these 3m products through work 3M Company Vehicle Wax | Fastenal





Here is what I already plan to buy to start

PC 7424 XP

5.5 in plate and pads color/number?

4 in plate and pads color/number?

8oz m105

8oz m205

and i already have Autoglym SRP and HD as my AOI/sealant and wax combo.



Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Thomas Dekany]

get the griots pc.

[Junebug]

I would get LC orange and white pads - the flat ones not the CCS, in 4" and 5.5". I have the new Hydro pads and not sure if they are that much of an improvement. I`d get a quart of M105 and a quart of Menzerna 203. And Blackfire Wet Diamond for a sealer - get a 5.5" LC Gold pad just for this (trust me). You`re going to need clay, ClayMagic Blue and their lude - #49 Body shine, will do fine. The interior - good APC, I personally like Majestic Solutions Tidal Wave (10:1) or just Woolite/water 10:1 and Optimum Protectant (get the gallon size). Carpet - Automagic HD Cleaner - quart or less - it dilutes 30:1, Dressing - just started using Black Again and so far it works better than anything else I`ve tried and a little bit goes a long way. You said you would be doing used cars, been there-done that, get Wesley`s Bleach White - I know the enviro-wienies hate that stuff but it`s the only thing that will clean NASTY tires without taking multiple apps. Tire dressing - I`m still looking, got several that are ok, none that I would recommend at this time, do look for one that you can sample and then get a volume discount if you like it, in other words - no OTC bottles.

[lester107]

tdekany: I am looking at the Griots. I just want to see if I could get a better deal through where I work on a PC first.



Junebug: thank you very much for the info. I already have clay, ONR, folex for spots and woolite for leather and interiors, QD, tire shines, and some interior products that id like to finish up first. Was already planning on getting BFWD. and ill get a bottle of Wesleys on my next trip to walmart. Going to check out a local body supply shop that carries Meguiars later this week.



Would 3 orange, 3 white, and a red/gold be enough for doings an average sedan/small suv to start? I don`t want to go crazy and buy a pile of pads for only really doing maybe two cars a week.

[Alexshimshimhae]

ummm from what I hear people sometimes go through like 4-6 pads (me personally I only have umm 3? but i get really nervous when i get to my second pad and i`m only half way done....) per step...I was say having say 4 or 5 would be a safer bet JUST in case.



Later on when you get to doing more bulk work i`m sure you`ll have to have some kind of stockpile or something but...till then...



I`m a Flex fan...sorry lol



I mean...for polish..i WAS ganna say just get like a gallon of 205 lol...but I`m a hoarder so I like to stockpiling for the bulk discount..I bought a quart cause it came in the kit i bought (at least i THINK it`s a quart?) and I`ve worked on umm..5 or 6 cars ... I say I`m about halfway done with my 105 and 1/4 done with my 205 (to be fair it`s because things turned up and had to half-fast my cars)



June...wondering why the LC gold pad?





Just my .02 ...but KIM that I`m definitely no pro YET lol

[Junebug]

Pads - just to be safe, I`d get 6 of each, you can - like I did recently, get a car with heavily oxidized single stage paint and will go through pads like crap through a goose!



LC Gold - ok, this is one product that really does live up to the hype, there is no pad made that is better for applying sealant/wax. And that includes the red pads (got 5 collecting dust). If you get BFWD, get a gold pad just for this as it will not clean out but will remain soft, used one for over a year now with no issues at all.



PC - I have an old PC and a newer PCXP, if I could get a discount and service like your deal, I`d def get the PCXP. I have a Cyclo too, fun tool and all but I grab the PC`s 90% of the time.

[lester107]

Thanks again Junebug.



Would i be better off getting more of the 4 inch pads or 5.5s?

[Nopstnz8]

^^4in for sure. 5.5in are too big for proper correction on a DA like the porter cable. Plus the vibration is much worse with the bigger pads, not to mention less results. I just recently discovered this firsthand when I was correcting my car. Once I switched to 4in pads, I was getting the results I wanted in half the time of the bigger pads which produced less than the 4in.

[Junebug]

I`ve had good results with 5.5` (low profile) pads -using the KBM on most cars, deep RIDS and bug etching would require 4" pads or even some wet sanding first.

[lester107]

well just took advantage of autogeeks 15% off sale. and the reason i ordered the smaller bottles is so that i can try things out and see what i like and not have to deal with a shelf of barely used polishes that didn`t work out right or something better replaced.



Ended up getting

6-5.5 orange

6-5.5 white

4-5.5 yellow

1-5.5 red

1-5.5 black

1-4in yellow

3-4in orange

2-4in white

8 oz m105 &m205

8 oz combo pack with optimum compound, polish, and poliseal

3.5 in and 5 in flexible backing plates



then got a PCXP from amazon for $118 with free 2 day shipping.



Next weeks going to be like Christmas haha.

[Alexshimshimhae]

Kudos~! I always have a huge smile on my face when goodies come in =]