Polishing setup for a noob

**DEwalt** · 03-22-2016, 12:40 PM

I have a black tundra that was painted on one side. The fresh paint is close to the old, but there is a noticeable difference. I haven`t taken the best care of the original paint. I`m trying to get a closer match, and try to work out spider webs and scratches. Can someone recommend a DA kit under $200 to start out with?

I was suggested this setup:
McKee`s 37 Porter Cable 7424 Intermediate Swirl Remover Kit, polishing kit, xmt polishes, detailing kit

Is there anything equal or better than this one from Autopia?

**GearHead_1** · 03-22-2016, 01:08 PM

Welcome to Autopia Forums. The recommedation you were given is a good place to start. If the kit you are looking at isn`t specifically listed already on the ACC site Ray will put it together for you and probably beat the price. Call him, great resource for you. He wants your business here and can put together anything AutoGeek can sell you. I have both of these machines (PC and Griot`s) in my cabinet. If push came to shove I`d probably look at a kit with the Griot`s poisher. I`m sure there are several.

Two of the most trusted names in car care join forces to eradicate paint defects from your finish with the Griot`s Garage & BLACKFIRE Duo Kit.

**Stokdgs** · 03-22-2016, 01:12 PM

Welcome to the Forum !

Gearhead_1`s advice above ^^ is way better than what you are looking at... The Blackfire products are much better as well..

Regardless what you decide to purchase, you will need way more than 1 pad of each, and you will need a Pad Cleaner to clean the dirty ones, let them dry for a day and night, while you use other ones, unless you plan on doing this in stages...

So, you have no experience in Detailing or with any machine for Detailing then ??

Dan F

**Angus** · 03-22-2016, 01:21 PM

Totally agree with Dan and Gearhead - great kit recommendation + great advice.

As mentioned, you`ll want to increase the # of pads you have to at least 3 each (3 orange & 3 white to start) so you can rotate them while in use: ie: polishing > soaking in cleaning solution > drying. More pads are always better but 3 is my recommended minimum.

Good luck!

**mjlinane** · 03-22-2016, 01:28 PM

Welcome to Autopia!

Count me in with Gearhead, Dan and Angus.

**The Driver** · 03-22-2016, 01:49 PM

Gearhead is right, the griot`s machine alone is far superior.

**Mary B** · 03-22-2016, 04:17 PM

Big WELCOME from one Noob to another.

Started with 8 pads which was not even close to enough,
I`m a year into Detailing, maybe 100 various pads 2 rotaries & 2 DA`s
Plus chem`s, plus plus list goes on. It`s all good!

**GearHead_1** · 03-22-2016, 04:23 PM

Have to agree with everyone on the page that is recommending buying multiple pads. I often find myself using 6, perhaps 8 pads per step in polishing. It`s kind of like a waterless wash you can`t have too many quality wash towels. In the case of the pad it`s obvious that it`s in the best interest of your vehicles finish but it will make the individual life of each pad multiply several times.

For a person who is just getting going and where $$$`s are a consideration, I`d probably recommend looking at a particular pad line and stick with it for the time being. Perhaps LC, there will usually be 4 or 5 levels of pads (think aggressiveness) in a manufacturers line up. I`d say to invest your money in pads that aren`t on the extreme ends of the line up, get a few more pads in the middle of the line than just one across the board. You can often finish a vehicle very nicely without the finest pad in the line up and in most instances you can remove the majority of the defects without the most aggressive pad in the line up. You can always adjust the nature of the cut by the polish you are using.

Once you get the hang of the art then you`ll want to expand your collection to collect the pads on the extreme ends of the line. You`ll be able to correct more quickly and finish as fine as a mosquitoes eye lash once you get the hang of your machine and your choice of polishes. Now if money isn`t a concern, go ahead and get several of each in the line. Sooner or later you`ll likely want them.

**The Driver** · 03-22-2016, 04:39 PM

Yes!

You can`t have too many towels and you can`t have too many pads. I have over 15 of each color and or foam/microfiber. It have saved me countless times from extra headache when polishing. No one wants to clean immediately or after every panel, it will wipe you out.

**DEwalt** · 03-22-2016, 04:43 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice. I have no experience polishing. I hope I don`t destroy the paint. Is the griot as powerful as the PC? I thought I had read complaints about the Griot. Also how many pads would you suggest to do the 1 side and good thsts original paint. I will buy more down the road especially if this goes well.

**GearHead_1** · 03-22-2016, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by DEwalt

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice. I have no experience polishing. I hope I don`t destroy the paint. Is the griot as powerful as the PC? I thought I had read complaints about the Griot. Also how many pads would you suggest to do the 1 side and good thsts original paint. I will buy more down the road especially if this goes well.

I honestly don`t know that either one of the polishers discussed to this point could be considered problematic. I further believe that many consider the Griot`s machine to be slightly more powerful. One thing that is good to know is that the Griot`s machine has as good of a warranty as you`ll find anywhere.

You may think you want to start by polishing just one side of the vehicle but once you`ve done this I don`t believe you will be satisfied with the rest of vehicle. Let me say, I`m not a Pro so you can take my recommendation for what it`s worth. I consider myself a very involved enthusiast with a particular eye. I believe you`ll want to do the whole vehicle.

Assuming the vehicle needs moderate to light correction and If you`re willing to do a bit here and a bit there you might be able to get by with perhaps 3 pads in two levels of aggessiveness at the lower end of a product lines scale. This would not go so fine as the jeweling pad. I`d recommend staying a step above the finest pad in the line while you`re getting the hang of it. You can obviously polish a vehicle with only one pad depending upon how high you run your machine, how much polish you use, the cut of the polish, how often you clean the pad and how much correction is required.

Please understand that in my opinion you might only be polishing for 20 minute stretches if you opt to try this, heck could be even less. I would not recommend approaching it this way. Once the pad starts to plug up the cut will diminish rapidly, the heat will build up in the pad as it becomes heavy and the possibility of damaging the pad increases greatly. If you wish to polish for very short periods of time and then stop clean the pad and let it thoroughly dry and then come back 8 hours later you can polish a car with just a couple of pads. No one wants to do this. Once you get going you`ll get into a rythym that you don`t want to interrupt.

**DEwalt** · 03-22-2016, 07:56 PM

Will those 2 Blackfire products remove paint transfer or do I need something more aggressive?

**GearHead_1** · 03-22-2016, 10:48 PM

Paint transfer at times is paint that literally sits on top of the good paint you wish to save. That scenario is one of the more easily corrected problems. There are times claying can remove a light paint transfer. More stubborn transfer can often be removed with a mild abrasive. Now if the paint is grooved, scratched, cut or damaged it`s a different story. If the transfer is deep in a groove it can be more than you want to remove in order to still leave paint. Each circumstance will differ. The two Black Fire polishes pictured can cover a wide selection of correction. The compound with a course pad can do some serious correction. The lighter polish on a fine pad will likely leave a finish you be proud to have.