08 Black z06 product help

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keevo54

New member
Hey,



I am just getting into detailing and have been reading and researching as much as possible. I am looking at a porter cable kit which will have everything I need to get started. The paint is in fair condition but has some tiny scratch marks washing. Looking at getting one of these kits Porter Cable 7424 XP Dual Action Polisher - dual action orbital car polisher, car care kits, buffer kits, PC 7424,7424XP, 7424 XP, porter cable. But not sure which one to get in terms of products. Anyone have suggestion as to what works best on a black corvette. Sorry for the newb question just hard to find the answer I was looking for



Thanks
 
I'm not a fan of kits, as the majority of what they include, I don't want, but Corvettes have some hard clear, so depending on how bad it is and how good you want it, you will need some heavy cutting pads/compound, and the polish of your choice. To play it safe, you can use the Megs MF cutting discs and D300, then finish with any polish you like, Megs 205 and 3D Polish are good choices. I like LC polishing and finishing pads myself, but the Megs MF polishing pad will work just fine since the clear is so hard. You can also use 105 if you need more cutting than the D300, but that's for you to decide once you try it.



Those kits are not pad, I just don't use the Pinnacle, XMt, etc. house brands they offer with them.
 
keevo54 said:
Hey,



I am just getting into detailing and have been reading and researching as much as possible. I am looking at a porter cable kit which will have everything I need to get started. The paint is in fair condition but has some tiny scratch marks washing. Looking at getting one of these kits ...
Click to expand...







Welcome to Autopia!



I too frown on "kits" as I believe they generally serve the retailer better than the customer, and rely on the latter not knowing what they really need.



A quick look a those kits (no, I didn't pull up each of them), showed them to be heavy on "dimpled" pads, which most of us, myself included, do *NOT* like. I'd stick with Microfiber cutting disks for aggressive work, and flat foam pads for everything else. The Purple Foamed Wool pads have their place, but I don't recommend them for you.



I myself would buy a polisher *other* than the PC (and I have two older-model PCs); I like the Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital, but the Meguiar's unit and the new 3D/HD (they own this website ;) ) ones are also popular. Give your choice of polisher some careful thought before deciding which to buy.



Corvettes generally have *hard* clear, which can make polishing a bit tricky, especially for somebody who's new to the whole thing. I'd rather let somebody with more recent experience on them suggest products, but generally you'll need something pretty aggressive for the first step, then one or two milder polishes to refine the finish. Don't underestimate how aggressive a product you'll need for "seemingly minor scratches" on a hard-clear car like that.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I figured a kit may make things easier but whatever works best. Not looking for perfection just a decent start to shine up the car. I can get better and more aggressive as I go on, but just looking for a solid/safe foundation to start with and get rid of some of the marks on the car
 
keevo54- Well, stick with the flat pads. Generally, you'll do better with smaller pads (e.g., 5.5") than you will with larger ones (e.g., 6-6.5") as these types of machines are easily bogged down by the excessive friction inparted by the larger pads. More potent machines such as the Griot's can pretty much overcome this issue, but keep it in mind anyhow.



I *will* caution you against the mindset that you "don't need to aim for perfection" as it's a mighty fine line between Autopian overkill and merely sufficient (meaning "sufficient to do the job properly"). Too often, people think they don't need to get all "professional" about this stuff, only to find that they wasted their time/effort/money by trying to get things done with an ineffective approach. And you really, *really* don't want to make working on a black 'vette any harder than it needs to be :grinno:
 
One nice thing about the Groits DA (besides being more powerful than the PC) is that it has a lifetime warranty so four years down the road if it breaks you just send it to Groits for repair or replacement. Detailers Domain (one of our sponsors) has a nice kit that includes a 5" backing plate and 10 flat 5.5" UBER pads (same as Buff & Shine and 3D) that have recessed Velcro for added safety around protuding objects. I think Phil offers a discount for your first purchase. You could start with 4 Yellow or Orange for compounding, 3 or 4 Green for polishing and 2 or 3 black for finishing and applying LSPs--you can't have enough pads. Then you could purchase the compounds and polishes of your liking. Pick up a denture brush at the Dollar Store to clean the pads between sections and some Dawn Power Dissolver at Walmart to clean them after you're finished.



If you want to go with M105 and Megs MF pads (for your hard clearcoat) you can pick them up at Walmart then order some 3D Polish for finishing and POXY from 3D.



http://www.detailersdomain.com/Griots-Garage-6-inch-Random-Orbital-Polisher-Plus-Kit-_p_690.html Note the package price at the end of the page
 
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