I have been detailing my own cars and a few other peoples cars for about 6 years. Not professionally though. I have electrical cords, all the necessary product. I have this 10 inch polisher but I am going to get the Porto Cable 7424XP pretty soon. I'm going to buy a truck, generator, pressure washer, air compressor and carpet extractor. So I'm still kinda starting out.
Great!!
Everyone starts out somewhere and you've come to the right place for recommendations and direction.
Porter Cable style dual action polishers
These are quality machines capable of correcting some of the most stubborn finish defects.
- Porter Cable
- Griot's
- Meguiar's
Porter Cable wrote the book on these polishers long before the other two were even thought of.
The first generation
Porter Cable 7424 was available to customers 12 years prior to
Meguiar's announcing they were entering the market with them offering their
G110 polisher in 2006. I'm not sure when Griot's began offering their polisher...
The
Porter Cable 7424 basically set the standard which made many if the features between the 3 interchangeable.
To the best of my knowledge
Porter Cable is the only company listed above that designs and manufactures their power tools. Griot's and Meguiar's are not in the power tool manufacturing business therefore contract their orders and my guess to the lowest bidder.
Griot's has the most powerful motor among the three. The
Porter Cable 7424xp is the second generation polisher which outsells the others combined.
Meguiar's falls into the same realm as
Griot's in regard to manufacturing power tools.
Pads & Friction
The size or surface area does not directly affect the frictional force between two surfaces until downward force or pressure is applied. Reducing the pad size will only improve the mechanical efficiency of the machine.
The motor of your polisher produces some amount of power. The larger the pad surface area the harder the motor must work. Now, most will say "it's only 1 extra inch", but when it comes to surface area and friction your really talking about an additional 10 square inches. Now take a look at the difference between the 5 1/2", 6 1/2" and 7" pad...........Size does matter!
- Surface Area - 5 1/2 pad = 23.75 in²
- Surface Area - 6 1/2 pad = 33.18 in²
- Surface Area - 7 pad = 38.484 in²
There is a direct relationship between the pad surface area and the polishers ability to transfer adequate power to the pad improving it's overall performance.
Individual pads or a system approach
Meguiar's has developed a nice paint correction kit that's taken the industry by storm;
Meguiar's Microfiber DA Correction System.
Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction System 5 Inch Starter Kit
Meguiar's DA Microfiber Correction System is a two-step process designed to correct paint without leaving any swirls- guaranteed!
Meguiar's DA Microfiber Correction System consists of microfiber pads, DA Microfiber Correction Compound, and DA Microfiber Finishing Wax.
Lack Country Pads
Here's where you decide what pad and product combination to use for a particular situation and there are many. Detailing is more of an art than a science and you'll have a variety of tools, pads, and products at your finger tips and the list below are just some of what's available here.
Lake Country 5 1/2 inch Flat Foam Pads
Compounds & Polishes
Car Polish - Car Scratch Remover - Swirl Remover and Polishing Compound
Meguiar's
Menzerna
BlackFire
Optimum
Mothers
Sonus
Pinnacle
Poorboy's World
I just wanted to touch on a few of what's available....
Don't forget Sealants & Waxes!! :bigups
