Completely Confused

[ChevyNick]

On the D/A Buffer is that a brand of a buffer ?
Also how do I keep from adding swirls or burnig my paint or plastic parts on the car ?

I am really nervous to take clay or a buffer for fear of damaging the clear coat and/or paint this car is only 2 weeks old... I am new to using a buffer and like I say I tried to wax an older car of mine (dodge stratus) with a buffer and liquid wax and it swirled and ruined the finish.

On the D/A Buffer is that a brand of a buffer ?
Yeah, Meguiars G110V2 is a good D/A Buffer from what I have heard and read. Griots Garage 6" D/A is what I own, and is also a great buffer. I don't think you'd go wrong purchasing either of them.

Also how do I keep from adding swirls or burnig my paint or plastic parts on the car ?
I am really nervous to take clay or a buffer for fear of damaging the clear coat and/or paint this car is only 2 weeks old... I am new to using a buffer and like I say I tried to wax an older car of mine (dodge stratus) with a buffer and liquid wax and it swirled and ruined the finish.

Well, to prevent swirls, you would want to make sure not only the surface you are going to use the D/A on is debris free (clean), but that your pad you are using is clean and debris free as well. To prevent burning of the paint, don't "park" the D/A in any one spot on the paint. Always keep it moving (by moving I mean with your arms) at a really slow speed at least.

Do NOT be nervous! I was in the same boat as you last fall. My dad was even more worried than I was. I took the "chance" and bought the GG6 D/A. I read all the articles on this site, watched videos, and applied everything I learned to my first use of the D/A. It took me probably around a couple hours to really get a good technique down. I'll quickly mention a couple key things that really improved my technique quickly:

1) Proper amount of compound or polish on the pad.
2) Drawing a black line on the back of the pad so you can see it spinning is probably one of THE biggest things a rookie can do to help themselves. Heck, I still do this!
3) Just knowing how the D/A is going to react when you come up to a curve on the body. After a while, you'll just kinda move the D/A flawlessly over any curve in the body.
4) The people on this forum are here to help!! When I was compounding my truck to remove swirls, I got on here and asked why I was having such trouble removing swirls. Even after 6-8 passes, I still had a decent amount of swirls. I was getting really discouraged. The members on here gave me several tips. I went back at it and within 10-15 minutes I was "mastering" what they told me to do, and I was finally making great progress!

Also, remember than a D/A from Griots or Meguiars is of a lot higher quality and much more designed for use on a car than your buffer at Sears is.

As long as you read up on how to use a D/A, watch a video or two, see how to "prime the pad", clean the pad on the fly, add just a small drop or two every pass or so, and you are at least decent with power tools, I know that you will have no issue using a D/A at all. Again, if something isn't going like you thought, stop, and come on here and I guarantee someone here will be able to get you back on track and on your way to flawless results.

A D/A is the best purchase I've ever made in the detailing world. I can't believe I was scared for all these years.

[ChevyNick]

Since I can't edit my last post,
Noticed you asked this as well:
What would be your recommendations for a good D/A Buffer ? and wheres the best place to buy online ?
Again, Meguiars G110V2 or the Griots Garage 6. I have the GG6, therefore I am going to recommend that one. Amazon is a good place to look.

What pads should I use and where should I get them from ? I keep hearing about Lake Country ??
I hear Lake Country makes good pads, but for guys like you and me who are still new to all this buffing, just use the Meguiars Pads. They work great, and the selection is extremly simple compare to LC, who has many different lines of pads. It could make you go insane lol.
So get the Meguiars Yellow Polishing Pad and the Meguiars Black Finishing Pad. This would probably be a good time to recommend backing plates as well.

Get a S3BP backing plate and get a pair of 4inch polishing pads, Part Number W8204. These will be great for tight areas.
Also, get a pair of the W8207 7 inch polishing pads for larger areas, such as the hood and roof.
You would Compound and Polish with these pads.

As an option, you can get the Black Finishing Pads to apply a wax if you'd like. P/N W9207 for the 7inch pad

Oh and lemme touch once more on the clay thing since I forgot to in my last post. Don't be scared to clay, just lube up the surface well with Quick Detailer and you won't harm anything. Trust me!

[Murr1525]

D/A meand Dual Action.. it is way the head of the buffer moves. Different brands would make a machine with that kind of movement.

There are different types of clay. The Smooth Surface clay kit is mild, and safe fo all cars, and wont leave marring.

You can certainly work by hand if you wanted, but you would most likely just focus on keeping the car clean/shiny. Removing swirls over the whole car is a pain by hand.

Incidently, causing a few swirls when practicing is not ruining the finish. Swirls are fixable, only burning through the paint is bad. Which is why the DA is recomended.

[thebouncer]

Okay so I have been reviewing a bunch of information... I have mixed and matched products as I am trying to achieve the best results Here is my lineup I would use th meguiars clay but several people reported that it had sticking issues unlike other clays they have used.

Clay
Blackfire Poly Clay Bar (PolyClay II) - 200 gram

Clay Lube
Poorboy's World Spray & Wipe (S&W)

Polish
Meguiar's Ultra-Cut Compound M105
Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205

or

Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Finishing Polish
Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish

Sealant
Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection

Wax
Blackfire Midnight Sun Carnauba Paste Wax

[thebouncer]

Isnt the ultra cut compound a little aggresive for a new finish or is that the only things that will get the stupid spider lines/swirls out ?

A little offtopic but what would remove black scuff marks on a silver painted car's hood and scratches ? (My friend just got a car and it has tons of scratches). Can these be buffed out and how ?

[Murr1525]

Not a Blackfire expert, but the polish products both sound mild?

Whereas the meguiars products you picked one strong and one mild. I would pick Ult. Compound over #105.

But it would make sense to have one stronger, and one milder product to cover all your bases.

As far as your friend, not sure what the scuffs are from, but basically you would follow the same products/procedures we are discussing for your car.

[thebouncer]

I am stuck between buying the Griots DA Buffer and the Meguiars DA Buffer, Griots includes a DVD with theres on how to buff, Meguiars has there's online. The major difference I see is the Griots seems to have 6 speed settings while the Meguiars has none ???? does this mean the Griots has the potential burn the paint more then the Meguiars does ?

[Murr1525]

The Meguiars will have 6 setting also.

There are several DVD's and books that are out there that can be helpfull. You may want to check some of the Autogeek information also.

[thebouncer]

Not a Blackfire expert, but the polish products both sound mild?

Whereas the meguiars products you picked one strong and one mild. I would pick Ult. Compound over #105.

Ok I guess maybe I am still confused in the process
1. wash
2. clay
3. Wash again ???
4. Polish
5. Sealant
6. Wax over sealant

When you say Ult.Compound over #105 did you mean 205 ? From what I was reading 105 is more agrresive and then you use the 205 to follow up the 105 so that it takes out any marring ????? or is this incorrect ?

Also did I pick the wrong Meguiars product? I thougt polishes were less aggresive and compounds were the most(i remember the old days of rubbing compound by hand) so is 105 a rubbing compound that will kill the clear coat or is it a polish and will not kill the clear coat ?

[Murr1525]

Ok I guess maybe I am still confused in the process
1. wash
2. clay
3. Wash again ???
4. Polish
5. Sealant
6. Wax over sealant

1. Wash - Yes
2. Clay - Yes
3. Was again - No. If you are in a dirty environemt, you could do a QD wipe. Or starting again another day. But otherwise, no need to wash.
4. Polish - Yes... This is what Meguiars would call the cleaning step, but different companies use different terms, which never helps new folks. Basically, you would want to do a test spot with the milder cleaner/polish. If it works, great. If not, then you would move back to the stronger cleaner/polish. Do your test spot with the stronger product, and see how it goes. Hopefully well... if not, we would want to check your technique more, then maybe other products. After the stronger cleaner, you would decide if you wanted to follow up with the milder cleaner/polish, or go to waxing.
5. Sealant/Wax - Yes
6. Sealant/Wax - Yes.. Two coats of something is recomended. Some like to do two coats of the same product. Some people like a coat of one product, then a coat of another product. That is just up to you. In general, the sealant would be first, then carnuba wax if you were doing two different types.

When you say Ult.Compound over #105 did you mean 205 ? From what I was reading 105 is more agrresive and then you use the 205 to follow up the 105 so that it takes out any marring ????? or is this incorrect ?

Perhaps I should have said "Ult. Compound instead of #105." UC is just easier to work with by DA, and only a little weaker.

Also did I pick the wrong Meguiars product? I thougt polishes were less aggresive and compounds were the most(i remember the old days of rubbing compound by hand) so is 105 a rubbing compound that will kill the clear coat or is it a polish and will not kill the clear coat ?

The Meguiars products are good, and people like the Blackfire also.

For most companies, if you see 'Compound' that will mean is the stronger things in their line. But that is just a trend.

None of those products will 'kill' a clear coat on its own. There is usually another factor going in as well, such as how it is applied, what it is applied with, etc. Although the older compounds were often effectively rocks in a bottle, so they acted more like sandpaper than anything else.

To remove swirls, you will have to remove some paint. But you will get better results using new products and good tools that just remove a little paint, and do it evently so you have a nice gloss left behind, not 'sandpaper marks'.