Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

[vetterc5]

I received some great advice from this forum on how to approach detailing my 2002 black C5. After claying, cleaning, polishing and nxt 2.0 waxing, it looked great, but with some deeper scratches that I will try M105 on later. It took about 12 hours to do by hand. My arms were dead, but it looked great!

Saturday, I decided to try M's ultimate detailer as the car only had some minor dust on it. I used MF cloths for both speading the product and drying/polishing. It looked great in the garage, but when in the sun, there were subtle scratching (mainly straight lines) all over the car as a result of my hand motions. I believe the mistake I made was the mf towels I bought at Advanced Auto parts were for drying and cleaning only. 10 for $11. Should I have used the polishing only towels, also at advanced? They do not sell M's mf towels.

I believe the surface was clean. The scratches must have come from the towels and my wiping motions. Or was I just naive to think I can detail a black car without washing it??

I'd like to avoid another 12 hours of detailing time. I have an old Waxmaster WB9000 d/a polisher/waxer with a 9" foam pad. RPM is listed as 3000 no load. I have a gray foam bonnet and a wool bonnet. I also have an unopened bottle of M's Swirl remover 2.0.

I'd like to try this sequence:

deep crystal wash
swirl remover 2.0 with d/a
deep crystal polishing with d/a
wax with nxt 2.0 wax by hand.

Should I use the wool or foam bonnet?
Any suggestions and/or thread/link references would be appreciated.
Tnx

[jpitt1987]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

I may not be as knowledgeable as others here, but I do believe using the foam pads will be more ideal.

Wool pads are meant to be used in conjuction with cleaners and compounds due to their abrasive nature, from what I have learned.

[roushstage2]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

What you have there is a normal orbital buffer, not a DA polisher.

Check this out: Chris's keys to the orbital

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

If you want to create a show car finish on a black Corvette then you might want to consider investing in a DA Polisher like our G110



It has the power to remove swirls and scratches while still being safe. I have the good fortune of teaching newbies to machine polishing how to use this tool almost every Saturday since 2004 here at our Corporate office and another 10+ years in Oregon.

Here's just a sample...













































Point being... been there... done that... and you can do it to!

For what it's worth, lots of people decide to move up to this machine but try to save a little money by buying the Porter Cable version like this,




It will do the job but when it comes to removing swirls and scratches out of modern clear coat paints, ESPECIALLY the type found on Corvettes, then YOU WANT the extra power our tool offers because with the Porter Cable tools you'll find when your pads become wet with product the foam pads will stop rotating and just vibrate against the paint.

This means they are no longer removing swirls and scratches but just vibrating.

It's about making the best use of your time.

[vetterc5]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

Thank you all for your input. No wonder the polisher I had stopped with even the slightest pressure when I used it several years ago. Wasn't even a da!!

I agree Mike. M's product is the best deal considering it's torque. One site offered a free $35 accessory kit with the purchase of the G110. If one purchased this kit separately and added to the best price on the porter cable unit, it would have matched the cost of the G110 with the kit! Like you say, how do I want to spend my time?? I want to do it right the first time ........

One final question guys. As you all know the mistakes I made so far, please offer a comprehensive list of EVERYTHING I will need to make my C5 shine like some of the other beautiful black cars I have seen on this forum. I only want to place one order and have no surprises as to what I forgot. Pads, products, etc.

That's it. Thank you all so much. So glad I signed onto this forum!!

[vetterc5]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

Thank you Roushstage2. The link was very helpful and answered all of my questions as to what I owned and why it didn't work right when I used it last several years ago. Not even close to the G110 DA.

I posted a more lengthy message with a few more questions, but it must be monitored (by Mike?) before it's posted.
Thanks again.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

I posted a more lengthy message with a few more questions, but it must be monitored (by Mike?) before it's posted.

Thanks again.

Our Spam software places any New Member's posts with pictures or links into a moderation queue to prevent bad people from joining the forum and posting bad things.

This cause a delay for new members with nice pictures, we apologize for this but it protects our forum community.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

please offer a comprehensive list of EVERYTHING I will need to make my C5 shine like some of the other beautiful black cars I have seen on this forum. I only want to place one order and have no surprises as to what I forgot. Pads, products, etc.

The only hard part of dialing in a system is choosing the right swirl mark remover that will remove the swirls out of your car's specific paint system without leaving any haze or micro-marring and sometimes that means experimenting with a few different SMR's, (Swirl Mark Removers).

Your personal technique plays a part too so that also makes it hard for anyone to give your a sure fire recommendation.

Most people can get away with

G110
Foam Polishing Pads for swirl removal
M80 Speed Glaze (Works on most paints, not all but most)
Foam Finishing pads for applying wax
Choice of wax, NXT, M21, M26 and Gold Class are all great choice.

We just introduced new buffing pads that you can throw in the washing machine to clean, we would highly recommend this option or you'll be back asking

"How do you clean a buffing pad?"

Hang on...

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

***Announcement***

NEW! Machine Washable Foam Pads!

W7207 - Foam Cutting Pad - Maroon


W8207 - Foam Polishing Pad - Yellow


W9207 - Foam Finishing Pad - Black


Click here to read more, ask questions or post your comments!

[roushstage2]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

A Comprehensive list of everything? This would get you everything you need and should last for some time too. I have all of this and much more (can't figure out where all of my money went though ). Forgot a clay bar though...

Meguiar's G110 Package #1 Item # G110 Kit #1				$149.99 USD
Ultimate Super Microfiber DA Polisher Bonnet 6 Pack Item # ADS-MFB 6 Pack				$11.95 USD
Meguiar's Soft Buff 2.0 Foam Pad 6-Pack Special Item # 2.0 6-Pack	Selection: 3 W9207, 2 W8207, 1 W7207			$59.95 USD
Meguiar's Super Thick Microfiber Wash Mitt 3-Pack Item # X3002-3				$11.97 USD
Black WOW Trim Detailing Kit Item # Black WOW	Towel Color: Dark Gold			$24.95 USD
Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner Plus 1 Gallon Item # D10301				$14.49 USD
Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner Plus 32 oz. Bottle Item # D20103				$2.98 USD
Meguiar's Chemical Resistant Trigger Sprayer Item # D110542				$3.58 USD
Meguiar's Dual Action Cleaner/Polish 12 oz. Sampler Item # M8312				$6.99 USD
Meguiar's Speed Glaze 32 oz. Item # M8032				$13.99 USD
Meguiar's Show Car Glaze 16 oz. Item # M0716				$8.99 USD
Meguiars Hi-Tech Yellow Wax 16 oz Item # M2616				$10.99 USD
Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0 Special Item # G12718	Towel Color: Dark Gold			$14.95 USD
Meguiar's NXT Car Wash Soap 64 oz Item # G12664				$6.59 USD
Meguiar's Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner 16 oz. Item # M4016				$8.99 USD
Meguiar's Final Inspection 1 Gallon Item # M3401				$20.99 USD
Meguiar's Hi-Tech Applicator Pad 4-Pack Item # W0004-4				$3.59 USD
Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer Item # G13616				$4.99 USD
Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner & Conditioner Item # G7214				$6.59 USD
Premium Quality 16" x 16" Microfiber Towel 12 Pack Item # ADS-MT-12	Select Color: Dark Gold			$9.99 USD
Meguiar's Water Magnet-3 Item # X2000-3-New				$22.97 USD
Meguiar's Glass Cleaner Concentrate 1 Gallon Item # D12001				$15.49 USD
Meguiar's Glass Cleaner 32 oz. Bottle Item # D20120				$1.49 USD
Meguiar's Standard Trigger Sprayer Item # D110516				$1.25 USD
Ultimate Heavy Duty 16" x 16" Microfiber Glass Towel 12-Pack Item # MF2G 12-Pack				$16.95 USD
Large Treated Car Duster Item # 85-618				$12.95 USD
Meguiar's 32 oz Professional Dispensing Bottle with Trigger Sprayer Item # M9911				$3.49 USD
Meguiar's NXT Generation Insane Shine Tire Spray Item # G13124				$5.99 USD
Subtotal:				$478.08 USD

[vetterc5]

Re: Time to Try A D/A Polisher?

Thank you Mike and Tyler. Wow. Lots to get. I will start with Mike's suggestion and add others from Tylers list. You've given me great answers and many options. Thank you all.

Mike, when I first joined you tried to explain to me how to upload pics of my vette and finally offered to talk me through how to successfully do it as I failed miserably. I will take you up on that once my C5 is worthy. What hours (eastern time?) are you online and how do I contact you via phone? Thanks again.