Fairly new to the DA with ?s

[Murr1525]

Re: Fairly new to the DA with ?s

SwirlX and UC would be more DA friendly than #105... but be sure to slow down as well. Many people move the machine to fast.

To remove the wax, you could get a terry cloth or soft brush, and try Goo Gone, Dawn, APC, etc. Then dress as usual.

[2008GT500]

Re: Fairly new to the DA with ?s

I used the 6.5" White Lake Country pad, grey for polish, and red for NXT.

Thanks for the responses guys, I try to slow down with the DA, but sometimes I do catch myself moving too fast, it's real easy to do. I'm going to help my parents this weekend and do their cars, which are in a little worse shape, so I might try some UC on dad's truck. Would you guys recommend the orange LC (have some cut to them) pads for the compound? Would I need to follow up the UC with a polish, or could I go straight to NXT? They don't care about a show car finish, or about cars really... They're old , so I try and save their paint when I can. Plus it lets me practice and makes them happy.

I'm also going to help my brother who has a white 04 Corolla that doesn't have a clear coat. Any advice on that? We've tried a lot of different things with very little success... This time we're going to try ColorX and NXT, but I'm certainly open to suggestions.

Thanks for the responses,

-Tom

[gjohn28]

Re: Fairly new to the DA with ?s

...I'm going to help my parents this weekend and do their cars, which are in a little worse shape, so I might try some UC on dad's truck. Would you guys recommend the orange LC (have some cut to them) pads for the compound? Would I need to follow up the UC with a polish, or could I go straight to NXT?

Really depends on how bad a condition the paint is, how hard/soft it is and what your goal is. I don't use LC pads so I can't advise you on which of their pads to use. I can say that unless your parent's car is in really bad shape, swirl/scratch-wise, I wouldn't recommend any pad with more cut than a Meg's polishing (yellow) pad with UC. Since you say that their cars are "in a little worse shape" than yours, maybe try SwirlX first before going right to UC. Do a small test area first and judge for yourself which product/pad combo works best. If you end up having to use UC, you may need to follow-up with SwirlX or 205, it just depends. UC often can finish down very nicely. I've gone right to an LSP after UC a couple of times.

I'm also going to help my brother who has a white 04 Corolla that doesn't have a clear coat. Any advice on that? We've tried a lot of different things with very little success... This time we're going to try ColorX and NXT, but I'm certainly open to suggestions.

Are you saying this car has single stage paint or are you saying the clear coat has somehow been destroyed? Again, what is your goal? What have you tried that didn't work? M80 would be a little more aggressive than ColorX and being rich in polishing oils, might yield better results on SS paint.

[2008GT500]

Re: Fairly new to the DA with ?s

The Meg's yellow seems to be comparible to the LC white http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...ad.php?t=45994.

I guess I will give 83 or 205 a shot before I go farther (I have them). I may stop and pick up some swirlx too. They leave their cars outside sometimes, so they have sprinkler/water spots on them. That is my main goal to remove them. The paint isn't bad at all, just annoying me that I didn't get the spots out last time I tried . I know I was moving too fast last go around, so this time I'll be patient. I'm certainly getting better with the machine, but I think I'm going to switch back to the Meg's pads.

The corolla is a single stage paint. I used 80 on it last time with a polishing pad, so I might try a yellow equivalent on it this time and see how it goes with 83. I wasn't happy with the 80, but I didn't follow it either. Maybe if I went to an 83 after it would've turned out better.

[gjohn28]

Re: Fairly new to the DA with ?s

Why weren't you happy with M80? What didn't it do that you wanted it to do? Also, typically, M80 follows M83, not the other way around.

[2008GT500]

Re: Fairly new to the DA with ?s

Sorry John, had the numbers backwards. The 83 just didn't leave a very nice finish on the single stage. Maybe I just hate single stage paint . I didn't get to it last weekend, and probably won't this weekend, but I may try an 80 follow up to it. I'll let you know how it goes.

As a a side note, I took before and after pictures of my cars, but the minor blemishes don't show up in the photos, so not really worth posting. I guess I'm just that OCD .