Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

[cctaylor88]

Hey guys, I am no professional detailer nor do I have intentions of starting a business but I really want to start taking better care of my car. I have detailed the interior very well and am now looking to give my car a huge makeover as far as paint goes. Its a 2004 and you can imagine it has some serious swirls etc..I want these gone. I have been looking all over online for used dual action polishers but these things maintain value very well and I am not looking to drop about $200 on a polisher and pads/compounds etc.

So, I have heavily been looking at Meguiar's Dual Action Power System and this seems to be a cheaper but still effective way of doing the car myself. I would rather spend $100 and do it myself and still have products and everything needed to do it at the end of summer than pay someone else to do a half *** job for the same price you know?

My question is... when I purchase the DAPS what else should I purchase with it? I know I need a compound, polish, and wax right? These are three separate products I will need to buy correct? But what about the pads... I believe the DAPS comes with the yellow Meguiars polishing pad and that is it.

Basically I want to purchase everything in one trip to the store obviously.

Thanks!

[cctaylor88]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

For instance, I see some people like to use a burgundy compound pad for swirl removal but what is the difference? Also, how long will a pad last me, and can a bottle of Ultimate Compound make it through an entire car? I will only be doing my automobile

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

I can't comment on the Power System but I am sure it is an excellent product as with all other Meguiar's stuff.
However, if you are looking for a deal, you may want to check out the Harbor Freight DA which you can get with 2 year warranty for about $50 with the 20% discount coupon you can easily find on the internet.

I have seen the Power System at Advanced Auto and it does come with the pad. Nonetheless, you will still need to buy other supplies for your project such as the things you have mentioned.
The different types of pad have different cutting capabilities. Burgundy pad will cut faster than the yellow pad. Which pad you use will depend on the defect and the type of paint you have. However, my personal feeling is that the yellow pads will be sufficient.

Ultimate Compound and SwirlX will level your clear coat.
Ultimate Polish will refine it.
Ultimate Wax will protect your paint.

Hope this helps

[cctaylor88]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Yes that helps a bit and thanks for your input, so you are saying I can use the yellow pad for all the products you listed? UC and SwirlX, Ultimate Polish, and Ultimate Wax? Also... why/how do I use 2 different products for the first step (the ultimate compound and swirlX). Would I go over the entire car with UC wipe it clean with a MF towel and then go over the entire car again with SwirlX or what?

Remember I have never done this so its all foreign to me. Thanks!

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Well... what I meant was that you would use either one. Actually, there is a possibility that you would need to use both.
Ultimate Compound and SwirlX does the same thing but UC is stronger. When you use a product that is too strong for your paint, it may leave some damage of its own which is when you will need to follow up with a lighter product to clean it up.

Do not do the entire car. Do a test spot... about 1'x1' area to make sure your technique and the product you are using gives you the result you are looking for. Once you are satisified, then you apply that technique on the entire car.

For Ultimate Polish, you would use a finishing pad which is the black one for Meguiars. UP also has corrective capabilities and you can use yellow pads but again, in your case, you are probably only refining with the UP so that why I said you should use the black pad.

For UC, SwirlX and UP, you remove when wet. You would remove them with MF as soon as they are worked in. They are not like wax where you wait for it haze.

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Should also mention... when using UC, SwirlX or UP, go by panel by panel.
Do not do the entire car then remove. Do one panel, then remove and etc. For large areas like the hood, you may want to divide them into 2-3 sections.

[cctaylor88]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Well... what I meant was that you would use either one. Actually, there is a possibility that you would need to use both.
Ultimate Compound and SwirlX does the same thing but UC is stronger. When you use a product that is too strong for your paint, it may leave some damage of its own which is when you will need to follow up with a lighter product to clean it up.

Do not do the entire car. Do a test spot... about 1'x1' area to make sure your technique and the product you are using gives you the result you are looking for. Once you are satisified, then you apply that technique on the entire car.

For Ultimate Polish, you would use a finishing pad which is the black one for Meguiars. UP also has corrective capabilities and you can use yellow pads but again, in your case, you are probably only refining with the UP so that why I said you should use the black pad.

For UC, SwirlX and UP, you remove when wet. You would remove them with MF as soon as they are worked in. They are not like wax where you wait for it haze.

Awesome help so far, thanks. So you are saying that when I use UC and UP I should just do a small section of the car, and as soon as I am done doing my 50/50 crossovers etc to wipe it away with a MF towel?

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Yep... you got it.
One thing to remember is that when you are doing paint correction with abrasives is that you are not really removing scratches in the literal sense. You are leveling the clear coat meaning you are removing some paint.
A scratch is basically an indent in your paint. You are removing paint in the sounding area to the level of that indent. This is why everyone says to use the least aggressive method first. While UC is an efficient product that will require less work and time, depending on your paint and the defect, you may want to consider using a lighter product such as SwirlX and work it in more to remove less paint as possible.

However, I will say that I have an Acura which are generally known for soft paint. UC was the correct product to use for me. I tried a test spot with SwirlX first but after 4 passes and good amount of pressure, it removed about 90% of the defect. With UC, less little pressure and less passes, it removed all. Don't take my word for it. Your paint may be different and you should use product and technique that works best for your paint.

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Some of the pads come with a product, some dont. Just have to see what packaging you see in the stores near you.

I wouldnt worry about SwirlX too much.

It would be nice to have at least 2 of each of the red and yellow pads. You can wax with just one black pad.

UC + red for swirl removal.
UP + yellow for polishing
UW or other + black pad for waxing.

And yeah, you would want to wash, then clay the car. Then just need to see about time available, if you can do the entire car with UC (do a half panel or so then remove product), then the entire car with UP (same thing), then wax.

Or if short on time, you could UC/UP/wax a panel or two at a time.

But would want to clean the pads off, and dry them well before using the next time.

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

btw... my comments were for use with a DA like the G110V2 and not the Power System.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

In a nutshell, here's the rundown on the full DA Power System and it's components, plus some recommended options:

• The tool itself comes with one yellow polishing pad
• You can purchase "Pad Packs" that are two packs of each pad - compound, polish and wax, or "Power Packs" that come with one pad and the appropriate liquid to go with it - compound pad and Ultimate Compound, polish pad and Ultimate Polish, wax pad and Ultimate Wax.
• If you purchase the "Pad Packs" or the W7204, W8204 or W9204 pads from pro distribution websites you can then use almost any combination of liquids you want - anything from Ultimate Compound to M105, Ultimate Polish to M80 or M205, and any liquid or paste wax you like.
• Since you plan on doing the entire vehicle with this system we recommend having at least 3 or 4 of the compound pad on hand, 2 or 3 of the polish pad, but a single wax pad should suffice. This is because you use more product, and you are more aggressive, with the compounding than you are with the polishing, and even less so with the wax.
• Keep in mind that not all paint systems are created equal and on very soft paint you may see some hazing from the compound step. This is quite normal and it's part of what a finishing polish like UP or M205 is designed to remove. It may also mean that you can get away with using the compound on the yellow polish pad rather than the burgundy compounding pad.
• In light of the above, and since you should be able to source the "Pad Packs" locally, you might want to pick up the tool and a bottle of UC first and do a test spot with the yellow pad and see where that gets you. If that removes the defects to your satisfaction then there is no need to use the burgundy compound pad. Instead, dedicate 3 or 4 yellow pads for compounding (it's a very good idea to swap out to a fresh pad a few times in the process of doing the entire vehicle) and another 2 or 3 yellow pads for the polish step. You can use the same type of pad for both steps, just don't mix the two products on the same pad (ie, don't compound with one yellow pad and then go back and polish with the exact same pad). Add a black finishing pad or two to the mix and you should be good to go.

Should also mention... when using UC, SwirlX or UP, go by panel by panel.
Do not do the entire car then remove. Do one panel, then remove and etc. For large areas like the hood, you may want to divide them into 2-3 sections.

A bit of a correction here if we may: Working panel by panel is usually too large of an area for compounding (defect removal). You should keep your work area down to no larger than 2' x 2' which means even doors are usually split into 2 or three sections. Most hoods, roofs, and even many trunk lids should be split into 4 sections or more (a full size pickup will require the hood to be sectioned into more areas than that of a MINI, for example, but you still wouldn't do the entire hood of the MINI in one go). You also want to wipe off the compound or polish residue after each section you buff, not after each panel.

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

For the power system, what type of drill do you recommend?
What I mean is that there are drills with various power, like 12v and 18v.

I have a 12v drill which really lacks power and was a mistake as far as for my regular home uses.
However for a car paint, I am wondering if 12v would suffice?

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

A drill with a cord....

[C8N]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

Ah... I should really do more search on the forums.
1,500 to 2500 rpm range for the power system.

12v drill only ranges up to 600rpm.
18v drill only ranges up to 1600.
Well... at least for Ryobi drills.

[Rembo]

Re: Help with the Meguiar's Dual Action Power System

I've had the opportunity to try the DA Power System with two different corded drills and found out that drill speed and power are critical factors in how well the system performs. A 2,500 RPM drill worked much more effectively at swirl removal than a 1,500 RPM drill (same car, same pad, same compound). I can see why any drill under 1,500 RPM is not recommended for paint correction.

If you need to purchase a drill that can effectively drive the DA Power System (2,000 to 2,500 RPM), you may be better off financially looking for an inexpensive Dual Action polisher option. That's the route I went. Time wise, a dedicated DA polisher should be faster as well.