Help me pick products to buff my car

[quebert]

2008 Saturn Sky Redline, silver and is in pretty decent condition. Although I'm sure my opinion of the paints condition would be higher than Mike's lol. I took the Saturday class on the 25th and learned a good deal about polishing, which is one area I really haven't touched on. I know you can't do a lot with silver to make it pop but I want to get the swirls out and give it as much umph as I can. I don't have buffer yet and have been pondering over a few. After using the MT300 in the class I'm going to order it with the 5" plate.

I'm thinking m100, m205, 2 red MF pads and 4 yellow pads. Also was pondering picking up a few black pads and some liquid ultimate wax too.

[The Guz]

Re: Help me pick products to buff my car

Seems like you have yourself a good line up to get the paint corrected and looking good. You could also give ultimate compound a shot.

Don't forget a clay kit as well as some microfiber towels.

You are getting the burgundy foam cutting disc or the microfiber cutting disc? I would probably think about adding a couple more to what you are getting.

Check this place out. There are some good deals.

http://www.autodetailingsolutions.net/

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Help me pick products to buff my car

It's darn near impossible to say "you've got THIS car, get THIS product combo" and you're good to go. It's all just so much more complex than that...... at times. And it's those times when things go a bit haywire and folks new to machine polishing get caught out. We can give you a starting point, as mentioned in the class you just attended, but from there it's really up to you as the guy running the show. And how the paint responds.

Having said that, the combo you mentioned - "I'm thinking m100, m205, 2 red MF pads and 4 yellow pads. Also was pondering picking up a few black pads and some liquid ultimate wax too." - should address almost anything your car can present to you (short of clear coat failure, of course!). For example: heavier swirls or more problematic RIDS would be addressed with the DFC5 burgundy cutting pad and M100 (a really killer combo, to be sure) while M205 on a yellow DFP5 polishing pad will enhance clarity and gloss and clean up any light hazing that may result from the more aggressive cut (if the paint hazes at all from that cutting step) and of course your wax application would make use of the black DFF5 finishing pad. But if the swirls aren't horrible and the finish looks pretty darn good, you may find that M205 on the burgundy or even yellow pad is all you need to prep for wax. That determination can only be made by you, and it all comes down to - as we said in class - what are your goals for the car, how much time are you willing to give, and what is your skill set like?

All in all, though, with the line of products and pads you mentioned, you should be good to go. Which combo you use is still open for discussion - a discussion between you and your car's paint.