Old guy with a buffer

[Joel Turk]

hello, Joel here. 27 years ago I operated a detail shop, had an opportunity to get one of those "steady" paychecks and eventually closed the shop. Back then the economy suffered from a steel plant closure and everybody knows this story.
Back in the day, I used a lot of 3M machine buffing compound and a light/dark colored polish depending on car color. The real prize in my arsenal was a Meguiars foam pad, back then they made a yellow pad with a maroon plastic backing plate that threaded directly onto the buffer spindle. They were pricey then and I used mine (actually several) for everything, we'd even make our own terry cloth buffing cloths to run under the pad. The one thing that hasn't changed is that Meguiars was the standard back then with Mirror Glaze products and is still setting the standard today.
I just received my 110/210, and can't wait to start slingin'.

[drumdan]

Re: Old guy with a buffer

That yellow foam is still available!

Such a versatile foam..

The guys at the paint and body shop where I bought my Meguiar's back in the day sold me some 3M Rubbing Compound, Swirl Remover (Dark Cars), Imperial Hand Glaze, and Show Car Paste Wax. It was good, but I always returned to my Meguiar's (M02, M09, M07, M20, M26 paste).

[BillyJack]

Re: Old guy with a buffer

Welcome Joel!
As an old school car guy, I can tell you a lot has changed over the years. Technology with both machines and chemicals has come so very far. Some of the most interesting changes involved abrasive technology. Back then you had all diminishing abrasives, so a certain regiment had to be followed to have the abrasives break down into smaller particle size and finish well. So many of the Meguiar's products have "SMAT" (super micro abrasive technology), so you only need to polish as long as necessary to get the desired results.
BTW, I still have one of those yellow rotary foam pads/ backing plate left. It was my first intro into foam pads. As you well know, years ago, all we had were different grades of wool.

Bill

[Joel Turk]

Re: Old guy with a buffer

Thanks for the welcome! I'm having a blast re-stocking tools and supplies, reading about all these new products that are job specific and how far wash technology has come...simply amazing.