DA Recommendations?

[Chas3n]

If you’re willing to make the investment, Torq makes the best 15mm on the market. A 21mm is nearly useless on the e46.

Correct pad and product use is key, too. For enthusiasts I’d suggest chemical guys pads. It’s the only product from that company is ever use or endorse. Like 90% of their stuff, they don’t even produce it themselves.

3D One Hybrid Compound/Polish is a good all in one if you want to one step. If it needs a two step, Renny Doyle’s EGO maker responds fantastically to our OE clears, followed by 3D one or Griots perfecting cream.

Lake country makes some great long lasting pads, but you really have to clean them well between panels

[Tbonem3]

Sounds like something I should look into as well then. What did you use to repack yours?

Loctite Viperlube, really good stuff.

[Tbonem3]

Our hard clear is your issue, not the machine. Everything Griotts is good. Yes, you need some Meg's MF 5.5" pads in yer life.

[8000RPM]

Is the griot’s random orbital any good? I’ve had this unit for years but it doesn’t seem to have enough bite to clean up the paint. I’ve been using foam pads but should I switch to the MF pad? Ditch the random orbital for something else?

[D-O]

Does anybody have any experience with the Porter Cable ?

Way back when the Meguiars machines were made by Porter Cable. I liked mine just fine. Loaned it to may Dad about ten years ago and have not seen it since. He is still using it.

Jesse

[Mystic3]

Does anybody have any experience with the Porter Cable ?

[heinzboehmer]

10-15 hours for a detail? no way ! If you're going to do it right from the beginning to end then you will be spending 3-5x as much as that. You could use one step polishes like SONAX EX 04-06 or Sonax Cut and Finish to save time but even then you aren't going to get away with 15 hours so plan this accordinly. I recommend you have a variety of compounds (from least to most aggressive) and pads on hand (from soft to hard), in addition to 1500,2000,2500 and 3000 grit sand paper. If you haven't done your homework already, there is plenty of work to do before a DA pad even touches the clear coat. Your game plan should be the following in this order...

1) Wash and de-grease vehicle
2) chemically decontaminate the surface with a "fall out remover" such as Iron X
3) Rinse
4) Clay bar the entire car including glass and lights
5) Degrease and rinse to get rid of clay bar lubricant oils
6) fill in all rock chips with products like Dr. Color chip
7) one whole pass over the entire car to get rid of swirls with a mild compound
8) correct any left over deeper scratches/ pain defects with more aggressive compound/pad combo
9) sand down any remaining really visible scratches and buff
10 15% IPA wipe down of the entire car
11) one whole pass over the car with a polish to bring out the gloss
12) polish tail lights, trim etc
13) 15% IPA wipe down of the entire car
14) coat the entire car with wax/sealant

expect 60-100 hours !

Ha, well I clearly have much to learn still. When I said 10-15 hours I was thinking about steps 4 to 11 or so, but having looked into this more I realize that was quite off. I really appreciate the detailed response!

[Maxima SE]

Nice. I actually started looking for a machine after watching one of their videos and saw that same one recommended on their website. I've liked all the Ammo products I've used, but that machine is quite expensive, especially for someone with zero paint correction experience.

But I agree, I'm definitely in the "absorb as much information as possible before doing anything" phase. Guess my original estimate of 10-15 hours might be a bit too optimistic lol.

10-15 hours for a detail? no way ! If you're going to do it right from the beginning to end then you will be spending 3-5x as much as that. You could use one step polishes like SONAX EX 04-06 or Sonax Cut and Finish to save time but even then you aren't going to get away with 15 hours so plan this accordinly. I recommend you have a variety of compounds (from least to most aggressive) and pads on hand (from soft to hard), in addition to 1500,2000,2500 and 3000 grit sand paper. If you haven't done your homework already, there is plenty of work to do before a DA pad even touches the clear coat. Your game plan should be the following in this order...

1) Wash and de-grease vehicle
2) chemically decontaminate the surface with a "fall out remover" such as Iron X
3) Rinse
4) Clay bar the entire car including glass and lights
5) Degrease and rinse to get rid of clay bar lubricant oils
6) fill in all rock chips with products like Dr. Color chip
7) one whole pass over the entire car to get rid of swirls with a mild compound
8) correct any left over deeper scratches/ pain defects with more aggressive compound/pad combo
9) sand down any remaining really visible scratches and buff
10 15% IPA wipe down of the entire car
11) one whole pass over the car with a polish to bring out the gloss
12) polish tail lights, trim etc
13) 15% IPA wipe down of the entire car
14) coat the entire car with wax/sealant

expect 60-100 hours !

[heinzboehmer]

Repack due to the product having too little plus it being cheap quality leading to seizure.

Sounds like something I should look into as well then. What did you use to repack yours?

[Tbonem3]

Repack due to the product having too little plus it being cheap quality leading to seizure.

[heinzboehmer]

After a bunch of conversations with Larry Kosilla (AMMO NYC) I ended up with a Rupes LHR21. It was a first or second gen, not the newest hotness that had just come out so there was an excellent deal. As Tbone suggested, Meguiars MF pads with Meguiars M100 took out all the swirls and I followed up with a foam pad and M205.

Best thing you can do is watch a bunch of videos, talk to some detailers or just people with more experience. Buy any decent machine (PC, Flex, Rupes) and try it out. Chances are that you won’t damage the paint unless you go with a super powerful machine or a rotary, so don’t be afraid to give it a go. It took me about 20hrs to compound and polish the whole car, but I was definitely figuring it all out as I went.

Nice. I actually started looking for a machine after watching one of their videos and saw that same one recommended on their website. I've liked all the Ammo products I've used, but that machine is quite expensive, especially for someone with zero paint correction experience.

But I agree, I'm definitely in the "absorb as much information as possible before doing anything" phase. Guess my original estimate of 10-15 hours might be a bit too optimistic lol.

[M3tro81]

After a bunch of conversations with Larry Kosilla (AMMO NYC) I ended up with a Rupes LHR21. It was a first or second gen, not the newest hotness that had just come out so there was an excellent deal. As Tbone suggested, Meguiars MF pads with Meguiars M100 took out all the swirls and I followed up with a foam pad and M205.

Best thing you can do is watch a bunch of videos, talk to some detailers or just people with more experience. Buy any decent machine (PC, Flex, Rupes) and try it out. Chances are that you won’t damage the paint unless you go with a super powerful machine or a rotary, so don’t be afraid to give it a go. It took me about 20hrs to compound and polish the whole car, but I was definitely figuring it all out as I went.

[heinzboehmer]

Great post MaximaSE. It's what I've done. It's all about technique and proper product/process choice. The cheap machines (I repacked mine with fancy grease) and foam pads still work. Though, haven't found mf pads, but Megs are affordable and fantastic (Imo, you need mf pads for this hard paint). You can also just stick to Megs for everything, and it'll look great or experiment with different brands, doesn't matter really.

Awesome thanks for the tips. Why did you repack the machine?

[Tbonem3]

Great post MaximaSE. It's what I've done. It's all about technique and proper product/process choice. The cheap machines (I repacked mine with fancy grease) and foam pads still work. Though, haven't found mf pads, but Megs are affordable and fantastic (Imo, you need mf pads for this hard paint). You can also just stick to Megs for everything, and it'll look great or experiment with different brands, doesn't matter really.

[heinzboehmer]

the DA game is starting to become like the cell phone industry. A new "game changer" comes out every other year and you'll be itching to drop another several hundred bucks on a new one. some have higher watts than other, some have a bigger throw... in the end professionals tend to go with the latest toys to save time and make more money. for an average enthusiast, even an outdated $200 polisher would do.

the harbor freight one seems to be a quality unit which is a bargain after 20% off. They also sell great pads for dirt cheap. IMO that is a great place to start as a novice before you go out there and spend hundreds of dollars on equipment. You'd still get good results with GOOD compound/polishes! Keep in mind, you'll likely use the DA once every few years... unless you have multiple cars or volunteer to do friends/family members cars.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-7...her-56367.html

Thank you for the information!

That harbor freight polisher seems like a great deal. I'll probably end up going with that.