Paigesdad

Hi all,

I started thinking about Spring today (8 inches of snow today and another 6 inches coming tomorrow will do that to you) and I have decided to ask for a Porter Cable 7424 for my birthday next month.

I found this kit on autogeek.com

http://www.autogeek.net/hk7424.html

Would this be a good kit to start with? If you were getting it, would you add anything to it as far as pads/accessories?

Any recommendations on polishes to get with it?

Or would I be better off putting a "kit" together myself by buying the 7424 and some select pads?

I am basically looking for swirl/waterspot removal on my 87 GTA.

Thanks for any advice.

Wes

crazyman3737

That is a Very good kit to get started. As far as polishes go there are many paths you can go down, some more expensive than others but in the end you will get the same results. I think the difference in price comes down to how easy they are to work with and how effective they are in a shorter period of time.

I have a Makita 9227c rotary and use the Meguiars professional line of pads and polishes. The ccs pads that come with the kit are awesome as well. I would suggest to get Meguiars #83 dual action cleaner polish and Meguiars #80 speed glaze. Those should be enough and if you find out you need something more aggressive later you can step up to either #95 or #105 or similar.

Here is a link to #83 and you can find the #80 there to, This site will give you the best prices around for meguiars. I have used them before and definetly recommend them.
http://www.autodetailingsolutions.co...ner-polish.htm

I'm adding on a "little" list of other items you may want to have handy while detailing your car. (if you dont already have it)
Clay Bar (you can get it at a local autoparts store or online)
Acceptable clay lube or "spray detailer" ( again at a local store or online, I bought a gallon of Meguiars Last touch off their detailer line and use tons of it)
Tons of microfiber cloths and towels (I have a couple more expensive towels and probably 20 smaller cloths.)
A good All Purpose cleaner. (I use it to clean my pads, You want to clean you pad after every day of use, sometimes more if they get clogged. I have Meg's All Purpose Cleaner again off their detailer line and it works great for cleaning pads, carpets, seats, vinyl, tires, wheel arches, and engine bays.)

If you are new to detailing there are great tutorials on autogeek and there is also a ton of useful info on Detailingworld.com


EDIT: 32oz. of each will be plenty to get started. I've done multiple cars and it has lasted me well.

IROCThe5.7L

I found it to be cheaper to buy everything separate. But this was a while ago, it may be different now. I ordered my PC from here: http://www.tools-plus.com/porter-cable-7424.html (It was $99 when I ordered it from there though). Then I ordered all my supplies from www.autogeek.net

I ordered Optimum Polish and buffed the car with an orange pad. Then I buffed the whole car again with a white pad (less aggressive), to get rid of any micro marring from the orange pad (2nd most aggressive pad). You may not need the orange pad. I did though because the clear on my car is very hard. The "hot" swirl remover now is the Menzerna line. Expensive but worth it in my opinion.

crazyman3737

Ive tried menzerna and I didnt find it worth the extra money but to each his own I guess. And Autogeek usually isnt the cheapest around but if you join their mailing list you can get great deals. They just had a code that recently ran out for 20% off. and with that kit and code you would pay 160 which is pretty good.

just make sure you look around before your purchace but the products you chose are pretty good to start with.

IROCThe5.7L

Yea, you just have to be patient. I got PS for $45 a while back, which sells for $89. As far as the Menzerna, from my experience, the SIP gets everything with one pass. And it leaves a nice deep wet look when it's not even topped with anything. But I also had awesome results with Optimum products which are much cheaper. I just like trying different things. I have way too many waxes, lol.

crazyman3737

The only wax I have is collinite 476s, The stuff has great durability but it is ridiculous to apply and remove. I am still searching for a good summer wax for the fleet. I was thinking either the blackfire system, dodo supernatural, or maybe even victorias concourse.

Ive also heard good things about presta polishes from my local detailing supply shop but I haven't tried their range yet.

Paigesdad

My GTA is a Norwood car and it hasnt been exposed to the elements much so the clear is close to factory condition. It does have what I would term "acid rain spots".

Is there any danger in using the more aggressive orange pad? Or should i start with a less aggressive pad and see what I get?

IROCThe5.7L

Always start with the least aggressive pad. What I like to do it start with the white pad (light cut). If that doesn't remove all the swirls/defects, I like to move to a more aggressive polish (or make another pass). If that doesn't work, then it's time to move to a more aggressive orange pad.

Paigesdad

I appreciate all the input. Thanks again.