ok i just got my da today with pads and this is how i was going to attack my truck which has spider webs on the hood but overall paint is in good condition
(pads are lake country)

1)wash with two buckets and simple green car wash soap
2)dry with mf towel
3)clay bar with meguiars clay bar kit
4)Megs step 1 deep crystal paint cleaner(orange pad) entire vehicle
5)scratckX on the hood and roof(orange pad)
6)step 2 Megs deep crystal polish entire vehicle (gray pad)
7)step 3 Megs deep crystal carnuba wax (blue pad) entire vehicle

please let me know what you think of the pad selection and product selection as well as the order i'm doing things. thanks

 

here is a picture of my hood, you can see the spider webs

 

your swirls dont look all that bad compared to some ive seen, including mine, the deep crystal polish should get those out by itself, but if that doesnt work you could always go back and do the scratch x

 

Everything looks good to me-- just note that since I use Megs pads, I dont know about your pad choice...

Megs Solo Pads for me!!!

 

ya i'm not sure about the orange pad, maybe i should start with the white pad?

 

f-150 sport, I thought maybe you would have said this, but I am saying this off of what you have told me. Rather than doing Scratch X on the entire hood and Roof, use it on big scratches, and for the hood and roof, use Meguiars swirls remover (I think 7, it may be 9, not sure). And if you use S-X on any scratches that you can feel with your fingernail, chances are it won't make them go away.


Your car should look great when you are done!

 

i dont have any scratches that i can feel more of the swirl type, will scratch X work for those, i might just try the megs step 1 and see how it goes.

 

scratch x will work for those but since you are using a machine the megs step 1 should work fine

 

Hey, Ryan... are you using the SO1O pads on the PC? If so, let me know what you think about them on there... I haven't tried them on the PC but am quite impressed with them (especially the light cut wool) on the rotary.

 

Yep. I like them. My disclaimer is that I have used the following pads:
Megs (normal DA pads-SoftBuff) red
LC pads that JP provided for use when we worked on my truck
S010 pads (yellow)

I have the black S010 pad, too, but I havent used it yet. I am planning on using it in the next detail that happens on a car with decent paint...

I guess they are sorta like the VC pads (that's the ones with the dimples, right?) that allow you to control the chemical better... I like it.

I havent used the wool though... Probably wont unless you think I should. But if I do, it will be on somebody else's vehicle

You have tried a bunch of pads... You could always do a little write up on which pads you like for which things and why... Fetaures you like, etc... (hint hint)

 

And if for some reason the step one doesn't get rid of the swirls, you could use the megs swirls remover. Ryan says it has great fillers in it.

 

I wouldn't try the wool pad on the PC... ever.

Really, the So1o pads are touted as rotary-only use but, you're not the first that I've heard trying them on the PC. The problem seems to be that the pads are larger (7") and thus, don't really seat well on the velcro backing plate with the PC. Because of the overhang on the plate, the outter edges don't get much downward pressure to really aid in problem removal but rather can induce some light marring of their own (improper chem breakdown, inconsistant downward pressure (all of the pressure is going down through the plate and leaving the outter edges of the pad to just hang and spin)).

 

Yeah, the wool was a joke...

TBH, the pads fit fine. The backing plate fits exactly in the cutout (where the white stuff meets the foam), so you just dont have any wiggle room. But a resident expert such as yourself should have no problem making a pad go on in the middle of the backing plate.

I dont understand the breakdown thing... I only use the weight of the machine and a touch more to do the work; never leaning on it. And, once a product is fully broken down, if I am understanding it correctly, the abrasives have gone to where they are smaller than before... Thus I thought that as long as you kept the DA moving, you were fine. I dunno. At some point I will have new pads, but at present, I have a BUNCH of other stuff I want/need to get...

 

well sorry about the delay but i finally got it done so here it is. this is what i started off with.



after the clay bar.



after megs first step.

 

and here is the finished product.