ive been reading thread after thread on here, and it seems the 7424 is good for a starter DA. is this a good deal on one, it seems to be the best price i could find. also what/how many pads should i pick up, orange, white, blue? ive got some water spots on the hood, and some light scratches (cant feel them with nails) on the tail gate and pass. door, and some deeper scratches on the roof, i probably wont be able to correct. truck is black, and ive clayed and waxed it 3x since i bought it 3 months ago. paint looks great, except for these spots, and ive been gettting a little OCD after spending so much time on this site. im already tired of doing it by hand, and obviously, i want something for correction

 

If you could post some pics, that would help in recommending what you need. And you've clayed three times in three months? Once or twice a year is fine with the clay.

Did you take a look at http://www.autodetailingsolutions.net/index.html?

 

I'd say it's a pretty good deal.

I have a blk truck too which sounds like the paint was in the same condition as yours prior to my pc. The first time I used it I used the orange pads. Turns out that that pad was a little to aggressive and I ended up w/a lot of hologramming(could have been the inexperience too). Next time I used the black pads w/Megs 80 and the results where much better. Obviously the product being used on the pads is going to make the most difference along w/experience.

I'm sure some of the pro's will chime in.

 

The 7424XP is the newer version of the 7424.

Here is a kit that we have.

PC 7424XP kit

 

It's not a super deal but it's not a bad deal either. So I'd say that's fair. But, if you looked some more you probably could find one a little cheaper, but not much. (i.e. ebay)

Claying a vehicle that you just bought, is a few years old, and probably has never seen clay before three times isn't "too" uncalled for. Especially if you're using the light over the counter clay. From now on though, it will only need it a couple times per year.


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Add your 10% discount and $9.95 flat shipping its a pretty good deal and on top your supporting your forum sponsor.

 

It's not a great deal as that is about the going price for the non-XP version. The 7425 sells for about $100 and the 7424XP sells for about $120. Unless you could find the 7424 for around $80 (which it has been), I'd spend the extra $20 and pick up the XP. I'd also recommend waiting 2 days to see what Meguiar's announces. If you've noticed, retailers have pulled their ads for the G110 and people think this is because Megs will announce a newer version of their polisher.

For the Lake County pads, the orange is a good all around cutting pad. I'd recommend 1 and if you want to have 2 that is better. I recommend picking up 2 white pads from the start.

There are some great pad kits out there that include 1 orange and 2 white pads as well as a black and red. They also include a backing plate which you will need. $60 is a good price on that kit.

I have about 10 Lake County pads and I think they are good. I own 1 Meg's pad and I like it much better. Next time I buy pads, I'll start buying Meg's.Thing that is stopping me is that they are about twice the cost. As mentioned, I still like the LC pads, there is nothing wrong with them and the price is right... I just like the thicker Meg's pad.

 

What? Twice the cost? Where are you buying pads?

To the OP, not all pads are equal and its somewhat of a personal preference.

Take myself as a good example. I have over 50 pads from both Lake and Megs. I prefer to use Lake and RARELY use the Orange or Yellow lake pads...the workhouse is the White, Black and Blue (Or Green German Finish) As for Megs, I do have a set and to be brutally honest, they are equally effective, however you must also note that the pad choice is highly dependant on the product. Each product will react and work differently with various combos.

It takes a ton of experience and experimentation to know these things...if I was just starting out, I wouldn't get an orange pad...I would stick to white, black and blue from Lake. If you are getting Megs, it is very simple. Yellow, Black and Tan (If you need red, something bad happened)

I also use the Lake PFW pad often but you need to have a little know how before jumping to that.

Just thought I would offer up my opinion and experience. Take that for what its worth...if I was buying a 7424, I would suck it up and buy the XP version and support our sponsors here at the site.

Just my 02 on it...trust me on the value of making friends here at the site. When you get in a bind, you need to count on those who take care of you. This PSA brought to you by RollingRock

 

i understand that, and i will most likely go that direction. now for pads, should i stick with the 6" or would 4" be better? seems to me the smaller pad would be better for tighter spaces (wifes car has some light scratches just above door handles)

 

I have done entire cars/trucks with 4" pads...but lessons learned that I would rather correct with a larger pad and use hte 4" pads for spot work.

If you are going to get one machine, its a simple fix to have many backing plates for pad sizes. For my older 7424, I have 3 sizes of backing plates but I also upgraded the counterweight to a 6" version...doesn't matter on the 4" pads though.

if yo don't mind the 20-30 seconds it takes to change backing plates, get one machine and a few different backing plates and pad sizes.

I will also add that as you get better with the machine, you may not want the smaller pads, but I still use them all the time. But then again, I have several machines going per car.

EDIT: If you are getting a kit with 6" pads, you will be find but I think you may find down the road you will want to get the smaller 5.5" pads with a DA.

 

I recently purchased a 7424XP kit (and, of course, a whole bunch of products!) from DetailersDomain and they were great to deal with! Good deal on products along with good advice. Definitely good people to work with!

 

Well, after reading up on Meguiar's new G110v2, I'd hold out a few more weeks for this machine. The "cruise control" feature seems to add a lot.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38257

Keep in mind that it's about $20 more then the 7424XP but it comes with a backing plate and carrying bag. I think the "cruise control" feature itself is worth the extra $20.

 

ok, so now im looking at some other options the more i learn about these things...

started looking into a flex, and found a few videos. is this thing really the cats meow? would i be best served to just pony up the cash and get one of these bad boys?

also, what about griots DA seen here?

so many options, and if im gonna drop a couple bills, i want to get the best machine for my money, even if its a little more. no doubt it will get used plenty

 

Is the Flex the Meow? To those that have them...yes. I had 4 7424's then I bought a Flex...I sold 3 of my 7424's.

The Flex is a true DA and it has much more umphf than a 7424 but I cannot tell you how much more than the new XP or the new Megs machiche.

It does cost a lot more but I can tell you that I have worked the hell out of mine and it is working as it did from day one. You do need to oil the felt pad from time to time. I am about to do mine for the first time and it has seen about 20 cars. I take 20-40 hours to detail so that gives you an idea how hard I work the machine.

But I still own a 7424, a Dewant and a Makita along with the Flex.

Just my .02 on it. If you have the money, get the Flex.

 

Interesting feedback. This helps me a lot to. Thanks