I just had half a dozen small dents taken out of my '06 so I thought it might be time to invest in a DA and get the paint a little more spiffy.

If I get the Porter Cable, which products should I use to remove all of the light scratches in the clear? Most of them are from brush and branches during offroad or work type use and some are from the dog jumping out of the bed. The worst one I can barely feel with my finger nail and most are superficial.

I clay a couple times a year and just do some basic hand waxing with that Megs combo wax polish stuff.

It's not a show truck and gets used for play and work all of the time, so I'm not looking to see 6 ft of tape measure through the paint.

 

I would suggest starting with the basics, As always, you want to use the least aggressive option possible.

One of the most common product combos are M105 (Correction Compound) and M205 (polishing/light correction compound).

Both can be used with Lake Country white pads or for more aggressive correction, step up to the Orange Pad for more cutting potential.

Good luck!

 

Forget the Porter Cable; get a Griots (more power/torque).
Lose the #105; go with M101; #205; Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant.
Use Orange pads; White for the #205; Blue or Red For the Sealant.

This is a starting point; your mileage may vary.

Jim

 

I suggest the M105 as it's half the cost of M101 and cuts better, but the dusting of the M105 does suck. Also, I find that M105 works better with MF Pads.

It's nice to see that Griot's upped the power on the new DA, +1 on going for it over the PC. Other than the 5" Meg's MF pads, I only use 4" pads on my PC 7424XP, power has not really been an issue with smaller pads.

 

I totally disagree about the M101; I find it cuts MUCH better than #105! Plus, it's not such a PITA to work with...no premature flashing, pad priming, etc. You don't have to "baby" or apologize for using the M101 ("Yeah it cuts good, but......"). Yes M101 is more expensive, but it gets the job done much quicker, and you actually use LESS than the M105 because you don't have to do all the constant pad priming necessary with M105.

And the Griots has always had more nuts than the PC.

Jim

 

Well as I am sure you know, different paints, pads, tools, technique and environment will yield different results for any given product. I have found that M101 didn't cut as quickly as M105 on my Rupes Bigfoot with the same pad (MF), same amount of product, same amount of passes, same speed and on the same paint (my F350 has had the entire passenger side repainted). Where on my 2011 Edge (OEM Paint), I found no noticeable difference in cut between the two or the edge going to the M101 with the use of a foam pad (what its made for).

It took me at least 10 cars to get M105 to work without it coming off like concrete or having to constantly prime the pads with water or Megs #34. I have only messed with M101 on my own two vehicles so far and really do like it and the lack of dusting, but for the guy just getting into it, they may not want to spend $50 on a single bottle of product.

I stayed away from the Griots polisher as at the time I was looking for my first DA (they were selling the 1st Gen), they were many reported failures. I thought the power was comparable to the PC, but could be wrong. I know they stepped up the motor with the second Gen and I haven't heard of any real reliability issues since then.

The key is to find what works for you.

 

The PC is just fine for what you are looking for.
- I liberated my 1st PC from the wood shop after many miles of scribing cabinets and other wood projects. It is back in the shop a few years ago, when I replaced it with something that has more power and TQ; a Flex ( way out of price range for starting out - DAs are all about the same if you ignore the hype of the day ).

If you are a fan of Megs products ( you have liked them to date it appears ) get the PC DA and the 5" Megs DA Microfiber Correction System.

The 5" will work just fine with the PC, no issue there and it is 62.00 on Amazon ( amazon prime item ) and has the MF pads, the product for using on them and the 5" backing plate for the PC-DA ( or other DA ). ASIN : B00CJ69F2W. Couple this with a PC-DA for 119.00 on Amazon ( amazon prime ASIN : B002654I46 ) and you are out the door ready to go for 181.00. Opt for another DA and you are just a hair over 200.00 ( or more ).

If you are just starting out and want a kit that is paired up pad & product for a DA, this is a no research entry into what you are looking to do.

There is a fold out sheet that explains how to use the system, and has short written directions and some pictures, so it is easy to follow.

You are the exact target audience this was made for.
Previously using hand products, clay and hand application of a LSP and looking to start moving up the complexity scale in detailing.

You will still want to use your LSP after you are done with both steps.

It is not lighting fast by any means, and unless you put the MF pad face down in dust or gravel, you are going to get better results than what you have to date.

I did not care for the system, due to speed to completion, but that is where I am at; speed to completion, and I am mix and match on products for the job at hand.

Start with something like this, you might need to do the 1st step ( more "aggressive" ) on some of the defects 2 or more times to get them out.
The ones that you can feel with your finger nail, this is something you don't want to try to completely remove, at least when starting out.
They could be the majority of the way through the clear, and this is something that you are going to want to minimize the look of it and live with for now, until you get some additional experience.

Just my thought on someone just starting out, that did not have specific direction to getting foam pads and individual products.

If you want, you can go that way, but it seems you want to test the waters on defect removal, and this would give you some good stick time with a DA and doing defect removal, and later step up your game to different pads and products

 

Great point bringing up the Megs MF kit. It does work quite well. I don't want to post a link to another site, but I did a Mercedes ML with the kit and it turned out really well. I think the finishing polish/sealant has some fillers in it, but not much.

here is a 50/50 from that detail to give you an idea of what it can do on a PC.
http://i584.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/IMG_0950.jpg

 

I think you are right, the final step is more AIO than pure polish, but that is by design. This is why I suggested using the LSP he has been using to date.

The AIO'ness ( if that is even a word ) of the product used in the 2nd step will make the paint look great, even if it is not 100%.

Multiple uses of the kit will slowly reduce / remove defects, to the point the glaze is more along the lines of gloss enhancing.

Nothing wrong with taking an entire summer ( or longer ) to remove defects, from multiple uses of the kit, when starting out.

From the marketing and positioning of the product it is a no research, no brainer for someone just moving up the scale on complexity.

Some might stop with this, as the paint has never looked this good, others will contract OCD and it is downhill from there.

Did that ML have Cermiclear on it ?
- Nissan / Infinity and MB are 2 I will not touch. I don't want to be the one to research incorrectly on Cermiclear or the self healing clear and screw things up down the road. Then again I am only Friends and Family when it comes to detailing.

 

From my quick research and checking the paint code, it didn't have the Ceramic Clear. Not sure what I would have done if it did.