You should try a paint gauge on a plastic panel, does not work.

The people I deal with spray the clear coat let it dry and sand slightly and then spray another couple of coats,the finish is sensational

 

Bright lights will help a lot. Get a set of 500w halogens on a stand. That will make it very easy to see what you have accomplished. You can check out www.detailed domain.com as well as the concours forum here. Phil at detailers domain was a huge help to me. He can suggest the correct compounds, pads and lighting for your car.

 

I should have mentioned, it took me about 18 hours to do my car. Wash, clay, dry, tape, heavy cut polish, light polish, wax, wax, remove tape, clean up, wash and finally dry. Plan on spending a weekend. You will have fun for awhile, it will get tedious at times . The result is absolutely worth it!

I also picked up a blower this fall. After all that work in June the toweling marks were driving me nuts. The 8hp blower I got through detailers domain is awesome!

 

Since his car is Guards Red it may not have a clear coat. Check by putting some polish (not wax) on a polish towel and rubbing in a spot...if you get some red paint there is no clear coat.

I would also recommend claying the car after washing before using the orbital to polish or wax. And go with less abrasive material to start with...clay...pads...polish and wax. You can always get more aggressive material later if needed.

 

8HP! That must be gas powered since that is not possible through a standard 15A circuit...

Cheers,

Mike

 

Hi
You are better off purchasing either fluro or led lights on a stand.
The light frequency show up faults in the paint better,
plus the cost of running halogen lights is about 10 x more expensive and heat generated, halogens make great heaters.

 

I agree - I tossed out my halogens, too much friggn' heat and glare.

 

I went through your decision process about a year or so back, I ended up getting a Porter Cable 7424XP Package through Autogeek, it included several pads and compounds, results were incredible. I have since read a few comments that the Flex works better / faster but since I already had the PC I cannot confirm or deny that. I also spent a bit of time watching a fellow on Youtube explain everything from how to wash, clay bar, polish, etc. He goes by the name of Junkman. I'm guessing some will disagree with some of what he says, but following his advice has worked very well for me:

 

Get the new Griot's machine. It's just about idiot proof. One word of caution, once you get your car swirl free you will become a slave to keeping it that way! You will also start to notice how bad most of your friends cars are.

The first time you do the car it will take a very LONG time to get all the scratches/swirls out. It can take 8+ hours to do the whole car with someone who knows what they are doing. I suggest you do a couple panels at a time to get used to it.

Polishing does in fact remove paint. Using a DA removes very very little. So little in fact some expensive paint meters can not measure it. That also speaks to them being almost idiot proof. Sadly most of the DA polishes out there do in fact not remove all the scratches, but fill them in (fillers). This will make your car look great until you wash it a couple of times, then all the swirls start to reappear.

I only use my DA for touch up work, or very light work. Mostly just to do a final light polish, or apply liquid wax. If you use Menzerna (best polish on the market), 106 and 85rd work great with a white/blue pad with a DA.

If this starting to discourage you, pay a good pro to polish it up perfectly, then you just use your DA to maintain it a couple of times a year.

However, Meguires just came out with a Microfiber DA polish kit. This WILL remove deeper scratches and swirls, and do it quickly! However, it really heats up the paint, and can cause some real damage. You can do a whole crap car in about 3 hours. But it lacks the depth of a real multi step rotary polish.

 

This is the blower I purchased https://www.detailersdomain.com/mobi...3CD_p_344.html

 

You can say that again since some of his info is BS.

 

Okay guys. I've been looking at this thread to get ideas on products to purchase to protect my new paint. Black I might add. Any suggestions for making polishing a last or rare event?

 

Dont wash it often, never touch it with a towel. Mine is midnight blue, I washed it often and dried using a towel. I ended up polishing it again this fall.

 

Go to detailedimage.com and follow instructions for 2 bucket wash method.

Grit guards a must.

 

Me too!
Dumping the Porter Cable and looking forward to trying the Flex during the holiday break.

Craig