Porter Cable Buffer + Meguiars = Miata Bling

[.RJ]

She's so pretty, I dont want to sell now

I'll follow up later with specifics, if anyone wants.....

[Chris]

so simple, yet so good looking :thumbup:

[ScottyB]

hanging around at playgrounds again? whats the bait this time, snickers bars?

[JohnC]

I peed on that school.

[.RJ]

Ok, here's the run down on the detailing. After doing this with a buffer, I'll never go back to hand polishing/waxing again. The buffer takes less time, its easier, and the results are 100x better.

The bottom line on detailing is there are a lot of good products out there - the important thing is to work with something that you are comfortable with using and fits your needs/budget. I'll only go through a full detail about 2-3x/year (strangely corresponding to the number of cars I buy/sell a year....) so I like to take some time and do it right

I'm partial to the Meguiars Producsts - they're easy to get (online or at most NAPA stores, and are generally the easiest to use in my experience. Not having to fuss with the products on the paint is a big plus. The results with Zaino are fantastic, but its really a pain in the ass to use and get all the steps done right - see MM car show, '04 in the ITR:



I ordered the buffer and pads from this place a few weeks ago - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://topoftheline.com/">http://topoftheline.com/</a><!-- m -->

Porter Cable Polisher



With this, you cant easily put different polising pads on, so you also need to get one of these, and you can use 6.5" polishing pads

Porter Cable Pad Holder



And with the 6" pads, you're supposed to use a heavier counterweight on the buffer - I tried it both ways, and the heavier weight made a difference in vibration and ease of use

Counter weight



And the Polishing Pads



So, onto the detailing

I have been favoring microfiber for wash mitts, towells, detailing cloths - Its the easiest on the paint, wont make swirl marks on the paint and the towells absorb the most water. Most of the brands are the same, but some examples:

Wash Mitt



'Waffle Weave' Towell (for drying)



Detailing Cloths



And onto the wash/wax/etc stuff -

First I wash the car with some Gold Class Shampoo



And leave it wet, so that I can claybar the entire car - I have used the meguiars stuff, but I'm looking for something better. May be trying this stuff out next:

Pinnacle PolyClay



Using a claybar gets all the dirt, contaminants, deposits, etc off of the paint surface - it can also strip wax/glaze/etc off the paint as well, so I wouldnt do it unless you're going to wax the car again.

Once that's over its time to really get down and clean the paint and start removing the swirl marks.

Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish



Using with a Yellow Lake Country Cutting Pad.

Yellow & Orange Cutting: Designed for moderate oxidation, scratches and acid rain damage. Use with medium cutting prdoducts: (paint levelers and compounds) Yellow is more aggressive than Orange.

This stuff is pretty aggressive with a cutting pad, and its not the easiest stuff to work with so a little caution is required. The PC buffer makes it easy to do, however, with variable speed. It does wonders on getting the oxidation and swirl marks out of the paint - immediately apparent on a black car.

From here, you want to follow up with a polish to bring out the shine in the paint. Meguiars has 2 products that are good for this:

Meguiars #9 Swirl Remover



Or #82 Swirl Free Polish



I have both and I'm partial to the #82 for following up after #83.

Another Option is Meguiars #80 Professional Speed Glaze



You'll want to use the Polish on a white polishing pad

Green & White Polishing: Designed for light oxidation, scratches and surface swirls. Use with light cutting products: (polishes, swirl removers, pre-wax cleaners) Green is more aggressive than White.

And when its all polished up you'll want to follow up with a good wax or sealant glaze to protect the paint. There is a ton of options open for this, and you'll have to try a few out to see what you like.

I use Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze



With a Black Finishing Pad

Black & Blue Finishing: Designed for final prep & surface protection products. Use with light one-step cleaner/waxes, glazes, paste waxes and polymer sealants. Blue is the finest texture and has no cleaning ability.

The instructions say to follow this up with a wax, but I've never found that I had to. Would not be a bad option.

Some Tips I found on another site:

There are polymer sealants, and there are carnuba waxes. Both are used primarily to seal and protect the paint. Popular sealants include Zaino, Klasse Sealant Glaze, Platinum Ultimate Paint Protection, Poorboy's EX Sealant, and Meguiar's NXT. Popular carnubas include S100/P21S, Clearkote Carnuba Moose Wax, Pinnacle Paste Glaz, Pinnacle Souveran, and One Grand Blitz.

Sealants last longer than carnubas alone- however, you can follow up a sealant with a carnuba wax. If you religiously detail your car, a sealant is generally not needed. For best results, it is recommended that a sealant be layered, but there is usually a 24 hour curing period to let the sealant bond to the paint before each additional layer can be added. The law of diminishing returns also plays a factor in this, so think before applying 100 coats of Klasse SG.

To finish off the job, I will hit the car with Meguiars #34 Final Inspection



This works well to keep the finish looking good if you need to bring out some shine after showing up at the MM car show as well

For the Tires:

Gold Class Endurance High Gloss Tire Gel



As for wheel cleaner, I've never really found one that really does the job well to clean off brake dust, so I stick with the old standby, Simple Green and a sturdy wheel brush.



Thats about all I got for the exterior. On the interior I've always used Meguiars #40
Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner



And Meguiars Gold Class Rich Leather Spray

[Feersty]

gimme gimme gimme. I got your mungee right here.

[.RJ]

I'm sure I'll add some more into this later - let me know if you donkeys have any questions - I've been pretty into detailing my cars since I had the OG lunchbox, so I've 'been there done that' with alot of this stuff.

[white_2kgt]

I'm partial to the Meguiars Producsts - they're easy to get (online or at most NAPA stores, and are generally the easiest to use in my experience.

You should try their 'expert' line, like that final inspection stuff, the pro version is called 'Final Detail' 10x better, they have all the waxes and polishes in a pro line as well, you have to get them from a supplier though, no napa or autozone here.

[ultimagtrlover]

I hope you use lube for the clay bar or else say hello to marring! Nice work, now it is time to step-up to the rotary

[ViPER1313]

[img]http://www.critcononline.com/images/children%20shouldn't%20play%20with%20dead%20things%20vhs%20front.jpg[/img]

[Jeff]

Someone was trolling deep on this one.

[Maengelito]

sorta back from the dead. would getting a porter cable polisher be different than getting a random orbit sander (aside from the obvious sanding disc as opposed to a bonnet or pad). in other words, are the actual handheld units different and not just the attachments?

[white_2kgt]

sorta back from the dead. would getting a porter cable polisher be different than getting a random orbit sander

Yes, sanders work arund 1000-1500 RPM where buffers work around 4k RPM. You need one or the other.

[Jeff]

Some sanders have adjustible speeds. Some go as high as 4-5k

[Maengelito]

this particular porter cable one that RJ links is variable from 2.5k to 6k rpms. is the lower bound overkill for sanding?

[white_2kgt]

this particular porter cable one that RJ links is variable from 2.5k to 6k rpms. is the lower bound overkill for sanding?

car bodies, yes.

[Maengelito]

well, not necessarily car bodies, but i'd like to have a power sander in general for wood work, maybe some metal, maybe sanding car parts, etc. and then i'd also like to have a polisher for waxing and buffing car bodies, yes. so would i need a variable speed one that dips down to 1k rpms and has a higher end like 5k rpms?

[Dave]

the porter cable is an amazing peice of equipment, but you can get a decent, brand-name sander at Lowe's for $20, so I'd go with that so that I could have the broadest range of capability. Granted, that $20 may not be random orbit, but it will probably do the job.

what are you looking to do Maeng?

[.RJ]

As with most things, you get what you pay for. The PC buffer is much easier to use and will deliver better results than the cheapo buffers.

If you need something for grinding/woodwork, Sears has some pretty cheap equipment - I bought an angle grinder there for $20 thats been pretty useful.

[white_2kgt]

well, not necessarily car bodies, but i'd like to have a power sander in general for wood work, maybe some metal, maybe sanding car parts, etc. and then i'd also like to have a polisher for waxing and buffing car bodies, yes. so would i need a variable speed one that dips down to 1k rpms and has a higher end like 5k rpms?

I would not use the same tool for woodworking that I use for polishing. To much of a chance for sawdust to fall off the buffer and get under the pad and act like little grinding wheels. In fact I wouldn't even keep your buffer anywhere near where you work on the car. Get an good orbital buffer, then if you want to do wood work you don't need an orbital for that, just a plain hand or belt sander depending on how large of an area you need to sand.

For car bodies you need a low RPM orbital sander that you can use the stick on pads with (NOT GLUE ON!!!, such a PITA). A high speed sander on a car body will just warp the panel, the sheet metal these days is just to thin. For anything but a complete tear down to bare metal you are better off with a good block sanding kit though as you usually don't want to strip all the original paint off. An orbital sander will eat right through car paint in a matter of seconds, you have to be REALLY good to use them correctly. Personally I won't touch one when doing body work, it takes more time to fix the 1 or 2 fuckups than it would just sanding it by hand.