so i'm highly considering taking the plunge and picking up a pc 7424xp and getting into some basic swirl removal. there are some older cars in the family that i am going to do most of my learning on, that wont matter if i mess anything up. so, my question is, what would everyone recommend for a newb as far as pads, compounds, sealants. I'd like to keep it as basic as possible to start out.
I agree with Pektel. LC 5.5" Flat pads ( orange and green ) Menz Power Finish for the majority of polishing and Power Gloss if you have any deeper stuff. Colli 845 - looks good on everything.
Lake Country Orange, white and black pads are the most versatile pads you will come across. If you search, some of the results(Tdekany comes to mind) attained with even the simplest of products and pad combination are truly impressive. Easy stuff you can get near you are the Duragloss line(usually) for sealants, Collinite waxes, and polishes/compounds would be probably 105/205 by Meguiars, and Menzerna SIP, 106FA, and PO85RD. There wont be much you can't do with this. Plus with manufacturers coming out with smaller sizes, this won't cost a limb
DI Packages PC 7424XP with M105, M205 and 5.5" pads | Detailed Image That has you set for pad, polisher, compounds and polish, including the backing plate. And try Menzerna Power Lock for a nice sealant. Monthly special $24 (Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Sealant - 16 oz | Detailed Image) Good price for everything, I over spent buying stuff separately at Autogeek...
I looked at this DI package...is 2 orange and 2 white enough? how many of each particular type of pad do i need to have on hand?
Or another very nice package: http://www.detailersdomain.com/theuberportercable7424xpwithmenzernapolishes16ozkit.aspx Get 2 of each of the yellow and green. Then add 1 black and 1 blue pad.
With the LC and doing your own car, and possibly a few others 2 of those is fine, and if you want to get maybe 2 blacks, then you can do final finishing with a polish like PO85RD if you decide to get it in the future. Other than that 2 pads of each color should be enough, as long as you clean the pad after you finish a panel with a brush- DB sells one, or a cotton towel that doesn't lint.
I keep a bucket of snappy clean when polishing. I got by on 2 of each pad just fine. When one pad gets caked, throw it in the bucket, and start using the second one. When that one gets caked, the first pad should be really easy to clean. Take thh first pad out of the bucket (and put the second pad into the bucket), hit it with an old toothbrush, rinse with some water, give her a quick spin dry, and back to work!
Thats actually a good idea, but how effective is the actual drying? And how well does the spin dry method work with a PC
spinning works well and a little water isn't going to hurt the car, it will extend the life of the polish a little until it is fully dry
