hey all, noobie here...

so i have read the sticky and have been lurking the forums for about a month now - ever since i bought my truck, 06 XLT Supercab 4x4

the previous owner must have completely abandoned the paint, take a look:



so i devised the following plan to do my best to fix it:

wash with megs gold class - following proper procedures
megs clay kit
megs DC step 1 paint cleaner
megs scratchX
megs DC step 2 polish
megs gold class liquid wax

i had to "get by" with the cheap MFs (except for the megs super shine that came with the clay kit) - i couldn't wait to order from ADS...i HAD to at least try to get my paint to look better, i just couldn't take it anymore.

here's what it looked like after:


and the hood (it has some dust particles on it):


well i have to say that i am pretty pleased with how it turned out...i did it all by hand too over the course of 2 days...whew!

my question to you guys here - do you think it would be worth my investment to get a DA? my wax job wasn't the greatest as there are still some "smudges" that show up in direct sunlight.

btw, there is an unbelievable amount of awesome and helpful information here...thank you all for that!!!

 

For a do it yourself guy taking care of his own vehicles, a DA is almost always a good investment. It will save your arms, and allow you to take your paint a level higher.

That said .. if you had brought that to me looking like it did in the first picture, a rotary would have been my tool of choice.

 

Dude that was all by hand? Your arm is going to fall off. GET A DA, after having done that you will appreciate a da so much more. It looks amazing.

 

I have read that a rotary requires a bit more experience than I posses. I just began this whole detailing thing - at least doing it the "right" way. I was always a wash-wax guy with previous vehicles.

Actually, my arms are in pretty good shape after all of that, believe it or not! But I am sure that a machine would greatly diminish the time invested. I have been looking at the G110, the PC7424, and the Flex. They all look like great machines, but with my experience level I am having trouble figuring out which one would be best for me...

thanks for the replies so far!

 

I just got my g110 a week ago but haven't had the chance to use it yet. I have used one before and I loved it so I bought one. I would stick to G110 or Porter Cable based off of what I have heard. I hear that a flex requires a little more experience and that it would be good to start off on a g110 or pc.

Did you scratch x the whole car? If you had a DA megs swirl remover or megs m80 could have saved you a lot of arm pain.

However your car does look amazing now and good work!

 

Thanks!!!

Ya it feels really good to be able to see hard work pay off. Basically what I did was, after the clay bar, I applied DC step 1 x2, scratchX (x2 in some areas), DC step 2 polish, then 2 coats of gold class liquid wax.

I definitely know now the difference between good and cheap MFs as well as nice vs cheap pads. Also, I learned the hard way that wax is put on nice and easy with a clean pad and taken off with a clean MF. I will be placing a pretty big order with ADS this week and I am hoping that this thread will help me decide to go with a DA or not.

 

man thats great looking work. the DA is optional. if you want to get some popeye forearms, dont get it. if you want to make life easier, get it. again, 1000% better looking.

 

Even though I just got my DA and don't have tons of experience with ti go ahead and get one. It will be well worth the money and it saves you lots of time and can do jobs better than by hand in most instances. Time is money so it pays off and it saves sore arms. By the way with Rick's G110 deal it comes with a backing plate and a foam pad and some other stuff. I would recommend getting a 6 pack of pads for $50 becuase you are going to need a different pad for each product you use well as some back ups .

I am not sure if dc is meant to be applied by DA but if you are ordering more products we can help you out with what pads and producta to get !

 

I'm not allowed to post anymore and give my opinion. I wish I could, too ...

 

what??

after all the reading i have done and seeing all of your posts and knowledge, when i saw you replied to my thread i was pretty excited!

all for naught i guess!

well i am going to place an order with ADS tonight...G110 package, MF towels - i'd be more than happy to listen to any advice you all may have on what products i should order...you basically know everything i already have

thanks!

 

My recommendation. wait until tomorrow to place the order.. and place it by calling Rick and talking to him. Let him help you decide what to get.

We usually point people towards package #2, but it isn't a one size fits all kind of deal. Talk to Rick, and he can offer suggestions about what to try, and what to substitute out of the packages.


Based on what you have so far, I woudl recommend picking up some of the following:

#80
NXT or #21
couple of 8006 pads
couple of 9006 pads
Some MF's
a waffle weave towel or two for drying
Some UQD spray

 

Looks fantastic!

I did my hood on Friday. Scratch X, Clay, then wax... I need a DA thingy. If I don't get one, I will never get into detailing my own vehicles.

Can I get a DA from Wal Mart? Gotta start out somewhere.

By the way, my in-laws think that I am a god for using a little Scratch X on some of their clearcoat blemishes. They have no idea how deep you guys are into detailing.

 

I didn't really read the thread, just scanned it really quickly, I thought it was a lot of questions. Anyways, the results look pretty damn good. I'd be proud of yourself. I'd highly recommend getting a G100, PC7424, or possibly the G110. Personally, I don't like the way the G110 feels in my hands. I use the G100 myself. I'd love to get a Flex but right now the bank account is disagreeing. I just had to buy a new computer due to a faulty surge protector. So the Flex is another possibility.

If you're set on the G110, it's not a bad machine by any means. I have only used one on a few panels on a buddies car just to try it out. Not to mention you'll have a 1 year warranty from Meguiars. Gipraw made great product recommendations, I'd listen to him, he knows his stuff. I'd also pick up at least two extra of each pads. As well as a few other items like ... SM Arnold Lambs Wool Mitt, 2 Grit Guards, Hyperdressing, APC+, maybe some #34 Final Inspection (QD), etc. I always recommend buying the spray bottles for the Hyperdressing (Get two, so you can mix up different dilutions) as well as the APC+. The bottles have the proper dilution ratios on them so it makes measuring easy as pie.

Sorry about the post earlier, it was a little inside joke, that wasn't too "inside".

 

Great work. Always feel much more proud when doing it by hand.

 

man, its hard putting off this impulse until tomorrow!!

i have some megs UQD...that stuff is pretty sweet. i don't have any of the other stuff you mentioned except for the cheap MFs i picked up at autozone and wal mart. i will just use those for general purpose. i think i am going to get the MFs Thump got from pakshak. I will call Rick in the morning and post my order for you all to see!

Thanks for all the feedback!