Which Porter cable kit should I go for?

[BimmerWill]

I'm wanting to purchase a porter cable kit from autogeek and was curious if anyone had recommendations on which one is the best kit to go with. I'm looking to spend right around 200-250. I was thinking the Wolfgang kit but it's a little over my budget but will fork it if you all think it's worth the extra. Heres a link to the Wolfgang kit.
Thanks guys!

Wolfgang kit
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-porter-cable-swirl-remover.html



sent from S4

[E_Rak]

I like this kit... well balanced, quality products.

http://www.autogeek.net/pc7424-menzerna-ceramic-kit.html

[BimmerWill]

Is our paint ceramic or is that irrelevant?
I want to get a kit that will take out some medium to light scratches and bring back a mirror finish to the car. Obviously I can't expect miracles but the paint is in pretty decent shape to be as old as it is.

sent from S4

[M0nk3y]

Typically those kits throw you with too much stuff you'll never use.

If you just need polishing, then focus on that and make your own "kit"

Here is what I have in my cart that I would recommend:

Porter Cable 7424XP - 119.99
Lake County Hydro-Tech Pads (3 Pack) 5.5inch - 25.99 (All Cyan)
Lake County Hydro-Tech Pads (3 Pack) 5.5inch - 25.99 (All Tangerine)
Meguiars M105 8oz - 10.99
Meguiars M205 8oz - 8.99
DA-Hook and Loop 5" Backing Plate - 17.99

Total: 209.94 before and discounts/promotions...etc

Still gives you room to get a sealant...towels...etc with out excess clutter.

3 pads of each kind is plenty to tackle a car (typically I want 3-4 pads of each color so I can always throw a new pad on, as they start to lose effectiveness as polish gets cluttered on the pad).


Just IMO

[BimmerWill]

Are the pads and M105 going to be able to get a majority of the scratches out? Was also looking at picking up some sealant for the first time.

sent from S4

[ELCID86]

FYI http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009XR5KF6/ref=gb1h_img_c-3_8022_ceff8520?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=1P92BR4JDPREK7AYJDDQ&pf_rd_i=384082011&pf_rd_p=1673798022
Griot's Garage 11620Z Machine Polish and Wax Kit - $124.99 for 1 hour and 12 more min.

[BimmerWill]

Is the Griot's garage the same quality as the porter cable?

sent from S4

[danewilson77]

Is the Griot's garage the same quality as the porter cable?

sent from S4

As good or better is my perception.

I might also direct your attention to the newer ones detailed image sells.... Which I think is what you're asking.

Griot's Garage Random Orbital Polisher 6" 3rd Generation - 25' cord

http://www.detailedimage.com/Buffers-Tools-C20/

Don't we have a review on these somewhere?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[danewilson77]

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10166

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[danewilson77]

Moved to Detailing Subforum.... Because.... We'll.... OCD.

[M0nk3y]

Are the pads and M105 going to be able to get a majority of the scratches out? Was also looking at picking up some sealant for the first time.

sent from S4

M105/205 is top of the line polishes and IMO is the combo to beat right now.

I have 5 Menzerna Polishes on my shelves collecting dust because of M105/205. I use it all the time. And yes, M105 will be able to remove the most scratches than any other polish listed in this thread.

[BimmerWill]

Awesome. I went with the Griot's kit then I will order some M105 etc. To use after I clay the car.

sent from S4

[LivesNearCostco]

BimmerWill, I enjoyed reading this thread and yesterday ordered a Griot's Garage 6" buffer kit from AutoGeek, the one that includes 3 CCS pads and the Meguirs 205 and 105. Missed the 25% off deal but did get the Cyber Monday 15% discount with free shipping. Doesn't include any sealant or wax but I plan to order that, and some other goodies, from Detailer's Domain.

[BimmerWill]

BimmerWill, I enjoyed reading this thread and yesterday ordered a Griot's Garage 6" buffer kit from AutoGeek, the one that includes 3 CCS pads and the Meguirs 205 and 105. Missed the 25% off deal but did get the Cyber Monday 15% discount with free shipping. Doesn't include any sealant or wax but I plan to order that, and some other goodies, from Detailer's Domain.

Sounds great glad you got some insight from it as well. I'm still not sure what sealant I will go with myself but I won't tackle paint correction until after the holidays.

sent from S4

[Tlandreth22]

I've currently have both the Griot's random 6" orbital, which I bought from DetailersDomain a few weeks ago, and a Porter Cable 6" orbital. I personally think the Griot's is the better of the two, from a side by side comparison. I haven't used it for paint correction, but I have used it for glazing with an Uber Black Wax/Sealant/Glaze pad.


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[BimmerWill]

Awesome thanks! I'm having a hard time not going ahead and opening it but its supposed to be a christmas present lol.

sent from S4

[LivesNearCostco]

Tlandreth, thanks for the input! I was debating back and forth between the Griot's Garage kits and the PC kits. Now just have to decide which additional pads to buy.

[Tlandreth22]

Tlandreth, thanks for the input! I was debating back and forth between the Griot's Garage kits and the PC kits. Now just have to decide which additional pads to buy.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/Griots-Garage-6-inch-Random-Orbital-Polisher-Base-Kit_p_683.html

I purchased this kit, and thus far, I've seen nothing but good results with the Uber pads. I bought it from them when it was on sale for $149.00, but at $179.00 and with the 10% off discount code it's still well worth the price.

[M0nk3y]

Tlandreth, thanks for the input! I was debating back and forth between the Griot's Garage kits and the PC kits. Now just have to decide which additional pads to buy.

Pads are dependent on what polish you want.

[BimmerWill]

Pads are dependent on what polish you want.

What pads would you recommend for the M105 and M205?

sent from S4

[M0nk3y]

What pads would you recommend for the M105 and M205?

sent from S4

Lake County Hydropads. Cyan and Tangerine. They are made to work with water-based polishes...which is exactly what M105/205 are.

[ELCID86]

Lake County Hydropads.
+1

[echo46]

Yes, the Lake Hydropads are very very good. I recently did paint correct on my e36 and e46 Ms using Meg's 105/205 and the PC orbital and the Lake Country Hydopads. Very solid results. I finished with a sealant and then Dodo juice wax. PC is a solid machine.

[BimmerWill]

Would I be alright using the Griots pads or should I dish out the extra cash for the lake country ones? At least for now anyway.
I want to make sure I do it right the first time..

sent from S4

[echo46]

IMHO spend the extra and get the Lake Pads. They really are that good.

[Tlandreth22]

Attached is the link of an Uber pad package that includes five different pads. It includes a yellow cut pad, an orange medium polish pad, a green polish pad, a blue glaze/final polish pad, and a black glaze/wax/sealant pad.

https://www.detailersdomain.com/mobile/home.asp?#page-179

I'd recommend them to anyone. I'm probably going to order a Griot's 3" random orbital with the same pads for easy access to the tight areas and ease in headlight restorations.


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[BimmerWill]

I've noticed several people on other forums are saying that the 6" pads are a little too beafy for correction. Should I take notice of that and get a smaller backing plate? I'm kind of short on cash so don't want to dish out the dough if its not necessary.

Also if I order the lake country 6" pads will they fit the backing plate on my GGO or will I have to buy another backing plate as well.

This little venture has turned out to be more expensive than I anticipated, no wonder I hadn't tried it already lol.

sent from S4

[LivesNearCostco]

I got 3 Lake Country CCS 6.5" pads with my GGO plus another package of 5 more 6.5" CCS pads. The GGO came with a 6" backing plate and the pads package came with a 5" plate. Having done one day of machine polishing now, if I did Black Friday all over again, I would get just 5.5" pads (with a 5" backing plate). The 6.5" pads quickly cover large areas, but 5.5" would be easier to use on the rearmost part of the hood (by cabin air intake vent), on roof rails, next to the sunroof, back of trunk lid, etc.

Also I now have 3 pads (blue and black) for applying wax and polish, plus the wool pad with bonnets for buffing. Having just applied some paint sealant by hand and wiped it down by hand, I'm not sure I will actually use orbital pads for sealing/waxing and buffing, at least not on the E46. (Does wax or sealant really go on much better with an orbital than by hand?)

Maybe next Christmas I will buy a 3" backing plate and some 4" pads from Detailer's Domain. In the meantime, to justify my current investment in 6.5" pads, maybe I'll polish the minivan, which has big fenders and door panels, or the Saturn, which needs a lot of paint correction everywhere.

Am curious, what makes the Lake Country Hydrotech pads better than the Lake Country CCS pads? I know the CCS pads have the pockets to hold and feed more polish (couldn't tell if that helped or not) while the HydroTech pads are designed for water-based polishes. Do the HydroTech pads polish better, or just get by with less compound because they don't soak up as much of it?

[LivesNearCostco]

I think they changed the link and this is now the correct one for Detailer's Domain 5-pack of 5.5" Uber pads. Unless your link was for the 6.5" Uber pads.
http://www.detailersdomain.com/5-Pack-Uber-Foam-Pad-55-inch_p_297.html
Maybe I should have gotten that package instead--it's nice that they label each pad so you remember what it's for! (AutoGeek did send me a nice Lake Country CCS pad guide with my pad package.)

Still thinking I would only need 3 different pads as a totally newb machine polisher. I've only got 2 levels of polishing compound plus a few waxes/sealants. I'm sure a serious detailer could benefit from having 5 different pads. And maybe I was using the wrong pad with my Meguiar's 105 as a few passes still didn't get out all the swirl marks, though it did make the paint look much better. I used CCS Orange pad with 105 then a CCS white pad with 205. Most, but not all swirl marks were removed. Should I have used the more aggressive yellow pad with the 105 and the orange pad with the 205?


Attached is the link of an Uber pad package that includes five different pads. It includes a yellow cut pad, an orange medium polish pad, a green polish pad, a blue glaze/final polish pad, and a black glaze/wax/sealant pad.

https://www.detailersdomain.com/mobile/home.asp?#page-179

I'd recommend them to anyone. I'm probably going to order a Griot's 3" random orbital with the same pads for easy access to the tight areas and ease in headlight restorations.
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[BimmerWill]

With my experience and from what I've read online the paint on our cars is pretty hard so it takes a heavier cut to get more results but as with everything you have to start with least aggressive and work your way up depending on what kind of cut youre looking for. Don't start out too heavy otherwise you're taking off much more clear than you intended.

sent from S4