Detail Process 07' GMC 2500HD whatcha think?

B

bigmackmiller

New member
Hey guys just getting started with machine polishing and wanted to type up what I plan to do to see what you guys thought. The previous owner liked to run this truck through automatic car wash so there are swirls and micro scratches etc...



The vehicle is a Bright Red GMC 2500HD Duramax





Wash:



Wash with Dawn using the two bucket method.



Factory wheels will receive a dose of P21S



Engine Compartment cleaned with super degreaser or Simple Green



Clay, using Mothers OTC clay kit.



Tape off necessary areas



The wash process is no problem, but the polishing is where my inexperience will show. I would like to think that the swirls and micro scratches will require the use of M105 but I will no better when I am able to do a test section. I plan to post some pics and see what you guys think would be best.



Polish: 7424XP w/LC CCS pads 7"



M105 Orange



M205 Orange



M205 White



Is there a need to go beyond that? Should I look at picking up some Ultrafina for the final polish? I really would like to get that jeweled look on the paint



I have a black pad if I need it.



LSP:



Klause



Souvern Paste



On a side note what would be the Meguiars equivalent to the orange LC pad? I only have one of each color and if I need an orange for M105 then I will only have the white for M205. The reason I ask is that someone sells meguiars products here locally



Will I be able to use one pad for the entire truck on each step? For example if I do M105 I will be able to do the entire truck and not stop halfway through and get a fresh pad?



Sorry for all the newb questions I just want to insure I do this right to begin with, thank you in advance for your wisdom and guidance :2thumbs:
 
You will for sure need more than one pad with M105. Or you can stop and clean it partway through. Once the pad loads up with product the cut will be reduced.



Also, no need to do the middle step of M205/Orange. You should be able to go right to M205/White.



Lastly, make sure you do some test spots. You may be able to go right from M105/orange to M205/Black.
 
Ultrafina is for a rotary i believe.



Anyways, tape off a 2x2 area and start with 105 and an orange pad, then 205 and white and look at it in the sun. If it didnt remove everything, figure out what it needs more of.



Thats a big truck, if you dont have a whole weekend to devote to it, better off making say the hood and front fenders perfect, and wax em, then next go round pick out another section. You may get tired and sloppy if you try to bang out that whole ride in one setting, expecially working with a small number of pads. I tried it on my F150 extra cab, and later saw swirls i didnt take the time to see if they were removed. I got tired, pad was prolly loaded with too much crapola ect.
 
Ya I plan on taking this whole wknd to get it done. I made the mistake a couple wknds ago when we tried to get my dads camry done in a day and I just ran out of time to polish. I just expected it to go much quicker. Ill try to pick up some more pads and go from there. Thanks for the advice
 
bigmackmiller said:
Polish: 7424XP w/LC CCS pads 7"
Click to expand...





Here lies your problem. Biggest pad I use for correction is a 5.5" at the very most. With those 7 inch ones you will get no where.
 
A 6.5" pad will take forever to correct the paint with the PC.

Less surface area of a pad will make the pad rotate better on the paint. A 4" pad is ideal.

Try and see for yourself though. You can do it with that 6.5 but its gonna take forever and a week.

A lot of us have been there and learned a costly lesson. ;)
 
swan said:
A 6.5" pad will take forever to correct the paint with the PC.

Less surface area of a pad will make the pad rotate better on the paint. A 4" pad is ideal.

Try and see for yourself though. You can do it with that 6.5 but its gonna take forever and a week.

A lot of us have been there and learned a costly lesson. ;)
Click to expand...
....are you speaking from experience as an XP user? I would completely agree if it were a vanilla 7424. The fact is that I really don't know how much better the XP performs with > 4" pads. .....I'm simply curious.
 
Yeah, 4" pads are painfully slow due to their size. I personally think that 5.5" orange pads are the perfect size for DA's. That being said I have gotten true correction with 6.5" pads on the original DA. Sure it takes multiple passes and keeping pads clean to keep them moving.



I have a 7424, G110, and 7424XP as far as DA's go. The XP seems to have the most power. With either the XP or the G110 I can't imagine going smaller than 5.5" for most areas. Even with a lot of downward pressure, orange pads, and M105 the pads keep spinning.
 
Kean said:
....are you speaking from experience as an XP user? I would completely agree if it were a vanilla 7424. The fact is that I really don't know how much better the XP performs with > 4" pads. .....I'm simply curious.
Click to expand...





IMO it doesn't matter which Porter Cable it is. 6.5 will take much longer to correct paint than a smaller pad will. Like I said earlier, the biggest pad I use is a LC CCS 5.5" pad. This is what I use most of the time. And I have plenty of 6.5" pads not being used or never used at all. Lesson learned I guess.

You can correct with the 6.5" but it will take several more passes to get a true correction. I rather put that time to use somewhere else. Especially when it comes to customers car where time=money!
 
Yup i never touch my 6.5 pads either, the backing plate isnt big enough to keep the whole surface of the pad pressed against the surface, and it transferes less power to the paint.
 
swan said:
IMO it doesn't matter which Porter Cable it is. 6.5 will take much longer to correct paint than a smaller pad will. Like I said earlier, the biggest pad I use is a LC CCS 5.5" pad. This is what I use most of the time. And I have plenty of 6.5" pads not being used or never used at all. Lesson learned I guess.

You can correct with the 6.5" but it will take several more passes to get a true correction. I rather put that time to use somewhere else. Especially when it comes to customers car where time=money!
Click to expand...
....I don't use my 6.5" pads either (only 4's and 5.5's). To rephrase my question, have you used the newer XP model and do you still find 4's "ideal" (more efficient)?
 
Kean said:
....I don't use my 6.5" pads either (only 4's and 5.5's). To rephrase my question, have you used the newer XP model and do you still find 4's "ideal" (more efficient)?
Click to expand...





Yes I have tried the XP and I don't see why that is really so important here. The 5.5 is the most any PC can handle and still be able to correct in a decent amount of time IMO! I mostly use the 5.5's like I said.

More efficient? Never timed either to see which went faster. I do 5.5's for bigger areas and 4's for smaller spots and it works well for me.

In conclusion.....my advice is to use nothing bigger than a 5.5" pad while trying to correct paint with any PC.:)
 
swan said:
Yes I have tried the XP and I don't see why that is really so important here. The 5.5 is the most any PC can handle and still be able to correct in a decent amount of time IMO! I mostly use the 5.5's like I said.

More efficient? Never timed either to see which went faster. I do 5.5's for bigger areas and 4's for smaller spots and it works well for me.

In conclusion.....my advice is to use nothing bigger than a 5.5" pad while trying to correct paint with any PC.:)
Click to expand...
....the importance? I wasn't sure if you were making a blanket statement about PC's or had actual expereience with the XP when you said that the 4" pads are a more "ideal" choice. I know the XP is supposed to be a more robust machine than the outgoing model so I was merely inquring. ....that's all. :)
 
swan said:
Y I do 5.5's for bigger areas and 4's for smaller spots and it works well for me.

In conclusion.....my advice is to use nothing bigger than a 5.5" pad while trying to correct paint with any PC.:)
Click to expand...



Agreed.



You can correct paint with 6.5" pads but it's not ideal. That's all I was trying to say. In the same breath I would say that 4" pads are not ideal for an entire car either with an XP or G110. With the original 7424 I could see going to a 4" as even 5.5" pads can start to be too much for the machine.



So to the OP, yes the newer machines have more power, still not enough to do true correction work in a timely fashion with 6.5" FOAM pads. They do have plenty of power to keep 5.5" foam pads moving even with a lot of downward pressure.



If you are wondering why "foam" is in bold do a search for "Surbuf" and see what size pads people are getting true correction with on a DA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top