Detailing Newbie - What should I purchase first?

J

Joe Link

New member
Hey everyone, as the title says I'm new to detailing. The extent of my experience is washing, running a clay bar across the paint, and putting on a layer of wax with a rag. I'm selling my girlfriends Integra and it needs some serious attention. I'm positive everything can be fixed, but I'm not sure what I should use and how to go about it. As a college student I'm on a very limited budget but I'm prepared to drop the cash for a PC 7424 and materials. I'd like to keep it under $200 if possible and purchase everything I need to fix her paint plus detail my two cars. What would you guys recommend I purchase, where should I purchase it, and what should I read to learn how to fix her paint? This seemed like a pretty good deal but I'm not sure if it has what I'll need, or maybe it has more than I need and I can save money by buying the PC from ebay for $110.



Porter Cable 7424 & Foam Pad Kit - Car Buffer



Thanks in advance! I'm looking forward to spending alot of time on this forum. As soon as these pictures upload I'll post them here so you can see what I'll be tackling.
 
Welcome to the site Joey. If you haven't yet check out Autopia Guide to Detailing

This will answer most of the basic questions that you might have.



Ewww... don't mention the word rag too loud. You will make people around here cringe by using that term :D We all use nice plush microfiber towels whenever we are touching our paints surface.



One more tidbit. Plenty of acronyms are used here. Do decipher some of them check out the Secret Decoder Ring
 
That kit you linked should be perfect for you! Here is a link to polishes at autogeek that will also get you started along with Poli-Seal for protecting her paint.

Optimum Detailing Kit:This kit contains the optimum products for swirl removal & paint protection!

Optimum products are very user friendly. Good luck and welcome to the site! Be prepared to become addicted :welcome



Here are pictures of the Integra in a smaller size:



Integra1.jpg




Integra2.jpg




integra3.jpg




integra4.jpg
 
Ouch! I'm not sure if I can drop $79 on that kit right now, especially if I get the PC kit I mentioned before. Is there any more cost effective method?
 
My intention was to post them in the original post but it took them forever to upload to my host.



From BradB, Moserator...

BIG images removed since they were reposted at a smaller size. Helps to speed up the downloads!
 
Thanks for resizing those pics! sorry about that :)



Ok so now I'm deciding between the Optimum kit here:



Optimum Porter Cable 7424 Kit Remove swirl marks and paint flaws



or the XMT kit here:



Add the Porter Cable 7424 to the XMT kit



or the Poorboys kit here:



Poorboy’s Porter Cable 7424 Polish & wax Kit



Based on what I said in my original post about the swirls in my girlfriends car, which would you guys go with? I'd like to use whatever I get on all three cars. The thing I like about the Optimum is it's a synthetic sealant vs a caranuba formula. I'm thinking maybe I'll order the Optimum kit that comes with the PC then ordering the XMT kit that comes with the three XMT products and more pads. What else should I order while I'm at it? What do I use to clean the pads when I'm done? I'm also going to need some soap for washing the cars. If I'm going to buff and polish I don't need to clay the car first, or do I? I don't think it's ever been clayed.
 
I would personally go with this Optimum Kit, because it has the Hyper Compound in it as well.



Optimum Polish/Compound Package - You dont get the extra pads but you could always pick some up from his store while you're there.



The swirls look pretty heavy to me and I would hate to see the Compound not be strong enough and then having to order the Hyper Compound.



I would definitely clay the car before buffing, the claying itself will make a world of difference in how the paint feels. You don't want any crap getting in your pad and spinning around on the finish at 6,000 OPM
 
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