Help! Looking for advice on products to order

[Fatboy2]

I will apologize in advance for the length of the request.

I am a novice that enjoys cleaning my vehicles/motorcycle when time permits. It is a sickness that left untreated can lead to shiny paint. I think some others may be more afflicted than I am (Please don’t be offended by my warped attempt at humor.) On the serious side I have used a variety of Meguiar’s products over the years with foam and terry applicators, some S100 carnauba wax (which is possibly akin to P21S?) and a 6” MVP (wallyworld) orbital buffer (with terry applicators) #34 and pig spit. I have more recently purchased some green microfiber cloth that I use for polishing/wiping off product.

I have followed different forums on this site for a while. There is a wealth of information and opinions here at Detail City. I really enjoy the posts. I would appreciate advice before placing an order and trying new products. The products or a portion will be used on the following,

Pewter 2001 Chevy Tahoe that has been outdoors most of it’s existence, up until now. I have double bucket washed Megs, clayed, 3M swirl remover, Meg body scrub 1, polish 2, carnauba 3 and or S100. It had a serious build up that can still be detected with the hand in plastic bag. It still has a few light scratches and quite a bit of swirl (not deep) if you look close.

Black 2002 Fatboy minor swirls when you get about 12” from the paint with a flood light on it. Double bucket wash, polish and coats of S100. Garaged when I am not riding.

Red 1995 Dodge 1500 Club Cab with slight hail damage (made me ill when it happened. More of the sickness!). Double bucket wash, body scrub, polish, Meg’s carnauba (step 3). Garaged part of the time.

My plan is to purchase and use SSR1, SSR2.5 (More serious light scratch Tahoe), AIO, UPP and Poorboys spray and wipe. I have had problems locating different bonnets (other than terry) for the orbital. I know everyone that uses the PC loves it. It just isn‘t in the budget at this time. Suggestions on the order of use, additional product, locating other bonnets will be appreciated.

Again I apologize for the length of the post. The only way I know to get good opinions/advice is to give a detailed description of what I intend on using the product(s) on. Thanks again. Fatboy2

 

[Big Leegr]

As to the bonnets, WM (In Canada, at least) carries "paper," terry, foam, and "genuine synthetic" wool bonnets. The "paper" have no nap, are for wax application, single use, basically scary, I think. Then there are terry wax applicator bonnets. These have a vinyl "backing" so the bonnet doesn't allow the wax to soak into the foam of the buffer. A better option than the "paper" ones. Then there is the foam bonnet. The best of the bunch for applying waxes/polishes, I think. These can be cleaned out as you are working (terry has to be washed to be cleaned), less likely to induce swirls (if the terry is of poor quality or clogged up), and offer a bit of cushioning, in case you happen to be the type to "bear down" on the buffer-which you shouldn't. It doesn't help. It just slows down/stops the buffer. The "wool" ones are to "bring up the shine" once you've removed the wax residue. Even though the package says that you can use the terry bonnets for wax removal, I wouldn't recommend it. Use mf or 100% cotton terry towels by hand instead. If the US Wal-Marts or Sears don't carry them, I would imagine a Pep-Boys or Advance Auto Parts type store would have them. If all else fails, you could contact a company directly and order them.

With regards to which products to order, I would say as long as you make sure they will work by hand, you should be good to go. The 6" buffer you have won't do much other than save your arm from moving as much, and possibly spreading product more evenly. You'll likely get about the same quality of work either way. It looks like you've got a pretty good list set up.

I imagine you probably just didn't mention these, but do you have anything for tires/vinyl or for gloss enhancement qd's? (S+W and FI are cleaners, not enhancers). If you are going with UPP, you may want to consider the 4* Ultimate Gloss Enhancer.

As to the SSR's, use a little and work it in well. It will take longer by hand/buffer than with a PC/rotary. Also, you don't need to leave a coating behind, as you might with a wax. Polish them in 'till you see almost nothing left.

Hope this helps.

 

[HondaMan]

If you're a novice, I recommend the Porter Cable 7424 especially for use with the SSR's. I myself haven't used it for other applications (yet).

Poorboys EX-P and Poorboys Professional Polish are a must as they go together; Klasse AIO and Klasse SG similarly are a nice pair. Autogeek has a great 12-pack of MF towels and other sponsors here run specials from time to time. Get a few waffle-weaves to dry. Eizenstat Cockpit Premium is good for the interior dashboard. I like ClayMagic bars and liquid for the claying step.

Good luck.