Just bought a Griots Garage 6" polisher, and need advice on list of products.

[tksmr2]

Hello,



Hope this is the right section..



I picked up the GG 6" polisher last week, and only have one polishing pad (Griots pad)



I have three cars, two of which are garaged, and the other sits outside. I'm wondering if my list of products is going to be good for what I need them for, see list below..



08 Mazdaspeed3 daily driver, crystal white pearl (Paint is in excellent condition, but could use some polishing,as I can see some fine swirls in certain spots at certain angles, and has some metal flakes from machine plant fallout in the paint that looks kind of like yellow road paint, and the car has a lot of VERY tiny hail marks on the roof, so I don't want anything too shiny up top, as I can't see them unless you really look for them.) The car has a clear front bra that covers a portion of the hood, front fenders and side mirrors. I was able to polish out all the yellow metal flakes imbedded in the clear with Scratch X by hand a few months ago before I got the clear bra.



93 Toyota MR2 (paint is in excellent shape, but is aftermarket PPG black from late 2006 , base coat, clear coat, and I really have to be careful as the previous owner wetsanded and buffed the car after the paint job ,and went thin on portions of the quarter panels were you can barely make out a spot or two were the clear is thin. But, since the car is black, it has some very minor swirling on the hood that I want to get rid of. I only drive this car on nice days during the months of april - Novemberish



87 Toyota MR2 (paint is in excellent condition, aftermaket PPG midnight blue mica from 1998). This car has sat in my garage for the last five years, and plan on driving it this coming year) It has some very minor swirling on the hood from washing, and some minor overspray that you can feel on the paint on part of the quarter panels.





Here is what I'm thinking



Griots Garage wax pads

HD Light clay bar, blue (not sure this is an acutal HD product, but it's on the site)

HD Advanced Polish

HD Nitro Seal (especially for the Mazda which sits outside here in Pennsylvania)

Microfiber towels (not from wal Mart or chain stores)

Painters tape to mark off areas were I don't want the polish, or wax.

Wool mit (not from chain store)

Soap? (should I bath the cars in a foam bath, and what is recommended?)

I have two buckets and a grit guard in one bucket



Thanks!!

 

[Accumulator]

I picked up the GG 6" polisher last week, and only have one polishing pad (Griots pad)

The Griot's polishing pad is good, but it's rather gentle. You'll need more pads to do an entire vehicle, at least three more.

..08 Mazdaspeed3 daily driver, crystal white pearl (Paint is in excellent condition, but could use some polishing,as I can see some fine swirls in certain spots at certain angles, and has some metal flakes from machine plant fallout in the paint that looks kind of like yellow road paint, and the car has a lot of VERY tiny hail marks on the roof, so I don't want anything too shiny up top, as I can't see them unless you really look for them.) The car has a clear front bra that covers a portion of the hood, front fenders and side mirrors. I was able to polish out all the yellow metal flakes imbedded in the clear with Scratch X by hand a few months ago before I got the clear bra...

I'd decontaminate that car, using the "ABC" system from ttp://www.autoint.com

93 Toyota MR2 (paint is in excellent shape, but is aftermarket PPG black from late 2006 , base coat, clear coat, and I really have to be careful as the previous owner wetsanded and buffed the car after the paint job ,and went thin on portions of the quarter panels were you can barely make out a spot or two were the clear is thin. But, since the car is black, it has some very minor swirling on the hood that I want to get rid of. I only drive this car on nice days during the months of april - Novemberish

I'd think about having the too-thin areas on the quarters reshot. Long-term, it's just gonna get worse/more expensive and I wouldn't want to live with that kind of issue.

87 Toyota MR2 (paint is in excellent condition, aftermaket PPG midnight blue mica from 1998). This car has sat in my garage for the last five years, and plan on driving it this coming year) It has some very minor swirling on the hood from washing, and some minor overspray that you can feel on the paint on part of the quarter panels.

With any luck the claying will remove the overspray.

Here is what I'm thinking



Griots Garage wax pads

HD Light clay bar, blue (not sure this is an acutal HD product, but it's on the site)

HD Advanced Polish

HD Nitro Seal (especially for the Mazda which sits outside here in Pennsylvania)

Microfiber towels (not from wal Mart or chain stores)

Painters tape to mark off areas were I don't want the polish, or wax.

Wool mit (not from chain store)

Soap? (should I bath the cars in a foam bath, and what is recommended?)

I have two buckets and a grit guard in one bucket



Thanks!!

You'll need far more polishing pads than waxing pads. Many people do the waxing by hand. I can't say whether the 3D Advanced Polish/GG polishing pad combo will be aggressive enough to really correct the marring, but I sorta suspect you'll need something more aggressive to get it all out.



I'm a huge fan of the Griot's shampoo, it's all I use. Getting the wash technique sorted out to where you avoid instilling wash-induced marring is very challenging! While I use a foamgun at every wash, IMO the "foam bath" approach isn't worthwhile.



I'd budget for some paintwork on the '93 MR2, decontaminate/polish/wax the Mazda, and clay/polish/wax the '87 MR2. IF the '87 needs something more aggressive than the clay for the overspray, there are effective ways to deal with it, but see if the clay works first.



Single biggest challenge will probably be sorting out the wash regimen so you don't cause new swirling.



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia!

 

[tksmr2]

The Griot's polishing pad is good, but it's rather gentle. You'll need more pads to do an entire vehicle, at least three more.







I'd decontaminate that car, using the "ABC" system from ttp://www.autoint.com







I'd think about having the too-thin areas on the quarters reshot. Long-term, it's just gonna get worse/more expensive and I wouldn't want to live with that kind of issue.







With any luck the claying will remove the overspray.







You'll need far more polishing pads than waxing pads. Many people do the waxing by hand. I can't say whether the 3D Advanced Polish/GG polishing pad combo will be aggressive enough to really correct the marring, but I sorta suspect you'll need something more aggressive to get it all out.



I'm a huge fan of the Griot's shampoo, it's all I use. Getting the wash technique sorted out to where you avoid instilling wash-induced marring is very challenging! While I use a foamgun at every wash, IMO the "foam bath" approach isn't worthwhile.



I'd budget for some paintwork on the '93 MR2, decontaminate/polish/wax the Mazda, and clay/polish/wax the '87 MR2. IF the '87 needs something more aggressive than the clay for the overspray, there are effective ways to deal with it, but see if the clay works first.



Single biggest challenge will probably be sorting out the wash regimen so you don't cause new swirling.



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia!

Thanks.. So, I heard that while Griots pads are good, Lake Country has more options. I'll look into Lake Country. I figured I'd need more pads, but didn't want to waste money. Do you know if I'll need a different back plate, or a larger back plate than what comes with my polisher? I heard some people buying a larger back plate.



I'm planning on getting the back end of my 93 repainted in Jan./Feb. , but my painter hasn't called me back yet with an estimate, and money is tight, so I might just leave it alone.



Thanks for the advice, and the link to the ABC system. I was going to use POR15 on all my suspension underneath the car, and then top coat it with Chasis black.





Here are my cars:



93 MR2 turbo

87 MR2 supercharged

08 Mazdaspeed3



pic of before I bought the car.

 

[BigAl3]

Thanks.. So, I heard that while Griots pads are good, Lake Country has more options. I'll look into Lake Country. I figured I'd need more pads, but didn't want to waste money. Do you know if I'll need a different back plate, or a larger back plate than what comes with my polisher?

pick up a 5" DA backing plate and some 5.5" (B&S) pads...



http://detailersdomain.com/55-Inch_c_192.html



http://www.autopia.org/forum/detailers-domain/143397-last-minute-gift-ideas-detailers-domain.html

 

[pwaug]

Great looking cars!!!!



While I've only been machine polishing for a year with my GG6, I did allot of reading and video watching before I moved forward and I've been very pleased with my purchases and results.



I think the GG DA is the best choice for us weekend warriors--it has more power than some of the others and also has the lifetime warranty so five years down the road if you have a problem Griots with either repair or replace it.



Most posters here will recommend 5.5" flat pads with no dimples etc (even though the GG DA has the power to use 6.5") for the best results. LC Low Profile Flat pads, LC Hydrotek are recommended by many. I decided on Buff & Shine 5.5" as they have a recessed velcro for an added margin of safety when working around protruding objects. Uber and HD pads seem to be the same as Buff & Shine. You'll also save money with 5.5" pads as they are less expensive than 6.5" even though you'll need to buy a 5" backing plate. Here's a good source for Buff &Shine pads and a 5" backing plate (near the bottom of the page) Buff and Shine - Autoality Incorporated They are in Pittsburgh if you live in the area--reasonable shipping rates if not.



You could start out with 4 Orange, 4 Green and perhaps some Blue or Black for final finishing if you end up needing it and one red for each LSP you plan to use (other than Nitro Seal which I believe most apply by hand)



HD polishes are great for beginners--long working time, easy to remove, little if any dust. HD Polish is great and may be all you'll need, but if you find you need something more aggressive you could move up to HD Uno--it doesn't sound like your cars will need compounding as they seem to be in great condition.



For those cars not getting Nitro Seal don't overlook HD POXY--great look and at least 4 months protection on garage kept cars.



MicrofiberTech has great towels at reasonable prices--many different thicknesses available. Many also recommend the ProForce MF Towels from Sam's at $12 for 24 for general purpose towels.



Take a look at the Car Pro Merino Wool wash mitt from one of our sponsors (see above this section) At $20 I don't think it can be beat.



Any quality wash soap will be fine--I prefer Duragloss as it is reasonalby priced and has great lubicity--HD also has some great shampoos.



Here's a list of articles and videos that you may find helpful DA Polisher Articles - Help for Newbies to Machine Polishing - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum Just don't pay attention to anything regarding heavy pad priming as HD Polish and HD UNO both require very little product--3 or 4 pea sized drops to prime and 1 or 2 pea sized drops per additonal section--clean your pad on the fly after every section or two.



Perhaps others will chime in on my suggestions and offer some additonal help. Good Luck!!



If you're near Lancaster, PA you could get your HD products through 3D of Manheim. Barry and Scott will take good care of you.

 

[tksmr2]

^ Thanks.. that really helps! I live an hour Southwest of Pittsburgh. There is not much here, so I'll have to have items shipped to me.



I don't think I'll need anything but a very mild polish, as scratch X was able to get the metal marks out of my mazda by hand, but just the front end took me about 4 hours, and I figured it was time for a machine to get the bottoms of my doors ,and my hatch were most of the metal flakes are from the machine ship fallout. The previous owner worked at a machine shop.



The other two cars don't need much, all the marks on those are basically from washing and some stone chips from just driving the cars.

 

[pwaug]

Sounds like HD Polish will do -- it does have some cut to it with the right pad.

 

[Accumulator]

Do you know if I'll need a different back plate, or a larger back plate than what comes with my polisher? I heard some people buying a larger back plate...

As noted, you might want to go *smaller* on the plate/pads, but not bigger.



...[pix]...



Nice batch of cars, I especially like the '87.

.. I was going to use POR15 on all my suspension underneath the car, and then top coat it with Chasis black. ..

I'm a big fan of nicely maintained undercarriages! Rather than the POR-15, I'd use either Rust Bullet (if you're gonna topcoat it, as the Rust Bullet dries silver) or Eastwood's Black Rust Encapsulator. I'd also look into Eastwood's Black Heavy-duty Anti-Rust. I greatly prefer those products over POR-15.