dplotkin

With 8 cars of various colors and paint types I have spent the last 14 years looking for the perfect combination of steps and products to detail my cars. I've tried them all, every brand name, every polish, glaze and wax, even private label and body shop only products.

I finally discovered one that does exactly what i want it to do and with results that will have you backing up and staring in astonishment. (Subject car is a 61 Plymouth with black single stage Glazurite urethane. The Corvette is next).

On a clean, cool surface I used Meguiars #205 ultra finishing polish with a Porter Cable 7424 and a white foam polishing pad. I did each panel twice changed to new clean pads half way through. Hand buff to a wicked shine with a virgin high end micro fiber towel, the kind that leave no lint, I used 4. (Mine were Gliptone).

Then, I carefully sprayed & wiped down each panel with Meguiars high-tech spray wax. Wipe down is with a virgin micro fiber towel, I used 4. The results are stunning.

Now I have no stock in or reason to tout Meguiars over anyone else's crap in a bottle. For all I know someone else peddles something substantially similar under a different name and type but I haven't found it despite 14 years making cars shiny.

So if any of you have nice paint jobs with some mild swirl, haze, imperfection or that you just want to "wake up" a little, give this a whack. So freaking pleased I had to tell someone.

Dan

Here's a photo:

SS409

Looks spectacular Dan. I've had the good results with Wizzard's turbo and finish cut and a dual action polisher.

arkus

Meguiars #205 ultra finishing polish is a great polish .
To seal it up try Blackfire sealant .

KC John

How long on average does it take to get good with a polisher? Is there less to worry about when it comes to messing up your paint job than people will lead you to believe? I've always wanted to try it myself, but I'd really be pissed if I screwed something up.

arkus

With a random orbital polisher you can safely polish your car , their user friendly .
Just stay away from the rotary type of polisher , they can ruin your paint job very quickly .

DansYellow66

I used Wizard's Mystic polish to finish polish my Cobra's single stage PPG Black finish after stick sanding it out. It was recommended by the AutoBody Store forum moderator and it took fine sanding scratches out with little effort and left a swirl-free finish. Very. very impressed with it. I can even hand polish out color sanded pieces and they look as good as machine polished - which is hard to do with urethane. This photo was of the gas filler primarily and there is some dust on the paint.



Not to take away from Dan's Meguire's solution - it's a bit of a chore to bring black paint to a finished stage that is flawless.

myronf

I had a lot of swirls on my red 65. Bought a Porter Cable 7424 and used Meguires 105 which cuts a little faster than 205 and then used 205. Once that was done I used a Carnuba wax. It came out gorgeous. Much much better that any other product that I have ever used. But prepare to spend lots of hours. The ley is to work on small sections at a time. My guess is I spent 16 hours doing the whole car, but it was well worth it. Oh yeah, don't forget to wash and clay it first. If you have the time do it right and you won't be disappointed.

dplotkin

Indeed, Meguires 105 is recommended to be used first but I didn't need that much correction so I went right to #205. However as you point out #105 to #205 & then wax is a great program, especially for black single stage.

The Porter Cable 7424 is a dual action orbital that simulates hand polishing and cannot hurt paint. It is perfect for non-professionals like most of us (although I felt like a pro this morning with some aches after spending all day on the car).

To use a rotary, which works better and faster, you have to take a class in its use, which many body shop suppliers around my parts offer.

I've been tempted, but there is no second chance when you make a mistake with a rotary buffer, when you go through, you are through.

Dan

myronf

My recent retirement allows me to take the time to perfect it.

mrg

Thinking of going with a polishing kit for the '64. These on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porter-Cable..._Tools&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porter-Cable..._Tools&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Meguiars-Por..._Tools&vxp=mtr

dplotkin

That's it. You might to better buying everything individually. I got my Porter Cable from AutoGeek.com & the polishes locally.

Best machine I ever bought.

Dan

AZDoug

Were the pads from porter Cable also, or some other manufacturer?

Doug

Roger Walling

"Polish for Black"?

Czarny

myronf

Pads are from Lake Country. You will need some small pads also for those more curvy spots. Suggest you go on youtube and watch some of the videos on DA polishing. I watched a series by this guy He gets repetitive and a bit hokey, but goes through the process in detail in 3 or 4 videos. For the most part I used his technique and it worked well.

Myron

mrg

Checked AutoGeek. Same package deal as was listed on ebay, but with a couple of red 5.5"wax pads thrown in as a bonus. Free shipping included in the deal until midnight tonight ET.

I figured to get the car detailed at a local detail shop. Not now!

dplotkin

Some guys weren't seen for weeks after acquiring a 7424 and a few bottles, familial difficulties ensued, the whole bit. Do one car at a time. Use the kit on your wife's car or your kids car first, to burnish your technique. You can't really hurt anything but why make a mess of the vette.

Pay attention to little things, like putting the pad down on the panel before turning on, not using too much polish and spreading it out at low speed before putting the juice to it. This way you won't sling the stuff all over the convertible top and so forth.

Dan

mrg

As a newbie experience in doing this I'll take it slow and easy. An instructional DVD is included in the package deal which will help. Thanks for the tips.

gilbybarr

Meguiars 21 is great for my black cars....great on all of them for that matter. Goes on easy, hides swirls and tremendous depth/shine.

HOMERLIKEBEER

this!

65 vette dude

I bought the Harbor Fright dual action polisher for 51 dollars, with three pads for 12 dollars. A friend has a black 75 Porsche Carrera that had the usual swirl marks on it. I used a 3 step process of first going over the car with Meguires Scratch X 2.0, and a orange light cutting pad.......then I used Klasse All In One polish with a blue polish pad......then I finished with Mequires Deep Crystal Caranuba wax with a black finishing pad. The results were excellent, and all the swirl marks were gone. I only used speed 3 during the whole process.