Yeah...for LC you can start with Orange//White//Black...those are the three basics. Start from there, get use to them then you can decide whether you'd need anything else in between. Black, blue, red & gold are said to be with minimal or no cutting power. I have the black, blue and gold. Personally, for applying sealants, I prefer black. The foam felts like it's a little denser and it doesn't absorb as much sealants as the other two. The blue and gold I use for finishing polishes (with a rotary).

Aaahh....pad sizes. This would heavily depend on personal preferences. Nowadays, 5" ~ 5.5" are my go-to pads (for both my rotary & LHR15) and sometimes I also use my Megs Soft Buff 6" pads. I also have a few 7" pads including the LC CCS curve and Soft Buff 2.0 (and a few others) but seldom use them anymore unless I'm doing some heavier polishing with a rotary. Even with the LHR15, I do feel more comfortable using the 5"~5.5" pads, and I also heard that some LHR21 owners here also like using smaller size pads. Also, I don't see/feel any *significant* differences (time and efforts) when switching my LHR15 to using larger pads with my LHR21 backing plate. My suggestion, start with the 5.5" and 3"~3.5" pads and go from there. Megs W68DA with a few Soft Buff 2.0 pads would be quite an investment. If you don't mind that then by all means go for it cuz it's fun to play around and experiment and it might suit your liking. But, I don't think they are 'necessary' purchases

Rupes pads are cut at an angle at the side, but the face is 150mm/6" for LHR15 and 180mm/7" for LHR21.

Full descriptions here: http://www.buffdaddy.com/rupes/buffingpads

Hrrmmm....not sure what Rupes Italy meant by 'cannot use' but the backing plates are easily interchangeable and a perfect fit - just screw and unscrew. Maybe what they meant is using the LHR21 backing plate on LHR15 would upset the balance or something....

This post has been edited by KrisMas: May 21 2014, 12:02 PM

Shit man....what a wax collection

Those waxes alone would cost more than the whole detailing stuffs in my store room put together

You can that again....and again...and again. Somebody who can get hold of CQuartz Finest can't just be a somebody

Hrrmm....where should I start....

Frankly, I haven't had that much of an experience with a 'traditional' DA to go into this level of details, except for the few occasions during DITs and visits to Osren and friends' places who got a DA. And I had also borrowed one (Megs G220V1) to extensively try it out and evaluate whether I should get one or not. After which, I decided against getting one mainly because my elbow couldn't take the vibration that it created....until the Bigfoot came out. Only then, with the Bigfoot, I was able to really try out all (or most) of the different types and sizes of pads that I have with me and below are my *personal* observations (in relation with your question).

It not about the size of the pads alone, it's about the size of the pad in relation to the size of the backing plate - i.e. the gap/spaces between the edge of the backing plate and the edge of the pad. This gap/spaces would influence the 'effective working/contact area' of the pad.

This is my own theory: Consider the LHR15 bp (125mm dia.) with Megs Wx006 pads (170mm dia.). There would be a space of 22.5mm on the outer edge of the pad which is not in direct contact with the backing plate. When you exert downward pressure, it would be evenly spread DIRECTLY under the backing plate but further than that the pressure would be reduced (due to the nature/softness of the foam structure). Switching the machine on, you'd see that the working of an ROB would create a virtual smaller circle (inner edge of the throw) inside a larger circle (outer edge of the throw). Now, imagine this outer circle with a 22.5mm radius of area in which the pressure is lower. Lower pressure means less effective 'cut'. So you'd have a 22.5mm of space/contact area whereby the working would be a little less effective than the rest. With a rotary, you can counter this effect by tilting the machine at an angle but with a DA (and especially with a large throw DA like the Bigfoot), the edge of the backing plate would get in contact with the back of the pad and eat through it like a saw (threw away 2 of my 3M green compounding pad because of this). So, with a DA when you reach the edge of a panel, you'd need to go over it so that the 'effective working/contact area' would reach those sections. But what would you do when you reach the edge of a flat panel with an upright panel right beside it?

I'm not sure whether my theory is sound or not (cuz I just figure out how to put it down in writing just now ), but if you notice those serious detailers in foreign forums, most of them are working with a DA with a combination of pads and backing plates which are *almost* the same size. Also, notice the design of Rupes pads whereby they designed the edge to be at an angle so that pressure would be distributed further, whilst still having that space between the outer edge of the pad with the backing plate for safety precautions. The very reason why I decided to get them.

So, in the end, does the above has any 'adverse' effect in the cutting/polishing ability? Well....not DRASTICALLY, but it's enough to make many of us enthusiasts and professional enthusiasts alike, preferring the smaller pads with a DA/Rupes....but well, of course...not just due to only the one reason stated above....there are many more....and just like iamsobloodysick mentioned, some of the other reasons are the smaller pads are much easier and nicer to use (without trying to squeeze my brain again for details and type another essay on why it's 'easier' and 'nicer'.... ).

Oh? Really?

You're using too much.....

8 year old car that hasn't been polished...clear coat should still be there. It won't wear out over time, but it *could* deteriorate (oxidize, peel, etc.) to the point where the only way you can get it shiny again is to repaint. I'm quite confident, under normal conditions (not exposed to extremely harsh environment or treatment), you'd still be able to 'restore' the paint to better conditions.

Now, to the steps.

- wash - right
- clay - still on track
- wash - depends...if you're using some sort of quick detailer for clay lube you might not need to wash again. A simple wipe down again with the same quick detailer could do the job. But if you're using shampoo mix as clay lube, then you'd need to wash the car down again.
- Ultimate compound using RB - still on track but with what pad? And errr....I hope you know what you're doing. If use with a compounding pad (or wool pad), it would be a very aggressive combination and you'd bee cutting a lot of the clear coat. Just be careful and check/inspect regularly.

So far you have the right idea there. But after compounding with UC there would most probably be compounding marks as UC//RB is quite an aggressive combo. You should carefully inspect for compounding marks, buffer trails, holograms (google them, plenty of pictures/illustrations on how they look like) and if you see them, the next step is to 'step down' to a less aggressive combo (change to a milder polish like Ultimate Polish with a less aggresive pad like a polishing/finishing pad) to remove those.

Afterwards, you'd most probably would need to wash the car again to remove all the polishing dust, then only you do a wipe-down with IPA or the like. Thoroughly inspect the car again for anything that you missed or any area you missed out. If all are in order, next step is to apply the coating.

I haven't use Carlack68 products before. But, from their descriptions, SC is an AIO and LLS is a sealant. If you want to use the SC it should be after using a finishing polish and BEFORE applying the coating, but you'd still need to do a thorough wipe-down to remove the protection that it left behind. Personally, I think it's a little redundant. And LLS should go after the coating.

Depending on what type of coating you plan to use, you might or might not need to put on the LLS on. For this, you'd need to check with the seller or anybody else who have experience with Permanon or Opti Coat whether it's safe or not to put on a sealant on top. Personally, if SC could effect a coating, I don't think that coating is even worth getting...

Washing the car *could* create marring, drying with a cloth would even me more risky. That's why proper washing tools, methods and techniques are utmost important for detailing fanatics.

Proper coating would require clean and BARE paint to properly bind and stick to the paint. Polishing residue, wax, sealant, etc. will impede this process and the coating would either won't last long or won't bind at all. Coatings are longer lasting than wax/sealant, you want to put something more durable at the bottom and the less durable on top.

The more defects you remove the glossier the paint would be. Anything else (like coating, wax, sealant, glaze, etc.) would only give a little boost to the shine/gloss.

CORRECTIONS....I'm not 'selling' it per se ah....just helping out a friend (who unfortunately had to close shop) to unload some of his stuffs....

I'm in Shah Alam. If there's any upcoming TT I'll post it up. Cheerio....

You could try checking out DeWalt DWP849X too. Brand new are priced at around RM650.

I have both and they weigh about the same. Official specs also say they both weighs at 3kg. Just that the DeWalt's weight is more balanced (if you know what I mean) and the Makita is built like a tank and a proven work horse.

The old DeWalt....yes. But there's not much difference with this one. Pitch is a little different with the Makita but in term of dB...not a whole lot.

As far as I know that's just about true. But my version of the story is that it's not 2 versions...it's more like it was previously from Japan but the new ones are now from China. The Japan one has M16 thread and the China one has M14 thread. Mine is the 'old' one and says Made in Japan....I can't remember whether the new one got the 'Made in China' on the label or not.

Here we go. This was during one of those gathering that we had. Comparing the few machines. Courtesy from one of the kakis.

http://youtu.be/ZLH2CGj0G7o

There is not really a NEED for the grit guard. But it saves that little hassle that you'd need to go through tho......

Yes it has the soft start. But a little different from the Makita. This DeWalt got a little more torque so it got that initial 'jerk' (like when you lift off a stiff/short clutch on a car) before it slowed back down. When it's in rev, then it's all well like the Makita.

Guys, forget about the washing already. With or without the grit guard, proper washing methods/techniques can minimize wash-induced marring...any method would do...there's no RIGHT or WRONG here...just personal preferences.

The grit guard does work for me, but it's just ONE OUT OF THE MANY items that can be use to REDUCE the risks....that's all. Once you get the washing method right, DON'T FORGET that other thing that is even riskier than washing - DRYING. That is the time when the paint surface is semi-wet/semi-dry with ZERO lubrication other than the water (or whatever left of it) itself.

Yup. The Makita would also do that if you depress the trigger suddenly like that. To use the soft start feature you'd need to depress the trigger slowly and gradually. The only difference is that, if you depress the trigger quickly, the DeWalt would to go to the set speed quicker cuz it got more torque (hence you'd get more 'jerking' action).

Eh? Curious....How come your 22ple bottle (both bottle colour and label) is different from mine and the ones in their official pages?

Hrrmm....interesting. Mind sharing when and where you got that bottle from? Just curious...that's all.

Oh...and also interested to know which one of the lot is the easiest in terms of application.

This post has been edited by KrisMas: May 29 2014, 04:49 PM