My girlfriend...sorry fiance!...wants to know what i want for my birthday. I think i am going to ask for a porter cable!!!
Which one?
what else to i need....pads? do i get the ones from griots garage?
thanks peeps.
what about chemicals/ compounds etc?
i need to get scratches out....Scatch X?

 

I wouldn't buy it from Griots. It's a little overpriced there.
I got mine from Coastal tool ($120). Came with a 6" backing plate and 6" counter weight.
As for pads, these days they come in bunch of different levels. In general, a good start would be to get 2 "cutting" pads, 2 "polishing" pads and 2 "finishing" pads.

I'm kinda partial to Meguiars for polishes. They just have a really great line up. I've had decent success with Scratch X on mild scratches, but for full spiderwebbing/swirls, you may want to look into something like #80 and #83.
I'm sure others will chime in.
Hope this helps

 

Thanks! I was going to get the machine from like Lowes or something...on sale for 100 bucks and then get the pads from griots. I think it is has a smaller counter wieght. Does that matter?

 

I got my PC from Lowe's .. the counterweight on the PC is the correct size for 6" pads. I got a great deal on my pads from Patrick @ exceldetail.com. (He also shows up on this forum every once in a while .. look for the monkey)

Besides chemicals, you'll need a backing plate, pads, and maybe a good buffing cloth. Depending on the condition of your vehicle, you may or may not need the more aggressive pads. Personally, I got one medium polishing pad, two light polishing pads, and a finishing pad. I didn't need the medium pad right away but thought it would be good to have.

I wouldn't worry about the polishing bonnets or stuff like that right out of the box. A good mf works better than using the PC to buff.

Enjoy the new toy!

 

You'll need all this;

http://autogeek.net/hk7424.html

Shop for better price though. For scratches I'll say try new Zaino Z-PC. I've it and will try one of these weekends. But have great reviewes on autopia.

 

Yup. Lowe's has it ... PC7336 for about a C-note. You can get Sonus pads from here, Lake Country Pads from several online sites like Proper Auto Car Care or Propel Pads from exceldetail . You didn't mention how bad your scratches are but a product like Optimum Car Polish or Four Star SMR would probably do the trick. Follow up with Four Star UPP. You can check the exceldetail site for more info on these products. Have fun detailing. BTW, Happy Birthday.

 

i do have some scratch marks now. 1) the car is black 2)I have never had it detailed.
I mean with a coat of waz (Meguires NXT) it looks great...from a few feel away. I don;t know if anyone else can see the scratches...but i sure can. They go a little beyond swirl marks. Now I also have couple of spits where it is spiderwebbing. That is what pisses me off the most.
I am thinkin that I need to use some kind of fine scratch remover pad before i start putting something on. I also was thinking of breaking down and buying Zaino.

 

I use the Menzerna line, if you have some spiderwebbing and scratches I would start with a medium cut pad and Menzerna Intensive Polish II at 5 1/2 - 6 on the PC it works great at the higher speeds on the PC.

Follow that up with the Menzerna Final Polish with a light cut pad and you'll have a finish that's like glass. Then top with a couple of coats of a good polymer (I use Menzerna FMJ but it's expensive).

You'll be amazed at what you can do with a little time and patience. The PC is a great tool for the beginner, it's really tough to screw things up.

Let us know how it works out!