ms0972

I have been lurking on the Acurazine boards for about a year now and I am ready to make the leap for a Orbital Buffer.

A little background here, I currently own a 05 NBP and have been an amateur detailer for some time now. I spent a little time as the Acurazine dreaded dealership detailer back in my teen years but this is about the only experience I have had. I have been scared about burning the paint but after all the reviews on the buffer I am ready to take the plunge.

I am getting a little tired of hand polishing routine taking over 8 hours at a time. I am currently using a three step process with some mequires wax and polish and believe I need to step up my game because of some halo challenges in the NBP paint. While others say my car looks great, I can definately see the room for improvement.

I am thinking about ordering the 7424 from Excel Detail and had a question about which one I should get. The paint is in relatively good shape so I am leaning towards the kit that comes with the white, gray, and red pads.


1. - PC/UDM Model 1000 w/5.5'' Erasure Yel/Orn/Rd cut kit, 3 Sup. MF's
The most powerful dual-action car polisher available.
* 1 each 5.5" Yellow, Orange, and Red Excel-Erasure Polishing pads.
* 3Bonus Excel Supreme 1616 microfiber polishing towels.
* Ultimate Detailing Machine by Porter Cable Dual-Action Polisher
* 5" Velcro Backing Plate
* 6" Foam Polishing Pad
* Wrench
* Maintains a new car finish & improves paint gloss.
* Removes swirl marks & paint scratches.
* Safe & easy way to clean, polish & protect your


2 - PC/UDM Model 1000PC w/5.5'' Erasure Wht/Gry/Rd Fin. kit & 3 Mf's
The most powerful dual-action car polisher available.
* 1 each 5.5" White, Grey and Red Excel-Erasure Polishing pads.
* 3 Bonus Excel Supreme 1616 microfiber polishing towels.
* Ultimate Detailing Machine by Porter Cable Dual-Action Polisher
* 5" Velcro Backing Plate
* 6" Foam Polishing Pad
* Wrench
* Maintains a new car finish & improves paint gloss.
* Removes swirl marks & paint scratches.
* Safe & easy way to clean, polish & protect your ca

I appreciate all suggestions. I have read the three pages of postings under the wash and wax section and was hoping to get a quick step by step guide on which polishes and waxes I should buy. I know it might be a reduntant question, but a step by step would be extremely helpful knowing about my car NBP 05 TL with good but not great paint.

1. Wash
2. Clay Bar
3. Polish? Pad? Speed? Time?
4. Sealant? Pad? Speed? Time?
(I believe this gets the idea across of what I am looking for in a step by step)

I would like to buy all the products from Excel due to the involvement he has given to these forums with all of tips and suggestions.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

i feel your pain on the black colored car since i had tons of questions in my other thread. best of luck on making that next step, you won't be disappointed. the guys on here have tons of knowledge and are always here to give some direction.

do have pics of the car in the sun? if you have only light defects, the yellow pad will be too harsh. very light swirls can be corrected with a white pad. i'll let the other gurus chime in.

and if you haven't already done so. i would read and re-read this thread.

https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/new-car-care-suggestions-advice-684980/

ms0972

That was one of the threads I reviewed today. I spent the entire morning reading all the threads still available in this forum. This is one of the main reason I decided to take the leap on the buffer.

I don't have a picture of the car in the sun, but I was thinking about that when I posted. I am pretty sure looking through the threads that yellow would be a little harsh for my paint. I believe yellow was the most abrasive then orange, white and so on.

I might of been a little harsh describing my paint. I like to keep a clean car and try to keep the appearance up with hand polishes and wax. The car will easily reflect the sky, trees, and anything around. I am having trouble with I believe slight scratches, halo effects in the right sun light, and maybe a little excess wax.

I am mainly looking for suggestions how to take it to the next level of the shine and depth in any light conditions I see on this forum.

Thanks for the quick reply and if anybody else can help out with my original post it would be greatly appreciated.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

in my experience with the acura paint, the white pad is the most important pad to have, get about 3 or soo, then get some grey pads for applying the sealant, the red ones work too...

use the white pad with some optimum polish on speed 6 until you get the results you want...

use the white pad or grey pad with poliseal until you get the final results you want...if your using the poliseal to clean up after the optimum polish, then use the grey pad with speed 3-5...if your using the poliseal to further reduce the swirls then use a white pad with speed 6...you really should only need optimum polish with a white pad, and a second pass may be needed....

use another grey pad to apply the final product also know as your lsp and you can use 4 star upp on speed 2 just to get it whipped out quickly...

exceldetail

The Optimum 8oz sampler should cover your needs entirely. Theres pleanty of product to learn with. Characteristics of each product will surface once youve used them just a couple times. I highly recommend at a minimum, an Orange, White and Red. As said, white is very nice with Acura paint, but this really depends on its current condition. I think I have used white once at onset. Other then that, Ive used Orange about 90% of the time. Its really my workhorse, get down and dirty "getterdone" pad. Ive gotten so used to Optimum and Erasures, that I really know what to expect with my techniques. The Orange with the Compound and/or Polish are really my go to's. Keep in mind, all of the polishes are intermixable......Need a little heavier cutting polish? Add a tad compound. Little lighter Compound? Add a little Polish! And so on.....

ms0972

Okay, I was understanding everything you were saying until the last section. If you could give a little more clarity on LSP? and 4 star upp. I will do a little research also on my own about 4 star upp because I have seen a couple of posts on that.

Thanks for the reply.

ms0972

I was noticing in the packages for the UDM/PC and Optimum sampler it comes with 3 micro-fiber pads. I was wondering if the is a reason to use the micro-fiber pads instead of towels.

Might be a noob question but I feel like I am drinking from a fire hose right now. I am compiling my list and will post a long one in a little bit. Once again thanks for everybody's help.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Patrick, what speeds would you recommend for the orange pad? If using a compound or polish?

exceldetail

What Im saying is all of the Optimum polishes are intermixable. You can mix Polish with Compound to decrease cut. You can mix Compound with Polish to add a little cut etc.....
LSP is last stage protectant, or your sealant or "wax"...
Waxes are carnaubas which have been processed to make usable. Actual Nuba contents vary.
FS UPP is a synthetic wax, generally referred to as a "sealant". They will normally outlast a natural wax's durability. They are incredibly easy to use, and very slick.
In my own world, I use sealants. More often then not, I use FS UPP.

Microfibers allow a more thorough removal of product, period. Much easier to use, with less effort.

I usually do all of my polishing and/or compound on about 4-5 with the original UDM. The PC/UDM you could bump up to 6.
I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with pad and product though. In other words, play with it at around 3-4, then move up as your comfort level and awareness increases.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

that is really a great bit of info to know!!! SUITE!!!

ms0972

Good to know about the micro-fiber. The one bit a clarity I need though is the micro-fiber pad included in the packages for the PC/UDM and Optimum Sampler the same as micro-fiber towels sold separately.

ms0972

OK Guys, it looks like we are starting to get somewhere here. Sorry for the long post but this is mostly for me to capture all my research in one spot. Hopefully this is useful to others. (FYI This is all for an 05 TL NBP)

This is the order list I have so far for ExcelDetail.

1. PC/UDM Model 1000PC w/5.5” Erasure White/Gray/Red and 3 Micro-Fiber Polishing Pads
2. Optimum/ Erasure 5.5” Trio Combo (8oz Optimum Poliseal, 8 oz Optimum Polish II, 8 oz Optimum Compound II, Erasure Orange Polishing Pad, Erasure White Light Polishing Pad, Erasure Red Sealant Pad, 3 Supreme Micro-Fiber Polishing Pads
3. Four Star UPP
4. Sheep Skin Wash Mitt
5. Wash Bucket/Grate/Storage

I will have to figure out a way to economically put together the packages to make the most sense. So far if I get each one of these packages I will have the following items.

• PC/UDM Model 1000PC
• 1 5.5” Orange Polishing Pad
• 2 5.5” White Polishing Pads
• 1 5.5” Grey Polishing Pad
• 2 5.5” Red Sealant Pads
• 8 oz Optimum Poliseal
• 8 oz Optimum Polish II
• 8 oz Optimum Compound II
• 6 Micro-Fiber Pads (I believe these are the same as towels?)
• Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection
o Includes 2 Supreme 1616 Micro-fibers
• Eurow Pro Wash Bucket w/grill insert and lid
• 3 Sheepskin Wash Mitts

Here are a couple of more items I am thinking about purchasing but I still need to do my research on these in the forums. If anybody has quick answers it would be greatly appreciated.

• Best wheel cleaner for Acura TL 05 Base (Is this necessary and what is the best way the entire wheel (Lug Nut Holes)
• Ultimate Detailer Spray (Which one is the best and how do you use it?)
• Spray Wax (Which one is the best and how do you use it?)

Let me know if you can see anything that I am missing. I will be taking pictures of my car and trouble areas and putting together a preliminary action plan for this undertaking. I will post his when I am finished but I am still trying to absorb all this information.

I am used to putting in 8-10 hours washing and waxing the car but this is definitely going to take it to the next level.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Looks pretty good but what are the "Micro-Fiber Pads" you're referring to?

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

lsp is an ackronym for last step product...otherwise know as your protection...4 star ultimate paint protection is an extremely high quaility synthetic sealant...ie its a lsp....

pc/udm speeds....when polishing for paint correction, you will want to use 5-6....anything other then corrections will be up to you, just play with the machine...i use 4-5 for all in one products, 2 for my lsp or 4 star upp...

when starting off on a panel and i am using a polish for paint correction, i use speed 3-4 to spread the polish out and then pump it up to wfo or 6 to work the polish....

ms0972

The UDM/PC and Optimum packs come with these pads. Here is the listing for the Optimum pack.
1-8oz Optimum Polish II, 1-8oz Optimum Compound II, and 1-8oz Optimum PoliSeal. 5.5" Erasure Orange Polishing, 5.5" Erasure White Light Polishing, and 5.5" Erasure Red Sealant pads. 3 Supreme Microfiber Polishing pads.

There are 3 Supreme Microfiber Polishing Pads supplied with each pack. I am trying to figure out if these pads are the same as the micro-fiber towels sold separately on the site.

exceldetail

1-8oz Optimum Polish II, 1-8oz Optimum Compound II, and 1-8oz Optimum PoliSeal. 5.5" Erasure Orange Polishing, 5.5" Erasure White Light Polishing, and 5.5" Erasure Red Sealant pads. 3 Supreme Microfiber Polishing towels.
Typo gents.....sorry.