Hi car thread! Does anyone have experience using a dual action machine polisher for detailing work? I'm real close to pulling the trigger on a porter cable 7424, but am kind of at sea as far as which pads and compounds to buy. My plan is to wash, clay, do a light cut, polish, and then seal. I've kind of let my car get filthy - there are some swirls and clear coat scratches I'd love to get rid of if possible. It's a black car ('05 g35) and looks great when clean but that seldom lasts for more than five minutes or so.
Can anyone recommend product or share tips? There are a ton of videos out there, which is helpful, but many of them are veiled ads.
I can't speak to the polisher, but my brother when he was starting his detailing business used Chemical Guys brand compounds, and he has spoken pretty highly of them for consumer grade stuff. I use some of their stuff for plastic and rubber restoration and it has worked really well.
Don't get their new car smell car spray though, it smells terrible.
Cool, thanks. I've got the DA polisher showing up today, along with chemical guys pads (going with the white medium pad for the cut and the black finishing pad for polish). I've got some meguiars ultimate compound for the cut, but I still need to pick up some polish, so I'll check out the chem guys product.
Going to get to work on it this weekend - pretty excited. I'll try to take some before and after photos in case anyone is interested in seeing how well all this works out (for a total amateur that is).
We tend to need towing capacity more than payload capacity. Yeah, if you want to haul 4000 lbs of gravel you need a proper dually commercial truck. If your main use is a to pull a 10,000 lb camper to go on trips with, getting a luxury spec HD truck is really nice.
Gooseneck campers are pretty sweet, but in that case I woukd just buy a Winnebago-style all-in-one unit instead of a big ute and a camper. Obviously not an actual Winnie though, I don't shit gold.
There's a camper for sale down the street from us that's based on a old Dodge truck (probably from somewhere around 1970) and costs all of $1600. It's pretty beat up from the outside (and likely on the inside/under the hood), but that's also dirt cheap.
Instead of an SUV with the associated hike in running costs, how about an Odyssey? Pop the last row of seats out and it's practically a van back there.
The issue I have with the odyssey is that my dad's had a minivan for the first 20 years of my life, and I can never unassociate minivans = vehicle for parents.
As well, I do need more storage space than I already have (which isn't too hard considering coupe), but I don't need alllll the space.
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firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
I got my machine polisher today, and spent some time in the driveway and garage. Washed and dried, clayed with an instant detailing spray, did a spot cut on some small scratches and marks with that ultimate compound on a medium pad, and then a whole body polish with meguiar's mirror glaze on a light pad. Pretty happy with what I was able to accomplish, especially for the first time using the tool. I made a few obvious mistakes like using too much compound and pulling the tool while it was spinning (spatter city) but otherwise it went well. It also seems super safe as far as burning or swirling paint goes, as the clutch is fairly sensitive.
I wasn't too impressed with the ultimate cut, but I think I should have used a harsher pad with it. The mirror glaze worked really well though, and was easy to apply and buff in. I still need to wax it in the morning but am otherwise pretty stoked.
Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
A simple and obvious example would be the video he made calling the new Mustang an unsafe deathtrap.
In 2015 it scored 5 out of 5 stars, making it one of the safest cars on the road. Then they changed the requirements for star ratings, and added a bunch of electronic gear that the Mustang does not have.
Under the new criteria it scored 2 out of 5 stars.
Cue Cadogan making the aforementioned video.
I note he hasn't made videos about any other cars which don't score too well under the new criteria - strange thing, that...
I just changed the high-beam bulbs on my 2016 Elantra GT, the passenger side bulb is super easy to change. You remove a little gasketed door, unplug the bulb, push in a little retainer clip, and remove the bulb.
The driver side is exactly the same, but there's a sensor just above the door that needs to be unplugged, and they also ran a bundle of wires juuuusst above the door, so you have to slide the door out underneath that, while working in about a 1/3rd as much space as the passenger side because the airbox is on the driver side.
Yeah I'm not going to be transferring my lease to a new car this year.
The civic hatchback was actually a really nice car to drive, and I don't actually mind the looks of it once you get to the sport touring version.
But here's the thing, they told me that I'd be paying an ~$4600 penalty for ending the lease early, even though the only reason this would be happening is because they want to preemptively lock me into another 3 years' worth of lease payments, so I really don't think a penalty should be applied at all. I can understand charging a penalty if I'm just ending the lease early and not getting a new lease, but because the ending of the lease is predicated on signing up for another four year lease, the penalty I think shouldn't be applicable or relevant.
BUT, even then the monthly lease payment that he told me just didn't make sense at all. So I told him I'd like a copy of the quote and think about it, I came home, made the excel sheet, did the calculations, and the actual penalty for ending the lease early is in the ~$11,000 range.
Yeah I'm not going to be transferring my lease to a new car this year.
The civic hatchback was actually a really nice car to drive, and I don't actually mind the looks of it once you get to the sport touring version.
But here's the thing, they told me that I'd be paying an ~$4600 penalty for ending the lease early, even though the only reason this would be happening is because they want to preemptively lock me into another 3 years' worth of lease payments, so I really don't think a penalty should be applied at all. I can understand charging a penalty if I'm just ending the lease early and not getting a new lease, but because the ending of the lease is predicated on signing up for another four year lease, the penalty I think shouldn't be applicable or relevant.
BUT, even then the monthly lease payment that he told me just didn't make sense at all. So I told him I'd like a copy of the quote and think about it, I came home, made the excel sheet, did the calculations, and the actual penalty for ending the lease early is in the ~$11,000 range.
Mildly infuriated at that b.s lie.
If they want your car THAT bad, they will eat the "early-termination" fee. If they aren't willing to do that, then I'd just stick with what you've got.
Between you and me, Peggy, I smoked this Juul and it did UNTHINKABLE things to my mind and body...
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Can your business buy the car? I mean, when you do eventually get a new one. I get some minor tax deductions for the running costs of a company vehicle if my company buys it.
Maybe at some point in the future the company could get its own car.
But being a one year old company in retail, we are not at that point yet.
I did understand that ending a lease early, no matter the reason, would mean they'd try to screw you, what annoys me the most is how explicitly he lied about how much the penalty actually was, as though I wouldn't check this shit out.
Sounds like you're with this until the lease ends, then you find a new dealer.
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Fuck I hate dealerships. And I've worked for two! I gotta say though, they weren't anywhere near as bad as my own experiences with the dealer we bought our car from. Maybe truck dealerships are just a LOT more honest and less price-gougey?
Fuck I hate dealerships. And I've worked for two! I gotta say though, they weren't anywhere near as bad as my own experiences with the dealer we bought our car from. Maybe truck dealerships are just a LOT more honest and less price-gougey?
Their customers are probably generally more knowledgable about these things too.
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Fuck I hate dealerships. And I've worked for two! I gotta say though, they weren't anywhere near as bad as my own experiences with the dealer we bought our car from. Maybe truck dealerships are just a LOT more honest and less price-gougey?
Their customers are probably generally more knowledgable about these things too.
You might think so. That's often not the case... Especially with fleet customers, most of the time the company scheduler is an admin who's never driven a truck in their life. Or for a lot of the smaller fleet customers we had, it was literally one guy who owned half a dozen trucks and also drove himself, so a truck would just turn up and the contractor driver would say something like "Oh, it's a bit sticky getting into gear hey bro", turns out he'd burned the clutch so badly all the friction material was sitting in the bottom of the bellhousing and the cast steel flywheel was blue, out of round, warped, and covered in deep radial cracks.
I only meant only about the purchasing experience.
Yeah, you're not wrong there. But then White, International, Kenworth, Freightliner, all these companies that kludge together shitty trucks still manage to stay afloat and sell vehicles, generally because "the bigger and shinier it is, the better".
I'm not kidding. One of our bigger small fleets changed from Volvos to Macks because the drivers like bonneted trucks because they look "tougher". Same fucking drivetrains (this was after the buyout), just in a shittier, less comfortable box with worse steering and ride.
The problem with leases is it means the dealer is negotiating with corporate (who holds/funds the lease), so it has to be a good enough deal for them to deal with that associated bs.
Leasing has a few useful applications, but they are pretty rare. My Cruze was dirt cheap ($120/mo) and still the most expensive car I've ever had when you calculate the cost per mile.
I got my 2013 Fusion through a 3-year, 0% lease. It was a great payment and worked out super well for me in the end... although that was probably because I screwed up on the allowed KM per year. Basically, I changed jobs right after leasing and went from 25K KM/year being a nice, safe number (that was also reasonable) due to commute to a situation where I'm still just under 60K and it's a year out from the end of that lease. So, I over-paid in my monthly payments on my lease, because I could have had it much cheaper with a 15K KM/year lease instead, but it resulted in a super cheap buyout price and I've got a nice little loan with even lower payments for owning the car now.
But, I really wouldn't have considered the lease if it wasn't 0%. That was just magical timing.
If I have to park in a space I have to back out of instead of pull forward through. There is a 25 percent chance I will have to back up and straighten my car out at least once.
Which at a busy parking lot like the grocery store pisses people off even if it's only an extra few seconds.
If I have to park in a space I have to back out of instead of pull forward through. There is a 25 percent chance I will have to back up and straighten my car out at least once.
Which at a busy parking lot like the grocery store pisses people off even if it's only an extra few seconds.
Wait, you take the time to make sure your car is in the stall properly?
Please continue doing this. You're doing it right.
I mean it is weird. I got a 100% score on my maneuverability part of the driving test.
But for some reason parking next to other cars is a huge pain. Especially with the pressure of jerks giving you the stink eye because they might have to wait a couple of seconds to leave the lot.
I mean it is weird. I got a 100% score on my maneuverability part of the driving test.
But for some reason parking next to other cars is a huge pain. Especially with the pressure of jerks giving you the stink eye because they might have to wait a couple of seconds to leave the lot.
It takes practice, and some cars are way better at letting you know where their corners are than others. My Crown Vic has about 2ft of hood and bumper that goes past where I can see in the front, and about the same in the back. I've certainly nudged cars a few times when parking. Now my Jeep Cherokee you know EXACTLY where the corners of that thing are, it is like a guided missile when it comes to pulling into a parking spot.
Also other drivers in parking lots can go fuck themselves if they are riding someones ass while they park or pull out. That's part of driving though, there is a certain amount of fuck off attitude you need to develop towards other drivers who are being assholes.
Personally I find it easier/quicker to reverse in and pull out forwards, cos there's less likely any chance of anything moving inside the parking space than out of it. Also the first thing I drove about in was an old ute with manual steering. I just had to get good at parking, else I couldn't go anywhere.
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L Ron HowardThe duckMinnesotaRegistered Userregular
what part of that car is street legal? even in TX the tires, the windows, the seat belt/harness, the lack of airbags (probably) are not street legal...
not to mention the noise it makes... yeah it's legal, until you start the motor? great.
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Cool, thanks. I've got the DA polisher showing up today, along with chemical guys pads (going with the white medium pad for the cut and the black finishing pad for polish). I've got some meguiars ultimate compound for the cut, but I still need to pick up some polish, so I'll check out the chem guys product.
Going to get to work on it this weekend - pretty excited. I'll try to take some before and after photos in case anyone is interested in seeing how well all this works out (for a total amateur that is).
There's a camper for sale down the street from us that's based on a old Dodge truck (probably from somewhere around 1970) and costs all of $1600. It's pretty beat up from the outside (and likely on the inside/under the hood), but that's also dirt cheap.
The issue I have with the odyssey is that my dad's had a minivan for the first 20 years of my life, and I can never unassociate minivans = vehicle for parents.
As well, I do need more storage space than I already have (which isn't too hard considering coupe), but I don't need alllll the space.
I wasn't too impressed with the ultimate cut, but I think I should have used a harsher pad with it. The mirror glaze worked really well though, and was easy to apply and buff in. I still need to wax it in the morning but am otherwise pretty stoked.
Bnet tag: Nermals#11601
Bnet tag: Nermals#11601
In 2015 it scored 5 out of 5 stars, making it one of the safest cars on the road. Then they changed the requirements for star ratings, and added a bunch of electronic gear that the Mustang does not have.
Under the new criteria it scored 2 out of 5 stars.
Cue Cadogan making the aforementioned video.
I note he hasn't made videos about any other cars which don't score too well under the new criteria - strange thing, that...
In other news I now have another storage space and found a nice 58 Corvette to replace the hit car.
The driver side is exactly the same, but there's a sensor just above the door that needs to be unplugged, and they also ran a bundle of wires juuuusst above the door, so you have to slide the door out underneath that, while working in about a 1/3rd as much space as the passenger side because the airbox is on the driver side.
The civic hatchback was actually a really nice car to drive, and I don't actually mind the looks of it once you get to the sport touring version.
But here's the thing, they told me that I'd be paying an ~$4600 penalty for ending the lease early, even though the only reason this would be happening is because they want to preemptively lock me into another 3 years' worth of lease payments, so I really don't think a penalty should be applied at all. I can understand charging a penalty if I'm just ending the lease early and not getting a new lease, but because the ending of the lease is predicated on signing up for another four year lease, the penalty I think shouldn't be applicable or relevant.
BUT, even then the monthly lease payment that he told me just didn't make sense at all. So I told him I'd like a copy of the quote and think about it, I came home, made the excel sheet, did the calculations, and the actual penalty for ending the lease early is in the ~$11,000 range.
Mildly infuriated at that b.s lie.
If they want your car THAT bad, they will eat the "early-termination" fee. If they aren't willing to do that, then I'd just stick with what you've got.
But being a one year old company in retail, we are not at that point yet.
I did understand that ending a lease early, no matter the reason, would mean they'd try to screw you, what annoys me the most is how explicitly he lied about how much the penalty actually was, as though I wouldn't check this shit out.
Their customers are probably generally more knowledgable about these things too.
You might think so. That's often not the case... Especially with fleet customers, most of the time the company scheduler is an admin who's never driven a truck in their life. Or for a lot of the smaller fleet customers we had, it was literally one guy who owned half a dozen trucks and also drove himself, so a truck would just turn up and the contractor driver would say something like "Oh, it's a bit sticky getting into gear hey bro", turns out he'd burned the clutch so badly all the friction material was sitting in the bottom of the bellhousing and the cast steel flywheel was blue, out of round, warped, and covered in deep radial cracks.
Yeah, you're not wrong there. But then White, International, Kenworth, Freightliner, all these companies that kludge together shitty trucks still manage to stay afloat and sell vehicles, generally because "the bigger and shinier it is, the better".
I'm not kidding. One of our bigger small fleets changed from Volvos to Macks because the drivers like bonneted trucks because they look "tougher". Same fucking drivetrains (this was after the buyout), just in a shittier, less comfortable box with worse steering and ride.
*sigh*
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
But, I really wouldn't have considered the lease if it wasn't 0%. That was just magical timing.
Some of the stuff you lot are allowed to get away with is insane!
Indeed! Freedom to get hit by a maniac in an old car with shitty brakes and suspension and five times the original power output...
Is parking.
If I have to park in a space I have to back out of instead of pull forward through. There is a 25 percent chance I will have to back up and straighten my car out at least once.
Which at a busy parking lot like the grocery store pisses people off even if it's only an extra few seconds.
Yeah it wouldn't fly here in California for emissions reasons, but it would certainly be legal back home in Michigan (with a change of tires).
Wait, you take the time to make sure your car is in the stall properly?
Please continue doing this. You're doing it right.
The rest of the world can go fuck itself.
I never finish anyth
But for some reason parking next to other cars is a huge pain. Especially with the pressure of jerks giving you the stink eye because they might have to wait a couple of seconds to leave the lot.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
It takes practice, and some cars are way better at letting you know where their corners are than others. My Crown Vic has about 2ft of hood and bumper that goes past where I can see in the front, and about the same in the back. I've certainly nudged cars a few times when parking. Now my Jeep Cherokee you know EXACTLY where the corners of that thing are, it is like a guided missile when it comes to pulling into a parking spot.
Also other drivers in parking lots can go fuck themselves if they are riding someones ass while they park or pull out. That's part of driving though, there is a certain amount of fuck off attitude you need to develop towards other drivers who are being assholes.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I never finish anyth
not to mention the noise it makes... yeah it's legal, until you start the motor? great.