Hello Danram, Thank you for the tip. Will look at the porter cable. Do not want to do any damage to the paint. How about posting a picture of your truck? How are the chrome h2's holding up? I saw an h2 a couple weeks ago and his rear wheel was all blistered. Regards, Steve.

 

Steve,

Check my gallery for pics. All of the pics in there are when i was running 315's. I have since switched to Nitto 285's "E" rated since I tow heavy sometimes. The H2's have been great, no issues at all. They spent the first 1 1/2 years in Maryland, which uses copious amounts of salt in the winter. The last two have been in Florida, so their life is now pretty easy in comparison.

 

I have a huge kit ordered containg a Porter Cable 7424, orange,yellow,white and grey foams along with pollish, cleaner, clay bar, wax, compound.......ect.

Im getting a great deal on this from someone, all bought new I would be looking at $300-450, but not me. Inexpencive. Woooohoooo, Shout out to Tim at Autopia.org for hooking me up.

 

BTW Dan what products do you like best with the PC? I talked to Tim on Autopia for what seemed like 4-5 hours lastnight and got some terrific advise. Just wondering, bieng that we both drive black CTD's.

 

Zaino Brothers is by far the best!!!

http://www.zainostore.com

 

I'm so glad my truck is white....then again, the black ones look so good after a good waxing. I've owned black vehicles before, but switched to white because of serious time constraints. Here's to all you guys keeping up on that black paint!

 

Dave,

I have been very happy with the Menzerna line. I use the Intensive Polish first and then follow it up with Final Polish II. I like them because they contain no fillers. When you get the swirls out, you know their gone. I have tried a couple other combos, but I like Menzerna the best.

You were wise going to Autopia.org, those guys are the guru's when it comes to car detailing.

 

Cool, thanks Ill have to look into their product line.

 

I think they have a good product, but not the best. Saying they are the best is a long shot.

 

Unless you know what you're doing, STAY AWAY FROM A ROTARY POLISHER!!!! Besides burning your paint, you will most likely induce more surface defects than you already have and won't be able to get them out without a professionals assistance.

Don't confuse a rotary with a Porter Cable 7424.. they are two completely different animals.

dang! Good to see autopia represented here!

The porter cable 7424 is a GREAT recommendation. Let me also say that you're run of the mill "Random Orbit" polisher is a TOY compared to a PC7424. They are in NO WAY near the same tool.

Now, get your self a couple of cutting pads, a couple polishing pads and a couple of finishing pads, some good clay, somg good compound, some good polish and a good sealant/wax, and you'll be blinging in NO-TIME (well... about 8 hours of work later...).

Zaino does rock, b/c it's easy to use.

My favorite combo on the Dodge trucks (I do a LOT of them) is this:

1. wash (with DAWN to strip off any wax, tar, etc).
2. clay the entire truck (get a "clay bar kit" with lube or just use carwash & water in a spraybottle).
3. wash again with carwash (meguiars gold class is great and it's $10/gallon at target)
4. Compound using the 7424 and a cutting pad at speed 6 (if swirls are bad).
5. remove compound with QUALITY MICROFIBER TOWEL.
6. polish using the 7424 and a polishing pad at speed 6.
7. remove polish with QUALITY MICROFIBER TOWEL.
8. seal or wax the truck with 7424 and a finishing pad level 3 or 4.
9. buff out sealant with a QUALITY MICROFIBER TOWEL.

The Zaino line is REALLY great stuff. Zaino makes a nice all purpose grade of clay, and their detail sprays are fantastic.
Typically, I use Optimum Compound, Zaino Z-PC, or 3M Perfect It II as one of my compounds. It all depends on the type, hardness and condition of the paint I'm working on.
GENERALLY, Optimum compound finishes out well enough with the 7424 that I can go straight to my sealant. it's a fantastic compound. it's cheap, and it goes A LONG way.

www.topoftheline.com is a great place to get great products at good prices.
www.exceldetail.com is a good place to start for towels.

I agree that saying Zaino is the best is a stretch... but for most people like me that don't drop the money on the Zymol estate class stuff or even the cheaper Sovouran, Zaino is about the best out there.

Other top shelf stuff to look at that's comperable to Zaino:
Blackfire
Four Star
ClearKote Vanilla Moose (AWESOME STUFF TOO!)
Menzera (Kickin products, but they DUST too much for my liking)
Jeff's Werkstat
Hi-Temp (Top of the line house brand, but good stuff).
Sonus (autopia house brand)

I'm not knocking Mother's or Meguiars, it's good stuff... but the more "botique" lines like I listed above are MUCH more user friendlier (longer work times, deeper finishes, etc).

But I digress.....
HERE"S WHY YOU'RE GETTING SWIRLS:
YOU are doing it when you wash/wax. Using substandard wash mitt's and or towels. For optimum results, ALWAYS use a quality mitt, and REAL microfiber towels (NOT FROM Wal-Mart or anywhere else over the counter). Even though most towels will say 100% cotton, a lot of times that only means in the nap. What happens is they use polyester or some other synthetic on the bindings or as a base to hold the towel together. That's what scratches your paint. Dirty wash water and a wal-mart "peanut" sponge will also create this "micro-marring" of your paint.

I use a two bucket method to wash. One has my soap in it, the other is just a rinse bucket for my mitt. Also, wash above the beltline all the way around before washing below the beltline. Only use your mitt for the paint and the windows. Use another mitt for wheels/tires, bug crusted bumpers, etc. The cleaner your mitt's and towels, the less chance you have to creating these little scratches.

I know there's a lot of rambling here, but I'll expound on whatever anyone is interested in. The only thing I love more than my CTD and my family is DETAILING and Paint Correction!!!!!

 

So what do you all use to get to the middle of the hood? I have a hard time reaching well enough to do any good work and I'm 6'1". I'm reaching so far out that I'm afraid my weight will dent the fender.

Also, do any of you use gaffer's tape to mask off the black plastic? I can't stand getting any wax on there, but my buddies give me endless trouble for being **** retentive. That said, my truck sure is better looking than their's.

 

I stand on the tires to get to the middle of the hood. I'm 6'2"

I haven't taped off a vehicle since I started using good products. Most waxes have silicones of some sort. That's where the majority of your white residue comes from. Nothing in the optimum or Zaino line has any sillicone fillers. I go right over the black plastic with no residues.

 

I stand on tires ot the my front bumper.

 

what do you know.......I just got my 7424 tonight and went right out and did my hood with i think it was perfect-it II followed by a coat of wax(turtle was gold) sorry all you high enders.....LOL......looks great. Cant wait to do the rest of the truck.

Tom

 

Sweet! the 7424 is the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Did you use the white pad that came with it, or do you have a yellow flexible backing plate and "stick-on" pads?