im a n00b when it comes to polishing... im going to order my PC random orbital tonight... what pads/swirl removers/polishes would you suggest i get along with it?

ty for the help

I have orderd 2 Porter Cable/Meguiars PC's from here.
http://www.autodetailingsolutions.com/

Go to www.autopia.org and click on the "Learning" button at the top and then download the e-book on detailing. That book is like the Detailer's Bible.

Basically any 'good' polish range will be fine for what you need. I have a number of different polishing pads. Everything from a Cutting pad down to a Finessing pad. I start with the cutting pad and Poorboy's SSR3 and then work my way down to a fine polish with a finishing pad (I only use the finessing pad with a sealant). I use 2 of each pad as the polishing will give a huge amount of paint pickup to the pad. I use the first pad for the first section, then soak that pad in the cleaning solution while I use the second pad for the next section. Then I alternate between pads and always use a clean pad for each section.

almost done...

http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/almost.jpg

That is looking horn!!!

heres how to get the final coat to go on a lot smoother:

-mix some mineral spirits into the brightside. I think i ended up with a mix of only 10% mineral spirits, but it seemed to help smooth the paint out a lot better.

-put the final coat on in <50 degree weather. When i put my final coat on, i applied it in a 42 degree garage. I guess it gave the paint more time to settle and level...

Lookin good! Have any close up pics? I'm actually considering doing this now.

i second that notion, because red could use a paintjob ... UPS brown anyone?

This is what my bonnet looks like after a less-than-perfect wet-sand and then polished with a swirl remover and a cutting pad.

http://swoolmer.bigblog.com.au/data/...1119100452.JPG

That's FRICKIN AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

whoa

Heres how it was when i got it:
http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/1.jpg

after wetsanding:
http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/wetsanded.jpg

first coat goin on:
http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/firstcoat.jpg

after 4 coats, its done for a week.. then i can polish it...
http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/done1.jpg

http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/done2.jpg

http://www.neonshaun.com/miata/done.jpg

I love that grey. That's the color I was thinking of too.

I really want to do this on my jeep but I'm too lazy

Mate, that miata of yours is looking beautiful!!!

I do a lot of reading on different detailing sites and your car already looks like it has a factory paint job. Based on the results the detailers are able to achieve on the cars that they work on, you should be able to get your car's paint looking perfect after you do your final wet-sand and polishing.

And achieving that for less than $100 is priceless!!! :bigtu:

Good shit b1m2x3. Now do mine!

pretty damn good looking results from the pictures. can you post up some links to the products you used?

bmx, could you take some pictures of it with better lighting? I'd like to see the color under sunlight to get a better idea of how dark it is.

hey Aussie and b1m, did you guys do the door jams? I already found a local Brightside distributor if they would answer the phone. Who did you buy yours from b1m?

Yep, I did the door jams. I took the doors off my car for the Brightside job which made them a lot easier to paint. I also grabbed a spray can of gloss black that I had lying around and sprayed paint as far up behind the front fenders as I could. That stops the streak of red that was visible through the panel gap between the doors and the front fenders.