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Originally Posted by Warpaint69
I have the Griot 6" and 3" polishers, very affordable for the do it yourselfer, not to mention both come with a lifetime warranty. Before you polish you'll want to clay your car. Some also do a wipe down with deluted alcohol to remove old wax. I found a safer means with Griot Garages Paint Prep. As far as polishes there are many great options. An affordable pair is meguiars 105 and 205 or the Wolfgang twins. I personally like the Menzerna line of polishes. Their FG400 is a diminishing polish that will correct and also polish out to 95% in one step with a lake country flat orange pad with decreasing pressure with your passes. That last 5% are people who desire that true show car finish and the Menzerna SF4500 with a lake country flat grey will get you there. I've also used a white flat with the 4500 with great results. The thing you'll learn about pads is there really isn't a right or wrong pad. You just always want to start with the least aggressive pad and cutting compound to achieve your goal. I recommend plenty of testing/trial and error. Lake Country and Buff and Shine make good quality pads. After I'm through polishing I wipe the vehicle down with CarPro Eraser to remove left over polish residue and oils. The best glaze on the market for those with fine swirls and don't wish to do paint correction is Chemical Guys Black Light. My favorite sealant is Black Fire Wet Diamond. With 2 coats of Pinnacle Souveran wax on black or red paints it gives deep shine and looks super wet. Wolfgang Fuzion wax is also amazing on dark paints, it lasts a little longer than Souveran, but the $195 price tag is steep, you do get 1 free refill. I dry my Camaro with a Metro Vac Master Blaster blow dryer, they're pricey, but reduce chances of swirls. The best quick detailer spray is made by Adams Polishes. Something else you want in your arsenal is plenty of microfiber towels and it's wise to color code your towel to specific steps in your detailing to never cross contaminate products on your finish. Here's a list of places I visit and hit sales.
Auto geek- auto geek often has sales, but their shipping is pricey want to reach their free shipping with your order.
Detailers Domain- I've done a bit of business with Phil and he's always willing to offer me 15% off on any of my orders.
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Adams Polishes
Superior Car Care- Always get 10% off with SUPERIOR10 code
Auto Detailing Solutions
Auto-Topia Car Care
Detailing.com
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Great post. The confusion on the Griot site was trying to find descriptions of all those pads and which to use? You pretty much polish and wax with pads/polisher and buff by hand right? I've never really been told best method and having a polisher will be new. I've always done it all by hand.