Other than polishing pads it comes with, what other pads will I need for full detailing for my Onyx Black 02 ES300? and how long will those pads last? are they washable/reusable? and recommend me a polishing, waxing, scratch removers and where I can get them cheap... and how much should I expect?

thanks,
Tae

 

and is this metal ticking noise normal?
it's this metal ticking noise when you turn this unit on other than
normal noise... wonder if I got defective unit... anyone?
and what do I do with small plastic washer that came with?

 

Yea the noise is normal. The PC runs kind of noisy.

 

You should get two or three polishing pads and two finishing pads for starters. If you plan on using your PC to remove product you should also get a cutting pad and several microfiber bonnets. Use the cutting pad as the base for your bonnets.

Abrasive paint cleaners and polishes should use a polishing pad at around speed 5 and glazes (pure polishes) and wax should use a finishing pad at around speed 3. Microfiber bonnets should run at speed 3-4

 

I would advise you against taking advice on learning how to use your PC on here and go to http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-p...-polisher.html and TAKE THE TIME to learn fully what you're doing. What he said above wasn't wrong but you build up your speed to 5 when using abrasives from a starting level of 2 (cutting pads are NOT recommended for beginners). Not saying he gave you wrong advice but take the time and do the research because you can easily get over your head and ruin your paint. Another piece of advice, don't go cheap.

 

hey man. good call on that. i'm gonna be buying a PC in the near future, and reading CL posts, i get the impression that doin stuff like the guy suggested will be a breeze. good work on posting that link too.

 

you wanna get a backing plate, one yellow pad, one orange pad, either two black pads or one black, one blue pad (for lake country pads).

As for chemicals... you'll want one pretty abrasive polish (menzerna intensive polish/poorboy's ssr2.5/pinnacle XMT intermediate polish/or the link),
one finishing polish (menzerna finishing polish/poorboy's ssr1/pinnacle XMT light swirl remover),
glaze if you want (red moose red moose glaze, blue coral product x, I guess Klass All in One can be put in this category, etc. etc.),
LSP (Last Standing Product) you have two categories to choose sealants/waxes. Sealants last long but don't look as wet. Waxes look great but don't last that long. Sealants, I'd go w/ Duragloss #105 topped with Aquawax. There's also Collinite 845 or Zaino z2pro (expensive). For waxes, if you have the money get Pinnacle Souveran. but I personally use Poorboy's Natty blue. its about 90% as wet as Souveran and pretty inexpensive.

PCs are user friendly and are made to be user friendly. Its hard to cause paint burn on your car even as a beginner. But using it right will take practice. Don't be afraid of speed 6. with polishes I'd just spread the product w/ speed 3 so it doesn't splatter and then go straight to 6 to really work in the polish. with the glaze and LSP, I just work it in w/ speed 3. and I wipe off by hand.

There are other chemicals as well. Just try and see which one you like better.
And goto www.autopia.org ... you'll go crazy and buy everything hahaha

 

Yes, using the PC is a breeze. Here is a decent youtube video from Autogeek.

There are a couple related videos there that are pretty good as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89323lmQ2LI

 

Yes! Great place to start! I have been reading madly about detailing meathods products and processes for about a week now. Looking to dump about 300 bucks in to get started and I can wait to get my hands on that PC! First the whole families cars, then mine!