In terms of detailing and stuff, I've never done anything but wash a car. Both my vehicles are a little neglected. Decided it's time to change that. I have compound, polish, and wax handy already. Ordered the G3500 and some extra pads for it. Anyone here have this thing? Does it work well? Any tricks or tips? Should I use a clay bar before I use the G3500? Thanks!
Meguiars G3500 DA Power System?
- Thread starter dogememe
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The compound will be pretty aggressive with a machine: be very careful.
I'm sure that contraption works, but I don't think it was ever intended to be used to do a whole car. It looks awkward to use and you'll burn a drill up running it for that long. Your money would have been better spent on a polisher from Harbor Freight.
Only clay if necessary, but the paint should be completely decontaminated before polishing.
Only clay if necessary, but the paint should be completely decontaminated before polishing.
I would move gradually. How about a cleaner wax as your first step beyond a plain wash? NuFinish is a great product if you can avoid getting it on any rubber trim. Its a cleaner wax.
Forget the Meguiars G3500 DA. It looks awkward (too many handles) and probably not balanced. I second the HF DA machine. But I use that mainly on my older boat, not on a car.
Forget the Meguiars G3500 DA. It looks awkward (too many handles) and probably not balanced. I second the HF DA machine. But I use that mainly on my older boat, not on a car.
I would get a dedicated DA for the job. I saw that, but I honestly believe the drill will give out way before you get any real results. Joking aside. The drill is not meant to be on for that long and will get hot. A DA is made for long sustained loads like that and will move differently. Go to Harbor Freight and get their Dual Action Polisher. I have it and I dont think it is that bad of a deal! Good for learning
I used something similar that came with a headlight kit.
It worked great for the headlight kit, but I'd hate to know I had to even do a whole hood with it, much less a whole car.
Add me to the Harbor Freight dual action for occasional use.
It worked great for the headlight kit, but I'd hate to know I had to even do a whole hood with it, much less a whole car.
Add me to the Harbor Freight dual action for occasional use.
I have the harbor freight 6" palm polisher, works great.
Wash, clay bar, compound, polish, wax. The 300 will be getting this treatment this weekend.
Wash, clay bar, compound, polish, wax. The 300 will be getting this treatment this weekend.
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Originally Posted by Env1ous
I would get a dedicated DA for the job. I saw that, but I honestly believe the drill will give out way before you get any real results. Joking aside. The drill is not meant to be on for that long and will get hot. A DA is made for long sustained loads like that and will move differently. Go to Harbor Freight and get their Dual Action Polisher. I have it and I dont think it is that bad of a deal! Good for learning
HF seems to have discontinued the 69924 DA polisher. A search for it turns up just the pads. Any recommendations on an alternative DA?
I would get a dedicated DA for the job. I saw that, but I honestly believe the drill will give out way before you get any real results. Joking aside. The drill is not meant to be on for that long and will get hot. A DA is made for long sustained loads like that and will move differently. Go to Harbor Freight and get their Dual Action Polisher. I have it and I dont think it is that bad of a deal! Good for learning
HF seems to have discontinued the 69924 DA polisher. A search for it turns up just the pads. Any recommendations on an alternative DA?
Originally Posted by RTexasF
HF seems to have discontinued the 69924 DA polisher. A search for it turns up just the pads. Any recommendations on an alternative DA?
Read post #5 in this thread.
I'm glad I have that old HF unit.
HF has been introducing many new brands lately and I suspect they will re-release the old 6" polisher in a different brand. Anyhow, in the same price range of the HF unit is this one. Search eBay for orbital polisher and you'll see all kinds of products similar to this. I have 5 cars and use my polisher maybe once a year. These $40-50 polishers will probably work just fine.
https://tinyurl.com/y4alxrxj
BTW: I have this small 3" unit and love it for tight areas and for re-conditioning headlight lenses.
https://tinyurl.com/y2dja9bh
BTW: When selecting these, hook & loop attachment is desirable. Also they are rated by the amount of orbital offset. A large offset (about 18-20mm) has a very elongated path, vibrates a lot and is very aggressive on the surface. The old HF polisher was (I believe) a 12mm throw. The little 3" Griot is 10mm (if memory serves).
Ray
HF seems to have discontinued the 69924 DA polisher. A search for it turns up just the pads. Any recommendations on an alternative DA?
Read post #5 in this thread.
I'm glad I have that old HF unit.
HF has been introducing many new brands lately and I suspect they will re-release the old 6" polisher in a different brand. Anyhow, in the same price range of the HF unit is this one. Search eBay for orbital polisher and you'll see all kinds of products similar to this. I have 5 cars and use my polisher maybe once a year. These $40-50 polishers will probably work just fine.
https://tinyurl.com/y4alxrxj
BTW: I have this small 3" unit and love it for tight areas and for re-conditioning headlight lenses.
https://tinyurl.com/y2dja9bh
BTW: When selecting these, hook & loop attachment is desirable. Also they are rated by the amount of orbital offset. A large offset (about 18-20mm) has a very elongated path, vibrates a lot and is very aggressive on the surface. The old HF polisher was (I believe) a 12mm throw. The little 3" Griot is 10mm (if memory serves).
Ray
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![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/04/full-83406-31974-513b948d_a076_4d52_87cf_977e42d3a62d.jpeg "[Linked Image]")
Well what do ya know. May HF catalog arrives and the 69924 is listed as $80. Guess it lives on.
This is on the website.
Glad to see the HF 6" polisher is still available. It's a work-horse and has all the basic features. More than adequate power, variable speed, front finger grip and/or handle grip. I wish the motor housing had better ergonomics. It's a little hard to grip for long periods of time -but such is life. It's pretty noisy and will get on your nerves after a while -so I wear earplugs. For the money, you can't beat it.
Ray
Ray
Originally Posted by dogememe
In terms of detailing and stuff, I've never done anything but wash a car. Both my vehicles are a little neglected.
Should I use a clay bar before I use the G3500? Thanks!
That d/a attachment seems fine but probably overpriced considering the alternatives. A weekend warrior, or even various pros, don't need high-end buffers. The d/a from HF is fine, the GoPlus Hyet is probably better and is around $60-$80. A $20 palm one will get mild detailing done too, just slower.
If the car is neglected enough to want to use compound on it to get scratches out, then it's probably neglected enough to clay bar it. Or, probably a better idea is Nanoskin (or a Nanoskin-like knockoff). When detailing a car last week, I dropped the nano pad twice. If you drop clay bar, you have to throw it away.
If they're only "a little neglected," the polish alone without the compound might be all they need.
In terms of detailing and stuff, I've never done anything but wash a car. Both my vehicles are a little neglected.
Should I use a clay bar before I use the G3500? Thanks!
That d/a attachment seems fine but probably overpriced considering the alternatives. A weekend warrior, or even various pros, don't need high-end buffers. The d/a from HF is fine, the GoPlus Hyet is probably better and is around $60-$80. A $20 palm one will get mild detailing done too, just slower.
If the car is neglected enough to want to use compound on it to get scratches out, then it's probably neglected enough to clay bar it. Or, probably a better idea is Nanoskin (or a Nanoskin-like knockoff). When detailing a car last week, I dropped the nano pad twice. If you drop clay bar, you have to throw it away.
If they're only "a little neglected," the polish alone without the compound might be all they need.
So, I did the whole Escape, and the Meguiar's G3500 system worked great. It was definitely time consuming, but my Ryobi cordless drill had plenty of power and speed to do the entire car. I didn't find it awkward to hold at all. Only thing that was a problem is holding down the trigger on the drill for extended periods of time was a little annoying. It used about 2.5 full battery charges... thankfully I have like half a dozen Ryobi batteries. Would I buy the same tool again? No, I should have got a proper DA polisher, not the drill-attached thing, as it would have been a little easier, but the Meguiar's thing wasn't bad and it's nice not having another extra big tool floating around.
As for how the car looks, pretty much all the scratches are gone. I didn't do the best job because I'm impatient af and just wanted to be done, but it's a huge improvement over how it was before.
As for how the car looks, pretty much all the scratches are gone. I didn't do the best job because I'm impatient af and just wanted to be done, but it's a huge improvement over how it was before.
If you get the HF DA unit, check out the various YouTube videos on repacking the grease in the head. Makes a world of difference in the noise level and likely the longevigity as well.
Just got a 3" pad for mine to do the daughter's headlights. Plan on paint correction soon as well with 5.5" pads, etc.
Just got a 3" pad for mine to do the daughter's headlights. Plan on paint correction soon as well with 5.5" pads, etc.
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