I use a Porter Cable 7424, which seems to be the go to polisher (now the 7424XP model). Get the 6 in backing plate as well as a 3.5 in backing plate so you can use the 6.5 in pads for large surfaces, and use the 4 in pads for the nooks and smaller surfaces.

As for the pads, the Lake Country CCS pads is what I use, and they work really well. I use the orange light cutting pad and the soft green finishing pad. The orange pad combined with a more aggressive polish gets through the swirls fairly quickly, and then the green pad with a finishing polish really brings out the shine.

For the polish, I use Menzerna Intensive Polish for when the car has lots of swirls like my car did, followed by the Menzerna Final Polish II to get the car gleaming. But you only need to use the Intensive Polish once to correct the paint. After you get it looking good, the occasional light polish with the green pad+Final Polish II is all you need to do to keep it looking pristine. I haven't felt the need to go with more than two stages of polishing, but I know some people go another step after and use a cleaner wax to get rid of the polish residue.

It's hard to mess up with the dual action polishers--just take your time and keep the pad lubricated with polish (as in, don't let the polish dry out completely while polishing). But even if you do dry out the pad completely, it still takes a long time to do any damage to the paint. I watched videos available on youtube on how to get started and it was pretty easy to get the hang of it.

The reason I'm meh about the Z-5 is that it doesn't really fill the swirls as Zaino promises, and so I don't see a point of using it over the Z-2. I used to use Z-2 religiously and apply 3 coats each time, but over the years, I've gotten lazy and switched to the Z-CS. It's not nearly as slick as the Z-2, but it also doesn't take me all day to apply.

 

Thanks! The swirls will be history! The Porter Cable is 40% the cost of the Flex too! ($124 vs. $320) Do you know why? I'd rather spend less for the same results, but will spend more if the Flex is the right choice! You show excellent evidence in you results on the Porter Cable.

 

Can I ask I side question that maybe you guys will know the answer to?

When I look at my rear and roof glass (I have a Targa) through Polaroid sunglasses, I see a cloudiness in the glass. I believe I can also see it without my sunglasses on. What causes this? Is it in the glass or can it be cleaned?

 

I have the Porter cable and went to the Flex.

The Porter cable is a good machine, but the Flex is much quieter, has much less vibration, and corrects much easier.

With the Porter cable, it took twice as long to try to correct some swirls or etching. The final straw was when I started getting carpal tunnel syndrome due to all the vibration. Nothing against the Porter cable, but IMHO the Flex is better.

 

+1...no substitute for quality and performance.

 

Have you tried rubbing a small section with a glass cleaner and mf towel, then seeing if it made a difference?

Is it tinted?

 

This is why I went with the Flex. As you'll discover, polishing is labor-intensive as it is. You want to make it as easy as possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yht1uHJLNlQ

 

I just ordered the Flex Orbital kit and some Nano wax from Moe at Glistening Perfection! Moe was very knowledgeable and helpful!

Looking forward to the Merzerna polish treatment to get rid of the swirls!

I want to post some before and after pics. Any pointers of how to catch the swirls in the light, so they come up on an iPhone?

Also how hard do you press on the Flex when polishing?

 

If you haven't done detailing with a orbital buffer before, practice on another car first. The Flex works very well, but it has much more cutting ability than a PC, and will give your arms a work out.

 

Interesting comparison. The Flex definitely seems to be the superior machine, and I would get that if I'm polishing cars often. Given the number of times I do this a year (once? twice at most), however, I think I'll stick with the PC for now. I do wear ear plugs because of the noise!

 

That Flex is nice.

It doesn't look like the guy in the video is too worried about the edges of that paint job. Isn't he worried about smoking the paint off by heating up that edge? Even though it's an orbital is that tool looks like its working hard.

 

you can't go wrong with Moe or Flex!