sealant would go on before the wax. dont really need a buffer for just sealant/wax but more for polishing and correcting. im sure someone will have good pad recommendations though as I only use the buffer for polishing most of the time.
Steps that worked for me listed below :
There are a ton of choices out there on what to use but hopefully this gives you some more specific ideas and info on steps.
Pad colors are in reference to the Lake County brand Hydro-Tech pads as described here >>> http://www.autogeek.net/hydrotech-low-profile-3pack.html
- wash with dish soap to help remove any prior wax
- clay bar using a detail spray for lubricant
- mask over with blue painter's tape around window / door edges...
- tape anywhere you don't want to be digging dried stuff out of later in the event some goes where you didn't want it to go
- plus you don't want to get this stuff on vinyl and rubber, particularly the glaze #7
- Mequire's ultra cut #105 applied with the blue pad
- Mequire's finish cut #205 applied with the orange pad
- Mequire's glaze #7 applied with the red pad
- final wax (I used Mother's California Gold Synthetic)
- all of my application steps were done with a Porter Cable 7424XP variable speed polisher
- i did the final wax application by hand but machine application is also an option
- all of my removal steps were done by hand using micro-fiber towels
I found watching these how to videos first helped >>> http://www.autogeek.net/video-porter.html
Previous owner of my car had swirled up the paint pretty good, so the #105 step for me was the most intensive but also the most productive.
There were areas I had to do a few times to really get everything out.
This was not done quickly but I was really happy with the end result.
On point but if you are gonna clay then there is no need to wash with dish soap first or vice versa. They both do the same thing so you would be pulling double duty.
You should always wash (or remove dirt) from the paint before you clay. You will get the clay contaminated way to quickly if you don't and that risks fine lines, scratches, or marring. Now the nanoscub wash mitt type setup is a little different but you do still technically wash first, the "clay"
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Flex is a beast and my tool of choice. I have a flex 3401 and a PE14 and I love them.Just finished detailing my wife's ES350 and here's my $0.02 on polisher. I have a Porter Cable, and a Griot's DA polisher. Porter Cable just can't handle anything bigger than a 3" pad so I have it set up to work on tight spots. The Griot's polisher is very strong, except it's not smooth and transmits a LOT of vibration to the hands.
I bought a Flex DA but never had a chance to try it out until today. The Flex is a BEAST. Every heavy pressure on setting "5" doesn't even begins to slow/bogs it down. I used an orange foam cutting pad with CG V36 and it was good enough for a "daily-driver" level detail. ALL the swirl and light scratches are GONE. There is a couple of pretty deep scratches (enough to catch with finger nail) left on the trunk and roof by the PO of the ES350, and the orange pad/Flex/V36 was enough to remove 80% of these deep scratches. To get them all out, I would have to use a heavier cutting compound, but it just wasn't worth the extra time for a daily driver...