edge1217

Here ya go, Edgieguy, the all-new 2013 2-Door Edge LImited AWD Coupe. Not yet available in Sport, not available in NJ, coupons void where prohibited. Front doors extended to allow access to rear seat, rear "C" pillar eliminated and rear side glass extended forward. Front windows tinted to match rear windows. Sail panel and roofline unchanged.

(See how rumors start????)

Oh, at 300 miles your Edge is still a baby! Don't worry, that gas mileage will quickly improve. At 300 miles I was in a mild panic because I was seeing 13 MPG and I was convinced a Sherman tank could get better mileage.

Not to worry about your Edge. If you're not already doing so, you might want to drive with the MPG fuel efficiency screen visible so you can see how the MPG is responding to your foot. You'd be surprised how backing off the gas just a hair and taking some of the load off the engine will pick up those MPGs. It's kind of like driving around back in the day with a vacuum gauge attached to the base of your carb. But of course no one here knows what I mean by that I'm sure! Using the fuel economy gauge will help you drive more efficiently if mileage is a concern. Plus it's cool to look at.

Enjoy your Edge and welcome to the forum!

How new is your 2013 Limited? That's what I was getting when I first got my Edge Limited 3.5 AWD and I almost died when I saw it. Before my first fillup I was seeing 13, then it inched up to 14, then 15 by the time I had to fill for the first time. My tank readings (not cumulative lifetime readfings) for the next 4 fillups were 18, 18.8, 20.0, and 25.6 (the latter being comprised of a lot of highway miles). Then it settled down to 20-21 with my normal around-town driving routine. I now have about 6,000 miles on mine and I'm getting 20.2 as a "lifetime" average so far and that's been pretty stable for the last few months. Not great, but then again I do mostly all around town driving with very little highway miles, and the weather has been generally cold in the 6 months that I've had the car and I'd imagine that will affect mileage too. Most people with a mix of highway and city are reporting better than what I'm getting, but their conditions are probably more favorable than mine.

Very early on I was doing a lot of idling in the driveway as I tried to learn the features of the car, and keep in mind that when averaging your fuel against your miles the amount of time spent idling is a big percent of run time. So when you're sitting still (0 MPG) it brings down the calculation pretty quickly. But when you get more miles on the car, that driveway idle time is spread over more miles traveled, and therefore will have less impact. When I was just sitting in the driveway idling I could literally see the MPG reading go down about 2 or 3 tenths of a mile in one sitting (I think I was programming in NAV points or upgrading Synch so I was out there idling for maybe 45 minutes or an hour at a clip). So if your Edge is new, give it a little while and you'll see things improve a lot from what you're seeing now. Don't pay much attention to the early readings.

If your Edge isn't brand new, then I'd suggest getting it back to your dealer because something isn't right.

BTW, some people have questionned the accuracy of the MPG dash reading, but I find it's really close on my Edge. I keep a manual log the old fashioned way and have been comparing that to my dash reading. Usually it's right on, but when it's off it's only off my a tenth of a mile and it quickly gets to the "correct" level in a few miles, so I think it's just a rounding thing.

On the other hand, people here have said that around 5,000 miles their mileage went up dramatically, so much so that they were questionning whether Ford had programmed in a change in engine settings after some pre-determined "break-in" period of around 5k. At 6,000 miles I'm still waiting for the magic to happen.....

Good around the corners!

I had the same Bluetooth problem a while back and a master reset took care of it for me. The process is very simple, just follow the instructions here:

http://support.ford.com/sync-technology/perform-master-reset-sync-myford-touch#reload

HTH

Thanks for this, Richy. Yeah, that 501 is really tough stuff for sure! Question: What do you use for solvent? Would you consider the Griot's Pad Cleaner that I used a solvent, or is that more like an APC?

I remembered that you mentioned soaking pads in an earlier post and I did give that a try yesterday but forgot to write about it. After I washed and wrung out the pads by hand and spun dry them on my DA, I sprayed them liberally again with Griot's and put them in sealed ziplock bags and let them sit overnight. This morning I rinsed them really well with warm water, wrung them out by hand, and spun-dried them again on my DA. Put them back in new ziplocks (dry bags, with no Griot's solution in the bags) and left the bags on my workbench with the pads facing up and the ziplocks open so any remaining moisture would dry out. I draped a couple of thin plastic shopping bags over the open ziplocks to keep any stray dust from getting into the open bags and onto the pads (pollen is a killer lately!). I hope that they will be totally dry by the end of the day so I can zip up the bags and store them. Ziplocks and pads are labeled as to which chemicals they were used for.

My Griot's Garage Microfiber & Foam Pad Cleaner arrived today so I put it to work. The label says the product is actually designed to be used in the washer or sink, so I assume it is safe to go down the drain. The bottle has a QR code and the link goes to a Griot's video on Youtube showing it being used in the washer and also in the sink. The guy is using gloves though, which is probably a good idea. There are no special "dispose of" instructions.

I had read a complaint somewhere online that the Griot's stuff smelled like alcohol, but to me there wasn't much of a smell at all, which gave me mixed emotions -- it seemed safer than I was expecting, but would it be strong enough to clean well? Actually, I think it did a pretty good job, but keep in mind that I'm a novice and have no frame of reference for judging the results. I polished the car with one pad for DG 501/601, another for DG 105/601, and another for Collinite 845. After I finished, I washed them first with Zep Orange and then with Dawn, with several applications of each and some hot water rinses in between. Not sure why I used both Zep and Dawn, I suppose that's like wearing a belt and suspenders and coveralls all at the same time. I wasn't sure if one was as good as the other, so I figured as long as the mixture didn't explode, two had to be better than one.

The pads seemed clean the other day after Zep & Dawn, but the 501/601 pad struck me as especially stubborn and I wasn't sure if it was completely free of polish. I was, however, pretty satisfied that I had given it my best shot. Today when I used Griot's, I first wet the pads as directed and I noticed that there was still some wax holdout on the 501/601 pad, since the water took a couple of seconds to sink in. This was noticeable on the 501/601 pad, but not really an issue on the 105/601 and Collinite pads. But after spraying on the GG stuff, the 501/601 pad gave up a LOT of blue polish, even though the other day it was wringing out clear after using ZEP and Dawn. I was surprised at how much the GG stuff took out today. I got a little more junk out of the 105/601 and Collinite pads, but not much, but then again I think the Zep and Dawn had worked pretty well on them the other day. I wrung the pads out pretty well after using Griot's and then spun them dry on my DA, and they definitely feel softer after the Griot's treatment. They seem pretty clean now but just to be safe I've marked the pads and will dedicate them to the same chemicals that they spread on their maiden voyage. There is no visible dirt or polish on any of the pads, and there doesn't seem to be any more wax holdout on that stubborn 501/601 pad.

BTW, I used pretty hot water for Zep, Dawn, and Griot's with no ill effect to the foam or the backing. Hot water seemed to help break up the polish and wax better than warm water.

This is the link that was embedded in the QR code on the bottle:

Hope this helps!

Thanks Joe, I'm just really happy that it wasn't Richy's 666th post.....

Yesterday I made a special trip to my local Wally World to get Lestoil. Said a cheerful hello to the greeter (aka security guard), dodged the dreaded electric scooters slaloming at 1/4 mph through the 4x4 displays in the main aisle, ran past the fem-hy section, and headed straight to the laundry section. Denied!!! Lest-oil must have turned into No-oil because they didn't have any of it in my store. Not sure if that's the case at all Wally World stores. I know my store has been out of stock on just about everything except Chinese products ever since about 2003. Maybe yours is the same way too. So you just might want to do what I did and drive to your store first to see if they have it in stock before you make a special trip there to actually buy it (huh?).

I'll just go ahead and order Lestoil on Amazon, since I get free shipping with Prime membership. The other day I ordered Griot's Garage pad cleaning solvent from Amazon so I'll try that and Lestoil side by side after I do my wife's car. Ha, now that I've done one entire car and have reached professional status, I'll bet Richy will be dying to have me write one of those highly technical side-by-side L2D reviews of Lestoil vs. GG Pad Cleaner. Maybe I'll make it a 3-way and throw in some Easy-Off Oven Cleaner so we can see how that sucker works. BTW, I carefully selected Griot's Garage pad cleaner after doing some extensive research (i.e., when I searched Amazon for "pad cleaner" it was the first thing that popped up so I figured it HAD to be the best, plus it came in a jug that reminded me of moonshine, and that brings back fond memories of my grandma). Oh yeah, and it was one of the few pad cleaners on Amazon that ships direct from Amazon, so with Prime membership I got free 2 day shipping. Speed was important because I really want to get going on that write-up. :stats:

Thanks Richy, glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for even more new tips and advice. I see that your post to me was your 777th post on this forum, so I'll take that as a good luck omen of more good experiences yet to come!

Too funny, Joe! So maybe I'll hold off on doing the wife's car after all.....

Thanks Edgieguy! Lestoil? Wow, that's a blast from the past! "There's less toil with Lestoil!" I can still hear the jingle. I tried wringing/scraping the pads out with hot water and then using Zep Degreaser. Got a lot out but there's still more, so I'll try some Lestoil tomorrow to finish up. The worst pad was the one with 501/601, really tough stuff! Going around the block tomorrow to see if anyone wants their car polished. This was fun, looks like I have a new hobby!

Thanks WWWPerfA_ZNOW. Yeah, the garage always gets trashed in the winter months with the snowblower brought up from the shed and all the patio furniture and outdoor stuff brought in for storage in the garage. Tiling my daughter's floor a few weeks ago brought a ton of tools out of hiding too, and they're still scattered all over my garage. Not to mention all my new detailing stuff! This spring I hope to paint the garage and install some kind of organizer system. You're right, it never ends....!

I also wanted to thank you for your helpful links regarding pad cleaning and image uploading. Really appreciate it!

Welcome, and congrats on your new Edge! I've had my 2013 Edge Limited AWD for 6 months and love it. I switched from Honda and will never go back. I've had no issues with the Edge at all. Does your Edge have MFT? I was a little intimidated by the MFT system at first, but it comes as second nature now. Voice recognition is very good, and it even understands my narrow repertoire of impersonations (I think it understands "them" better than it understands me sometimes!). I did the MFT upgrades myself and they went smoothly. If you do have MFT, while you're waiting to take delivery I'd strongly suggest downloading the My Ford Touch app to your smartphone. This is an interactive app that simulates the controls and commands of the MFT system. It will get you up and running on the basics before you take delivery and it's a great way to pass the time at the office. My dealer didn't even know about the app until I pointed it out, and now all the salesmen use it as a selling/teaching tool for those who are on the fence about MFT.

Good Luck!

Here are a few pics that I took of my 2013 Edge after my first attempt at machine polishing yesterday. This is also my first attempt at uploading images to this forum too. Not sure why these came out as small images, but if you want to take a closer look, just click on an image to enlarge it.

My Edge is that fairly light Mineral Gray color, so it just doesn't show off the finish quite as well as a darker car would. But still I think you can get a sense of how reflective the finish is now, and the entire car just feels as smooth as glass. Please keep in mind that I didn't have time to do the wheels and tires so they don't look as great as they should.

It's a wonder I don't get pulled over a lot more often with plates like this.

Thanks, WWWPerfA_ZNOW. You absolutely read my mind about cleaning those MF towels and the buffing pads. That was going to be my next question. How do I do that? I used a magic marker to label the backs of each pad so I knew what was embedded in it, figuring I could clean them as best I could and then dedicate each pad to a specific chemical. Right now I have each one sealed in its own Ziplock bag until I can figure out how to clean them.

And you're right about re-using the Iron X bottle, not cool at all. Buying empty bottles was one part of the pre-planning process that I forgot to do, and the empty Iron X bottle was all I had. Did my best to clean it with hot water and Dawn and then swab the inside with a wadded up Cheapo Depot MF towel and reapeat the process, but who knows? Hopefully when I go to the garage my Mineral Gray Edge won't be a Mineral Purple Edge....

A few pics to follow, if I can figure out how to upload them!

Joe, I ordered the same cloths based on your suggestion. These really work! The trick is to have them only slightly damp so they don't deposit tiny drops of water. Have to try it on the SS appliance and glass cooktop next! Thanks for putting me onto this!

It was 80 degrees and sunny in Southern CT today. All that remained of our 30” February blizzard was a patch of dirty black snow about a foot high along the side of my driveway. The crocuses were popping up. I had the day off. I was fresh out of excuses. It was go-time. Nerves were running high. I’d never done this before. But my Edge was a disgrace and my image was on the line. Something had to be done.

Keep in mind that all throughout my incredibly long life I have never done anything other than wash and hand-wax a car. I did both of those things once a year, whether it was needed or not. I never heard of claying, and I thought a DA was some kind of haircut from the '50s. The concept of putting a vibrating power machine against the finish of my months-old Edge was, well, inconceivable. But that was in my past, and I've moved beyond. Today I did it.

The Bottom Line: WOW!!! Fantastic results! I have never owned a car so clean and shiny, and I swear it actually looks better than the day I drove it off the lot. The finish looks and FEELS like glass. This was so easy, and in a strangely curious way, it was actually fun!

The Rewind: Some of you may have seen a thread from a couple of weeks ago where I asked if it was ok to wax over a 6-month old Auto Armored car. I mean, two weeks ago I was thinking Liquid Turtle Wax, guys. But Richy, Edgieguy, Joehio and others responded with a lot of helpful suggestions and encouragement about doing it right. I learned the answers to important, time-honored questions like “Doh, what’s a Clay Bar?” and “Dude, won’t a DA polisher grind right down to bare metal?” I had gone public with my stupid questions and it was too late to pull back and risk further ridicule from my country, and perhaps the entire civilized world. So being backed into a corner, I bought a ton of stuff, including the dreaded DA Polisher, and decided it was time to put my new-found “knowledge” to work. Two weeks ago I knew absolutely nothing about machine polishing and waxing. Today I know next to nothing about the subject. That, my friends, is amazing progress.

The Method: I decided to use a method that Edgieguy documented very nicely on this thread

http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/11359-getting-the-sport-ready-for-winter/

His description was very detailed and very clear, and he was a noobie too when he first gave it a shot so I figured maybe it wasn’t too bad for me to try copying. This was an approach that Richy had helped him with, and it looked totally intimidating and intriguing at the same time.

For equipment, I used a brand new 6” Griot’s Garage DA Polisher, with a 5” Lake Country Backing Plate and 5.5” Buff and Shine Pads (Green and Blue). For chemicals I used the same as Edgieguy -- Iron X, Meguiar’s Clay/Quick Detail (as a lubricant), Duragloss 501 and 105 Cleaner/Polishes mixed 4:1 with Duragloss 601 Bonding Agent, and Collinite 845 Insulating Wax. I used an assortment of products from Corey at Car-Pro US -- some of those blue hand applicators, the amazingly soft and thirsty blue MF drying towel, a couple of MF wash mitts, and some of those miracle streakless glass cleaning sheets. BTW, Corey sent me a confirmation on Easter Sunday that my order had shipped. Say Hallelujah, where else do you get service like that??? I also used a few Cobra MF towels for wiping the polish and wax residue, and the Cobra Guzzler drying towel (but I much preferred Corey’s blue drying towel!).

I won’t go into the process details because Edgieguy has already done that (see the link above) and I followed his procedure as closely as possible. But I do have some exceptions and observations that might be of interest to anyone else who is thinking about taking the plunge.

Ten Confessions & Observations From A Virgin Machine Detailer (well, you know what I mean….)

1. I used an entire bottle of Iron X on my Edge but saw very little iron dissolve. I sprayed it on in the shade, spread it with a foam applicator, let it dwell 5 minutes, agitated it with a foam applicator, rinsed it off thoroughly, and wiped it dry with a MF towel. My Edge is Mineral Gray which is a fairly light color, so I would think I’d see the purple streaks pretty easily. I saw a few streaks, mostly on the back liftgate, and also on the centuries-old license plate that had been transferred from my previous car. The biggest and quickest-forming purple spot I saw was on the floor of my garage where the Iron X had dripped. My Edge was just 6 months old with less than 6k miles of suburban driving, so I guess it hadn’t picked up much iron. Will definitely try Iron X on my other car when I do that. Probably not necessary for new-ish cars that have been lightly driven though.
2. Like Edgieguy, I was amazed at how fast, easy, and effective the clay bar treatment was. The sides and rear of my car, even though it was only 6 months old, looked really clean after a good washing, but they were so rough to the touch that I could actually HEAR my hand run over the surface. Claying turned the entire car smooth as glass, with no detrimental effects to the clear coat, which was one of my noobie fears. At Richy’s suggestion, I did order a Polyshave Decon block and Ultra lubricant from Corey. I used it first on the glass to break it in per the instructions, but I didn’t know if I was using it right and it’s impossible to see the dirt that’s being removed because of the black surface. I called an audible at the line of scrimmage and opted for the clay treatment instead to use on the painted surfaces until I had a better idea how to more confidently use the Poly Shave Decon block.
3. I can’t tell you how petrified I was at first to put that 1.3 million RPM machine against my beloved Edge. I got over my fear in the first 10 seconds. To my surprise, it didn’t grind down to bare metal. No primer showed through, and it didn’t even cloud the clearcoat finish. So Richy was right after all.... My fear of the machine quickly turned into respect, and respect quickly turned into enjoyment, all before I had completed my first panel. Looking deep into that shiny finish, I could see a strangely demented grin looking back at me. Why didn’t I buy a DA years ago? What a time-saver and what a nice, even application! And wow, my arm wasn’t even sore from all that rubbing! In less than a minute I became an amateur with the confidence of a pro – normally a deadly combination but fortunately not a problem here.
4. Now for a confession.... I was so concerned about using a DA that I actually MASKED the chrome and vinyl/plastic parts with blue painter’s tape (it’s OK to laugh, the shame will make me stronger somehow). I was concerned about the DA grinding 60-grit polish into my chrome and dulling it, and I was also concerned about “burning” the plastic parts from a three-thousand degree hot buffing pad. Idiot…. By the time I finished my second panel, I wished that I hadn’t masked all that stuff. I don’t think my clever little extra precaution was at all necessary. Next time I won’t bother, and then I’ll be entitled to laugh at the next Noobie who says he masked his trim. Idiot....
5. Due to my lack of experience, I erred on the conservative side in terms of my DA power settings. I applied the 501/601 solution with a setting of 3, which is probably a little slow for the initial polishing. I did the 105/601 and the Collinite 845 applications on a setting of 2, which was probably also a little slow. Will take it up a notch or two the next time (especially since that will be my wife’s car).
6. I knew that the addition of 601 Bonding Agent to the 501/105 polishes would not remain stable for too long, so I didn’t want to mix up too much. I knew that I needed to mix it with 501 (and then again with 105) at a 4:1 Polish:Bonding ratio, but I wasn’t sure how much solution to make up. Turns out I guessed right on the money, but I got there in a bizarre way. I rinsed out the dead Iron X bottle REALLY well (what's up with that smell???) and then I squirted 1/2" worth of 601 liquid into the old Iron X bottle, then brought it up to the 2.5” mark with 501 Polish. Why 1/2" and 2 1/2", and why use a ruler instead of a liquid measuring device? I dunno, it just felt right. Plus if my wife caught me using her kitchen measuring cup for Duragloss Bonding Agents and Polishes I’d be grounded or worse for sure. This measuring method produced just a tiny bit more solution than I needed for the entire car, applying in thin but even layers. The same process for measuring the 105/601 solution produced just enough of that mix for the whole car too. I measured later and it looks like this translated to about 1 ounce of 601 BA to 4 ounces of either 501 or 105 polish. I screwed a squirt top cap from one of the DG products onto the old Iron X bottle, shook the mixture really well, and used that system for squirting solution onto the buffer pads.
7. I had been forewarned that the Collinte 845 Insulator Wax was very viscous, so I set the bottle in the direct sunlight on the driveway to warm it up while I applied the other products. That helped but it was still thick, so I set it in hot water for a few minutes and it turned into a very free-flowing liquid. I still shook it really well, but it didn’t take much effort. Very thin, squirted really well onto my favorite t-shirt (my only "whoops" of the day).
8. For the most part, I applied all the polish and wax products by squirting four nickel-sized dabs directly to the buffer pad once the pad was primed, just like you see on all those YouTube videos. Why nickel-sized and not penny-sized is beyond me. I decided to follow tradition and use nickel-size dabs because just like Canada, the US will soon be phasing out the penny so I wanted to set up a highly scientific procedure with an eye toward the future. I figure this probably explains the nickel thing on YouTube, because I know a lot of Canadians post there and pennies are already irrelevant to them. I used one of Corey’s blue hand applicators for the area and contours where the buffer pads couldn’t reach, using a new pad each time I changed to another type of wax or polish. Those areas I buffed out with a MF towel. I figured that it's probably much easier doing it this way rather than taking off all the door handles and parking lights just so I could use the 6" machine all around the entire car.
9. Like Edgieguy, I used a green 5.5” B&S pad for the 501/601 apoplication, a blue B&S pad for the 105/601, and another new blue B&S pad for the Collinite. Richy had suggested that I could use the white pads, which I think are slightly more aggressive. Now that I know how gentle the DA polisher is, I think I’ll try the white pads the next time. The B&S pads seemed really nice, but being a noobie what do I know? I was expecting them to fly off like Frisbees at 1.3 million RPMs but surprisingly that didn't happen. Any pad that passes the industry standards for non-Frisbeeing is pretty good in my book, so I'll probably keep buying these BS pads. And that's no BS. BTW, there was very little dirt coming up on the buffer pads, so I think the clay did a great job. The clay bars were moderately dirty (I used two bars but probably could have just used one, but I was being very careful about keeping the clay kneaded and clean).
10. I learned an important lesson that I had learned once before but chose to ignore -- do not do the glass until the very last step. I had washed the car yesterday and was looking for something else to do before I did the buffing today, so I did the glass even though I knew it was supposed to be that last step. That was dumb. I had to clean the polish and wax off the glass….

So there you have it, a virtual Top 10 List For Noobies! I hope this helps to get other noobies over their fear of machine polishing and waxing. Two weeks ago, I was basically asking if it was ok to apply Liquid Turtle Wax over my Auto Armor finish. Now I I’m a seasoned pro with pretty much one entire car already under my belt and another one coming up. I can’t believe how nicely this turned out – no scratches or swirls, and no bare metal showing through. With its "miracle molecule" ultra-slick finish, my Edge's top speed is now 7 mph faster, it can slip undetected through some of the most sophisticated radar traps in Southern CT, and best of all, bird crap slides right off like butter on greased Teflon. Amazing.

I’ll try posting a couple of pics tomorrow.

Thanks again to all who provided advice and encouragement (and for getting me to part with $500 in cool toys and supplies!).

All my cars have done this, but the Edge is by far the worse. If I open the driver's window a couple of inches it equalizes the pressure and stops the madness.

Wait til next year! For Christmas my wife bought me a tar x iron x spray and a rubber Decon pad that goes on your polisher! What a fun summer of detailing the cars it's going to be.

 

Oh wait I almost forgot! Richy turned me onto this amazing cleaner cloth for Windows that you simply rinse in water!!!! No chemicals! And finally I'm rid of my pet peeve... that weird fog that appears on your Windows that you only see when the sun hits it at Sun down.

Sounds like you're in for a fun summer, Edgieguy! Hey, do you remember the name of that cleaner cloth that Richy put you onto? This morning I drove directly into the sun and what I thought was a nice clean windshield was full of hazy streaks. I can never seem to get a windshield clean!

And Richy, I'll post some pics for everyone to show my work in progress and the end results!

Congrats on the MKX! I have a Limited AWD with 18" wheels. I had taken the more commonly seen 20" wheels out for a test drive and felt the ride was too harsh (even though I generally prefer a firm ride) and the steering seemed to take more effort than normal on tight low-speed turns. A few people suggested that it might be the 20's that were causing this, so I test drove an Edge with 18" wheels and the ride was much better and that sealed the deal for me on the Edge. Just for the heck of it on the same day I took out the 18's I immediately drove a 20" Edge over the same route and I was convinced in the back to back test drives that the difference was real. Others have said the same here on this forum. I may not be the coolest kid on the block with 18's, but I'm very happy with the ride.

I saw your question about the dye transfer with the Light Stone interior. I also have Light Stone, the first non-black interior I've had in quite some time. I was horrified one morning a few days after we took delivery when I noticed that my passenger's seat had dark blue stains on it (my wife had been wearing a brand new pair of jeans). I bought some Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner/Conditioner Wipes and one wipe took the stain off very easily (the wipe turned blue!). I haven't noticed any other dye transfer since then, so I think this was just an exception. No problem, it came right off though.

Enjoy!

You're slowly killing me, Richy.... :stop: But I'm glad you found Iron X. I ordered this and the PolyShave Decon Block, plus the Ultra lubricant for the block. The block looks interesting, seems like a big improvement over clay if it really works as well as they say.Hope to get started next weekend and will take some pics and let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

Hey Edgieguy, to be honest when I saw your first post the only beading that I could see was the beads of sweat dripping from my forehead! I thought that was WAY beyond my capability and wondered if it was really necessary. I figured that since you're in northern Jersey and I'm in lower CT it would just be a whole lost easier to bribe you with a few beers and have you come up to my place and "show" me how to do it! But your description was very detailed and clear, and I just kept reading it over and over again and looking up the products until I got a pretty good sense of the concept. I'm pretty confident now and can't wait to get started, and I'm looking forward to seeing those beads on my hood instead of on my forehead! Thanks again for your incredibly detailed description. It was really helpful and I hope others are encouraged to try it too!

Richy, today I ordered everything I need to get started on this project. I looked at the Rupes machines and while they look beautiful, they had price tags that were a little too steep and I didn't feel I was worthy of such a nice machine given my complete noobie status. I went with the Griot's new generation machine instead and got a Lake Country 5" backing plate and a good assortment of B&S pads. Since I'm using a slightly smaller BP than the Griot's machine is designed for, do I need to use any special counterweights or take any other precautions?

I also got all the cleaners, polishes, waxes, etc. that you and Edgieguy recommended. All except Iron X spray, that is. Couldn't find it in-stock anywhere, even on the manufacturer's website. Maybe they're phasing it out or are about to transition to a new & improved version?

I think I'll try the process on my wife's car first. I could use that practice to build my confidence and experience before tackling the Edge. BTW, today I did a very thorough wash on the Edge and was absolutely amazed at how rough the surface was even AFTER the wash. The front end and hood weren't bad, but from just behind the front wheels, all the way along the sides below the belt line, and the entire back of the car was a whole other story. It was so rough I could actually HEAR my fingers running over the surface, and it FELT like 100-grit sandpaper. This car has only been on the road 6 months and it's been driven only very lightly around town, garaged whenever it's not on the road, and it's been carefully washed by hand many times since I've owned it (my garage has a warm water mixing valve for winter use). The car LOOKS great after today's wash job, but I was amazed at all the unseen crap that's embedded in the surface. I'm wondering if it's from the magnesium chloride solution they put down on the roads in the winter, I've heard that's nasty stuff.

Anyway, I'm just glad that I'm on the right track to doing a proper reconditioning before too much time goes by. Thanks again to you, Edgieguy, Joehio, and WWWPerfA_ZNOW for all your help. I'm going to join L2D and study up before I get started. Will see you over there!

Thanks to everyone for your very helpful replies. OK, I think I'm going to take the plunge and do it the right way. Edgieguy's detailed writeup was incredibly helpful, and Richy was also very clear and encouraging. The level of support here on the forum is just amazing, and really appreciated!

I've pulled together a shopping list and think I know pretty much what I need. First, I'm gonna get a new DA. I was torn between the Griot's 6" and the PC 7424XP, but after reading reviews I think I'm leaning more toward the PC 7424XP based on noise and reliability. Is there a compelling reason to get the Griot's instead of the PC? Whichever one I buy, I think I need to get a 5" backing plate and I'm looking at Lake Country for that. Then I'm thinking I'll use the Buff and Shine brand 5.5" pads. Does this configuration make sense?

Now for the pads, Richy is suggesting the white pads, which from what I can tell are intended for heavy polishing, whatever that means. Edgieguy used the blue and green pads, which from what I can tell are slightly less aggressive than the white ones. Is there much of a difference between these choices, or am I splitting hairs here?

I'm pretty clear about the various cleaners, polishes, and waxes I need to get based on Edgieguy's incredible write-up.

Richy, I'll definitely take you up on your offer to join the Live2detail forum. I took a really quick look and it's pretty amazing. To a noobie it's like drinking out of a fire hose, but that's a good thing!

Thanks again to everyone for your help. Looking forward to the day when I can stop asking dumb questions and actually get started!

Edgieguy and Richy, you guys are scaring me.... This sounds like a pretty involved process but the results are certainly fantastic after seeing Edgieguy's pics of the water beading up, and Richy your website shows some pretty amazing results. This is all new to me so I hope you don't mind a few more dumb questions. First, I see that Edgieguy mixed the 501/601 products in a 4:1 ratio. I saw a few places online that referenced a different procedure, where you put on the 601 bonding agent on first, let it dry to a haze, don't wipe it, and then apply the 501 cleaning polish (or 105) over that and then buff. Is "combo" procedure you guys use an improvement over what I saw on the other websites? Sure seems a little easier, and I figure maybe the bond is better when the two products are mixed directly?

The second question is that Edgieguy says he then applied a 105/601 combo. Would this be in the same 4:1 ratio that was used with the 501/601 combo?

Also, with the Iron-X, how bad would it be if I accidentally got some of that on my chrome grille, belt trim, or badges? I can mask those off as best I can but there's still a risk of some getting on the chrome surfaces. I have those chrome plastic-clad 18" wheels -- I assume I need to be very careful about not getting any on those, right?

Finally, Edgieguy used a machine buffer but I'd be afraid of buffing all the way down to the driveway as soon as I hit the on button. Kind of scares me to use a machine on a 6 month old 2013 Edge with no real experience. So can I get the same results by applying and buffing by hand, and how much tougher of a job would that be?

Thanks!