Tuan209 said:
Hey Guys,
I just got the new edge pads for the cyclo, and I am ready to polish my car using HTEC!
How much of the HTEC do I put on each pad?
Enough to keep the pads well lubricated with product. To be honest, I never took note of how much I use :nixweiss Don't use too much, I bet that'll be the thing to watch out for.
Also, how much area can I can cover (will a dime size cover half a hood of an avg car or more?)?
IMO you'll end up going over each area a few times so I wouldn't worry about coverage. Again, I never really took note of it because I'd work a roughly 2' x 2' area, wipe off the residue to inspect, and then do it again. I only use enough product to work that relatively small area, not enough to do half a panel. I'd use a few smaller-than-dime-size dots of product on each pad, not one dime-size blob of it.
How slowly and hard do I have to press on the cyclo?
Sheehs, sorry, I'm useless trying to answer these Qs...I just move it the way I've always done and I never counted seconds or anything
I move it slowly enough that it feels natural doing the 2' x 2' area, going over that area a few times before the H-T EC dries out (and it dries pretty fast).
I think you'll find your natural pace OK..just watch how fast the product starts to dry on on the outer ~3/8" of the pads.
Go ahead and apply some pressure. Don't overdo it (at least work up to really leaning on it and only do that if you find it necessary) but I *would* apply pressure when doing the major correction (the type of stuff you use H-T EC for) instead of letting the weight of the machine suffice.
But remember to watch for drying product...it can cake on the outer area of the pads so you'll have to stop and clean them from time to time.
My car is slightly swirled with some marring so which pads (orange, green, white) should I use HTEC with?
Finally a question I can give a straight answer to! Use the orange until the obvious marring is gone. Then switch to a milder product and use the green. When you think it's as good as it'll get, use a finishing polish on the white and I bet you'll see an unexpectedly nice (if minor) improvement.
That's assuming you're not dealing with super-soft paint.
But in any event I'd use the orange pads with the H-T EC, it's just a bit too abrasive to match up well with the green pads IMO. The H-T EC would probably work OK with the green, but for at least the first passes use the orange so you don't spend all day on this.
If you have some extra green pads and want to experiment, you might try using the orange to remove the serious marring, and then try the H-T EC with the green on the milder stuff...I haven't tried that but the green have a pretty open foam and I use them with mild compounds all the time. This would be a case of "letting the product do all the work" so I wouldn't apply pressure when trying this.
But IMO you'll need a milder product on green no matter what you do.
