After spending the winter browsing this site and educating myself on detailing, I used my PC for the first time and wanted to share my experience. Since this was my first time detailing I decided to go with Meg’s proven #9, #7 & #26 combo. The paint on my 2001 Mustang GT is in good shape so I decided to go with the less aggressive and wider LC 7.5� white pads to apply #7 & #9. The extra pad width provided me a bit of extra protection from hitting the backing plate against the car.
I taped the trim before I stared, and this again, provided protection from my less then perfect technique. What surprised me the most was the time it takes to detail. I started Friday around 4PM for a few hours and all day Saturday finishing around 5. I was pooped (I don’t know how you pro’s do it for a living) and this was only 1 coat of each.
What was not obvious to me is how much product to use and when to stop buffing. I was surprised how little product you apply to the pad and how far it would spread. I also was getting a bit of build-up as I applied #9. I assume my pad needed to be changed.
As far as when to stop buffing, I continued till the product hazed (2-3 min on 4.5 PC speed setting). Each product seemed to have different transition times. I’m not sure if that was the right thing to do, but that’s what I did. I would be interested in other opinions on this. Then I used a MF towel to remove the residual product.
I’m very satisfied with the results (pics coming soon). It’s not perfect but it looks great.
:xyxthumbs
I taped the trim before I stared, and this again, provided protection from my less then perfect technique. What surprised me the most was the time it takes to detail. I started Friday around 4PM for a few hours and all day Saturday finishing around 5. I was pooped (I don’t know how you pro’s do it for a living) and this was only 1 coat of each.
What was not obvious to me is how much product to use and when to stop buffing. I was surprised how little product you apply to the pad and how far it would spread. I also was getting a bit of build-up as I applied #9. I assume my pad needed to be changed.
As far as when to stop buffing, I continued till the product hazed (2-3 min on 4.5 PC speed setting). Each product seemed to have different transition times. I’m not sure if that was the right thing to do, but that’s what I did. I would be interested in other opinions on this. Then I used a MF towel to remove the residual product.
I’m very satisfied with the results (pics coming soon). It’s not perfect but it looks great.
:xyxthumbs
