First Time PC & DACP user

D

dss

New member
I just got my PC from Coastal (Along with the free 6" weight & velcro backing plate), 1 Yellow and 1 White CMA pad (something tells me I should I have gotten 2 of each!), and a fresh bottle of DACP from Ketone.



I have a black '03 Acura CL-S which I try to pamper w/ Z products but I still have millions of swirls and light-med scratches. I only use sheepskin mitts (Griots, its pretty good), CWB, The Absorber, and Cannon Fieldcrest USA towels (only used for wax removal/Z6). I have not yet invested in MF yet, but I have a backordered "magic towel" from CMA on the way.



After I dawn wash, clay, and dry....I know my next step is to use the PC in my garage. Please correct me if I'm forgetting a step or doing in wrong order. I assume I start off with the DACP (yellow pad) all over the car. After that (heh..probably like 3hrs. later) do I NEED to followup w/ another product (like 3M SMR, which I have sitting around next to my old ****** Sears oribital) before sealing w/ Z?



I've been reading up on many threads here and some say you will get some marring from DACP and need to follow up w/ #82 (which I assume is a equivelant of SM SMR) to fix the marring. Some others say DACP is fine and does not cause any marring.



What should I really do after DACP? 3M SMR w/ White pad all over then Z7 Wash, dry, and finally Zaino? Do I need other products?



Am I going to run into problems w/ just 1 Yellow and 1 White? Will DACP need more than one for the entire car...as in the compound will cake up the pad and need to be cleaned?



Last question.....What is the best way to approach hard to reach areas like the front-most part of the roof (between windshield glass and the moonroof glass about 3" wide) and side mirrors? by hand?



Is there anything wrong (whoops I guess it was not the last ques.!) w/ using USA cotton towels to remove DACP powder instead of MF?
 
I did some more thread searching and many people mention using Menzerna IP on white as a followup to DACP on yellow



Some also mentioned that maybe using DACP on WHITE (After using DACP on yellow) may do the same as using IP
 
Menzerna IP is a bit aggresive. If you used DACP, follow with the FP not the IP. Or, use 3M PIII-MG OR MEGS #3 as a final polish with a white and grey pad.



I clean the pads if it's getting caked by a rinse of clean water or you can use the side of a paint stick while it rotates, but be careful.



You can remove it with cotton towels, just keep changing the towel sides/areas. That's why I like MF's. I just grap another if I do one area so I do not transfer old poilish over a fresh area.



After polishing and you're going Zaino, wash the car with Dawn, then Z7 to remove any film that may be left from Dawn. Dry and start Zaino.



Regards,

Deanski
 
So Dean you recommend the DACP/yellow then FP/white AND FP/gray? I don't have a gray pad at the moment...will this cause me problems and should I wait till I get a gray pad?



Also..I thought the 3M PIII-MG was around the same abrasiveness as DACP (ie. would not do much to solve any hazing/marring) but I may be wrong
 
I'll post my results as I was recently also a DACP newbie.



The first time I used DACP it was HORRIBLE. Marred, stuck like cement. ugh. Then, the next time I made sure I took my time, used plenty of speed, and just worked one panel at a time and I had no problems at all. Its an awesome product. Myself, I get no marring from the DACP with the yellow pad at all. As a matter of fact, I did a red VW beetle not long ago, and it looked so great after the DACP I didnt even bother with the GEPC, and just threw on the EX.



The trick is to start out at like 3.5 on the PC until the DACP is good and spread, then kick it up all the way to 6 and just run over the DACP until it starts to kick powder and its almost gone. Then, it'll just wipe like nothin.



As for the pads, at first I only got one yellow pad. Now, I was able to do an entire Explorer without loading it up, but after I thought about it I bought another one. For instance, if you do happen to get some marring with the DACP and want to follow up with SMR, then you'd have to go clean and dry the pad, as opposed to just slapping on a new one. I reccomend that you get two. As for the grey pad, I have one that I use to apply the EX, I found nothing wrong with using the white pad for the GEPC.



I would also definately wait for the MFs, they just work so much better. Pakshak's are fantastic.
 
Doesn't anyone have advice about the narrow strips of paint that agentdss was asking about? I was wondering the same thing. Do you need to buy the 4"pad? Do you do it by hand(but wouldn't this look funny if the rest of the car was done by the pc)?
 
MF towels and two buckets my friend. You've got to be introducing something in there thats scratching the finish, unless the swirls came on it from the dealer. Maybe you should tru the hose drying technique, maybe loose the CWB (although I use it too) Mine's about as close to black as you can get, and it doesn't have a swirl on it. All MF towels, MF wash mitt and two buckets. I know a problem at my place is there's a lot of trees, and the driveway get covered in...tree junk. I've learned to hit the driveway with the leaf blower before I pull the car out to wash. Helps keeping from tracking stuff inside too. I'm also going to devise some sort of cover for the wash buckets to keep falling debris from getting in there.



Thats still in the works though lol.



Any chance your wash area might be similar?
 
I try hard to keep my area clean...the main problem is that my car is 99% outdoors 24/7 which SUCKS for me, a perfectionist! My car has seen many bird bombs, tree crap, ice, rain, sleet, snow, and sand and salt! Thats where I think a lot of my paint problems exist from.



I use a Griots sheepskin wash mitt (the best I've used) and ONE bucket. I use the water pressure of my sprayer to blast off the dirt from my mitt before dipping into the soap bucket. I have usually dried my car by first using the CWB as best I can and then the Absorber. I would like to try some MF in my detailing (pakshak probably)
 
I've used DACP with white pad as the swirls were not that bad, but yes yellow is fine if swirls are pretty bad.



I used 3M PIII-MG with white pad AFTER DACP to clean up a bit. I then followed by Mezerna FP with grey pad to let just the polish do the work.



See my SC430 pics in the members gallery.



Regards,

Deanski
 
I use a Griots sheepskin wash mitt (the best I've used) and ONE bucket. I use the water pressure of my sprayer to blast off the dirt from my mitt before dipping into the soap bucket.
Click to expand...

Is this the one with the linear ? I have the beige one with linear and love it (especially in winter). Try not to use the water pressure of a hose to "blast" dirt from the mitt. I understand your intention, but I fear you might end up "blasting" dirt deeper into the mitt which can't be seen. Eventually it will come back and add more scratches/swirls. Was also told by griot's not to throw into the washing machine for the same reason (blasting dirt deeper).



Switch to a 2 bucket method :xyxthumbs

btw: since you're an '03, I take it you found this board from the CL board as well as the Zaino advice ?....hope you got the 6 sp :p
 
pcar 930 said:
Doesn't anyone have advice about the narrow strips of paint that agentdss was asking about? I was wondering the same thing. Do you need to buy the 4"pad? Do you do it by hand(but wouldn't this look funny if the rest of the car was done by the pc)?
Click to expand...



If you're careful, you can use the EDGE of the 6-6.5" (or larger, the bigger the better in this case) pad. Yes, this is perfectly safe with the PC, just watch that you don't hit the paint with the velcro back or the backing plate (or the machine itself).



Or just do them by hand. No, it won't look markedly different from the areas you did by PC as long as you're good and thorough. The PC/hand differences aren't as striking as, say, rotary/hand differences.
 
SK2003TypeS said:
Is this the one with the linear ? I have the beige one with linear and love it (especially in winter). Try not to use the water pressure of a hose to "blast" dirt from the mitt. I understand your intention, but I fear you might end up "blasting" dirt deeper into the mitt which can't be seen.
Click to expand...





I always had the notion that just dipping into a second bucket (of just water) would not always get ALL the dirt off the mitt, especially which I'm in the lower areas of the car body where there is other crap such as tree crap, road grime, etc... I had just been thoroughly blasting away my mitt and making sure its not pushed deeper.



Yes, this is the lined mitt, its awesome! I have a CL-S but unfortuantly not a 6sp.....the traffic here is insane! I've got a lot of advice from the CL & TL boards.
 
Well, before I switched to a two bucket method, I figured well yeah, logically it makes sense. Ever since I did though, seeing the dirt in the second bucket has convinced me.



If you're able to get the dirt out of the mitt without pushing it deeper, then more power to you. Since we're talking about the same mitt, the guy from Griots told me to wash it from the inside out. Put water on the inside and let it push outward. However, I haven't had too much luck with this in that the mitt kind of holds the water as if it were a cup or something.

Don't forget to separate the red glove and let it air out....mine is all moldy. :o



Traffic on this board is insane or roads ? I get a lot faster resonses here than the Acura boards.
 
What I do actually is dump out the rinse water, and refill it every time I move to a new section of the car. For example, I fill it to start, then do the roof, the windows, rinsing as I go. Then I dump it out, and refill it. Then I do the hood, the trunk, and the sides, then rinse and refill. Then I do the front and the back (two of the dirtiest areas, bugs and grme), then dump and re-rinse. Then I do below the trimline, then the wheels. Also make sure to really swish the mitt around in the rinse bucket, dont just dip it.



Might be a little overdoing it, but it only takes a minute or so each time, and I get to sit down on the stool and take a break while it fills.



I'm swirlfree.
 
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