First time PC; Long!

N

nyc_sud

New member
So I stumbled across this forum and next thing you know I have about $300 worth of equipment and product.



PC 7424 with 5" & 6" weight

Propel 7" yellow, green, blue, grey pads

Propel 4" yellow, orange

TOL HTHC, HTLC

TOL HT62 (terminator paint sealant)

Simple Green (car shampoo)

Mother's OTC clay kit



I have a 98 Alima with heavy swirls so I washed (2 bucket, sheepskin mit), dried and clayed. I thought the orange was a heavier cut pad than the yellow so I started with the 4" orange and the HTHC. I used a dime sized amount, worked it in a buffed at 6. The problem is I'm not sure if I let the product work long enough or if my technique if flawed.



After doing the whole car with the orange pad and HTHC, I went over the car again with the 7" yelllow pad and the HTCL. I finished off with the sealant applied with the grey pad and removed with a MF. Now the car looks 100% better than it did when I started but there are still swirls.



1. How do I know when the product has finished breaking down?



2. The HTHC is water based and I noticed that it did begin to dust up and build up on the orange pad. Did this prevent the pad from operating at 100%?



3. Any tips on operating the PC for proper speed and pressure? :waxing:



4. I got ~90% of the swirls of and still have some scratches that did not come out. What can I do to take them out?



5. Any issue with the Simple Green car shampoo?



Roof Before

P1010058.jpg


Hood before

P1010059.jpg


side before

P1010060.jpg




hood after

P1010061.jpg


roof after

P1010062.jpg






I'll post pics of my 99 Ranger I did today after I can get some shots with sunlight.





Thanks,

T
 
The scratches and swirls left behind are probably hazing from the yellow pad. Yellow is much more aggressive than orange. I would start out with the 7" yellow and if that doesn't fix it move to the 4" yellow, after yellow use the Orange, then blue, then grey.



Personally I think 7" is too big to have much correction power on the PC, even the 6.5" pads leave something to be desired. The 4" pads should definitely have more cut to them though.



You can usually tell when a polishing is breaking down by its color. It will start out white and when its broken down it will become a more translucent, creamy color. General rule of thumb is to move about 1" per second in a 2' by 2' area and working for 3-5 minutes. Dab your polish on the pad, then smear it on the surface so it doesn't fling when you turn the PC on, spread the polish around at speed 3 and work it in on 6.



Yes, polish gunking up the pads will affect performance, get a pad cleaning brush or if need be, use something like a toothbrush for the time being.



As for pressure, take a standard bathroom scale with the PC in hand and press down on it until you get a feel for what 20-25lbs of force feels like.



Otherwise, it looks like your doing a great job so far and welcome to the community!
 
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