First Time using a PC...What do you think....

R

ResidualFreedom

New member
I had a little time this morning to attack my mothers 1998 Windstar. Horribly swirled, scratched, and generally worn..



I also wanted to try out my Porter Cable 7424, so I ran a bead of masling tape down the hood and taped off half of the hood, I wanted before and after results, I wasn't going to spend 6 ours on the old van. However having all of thoes swirls and me with my porter cable I couldn't resist. Here are the pics I have taken, it really didn't take too long to get the results. I was only using the polishing pad and the buffing pad.



-I first washed with NXT wash

-clayed the hood

-DACP #83/ polishing pad

-SFP #82 / polishing pad

-and finally a coat of NXT / buffing pad.



If I spent more time I would have been able to get all of the swirls out, but I wanted to get a idea on time spent vs. results, for future job quotes... I didn't want to spend three hours on a hood.



Tell me what you think:



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Funny thing is I left it like that. :D She had to take the car for the afternoon.



After seeing the results, I would like to point out I am new to this so any advice or tips are greatly appreciated! I have the Autopia guide, and countless other articles and videos, but applying the actual techniques is a different story all together.



Question : now seeing the results, should I have -



- used a cutting pad with DACP

- then a polishing pad with DACP

- followed by the SFP (I am waiting for the Speed Glaze to arrive, I have read that thread praising the Speed Glaze)

- And finally the NXT



Or should I have spent more time with the DACP and the polishing pad and stick to my first plan of attack?



Thanks in Advance!
 
Nice! That thing could look likr new if you wanted to. Good job! I need DACP! Speed glaze did it for my car, but I wnat to start doing friend's cars and such and I need more POWER! Don't know about you, but I really enjoyed using the pc for the first time a couple days ago. Awesome job!
 
Thanks that's what I thought, but because it was my first time I didn't know how much the polishing pad would "dig" in compared to the others.

Now I know, and knowing is half the battle. lol





Off Note: The UPS guy just arrived with my shippment of the Klasse twins (big bottles), P21S kits, Lexol Cleaner (2) and Conditioner (3L), Wheel Cleaner (1gal), Tire Cleaner (2gal), Tar & Bug remover (1gal), and a 5 gallon bucket of tire Grape dressing. Woo Hoo
 
I tracked it online, it left the local UPS "hub" at 8:30 this morning.. and didn;t arrive till 4:20. I was walking outside everytime I heard a deisel truck, school bus, even that knife sharpening guy!! he wasn't ringin' his bell so I thought it could be the UPS guy.
 
residualfreedom said:
I tracked it online, it left the local UPS "hub" at 8:30 this morning.. and didn;t arrive till 4:20. I was walking outside everytime I heard a deisel truck, school bus, even that knife sharpening guy!! he wasn't ringin' his bell so I thought it could be the UPS guy.
Click to expand...



LOL, I always check the tracking and it's usually on the truck the night before but doesn't get to my house till like 4:30pm... They're a tease... LOL
 
nice work on that half of the hood!



funny thing i also just got my PC but waiting for the pads to come, and once i get the pad, i'm planning on doing the same thing with my mom's car w/Meg's #80! well, hopefully i can do the whole car instead. :D
 
Thanks alot, I was origionally going to do the whole thing but, plans changed and time wouldn't allow it. Ah well at least I got the results I was looking for right?, Even though next time I will try a differnt approach, using the cutting pad. I think it will give me better results and limit the time I would have to stay in each area of the car.



Thanks for any tips guys.



I have not yet picked up a rotary, I do know the rotary is the machine that cold possibly screw up a paint job if used incorrectly. I have multiple test panels from old trunks, hoods and doors (friend ownes a wreakers).



My question is are you typicaly ab;e to do most jobs without the rotary?



I know the differnence between the two I just would a little more input on the ammount of use.. Would you say it "SHOULD" be standard detailers practice to use both tools, rotary and the orbital? Or is the rotary usually taken out for problematic areas? I know of a "cheezy" shop that only uses wool pads on their cars. They attack them with an old wool pad and low quality products. Last time I saw them do a car it was over a year ago and I "thought", at that time, it was standars detailers practice. Now seeing the products and methods that most of you guys are using, I feel confident I will not only be getting sound advice, but advice that can be held to a high level of professionalism.



Thanks Everyone.
 
from what ive read, the rotary is for profesionals who know what they are doing, and for jobs that require some real power to remove swirls/scratches. Give DACP a try with the yellow pad and work it good and you might not need such tool. Other than that, follow up with SFP(white pad), AIO(white pad), SG(grey or hand), NXT(grey or hand)
 
residualfreedom said:
My question is are you typicaly ab;e to do most jobs without the rotary?
Click to expand...



With a PC you'll be able to do anything. It'll just take more time than a rotary. The big thing with the rotary is the speed it can take out serious defects. The PC won't be able to create the heat and friction necessary.



I was doing wetsanding in the past and used my random orbital to remove some of the marks to see if it was possible and it is. Usually you can use a little bit of a heavier compound to speed up the process with the random orbital because it doesn't go as fast as the rotary. It'll also take a little more time.



If you aren't doing professional detailing where you get some really bad vehicles you have to polish quickly, then don't worry about a rotary.
 
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