Frustrated first time PC user!

G

goceltics34

New member
I just had the courage to take my new PC to a portion of my Jeep. I prepped the paint with a wash, clay, then used the orange light cutting pad from LC and some SSR 2.5. The paint came out pretty good but after looking at it in direct sunlight, I can still see some light swirls and scratches. I started the PC on #3, then after several seconds went to 4 then 5. I worked the section back and forth, then side to side until the product began to disappear. I applied a little pressure but not too much.



I want to know what am I doing wrong? Do I need to go over the section again or get more agressive?



Here are a couple of pictures showing the light swirls that still exist.

IMG_5279.jpg


IMG_5289.jpg




Please help! :nixweiss
 
Machine Polish / Foam Pad Combinations:

Always start with the least abrasive combination, i.e. a machine polish comparative abrasion scale CAS =3 and the least aggressive (polishing) foam pad. If that combination doesn't remove the imperfections, using the same machine polish CAS = 3and change to a more aggressive (cutting) foam pad. If the surface imperfections remain, then step-up the abrasive to a polish CAS = 4 and use the least aggressive (polishing) pad.



The speed at which the foam pad travels across a paint surface is also important, too fast or slow wonâ€â„¢t allow the micro-abrasive to â€Ëœbeak downâ€â„¢, Machine linier speed (MLS) buffer or rotary machine movement shown as inches per second



It is preferable to polish 2-3 times to restore the paint film surface than to use an unnecessarily abrasive machine polish / foam pad combination.



The abrading ability of any polish can be changed by their application method (i.e. machine or hand application, speed and / or pressure used, using it wet or dry and / or type of foam composition (different foam compositions and / or densities have a differing abrading ability)



Poorboyâ€â„¢s WorldCAS

Poorboyâ€â„¢s SSR3 7/10

Poorboyâ€â„¢s SSR 2.5 6/10

Poorboyâ€â„¢s SSR2 5/10

Poorboyâ€â„¢s SSR1 3/10



JonM
 
Should I try to go to SSR 3 or maybe just work the 2.5 in a little longer? How about going to a yellow heavier cutting pad with 2.5?
 
Should I expect to get all of these small swirls and scratches out with the PC or should I expect a few to remain? What should I expect from the PC?
 
You're doing a pretty good job. The swirls are almost gone. I would suggest going over the area one more time using the same combination. It is not uncommon to do 2-3 passes to accomplish the desired results.



JJ
 
you should be able to remove those swirls. I would reccomend spreading the product on speed 4 at a pace of 2-3 inces per second, then speed the PC up to 6 and at a pace of 1 inch per second. Only work in a 2x2 section you should notice some resutls.
 
Question for you.....



I don't know if this car has a clear coat or not. Would that matter? If it didn't would it be harder to get the scratches out because they are within the paint or is it the same as getting them out with a clear coat paint?



How do I find out if the car has a clear coat?
 
Why not use the same pad with SSR1. I recently had a similar problem, where 1Z PP was leaving some micro marring on the paint and I used some scratch-X to remove.
 
Lapis 986 said:
Why not use the same pad with SSR1. I recently had a similar problem, where 1Z PP was leaving some micro marring on the paint and I used some scratch-X to remove.
Click to expand...



I think I will try that. At this point, I will try anything that you fellow autopians recommend as I am a newbie with the PC. The section of paint that I worked on looks way better than before but I know many of you have had great success eliminating most if not all swirls. I want to get to that level.
 
Check your pad after polishing. If it's red, you have single stage paint (no clear coat). More than likely (99% positive), that Jeep's paint is clearcoated.



It looks like you got that major scratch out. I'm assuming you were concentrating on that one section more than the section to the right of the scratch (spiderwebbing).



I've found it most satisfying to concentrate on small sections at one time, and using the speed of the PC to do the work rather than applying pressure. I'm not familiar with 2.5, but seeing the job it's done on other paints, you should be able to remove almost all of the micromarring on that paint (from what I can tell from the picture). Keep at it, and stay within a 1x1 or 2x2 section at a time. It sounds more time-consuming, but I find it is actually faster and definitely more effective.



Someone with more 2.5 experience can tell you about flashing etc...



I followed



this tutorial when starting--using several different kinds of polishes, and Dr. Jones' lessons can be applied to the polishes I used.



Good luck:up
 
No red paint on the pad. Maybe it is clear coated after all.



Thank you very much for your help. I will stick with it and see if I can get rid of all of the swirls. I have the time, just need to test my patience a little bit.
 
one thing i think you should be is more realisitic and don't expect too much, that way you don't set yourself for disappointment.

besides a lot of the guys that post their pics on here are damn good and spend hours, ie-gonzo - 20hrs on that one car, think it was the pick-up. search for it.

be realisitic and patient.

i know i will be once i get my pc :xyxthumbs
 
Maybe your right. I am expecting results like some of the pros who contribute to this forum. I have to remember that I "am" a rookie when it comes to detailing and especially PC use.
 
TOGWT said:
Machine Polish / Foam Pad Combinations:

Always start with the least abrasive combination, i.e. a machine polish comparative abrasion scale CAS =3 and the least aggressive (polishing) foam pad. If that combination doesn't remove the imperfections, using the same machine polish CAS = 3and change to a more aggressive (cutting) foam pad. If the surface imperfections remain, then step-up the abrasive to a polish CAS = 4 and use the least aggressive (polishing) pad.
Click to expand...



This is very interesting. I should try this sometime.



Originally posted by TOGWT

It is preferable to polish 2-3 times to restore the paint film surface than to use an unnecessarily abrasive machine polish / foam pad combination.
Click to expand...



This is an excellent suggestion. I've done this with #80 Speed Glaze to remove swirls and the swirls went away after the third pass. Well worth the extra time for the added safety of using a very mild polish. I would've removed way too much paint than necessary if I had stepped up to #83 DACP.



One could argue that I could've gone straight to #83 DACP in the first place but that would not follow the rule of using the least aggressive method first.



Of course, I was using the Makita 9227C rotary moving up from 600rpm to 1200rpm only. :D
 
Using a rotory is going to remove A LOT more paint than a PC will do. A PC will remove the most minute amount of paint. Almost not measureable. A rotory was meant to remove paint. So even with a PC and #83 he wouldnt have removed much paint at all.



I agree about the least aggressive method first, but the PC is VERY USER AND PAINT FRIENDLY!
 
teamvegas said:
the PC is VERY USER AND PAINT FRIENDLY!
Click to expand...



Yes, I would probably agree with you on that. Here's something to think about though:



Are YOU over polishing your paint?



Originally posted by Accumulator

While that test on the Meguiar's board showed what it showed, I remember that at last year's St. Louis g-t-g an Autopian cut through the clear on a Benz using (merely) a PC and #83. We say you'd have to toss the PC at the paint to cause damage, but that's not really true.
Click to expand...
 
And just to further muddy the waters ;) while I know from the St. Louis thing that you can *remove* paint with a PC, I had to get out the rotary on the rent-a-suburban because I wasn't making any timely headway with either the Cyclo or the PC (with 4" pads) :nixweiss



IMO people who are not planning to spend many hours per panel (if necessary) should expect a PC to *improve* the paint, but not really/fully *correct* it.



And in the real world, where Autopians aren't lurking with special lighting and an eye for spotting marring, an "improved" finish is almost certainly good enough. Most people can't see the difference between my marring-free S8 and my wifes *far*-from-perfect A8. Heh heh, hers is always the best car in the parking lot unless the S8 is there too :D Nobody sees the "marring", they just see a clean, shiny car.
 
Sorry I didn't read every post here but here's my tip...



When I first started using the PC, I was moving too quickly for the SSR's to actually work in. Doing 2-3 more passes I finally saw some results. However, until recently, I found out that I really didn't need to do more than one pass. The problem I had was that I should've moved a lot, A LOT, slower. I worked on my friend's Civic this past weekend and made a quick first pass to spread the product. When I did the second pass, I took my time and moved the PC a lot slower than I did before. It turned out to be perfect, with almost all swirls removed (with some micromarring) after one pass with 2.5. I finished it off with SSR1 to clear it to a shine.
 
I think I may have to finish off with a few passes with SSR 1. Most of the swirls are gone after the SSR 2.5 but the finish still looks like it can be improved. Using SSR 1 with a polishing pad may give me better results.



Or should I use SSR 1 with a light cutting pad (orange LC pad)?
 
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