Got the PC,used it and still have swirls

R

RedLight_Si

Rev-happy
I recently bought a PC and I used it with Zaino Z-PC Fusion and a 6.5" orange Wolfgang pad (lake country?).I topped it with Z-1/Z-5 by hand. I spent hours buffing it and went over the car twice and some spots 3 or 4 times but I still have swirls. I had the PC set to 4.5 most of the time but ran it as high as 5.5. Is there such thing as buffing a section too much? How long should a typical polish be worked? Less than minute? More than a minute? Five minutes? I was kinda having a hard time deciding whether or not I should be using more or less polish and whether or not I was working the polish too much or not enough. I was told that the polish will start to dissapear when it is worked enough. I dont think I really got to that point. It was kinda hard to tell. I also noticed that it was really difficult to do any of the flat surfaces(roof and side panels) of the car because of the vibration from the PC would just vibrate the body panel and didnt really feel like I was making proper contact with the surface. Anyone else get that? I got the counterweight for the pad. Help me! :( Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Steve
Nighthawk Black Pearl 2003 Honda Civic Si
 
Your first mistake was in not checking to make sure your swirls were gone before you went on to other steps. When you are doing swirl removal you need to make sure they are gone before you go for your sealant or whatever you are using. How insane would it be to spend all day polishing and waxing your car only to realize at the end that you forgot to clay half of it? Finish removing the swirls before you move on to other products. That is my advice. But what do I know.... ? I bought a silver car specifically so I wouldn't have to deal with swirls. :rolleyes:
 
Honda uses a very soft black which is difficult to polish.

How much Z-PC polish were you using?
Did you use any pads besides the orange pad?
What kind of towels did you use?
What was the previous care regiment for the car?
What kind of presuure did you use on the PC?

Eric
 
Leyland said:
Your first mistake was in not checking to make sure your swirls were gone before you went on to other steps. When you are doing swirl removal you need to make sure they are gone before you go for your sealant or whatever you are using. How insane would it be to spend all day polishing and waxing your car only to realize at the end that you forgot to clay half of it? Finish removing the swirls before you move on to other products. That is my advice. But what do I know.... ? I bought a silver car specifically so I wouldn't have to deal with swirls. :rolleyes:
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Thanks for the advise. It was a cloudy day when I did it,which I wanted. Alot of the light scratches seemed to come out. When the sun did peek through a little it seemed like the swirls were gone for the most part. But later on under different lighting conditions they became more evident.
 
edschwab1 said:
How much Z-PC polish were you using?
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I probably used about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bottle for the whole car. Started off drawing a star formation on the pad,then began to use less, using about 5 small drops(less then a dime) in a circle for each panel for each pass.
edschwab1 said:
Did you use any pads besides the orange pad?
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No, just the orange pad.
edschwab1 said:
What kind of towels did you use?
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white 100% cotton (or so they said) terry cloth towels washed in All Free Clear.
edschwab1 said:
What was the previous care regiment for the car?
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Ive given it alot of care and used alot of products. Mostly from Meguiars and Zaino. Is there something you would like to know specifically?
edschwab1 said:
What kind of presuure did you use on the PC?
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It varied. Most of the time I held it gently against the surface. I put some pressure on it at times though especially on the flat surfaces where the PC seemed to skip across the surface.
 
Thank you for answering my questions.

I have never used Z-PC, but it sounds like you have the usage of Z-PC down when compared to other polishes. Bearing in mind what I said above, I would recommend trying Z-PC with a soft polishing pad like a lake country white pad as second step after the orange cutting. This extra step should help with a black car.

As to the towels, I would recommend soft microfiber towels. All of are sponsors sell very good microfiber towels. I like the Meguiars Supreme shine towels which are available at the chain auto parts stores. 100% cotton can mean many things, which I will leave for another thread and to someone who has more knowledge in that area.

The reason I asked about previous care is to find out if the car was cared for or abused. Sounds like you have taken care of the Si and want to take the paint to the next level.

Have you read any of the various PC how-to's?

Do you have pictures of the swirls? How were the swirls induced?

Eric
 
BlkYukon just did a write up about PC useage and polish beakdown
http://users.ca.astound.net/blkyukon/cars/polish

If the link does not work do a seach on blkyukon. He is very informed as to how to get the job done. Although he does not address your products you may be able to get something out of it non the less. Might even consider getting some of the Menzerna line to add to the Z look.

Have been using my pc for two years. After seeing the afore mentioned tutuorial it was kind of like a light turned on in my head. I could really see what he was trying to express. I look for ward to the weekend to apply his message to the art of detailing my vehicle.
 
The Zaino may not be a good enough polish for the swirls you have. It takes a very long time and is very difficult to remove ALL defects with a PC especially with only one polish. My advice is to get some SSR2.5 (or another powerful polish) and then you'll be all set to use the Zaino after that. Oh ya, don't be afraid to crank it up to 6 and apply a little pressure...
 
budman3 said:
The Zaino may not be a good enough polish for the swirls you have. It takes a very long time and is very difficult to remove ALL defects with a PC especially with only one polish. My advice is to get some SSR2.5 (or another powerful polish) and then you'll be all set to use the Zaino after that. Oh ya, don't be afraid to crank it up to 6 and apply a little pressure...
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I agree, I've haven't used Z-PC but depending on the severity of the swirls/scratches it might take more aggressive polish pad combo to get the job done.


cwcad Thanks! LMK how it works out this weekend! Here is the link to polishing:
http://users.ca.astound.net/blkyukon/cars/#polish

Bence Thanks too! The above link has updated products and pictures from the links you have :punk:
 
sharpie said:
sorry for the noob question...whats a PC ? power something? :wink:
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Porter Cable Random Orbit polisher/sander. Commonly refered to as a "PC"

There are two kinds but both do the same thing PC 7424 and PC7336.

Now that you are armed with this information you can get a wealth of information by doing a search for these items.
 
I have this color on an older acura cl and don't find it particularly easy to correct. I've not used your product, but I've agonized over others and pads and pc and rotary. sounds like you're in the learning curve, and frankly these things take time. five minutes is likely not nearly long enough. I've taken this car down to near perfect annually, and after this last (current, like for the last long weekend) exercise have decided in the future to simplify. I'll do a panel at a time instead of the whole car. just sounds more sane to me at this point.
 
I look forward to seeing the pictures after using PC the first time. Do you wash your car at a tunnel automatic car wash? Where are you located and maybe a member in your area could help you out.

Eric
 
Thanks everyone for the input. I checked out BlkYukon's site and it is very informative. What products does everyone like for getting rid of swirls and the like?
 
edschwab1 said:
Have you read any of the various PC how-to's?
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Kinda. BlkYukon's site is very insightful.
edschwab1 said:
Do you have pictures of the swirls? How were the swirls induced?
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I do. These pics were actually taken the day before I got the PC and used it.
The car is kinda dirty in the pics. The car's paint is "bare bones" with no protection on it. I attribute most of the swirls/scratches in these pics to the last product I used on it which was Zaino Z-PC Fusion by hand about a week before I took these pics. Ill try to take and post some pics of what it looks like currently after I used the PC. I can tell you that it really doesnt look much better,to me at least. The swirls seem to be more tightly wound and circular now. The hood seems to look better though. I just cant figure out what i did differently with the hood that it looks better.
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edschwab1 said:
I look forward to seeing the pictures after using PC the first time. Do you wash your car at a tunnel automatic car wash? Where are you located and maybe a member in your area could help you out.

Eric
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Pics are coming soon. Ive taken my car through a tunnel automatic car wash once, a couple of months after I got it. Im in NJ.
 
RedLight_Si said:
Thanks everyone for the input. I checked out BlkYukon's site and it is very informative. What products does everyone like for getting rid of swirls and the like?
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I like Menzerna Intensive polish with a cutting pad. Then Menzerna Final Polish 2 on a polishing pad. After that I like AIO applied by hand followed the wax or sealant of my choice. As an extra step you use Optimum polish between the Menzerna steps, or menzerna IP with a polishing followed by Menzerna FP 2. Either of these extra steps my not be such a bad idea considering you have a black car.

Which part of New Jersey?

Eric
 
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