is a PC *REALLY* worth it?

SRT4 said:
Now for most car colors, I can see it as a vital tool and such, but for people with lighter cars like me (Silver), is there really a point to owning one?



I ask because I am considering getting one, because I am kinda lazy and really don't wax the car often, but that's because after a simple wash the car looks great. Granted, I can see some lighter swirls, but you REALLY have to look to see them. Here are some examples, this is just after a wash and I haven't waxed the car in 4 months.





I know I need to clay/polish/wax the car soon (had it for 3 years and have yet to claybar *embarassed*) so I am wondering if it is really going to make much of a difference over how it looks now.



Thanks,



- Jason
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You are asking this on a site of devoted, anal, insane car cleaning nuts. You sound like you really don't care or can't be bothered, so I would say no don't buy one. Really, if you aren't going to use it, just pay someone else to shine up your ride.



The whole thing with the PC is you can get your car looking BETTER than it did right off the lot when it was new. I don't care what color it is, polishing with a PC will make a big difference.
 
I didn't need my PC, then I didn't need my Cyclo, and then what the heck, I didn't need my rotary. We'll leave the foam gun out of the discussion ;) But then, it was like," How did I ever get by without them?" when I obtained them all.



If this is more than an occasional, passing interest, it's like a sport you get involved in.You tend to want all the real good equipment that goes with it. Then, with practice and work towards mastery of technique, you experience the great results these tools can provide you.
 
NO you don't NEED a PC. But it certaintly is nice to have. The color of your car does not matter. I drive a white car, and after a good polish and wax it looks wetter than any other white car that I see on the road, and that makes me happy. You could certaintly make that silver paint pop if you got a PC, but if you simply do not care about having your paint in tip top condition then save your money. But then again in the long run you'll be losing money when you sell or trade your car in with a dull and marred finish.
 
I started out detailling without a PC, and eventually built up to the point where I felt like I couldn't do any more real work without it. If you're serious about detailing, it's a must-have item. Sure, you can do some wax, maybe even a light glaze, by hand, but you'll never be able to get the level of polishing a PC can by hand in any reasonable amount of time. To do much more than wash and a light coat of wax, you pretty much need a PC.

A note on silver, my mom has a silver car, and I thought it looked "pretty good", but then I polished it with a PC, and it looked much better. The color really just pops out a lot more after it's been polished. You just have to decide how serious you are about detailing, and decide how much money you have, and then decide. For me, I decided it was definitely worth it, but your decision may be different.



Just my two cents.
 
Sorry to get off topic here... as you can see this is my first post... just joined today and found this thread. I was thinking of buying a PC... but i heard there really only for pros... i hear you can easily burn your clearcoat, paint etc ... any info would be great... one other thing how often do you need to replace the pads and disc things
 
If I had to do it again I would go for the Cyclo and not the PC. You might want to look into that option if you decide to purchase.
 
DaVeeD said:
Sorry to get off topic here... as you can see this is my first post... just joined today and found this thread. I was thinking of buying a PC... but i heard there really only for pros... i hear you can easily burn your clearcoat, paint etc ... any info would be great... one other thing how often do you need to replace the pads and disc things
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Its VERY hard to burn the paint with a PC. I have taken a very aggressive coupound with a yellow (cutting) pad on speed 6 and held it on a junk yard hood that I was using to practice on for over 3 straight mins and nothing happened to burn that paint.



Now some clears are lower than others but I have been around the detailing world and forums since 2002 and I have never heard someone has burned the paint with a PC, rotary yes, PC no.
 
How many different pads do i need? do i use the pads to polish or do i put something over the pads? sorry im a newb as you can tell
 
First thing you'll probably want to know, I really can't think of ANY way to burn paint with a PC! Maybe if you set the pad on fire and held the pad against the paint, lol. Seriously tho, a PC is pretty much *THE* safest machine to use on paint, as long as you don't go polish crazy and try to polish a panel 15 times.



As far as pads, The absolute bare minimum IMHO would be at least 2 no wait, make that 4, 2 of each kind, you need somethingto cut with, and something to fine finish with. The reason why I say AT LEST two more is because, what if something happens, dirt gets on the pad, pad spontaniously combusts ect ect. And no you don't put anything over the pad, they do make buffing bonnets that slip over the pad to remove left over product, but I've always liked to do it by hand as the bonnets load up WAY too quickly.
 
Neo62381 said:
First thing you'll probably want to know, I really can't think of ANY way to burn paint with a PC! Maybe if you set the pad on fire and held the pad against the paint, lol. Seriously tho, a PC is pretty much *THE* safest machine to use on paint, as long as you don't go polish crazy and try to polish a panel 15 times.



As far as pads, The absolute bare minimum IMHO would be at least 2 no wait, make that 4, 2 of each kind, you need somethingto cut with, and something to fine finish with. The reason why I say AT LEST two more is because, what if something happens, dirt gets on the pad, pad spontaniously combusts ect ect. And no you don't put anything over the pad, they do make buffing bonnets that slip over the pad to remove left over product, but I've always liked to do it by hand as the bonnets load up WAY too quickly.
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Ya i was really confused on what the difference on pads and bonnets are... so pads are use to apply the product (can get different pads for certain steps) and bonnets are just used to remove the product... i just stopped by Chemical Guys today to check out some of their stuff and they said the PC is idiot proof... so im going to buy one within the month
 
bonnets can also be used to apply product. I used the bonnet to apply UPP this week and it came out much better than when I applied it by hand. UPP works at its best when used in a very thin layer, as many glazes do, and the bonnet applies it in a much thinner layer than capable by hand.
 
Since this isnt for the SRT4 guy anymore really, everyone now. The answer is yes, if your here on the internet reading about cleaning cars then the answer is yes(for any color).
 
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