Its Official: I hate my PC

N

noxen

New member
pc1.jpg


pc2.jpg






Yep, snapped right off when i was detailing this C5



co24.jpg




I was almost done when the thing just flew off



Hardly any pressure was applied. So I finished the car with the SFP and guess what? IT CAME OUT BETTER than the side with the PC..god, what am i doing wrong? Ive never dropped the pads, i use 2 good size drops of product, Start the PC going in the direction of airflow applying ~10lbs of pressure and then once the other way using the same amount of pressure



I then follow this up by goin slowly in the direction of the airflow until its almost gone



:sosad



i just hope my clients arent expecting any polish jobs soon, my arm isnt the best for this stuff :D
 
Sounds like the 10 pounds of pressure might have something to do with it. It's widely recommended to use about half that.
 
2 drops? It sounds like you're not using enough. It's much safer to use more than less. I put a ring or an x on the pad and spread it before I buff. Hopefully everything works out for you. Good luck.
 
Which pads are you using? How fast or slow are you moving the PC?



I would agree that 10 lbs of pressure seems a bit much. I use just enough to lightly bog the motor then back off slowly until it runs at full speed and use that amount of pressure. Using a bit more product would probably help too.
 
I read 10 lbs of pressure on here..



I'll give it a go though once i hear back from PC



thanks guys
 
Remember that many people here insist on giving horrible advice. Keep that in mind when reading through posts. 10lbs of pressure is 10lbs TOO MUCH. Let the weight of the polisher do the work. The advantage of the PC is it's variable speeds and strong motor. Applying pressure to the poilisher negates these benefits. The added pressure is what may have ruined your machine. I just hope all the smart guys who recommend adding pressure read this thread.



Bill.
 
I'm going to have to offer a differing opinion here (guess I'm gonna be one of those "smart" guys) . . . I apply a fair amount of pressure on the first couple of passes I make with a PC when I'm trying to remove heavier swirls, enough to compress the pad and bog the motor slightly. With subsequent passes, I use less and less pressure until I'm supporting most of the machine's weight, and the pad is spinning pretty freely. In my experience, extra pressure in the first couple of passes adds to the "bite" of the polish/pad combo.



I've been using my PC this way for a couple of years now with great success . . . no harm to the machine, no problems with my backing plate. I honestly think the original poster's backing plate must have been defective, because IMO, there's no way 10 lbs. of pressure during normal polishing was the cause of that failure.



Tort

S-M-R-T! (vague Simpsons reference)
 
That is fair dinkum frustrating and unlucky I reckon. Lucky it didnt take a chunk out of the car!

Hope there is a happy resolution to this....
 
10lbs does seem a bit excessive IMO. I tend to let the machine weight / pad / product do all the work. I do lean into it a bit more if I have scratches or swirls to deal with.



Was there any damage to the car?
 
pugoman said:
10lbs does seem a bit excessive IMO. I tend to let the machine weight / pad / product do all the work. I do lean into it a bit more if I have scratches or swirls to deal with.
Click to expand...



I agree. However, I certainly use some pressure when initially applying the polish on a setting of about 4 and spreading it to my desired work area, but then quickly let off when going to 5.
 
I've applied plenty of pressure to my PCs when I thought it was needed (actually, what was needed was a different tool...) and it never caused any problems.



IMO there's no way that any normal amount of pressure would break that threaded stud unless it was defective.
 
From the picture it appears that the bolt is broken in half. Is that rust on the bolt where its snaped? That could attribute to the break. 10 pounds of pressure should not be able to snap that bolt.
 
no rust, the thing is only 4 months old and used for 1 month



anyways, i was afraid of applying too much product and getting the pad too wet, so thats why i never used much
 
10lbs. of pressure...your lucky the Vette isn't metal....you'd probably dent it! The weight of the machine is MORE than enough!
 
While we're on the topic of rust, I took my backing plate off the other day and noticed that both the thread on the backing plate and the nut on the PC were starting to rust - anybody else have this problem? I'm going to try some rust remover on there, but that will only remove the rust from the metal, right? I still need to get a good rust inhibitor...
 
While we're on the topic of rust, I took my backing plate off the other day and noticed that both the thread on the backing plate and the nut on the PC were starting to rust - anybody else have this problem?
Click to expand...



If you decide to purchase a new backing plate, consider one from a top manufacture. My 5" LC backing plate w/ 6" pads, maybe lighter in weight and because of this weight and quality difference, could have an advantage if one uses the extra pressure or not. (Less stress on the machine and parts:nixweiss )



I've always read most people choosing to purchase Up, over the stock PC backing plate.:argue
 
Soarer V said:
If you decide to purchase a new backing plate, consider one from a top manufacture. My 5" LC backing plate w/ 6" pads, maybe lighter in weight and because of this weight and quality difference, could have an advantage if one uses the extra pressure or not. (Less stress on the machine and parts:nixweiss )



I've always read most people choosing to purchase Up, over the stock PC backing plate.:argue
Click to expand...



I got a new backing plate from CMA (http://store.yahoo.com/classic-motoring/velbacplatfo.html) about 2 months ago...
 
It just looks like a bad bolt to me. I've seen this before.....defective bolts in general that is, never a defective PC like this. I think the area that looks rusty is where the bolt snapped, correct? Well that just tells me that barely any metal was actually making contact in that area. In other words, you didn't shear that bolt like that, it was already sheared and you just persuaded it the rest of the way. I would assume that the bolt is permanently mounted to the backing plate. I would be calling the people that made the backing plate, not the PC. JMHO
 
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