My First Polishing - Newbie Experience

I

imported_Alec

New member
I bought a very slightly used Porter Cable 7424 on eBay, Sonus SFX-1, Sonus SFX-2, Wunder Buffing towels, and away I went.



First I spent over an hour with some bug and tar spray clearing the ridiculous amounts of tar from all the road construction here and then washed and dried the car.



I started with SFX-1 on the orange pad and I poured some SFX-1 on it and then turned it on without putting it on the car. It proceeded to splatter it everywhere. First lesson learned. :)



I got through the polishing and it was fairly slow going. I let it dry and switched to the green buffing cover on top of a white pad to clear it off. I'm really loving machine buffing.



I have to say at this point, things didn't look all that impressive, but I kept going.



On to Sonus SFX-2 on the green pad. About 1/4 way through I find the speed setting on the Porter and slowly push it up to 4. MUCH better.



I reverse the buffing cover and proceed to buff after drying. I'm starting to realize I really need more buffing covers as towards the end it gets too caked to work as well. I go over the car with a Wunder yellow buffing towel afterwards to clean up and the car is looking very good.



I pop on the blue pad and use some Mother's Power Wax. It goes on easy.



I use a new green buffing cover and quickly cake on both sides... I have to finish with the Wunder towels.



The results are excellent. All of the clearcoat scuffs from jerks in parking lots are completely gone (better than I had hoped) and a few medium scratches have been very much reduced.



I spent from 9AM to 5PM with maybe an hour total break in between getting this done. I know I will be much faster and better at it next time.



The Porter Cable really is foolproof and well worth it.



Pictures don't do it justice, but here's one anyway:



http://alecl.com/car/left2.jpg



2001 Honda Accord EX
 
First, why would you put the polish on the pad and then start it?



Second, your not supposed to let the polish dry.



Third, why remove it with a bonnet? Your working to hard.



fourth, speed 6 is your freind when polishing.



fifth, sounds like your not working the polish long enough.
 
Alec your car looks good. :) I agree with coupe's comments. You don't need to let the polish dry and you can probably remove it quicker by using a regular towel rather than a buffing bonnet. I am a beginner, too and I also didn't know that I'm supposed to work in the polish until it turns transluscent (somehow that translates to the polish being fully broken down) Autogeek has some video showing you how to do a two step polish using the PC, it was helpful to me.
 
Your car looks pretty good, but here are a few tips that expand on what Coupe mentioned for future reference.



When you polish, just do a small section (~2' x 2') at a time, work the polish until it breaks down (but before it dries), and then buff off with a MF..... not a bonnet with your PC.



You already know not to have the PC turned on until the pad is on the paint (and turn it off before you remove it), but you can start your polish out at about speed 3 or 4 to spread it and then kick the PC up to 5 or 6 to work it in and break it down.



It sounds like you might have put your wax on too thick also. I usually buff it off by hand with a MF, and then sometimes go over it with the PC and a MF bonnet.



You'll get faster and the more you read around here the more tips you'll pick up for the next time.
 
Looks like I still have lots to learn. I assumed the polish needed to dry to a haze just like wax and when it was too translucent, I didn't put enough on. I probably put on way too much... I was afraid of scuffing or burning if I didn't have enough on the pad.



"First, why would you put the polish on the pad and then start it?" - Are you saying I should squirt it on the car? That's fine for the hood, but difficult on doors and such.



Thanks for the tips. I look forward to trying again in the spring.
 
And one other thing a lot of people left out that I learned as well, go slllllooooowwwww when doing the hard polishing for scratches and swirls. Like 1/2 inch to one inch per second. And go over each area for about five minutes at least. Go one direction, then the other, alternating several times until the polish looks almost clear.



As far as putting the polish on, put about a dime sized blotch on the pad, then smear or dab it in a few spots on the panel. Then turn it on to about 3 and work it in before going to 5 or 6.
 
Grimm said:
And one other thing a lot of people left out that I learned as well, go slllllooooowwwww when doing the hard polishing for scratches and swirls. Like 1/2 inch to one inch per second. And go over each area for about five minutes at least. Go one direction, then the other, alternating several times until the polish looks almost clear.



As far as putting the polish on, put about a dime sized blotch on the pad, then smear or dab it in a few spots on the panel. Then turn it on to about 3 and work it in before going to 5 or 6.
Click to expand...



I've never been able to go 5-6 minutes working in the polish. I guess this just depends on what polish you're using. But Menzerna IP or FPII breaks down after about 2 minutes in my experience.
 
Alec said:
Looks like I still have lots to learn. I assumed the polish needed to dry to a haze just like wax and when it was too translucent, I didn't put enough on. I probably put on way too much... I was afraid of scuffing or burning if I didn't have enough on the pad.



"First, why would you put the polish on the pad and then start it?" - Are you saying I should squirt it on the car? That's fine for the hood, but difficult on doors and such..
Click to expand...



Welcome to Autopia! Your car's looking good and is no doubt infinitely better than before, even if you didn't do everything exactly right (gee ;) who *does* do it right the first umpteen times? ).



I think what Coupe meant was "why'd you start the PC before it was on the paint?" Heh heh, you're not the first person to do that!



I don't really like the "put the polish on the panel" approach because some products I've used have strong chemical cleaners and can do weird things if you leave them on the paint too long before you start working them. Maybe it's an silly hold-over from the old days, but I just put the product on the pad and maybe smear it around on the panel a little before I turn the PC on.



Using too much product is *very* common. How much to use, how long to work it, and all the other stuff, will come with practice.
 
Light-Zone said:
I've never been able to go 5-6 minutes working in the polish. I guess this just depends on what polish you're using. But Menzerna IP or FPII breaks down after about 2 minutes in my experience.
Click to expand...





I guess I should qualify what I said and not rush to say that long. I have only used Optimum polishes so far, and I worked it in for quite a long time. I didn't actually time it, so maybe it wasn't 5-6 minutes.
 
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