My PC and CMA kit is here . . . .

Green Monster

Green Monster

New member
I have just received my PC and CMA kit and I am ready to go. :bounce



The first victim is my mom's 98 dark blue ford taurus. Happy Mother's Day!!!!



I have some Clay,#9,#7,#6,#20,#26, and some Medallion paint cleaner. Have some DA and SMR on its way but I don't think I need them yet. I am a Meguiar's fan can you tell. I am going play and experiment on mom's car. I hope I catch on quick because I want go to town with the PC!



Ahhhhhhhh the weekend is made for detailing............... :D
 
Green Monster said:
I have just received my PC and CMA kit and I am ready to go. :bounce



The first victim is my mom's 98 dark blue ford taurus. Happy Mother's Day!!!!



I have some Clay,#9,#7,#6,#20,#26, and some Medallion paint cleaner. Have some DA and SMR on its way but I don't think I need them yet. I am a Meguiar's fan can you tell. I am going play and experiment on mom's car. I hope I catch on quick because I want go to town with the PC!



Ahhhhhhhh the weekend is made for detailing............... :D
Click to expand...



Just like a proud parent ME, TOO !! Except I'll be working on the wife's Volvo 960 to reduce/remove some scratches. I plan to use 3M SMR & P21S Paint Cleansing Lotion. YIPPEE !!
 
jimwh said:




Just like a proud parent ME, TOO !! Except I'll be working on the wife's Volvo 960 to reduce/remove some scratches. I plan to use 3M SMR & P21S Paint Cleansing Lotion. YIPPEE !!
Click to expand...



Might as well join the bandwagon. ME, TOO !! :D Just rec'd it in the office today.



Also rec'd blue/red clay from CM... Heard the red ones are quite agressive so I won't be using it on the whole car. Now I'm armed with abrasives. lol.



I hear ya on 3M SMR & P21S Paint Cleanser. Same stuffs I will be using... Now I just got to find my "victim" for my first PC experiment tonight. Most likely a black car. I'm anxious to see what PC can do on a black car, but the tradeoff is 30+ coats of Z I have been applying will be gone. :(
 
OK! I guess there's some learning curve for me on PC. Just spent almost 2 hours and only did a hood and 1 fender. AGhh.. I QUIT!!!!! And I thought I could finish the whole car in an hour. To be continued tomorrow... :D Maybe I still couldn't get my technique right, but SMR & CMA WHITE PAD didn't really do anything for me. Had to use yellow pad to make some progress but still not 100%. There are still few scratches wouldn't budge. These are very light scratches can't be felt by fingertip and can only bee seen under halogen.. Oh well. :nixweiss



As for CM Red bar, I doubt I'll ever use it again. While it does the job and remove some very stubborn contaminants that blue bar couldn't remove, but it left behind quite a few micro scratches (very noticeable scratches) that took some effort to remove even with a PC.
 
I agree with you, William420, on the learning curve!! Just got my PC & DM Kit from CMA this week.



My DH & I had big plans for his day off yesterday ~



Dawn Wash

Clay

3M Perfect It II w/yellow pad

SMR w/white pad

AIO

SG



Well, it took way longer with the PC than we expected -- we got through the PI-II & did part of the SMR, but there are still those little scratches & marks in places like you described - you can't feel them & can only see them in certain light & at the right angle of viewing.



Our paint is definitely not in new condition since the Volvo is a 1996 with a good many miles - therefore, tiny nicks on the nose, some swirls - mostly on the hood - waterspots/etchings on the roof. Plus, the hood/nose was repainted due to a fender-bender by previous owner & there are places where it looks like someone went crazy with a buffer trying to get the paint to blend --



Like I said, you can't see this unless you are at the right angle & in the right light --



We got out a lot of scratches & marks, but my question to all you old pros is - do you continue with the PC to get those out, use a stronger product, or is there a point where you just give up?



I figure that PC use is like anything else, you get better/faster with practice - so we aren't going to give up easily!!



We apprentice PC users really appreciate all of y'all's help! And have MUCH more respect for those of you who can detail a car in 3 hours!!



:bow
 
After say 2 hours or so and we can't get the paint perfect with the PC, which the most agressive we go is the lambswool polishing pad with a clear coat compound (like 3M Imperial Medium Cut), followed up with a foam pad and a finer polish (usually, Machine Polish/3M Finesse It II.)



If all this doesn't work, NYD takes out the rotary, but before hand we can judge what to use on the surface on the car. Most likely it would be a rotary, but more often than not it can be the PC or by hand for newer cars.



If a foam cutting pad and 3M SMR doesn't work, try the lambswool pad or use the foam cutting pad with a stronger polish like 3M Finesse It II.



Perfect It II is that the SMR or Fine Cut/Super Cut Rubbing Compound?



Jason
 
William420 said:
OK! I guess there's some learning curve for me on PC. Just spent almost 2 hours and only did a hood and 1 fender. AGhh.. I QUIT!!!!! And I thought I could finish the whole car in an hour. To be continued tomorrow... :D Maybe I still couldn't get my technique right, but SMR & CMA WHITE PAD didn't really do anything for me. Had to use yellow pad to make some progress but still not 100%. There are still few scratches wouldn't budge. These are very light scratches can't be felt by fingertip and can only bee seen under halogen.. Oh well. :nixweiss



As for CM Red bar, I doubt I'll ever use it again. While it does the job and remove some very stubborn contaminants that blue bar couldn't remove, but it left behind quite a few micro scratches (very noticeable scratches) that took some effort to remove even with a PC.
Click to expand...



Will, was it you e you tried the pc on?
 
Try a few more passes over the scratcheas with the PC, foam cutting pad, and PI RC FC. If that doesn't work you should try to cope with the scratches.



The PC can only do so much though, some things just need a rotary.....
 
Thanks Jason! We're giving it a try again this afternoon when DH gets home from work -- may just have to live with some of them, and stay away from halogen lights! ;)
 
bjwebster said:




Will, was it you e you tried the pc on?
Click to expand...



BJ - Yes, tried it on the E. Although it doens't really need it since most scratches and swirls were very well hidden under massive layers of Zaino, but I was anxious to see what PC can do on a black car. Since I gave up after 2 panels last night (was 2 am, tired as dog and didn't want to wake up the neighbors, heheh), I decided to do a little experiment and quickly applied P21S GEPC & Souveran on those 2 panesl. And applied Souveran topper over Z on all vertical panels on driver side, and leave passenger side panels untouched which has Zaino on. Now I'm awake, and I'm on my way to the garage to study how this combo look and continue my PC venture. I think I got a hang of it so should be able to work faster today.



Volvo4me - Good luck to ya. Although the PC doesn't seem to improve much for the car I'm working on, but it's kind of fun and cool that it leaves the finish feels super smooth like glass. :xyxthumbs
 
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