Thanks to everyone here for all the information that has been posted- it made me brave enough to try using a PC and I'm glad I tried it. The test car was a 97 Toyota corolla with plenty of swirls and water marks. I bought the sonus pad kit from Autopia (including the orange cutting, green polishing, and blue finishing pad). I used Menerza Intensive Polish and Final Polish 2. The results were much better, but after I was done I still noticed (fewer) swirls and water marks. So I have some questions about what I could do better 
First of all, my PC came with a 'spacer' which was basically a rubber washer to put between the machine and the velcro backing bad. I put mine on the machine- does anyone else use this, or should I take it off?
Second- the PC seemed to vibrate a lot more than I expected. I think David called it 'Jiggly' in the detail guide and that seems a fair description. Maybe it just caught me off guard, because by the end of the day it didn't bother me, but it seemed rougher than I thought? My hand was a little numb from vibration at the end of the day. Is this also normal? I left in the standard 5 inch counter weight. (whatever came attached to the machine)
The most aggressive I got with my polishing was using the Sonus green pad with Mererza Intensive polish, then followed up with the Sonus blue pad and final polish 2. After this process I could still see (fewer) swirl and water marks, and the paint felt really smooth. What should I have tried differently to remove the rest of the swirls/water marks?
My Technique:I didn't use any pressure on the PC when polishing. When using the green pad/IP I used speed 5, worked the 2x2 area, and it probably took me between 45 seconds to two minutes until I thought I was done with the section. Was this not long enough? When I used the final polish2/blue pad I stayed about speed 2 or 3 for about the same amount of time.
I guessed the next thing to try was using the IP and the orage (more agressive?) pad-does that sound right? I was a little chicken since this was my first time Could the combination of orange pad/IP burn through clearcoat? I also have some 1Z polishes I could try if anyone thinks the products used weren't correct.
Also, how do you guys know when the polish is 'done' on that panel? At first, the polish kind of smeared when wet, then turned almost hazy for a bit- is that the point when it is actually working? How much longer do you work the section once it has hazed?
Sorry for all the questions, but I am curious to learn from my experience
Thanks!
First of all, my PC came with a 'spacer' which was basically a rubber washer to put between the machine and the velcro backing bad. I put mine on the machine- does anyone else use this, or should I take it off?
Second- the PC seemed to vibrate a lot more than I expected. I think David called it 'Jiggly' in the detail guide and that seems a fair description. Maybe it just caught me off guard, because by the end of the day it didn't bother me, but it seemed rougher than I thought? My hand was a little numb from vibration at the end of the day. Is this also normal? I left in the standard 5 inch counter weight. (whatever came attached to the machine)
The most aggressive I got with my polishing was using the Sonus green pad with Mererza Intensive polish, then followed up with the Sonus blue pad and final polish 2. After this process I could still see (fewer) swirl and water marks, and the paint felt really smooth. What should I have tried differently to remove the rest of the swirls/water marks?
My Technique:I didn't use any pressure on the PC when polishing. When using the green pad/IP I used speed 5, worked the 2x2 area, and it probably took me between 45 seconds to two minutes until I thought I was done with the section. Was this not long enough? When I used the final polish2/blue pad I stayed about speed 2 or 3 for about the same amount of time.
I guessed the next thing to try was using the IP and the orage (more agressive?) pad-does that sound right? I was a little chicken since this was my first time
Could the combination of orange pad/IP burn through clearcoat? I also have some 1Z polishes I could try if anyone thinks the products used weren't correct.Also, how do you guys know when the polish is 'done' on that panel? At first, the polish kind of smeared when wet, then turned almost hazy for a bit- is that the point when it is actually working? How much longer do you work the section once it has hazed?
Sorry for all the questions, but I am curious to learn from my experience
Thanks!