uk, PC importing guide

182_blue

New member
Hey,i know quite a few of us have one, but this is for those who dont.



look at the picture below, this was done by wdpro, who at the time was a novice with a porter cable, he used megs #83 followed be megs #80, as you can see the results speak for themselves



Wing-InsideMasked4.jpg




For those who dont know, the pc is a random orbit car polisher, it is used on your cars paint, windows, headlights, it gives amazing results safely, the machine is wonderfully easy to use and very safe for your paint, it does not get your paint hot like an orbital polisher, the pc mimicks the movement of your hand. only alot quicker, please do read up on the pc before use though



There are a few on here that have already used this guide and have there new pcs already, and i have only had good feedback about it + some excellent results



please note the clickable links



firstly go here to buy



CLICKY



you can also get cloths, wax etc + the new meguiars range from them



Here you can buy the pc polisher kit ( sonus sfx pad polisher kit), i would buy an extra backing plate ( sonus 6" backing plate), and possibly some extra 6" sfx pads, also some 4" sfx spot pads may come in handy (if buying 4" pads you need to buy a 3.5" backing plate.



The shipping will be aprox $60, but that will be very quickly delivered to you (in aprox 3 days), also whilst your at it you can use your special discount code that i will give you (pm me, i only do this as the code can often change, and pm me about import duty )



Then sit back an wait for your pc to come.



Whilst waiting for your pc you will need a 110v transformer, extension, and plug, this can be bought from screwfix (clickable links in yellow below)



Transformer £34.99 Heres an alternative if screwfix is out of stock CLICKY



Extension £9.99



Plug £1.20



plus you get free shipping



When your pc comes you will need to cut of the usa 2 pin plug, you then need to put on the new plug (as above), american black is live, and white is neutral, there is no earth as the cable is double insulated, this is a very easy 2 minute job,so dont worry if you are at all woried about wiring please leave it to an expert, a usefull guide here by one of our members CLICKY



Then you will need to buy yourself some polish/swirl remover, i personally chose meguiars #80 for general swirl removing (known as speed glaze), and #83 (known as dual action polish "DACP") for problem areas (be cautious with this as it has a strong cutting action)but im now quite liking the Menzerna range, especially on hard VW paint, you dont need special waxes etc, as you can use your ordinary polishes with the machine, but there are plenty of products out there to use, and different paint works better with different polishes, if your unsure ask on the forum.



you should really also use some microfibre wipes to remove these products, these can be bought from various places, try HERE for microfibres and polishes etc











Then you will need to do a bit of research on this forum





you also should view this site http://bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=47 clicky for a full write up on the pc and its use.



Here is a online video of the PC in action Clicky



Here CLICKY you will find a DVD that you can watch at home



pics of the machine and pads



DSCF0402.jpg




DSCF0404.jpg




DSCF0403.jpg




i hope this helps, please do a bit of research on the links, if you have any questions please feel free to pm me, I Will talk anyone through the buying process, or applying process







a coulpe pics of mine after my first attempt with the pc, i used



1. NXT Wash



2. clay bar



3. meguiars #83 DACP on an orange sonus pad



4. meguiars #80 speed glaze on green sonus pad



5. meguiars NXT tech wax.



335.jpg




33.jpg




45451.jpg








Another example of a friends vectra, half polished, half un polished (megs #83 then megs #80)



boothalfDSCF0095.jpg




And a VW g60 with hard paint and 16 years old, polsihed with menzerna IP, menzerna final polish 2, and sealed with menzerna FMJ

from this



DSCF0122.jpg


DSCF0124.jpg




to this



finDSCF01221.jpg


finDSCF01228.jpg




And my asbo after some #80 and topped of with some glanz wax (Just so you can see that it can be used on a new car)



111.jpg




foci2311.jpg




foci237.jpg




foci7.jpg




777.jpg
 
Took the plunge and ordered my PC + the SFX kit and the 3 stage sonus polish on offer :2thumbs: Cheers to 182_blue for the help much appreciated :woohoo: :xyxthumbs
 
Thanks for your advice Blue, it's greatly apreciated. I've put in an order with Autopia and the various bits and bobs from screwfix... can't wait to get using it!
 
I'm in the process of getting rid of the swirls on the liner at the mo :waxing: :2thumbs: hardest part is trying to see the polish hazing on the white surface :( but enjoying getting to grips with the PC with SFX-1 and the yellow pad working a treat :spot
 
Wow, i got mine first thing this morning! Just 3 days it took! I think i'll order my future products from here too. Even with USA-UK shipping, the stuff works out cheaper!!
 
Suasexed said:
Wow, i got mine first thing this morning! Just 3 days it took! I think i'll order my future products from here too. Even with USA-UK shipping, the stuff works out cheaper!!



Did you get charged any import duty?



Ta
 
That's all great, but I orderd a Cyclo instead, It's 220V and is CE approved. And I can get it serviced locally, the warranty works here too. It was about 300 US$
 
When I did my order for a PC and other bits shipping was 72 dollars.



PC and SFX kit, DAS Pad Kit, Spot Pad set, Cloths and QD.
 
badgera said:
Did you get charged any import duty?



Ta



Nope! If the package is stated under a certain value, you'll occur no custom fees. When ordering, in the comments section i put this...



"One of the members at the Autopia forums said you can reduce or remove any chance of custom charges, if the package is labeled correctly. If you could do something similar that'd be very much appreciated!"



The package was labeled to the value of $50, so it must have worked!
 
Perm said:
how much did the shipping cost you in Pounds ?



For just a Porter Cable your looking at £25, very reasonable considering it only took 3 days (i was quoted 5-7 days).



It was only 80p more to add a set of pads!



Also notice if you buy the PC + Sonus pad kits, it works out more expensive, than if you buy them seperately.
 
Mark77 said:
That's all great, but I orderd a Cyclo instead, It's 220V and is CE approved. And I can get it serviced locally, the warranty works here too. It was about 300 US$



Yes, but we're talking about the UK here :)
 
If it's not got a 3 pin plug I doubt it's CE approved - does it have the CE mark on it?



This is why you can't buy a PC from Porter Cable UK - the guy there said it's tempting as so many people want them but the cost of getting it through CE approval would, he said, outweigh the potential income for him.



And from memory the Cyclo copy over here retails at around £180 via autosmart.



Sorry, just realised I weed on your fire there - no offence meant!
 
Well I just meant that you can get a better polisher than the PC (according to some members here) that actually works here in Europe. I asked Autosmart what they would charge for the Cyclo and they told me, 550€ :eek:

So I orderd the same polisher from the States(and yes it's got a 3 pin plug, even the same one we use here in Finland, and it is CE approved, got the mark there). There are many copies sold here of it also, but the Cyclo is so much quieter and better balanced than the 10x cheaper copies. I'm very happy with it :spot
 
i still would get the pc, and whilst there i would get some other stuff which is half the uk cost, this makes up for the shipping etc
 
Yes silly money in the UK for a Cyclo, that price you were quoted mark was suggested retail, they will bring the price down, and an Autosmart seller told me the best he could do an authentic Cyclo for was 220.00, then I would have to buy pads etc. I bought my Cyclo from the states with a box full of spare pads (over 20 pairs of them) and it came to around 200.00 inc shipping etc. That may not sound too cheap, but actually to buy those pads alone (which you can't because they only have one type at Autosmart) would have cost me 30 - 40 quid more.
 
Back
Top