Using PC for the first time and few quick ?

sbkim

New member
Greetings all. I just got my PC and 3m swirl mark remover for dark color cars. I've done a small part and turned out pretty darn good using PC supplied white pad. I have other pads that I've bought from Autopia but haven't used them yet.



My questions is as follows:



1. What's consensus on the PC pads? They seem to be doing ok but wasn't sure how they compared to the back plate ones sold here?



2. My pad seems to be soaked after doing a panel. Clearly I am using too much polish. Is some wetness on the pad acceptable? Or should I do enough passes to dry it up more??



3. Is it OK to polish when it's high 40 F?



4. Just to help me gauge, how many back and forth passes should I do? I know you are supposed to do it until it glazes but what's a good rule of thumb? 5-6 passes of 18"?



5. Is it ok to reuse the pad after brushing off excess dried polish? How about if the pad still has polish - when it's still wet?



Thank you in advance!!
 
sbkim said:
Greetings all. I just got my PC and 3m swirl mark remover for dark color cars. I've done a small part and turned out pretty darn good using PC supplied white pad. I have other pads that I've bought from Autopia but haven't used them yet.



My questions is as follows:



1. What's consensus on the PC pads? They seem to be doing ok but wasn't sure how they compared to the back plate ones sold here?I'm not sure what is wrong with it, but consensus is DO NOT use the pad supplied with the PC on your paint. Use it on other things like headlights, refrigerators, etc.



2. My pad seems to be soaked after doing a panel. Clearly I am using too much polish. Is some wetness on the pad acceptable? Or should I do enough passes to dry it up more?? Sounds like you might be. From my readings it depends on what product you use as to how much. Usually a nickel sized blob is all you need for the typical 2'x2' area.



3. Is it OK to polish when it's high 40 F? Not sure, but some have said not to polish below 40 F.



4. Just to help me gauge, how many back and forth passes should I do? I know you are supposed to do it until it glazes but what's a good rule of thumb? 5-6 passes of 18"? Again, this depends on the polish. Some polishes like Optimum have a long working time. Someone with experience on the 3M can chime in. Go about 1-2 inches per second, and as you said about 4-6 laps on the area.



5. Is it ok to reuse the pad after brushing off excess dried polish? How about if the pad still has polish - when it's still wet?There are differing opinions on this that I've seen. Some will let the polish dry and brush it off, but most wash the pad after use. You can use the pad immediately after polishing and not cleaning it, but only if you are going to a more aggressive polish. If you go from an aggressive polish to a less aggressive without cleaning the pad, you could still have some of the aggressive polish in the pad and make more scratches when you want to me finishing the paint. If the pad it wet, just spin it in a bucket or something.



Thank you in advance!!



Good luck!
 
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