WOOHOO I just bought a PC

S

sharky nrk

New member
well I finally bit the bullet and bought a PC 7424 or whatever the numbers are and I need some advice on what to do now. I got it for a decent price so its just the PC itself like you would buy from Lowes. I have two cars I need to use it on. One is a 2003 WRX that the paint is in pretty good shape but has mild marring - the other is a 1995 Accord that the paint is pretty damn beaten up. I am attracted to the poorboys line -the ssr1 and ssr2.5 I have heard good things about. Either way what pads or pad system would you recommend for use with the poorboys line (or is there another line of polish you recommend more). Now remember I am a beginner and am not made of money so I am looking to get the pads and the polish I need for $75 or under.



I already use Meg's GC for wash with MF, and Meg's Clay Bar
 
I'm in the same boat with sharky. I already know what products to use but not the pads. I know people talk about Lake Country (LC) or Edge pads but whats a good collection for the everyday person. I was thinking of getting yellow cutting, orange light cutting, white polishing, black or blue finishing. Is that a good collection? Sorry to thread jack in a way.
 
its cool your not jacking the thread at all - I think I ultimately have to just decide which pads to get: Sonus, LC, or Edge. I have done quite a bit of reading over the last few hours and realized I am going to at least need a medium/agressive pad, a light cutting, and a finishing of some kind.
 
just got mine today - really excited



quick question - when I turn it on is it supposed to be fairly loud and make a slight knocking sound?
 
sharky nrk- yeah, that's almost certainly normal. People are often surprised/concerned about the weird noises/etc. that the PC makes.



The yellow/orange question is a personal preference issue, just gotta try them both and see which one you prefer. I kinda prefer the orange pads, even if they *are* pretty stiff/firm.



FWIW I hardly *EVER* use finishing pads with the PC, I even apply LSPs with (very mild) polishing pads most of the time. It's another personal preference thing, I just don't really care for the super-soft finishing pads and as long as the polishing pad is mild enough that it doesn't impart any functional cut of its own there's no problem using it for the very gentle work as well as for more aggressive polishing.



Keep in mind that many people (myself included) find that they need 4" pads for serious correction; I just can't get significant marring out in a reasonable amount of time with larger pads.



Polishes that I like include 1z (leaves wax behind, so not good for sealant users), Hi-Temp, Menzerna, and of course the old, discontinued (but still available) 3M PI-III RC 05933 and MG 05937.
 
wow thats alot for that great reply, I imagine there is alot of need for experience and feel with things of that nature so pad and product selection will come with time.
 
Hi all I'm also a new PC 7424 user, may I ask if you guys apply pressure on your machine while doing some correcting work? Meaning stuff like removing light scratches to medium swirls etc.



I'm finding difficulty in defect removal even with LC orange pad + Optimum hyper compound.

Should I upgrade to a yellow pad or am I asking too much from the machine?
 
sunny11 said:
Hi all I'm also a new PC 7424 user, may I ask if you guys apply pressure on your machine while doing some correcting work? Meaning stuff like removing light scratches to medium swirls etc.



I'm finding difficulty in defect removal even with LC orange pad + Optimum hyper compound.

Should I upgrade to a yellow pad or am I asking too much from the machine?
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While some recommend against it, yeah, I apply pressure. Mike Phillips (of Meguiar's) recommends 20 lbs of pressure, you can get a feel for it by putting the PC on a bathroom scale and pressing down until the scale reads 20.



As mentioned, when doing significant correction with the PC I use 4" pads, they allow it to work much more aggressively (so much so that you need to be a little careful- gee, ask how I know *that* :o ). The smaller size is much more significant IMO than the difference between the yellow and orange pads.
 
rydawg said:
my most used lc pads are yellow, white, and sometimes the black(rarely). The orange to me is too stiff. But that's my personal preference.
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Isn't Yellow heavy cut, and orange light cut?
 
rydawg said:
my most used lc pads are yellow, white, and sometimes the black(rarely). The orange to me is too stiff. But that's my personal preference.
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yellow with compound? is it too rough?

or yellow with polish?.....and which product?
 
kyotousa said:
yellow with compound? is it too rough?

or yellow with polish?.....and which product?
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Assuming we're all talking about the same pads- yellow = "heavy" cutting and orange = light cutting, then IMO:



Yellow is for compounds/aggressive products only; I only use it when micromarring is expected/OK. I do *not* use yellow pads with milder products in an attempt to make the products perform more aggressively. Sometimes the more open-pore nature of yellow pads is just the thing, other times it doesn't matter much.



Orange is also for compounds and aggressive products, but can also make a milder polish (e.g., Optimum) behave a little more aggressively than normal. Sometimes there's minimal/no micormarring from orange pads, sometimes you're not so lucky. So an orange pad is the most aggressive pad I'll use with "medium" polishes.



But then there's the whole firmness issue- orange pads are generally more firm than yellow ones and some people really like/dislike that. It's not like we didn't get along fine for years without the orange pads, but if you like them they can be great.
 
I purchased so products and decided to use an orange pad w/ SFX-1 and a green pad w/ SFX-2



does that apply well to he orange or more aggressive polish
 
Accumulator said:
While some recommend against it, yeah, I apply pressure. Mike Phillips (of Meguiar's) recommends 20 lbs of pressure, you can get a feel for it by putting the PC on a bathroom scale and pressing down until the scale reads 20.



As mentioned, when doing significant correction with the PC I use 4" pads, they allow it to work much more aggressively (so much so that you need to be a little careful- gee, ask how I know *that* :o ). The smaller size is much more significant IMO than the difference between the yellow and orange pads.
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If more correction is necessary why wouldn't you use a Rotary instead of going to the smaller pads (4 inch) , I don't really understand.



Changeling
 
Changeling said:
If more correction is necessary why wouldn't you use a Rotary instead of going to the smaller pads (4 inch) , I don't really understand...
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I would if I were doing the whole vehicle and it was really messed up and had hard clear.. but that's *very* rarely the situation in my case. I'd also do it on the Audis if it was severe enough marring (the hard clear on them is a pain by PC). But OTOH there are a few spots on the MPV that are just barely beyond the Cyclo's abilities, so I'll do them by PC/4". Just a personal preference...I simply don't enjoy using the rotary that much and the clear on the MPV is *very* thin (cheap build quality) so I don't want to be any more aggressive than necessary.



But more to the point on this thread, sharky nrk is working by PC. Some people are quick to tell somebody to get a rotary (and then get skilled with it) but I'm not inclined to do that without a very good reason.
 
thanks accumulator, I definately would feel uncomfortable using a rotory at this point, and honestly if I had bad enough correction to feel the need to get a use a rotory, I would just pay a professional to correct it and then learn to maintain it correctly with the PC.



I want to learn how to detail with the best of them, but not at the expense of the little time I have to do the car related things I love - modification, fabrication, and racing/track days
 
sharky nrk said:
..I want to learn how to detail with the best of them, but not at the expense of the little time I have to do the car related things I love ..
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I hear that! And days spent on the track are a lot more fun than days spent with a polisher ;)
 
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