Coupla Questions - Simple Green, Porter Cable

CottyGee · 03-27-05, 08:20

Howdy, gents!

I'm a relative newb here, but have learned much... Currently washing with Megs Gold Class shampoo, a PakShak MF mitt for paint, my old cotton mitt for wheels, PakShak WW for drying, 303 for tires... I'm the guy that had "Glare" sealant professionally applied when the car was just a few days old. Just washed, clayed, AIO'd and SG'd last weekend. Fixin' to maybe put on a 2nd coat of SG...

Anyhow, gotta coupla questions...

Simple Green for Tire Cleaner
I've been using Simple Green, straight outa the bottle, for scrubbing tires. I love the way it works! I pour maybe a 1/2 pint into a small bowl, then use this terrific Viking tire brush to apply it, first to a dry tire - saturate, scrub, rinse - and then a 2nd go 'round after the rinse.

Tire ends up VERY clean. Been doing this for 6+ months... Tires are nice a black, no deterioration. Tried the purple Castrol stuff once when I was out of Simple Green... THAT stuff is a DIFFERENT story! Ate the skin off my hand, and was so caustic...

So question is - anyone know of any reasons why Simple Green would be a problem with the rubber??

Porter Cable?
Should I get one?? Before you answer yes,

I've got a "Waxmaster" I think it is... 10" bonnet. I've only use it screwing around on my '66 Chevy pickup, which I'm in the process of restoring. It's got nasty Earl Schieb paint on it from sometime in the 1970s, so it can't be screwed up any worse!

The 300C is a new car, being babied and tenderly cared for with Autopian obsession. So is there a need for a PC for it?? I'm thinking all I'll ever need to do to the 300C is wash, clay, AIO and SG. If I do this every 6 months, with some carnuba toppers here-n-there, that should be all I'll ever need to do, right??

So is there a benefit to using a PC for AIO and/or SG?? Can I get more shine or depth with a PC than with hand application?? Aside from having to use bonnets, is there any reason why my Waxmaster wouldn't be okay to use on my brand new tenderly cared for 300C?? (I'd prolly shove a Ultra Plush MF between the bonnet and the car, which I've done before working on the truck, which works reasonably well...) Last question - what benefit to the finish/shine would I see using the PC rather than the Waxmaster on my AIO/SG applications?? Seeing as how I shouldn't ever need to do swirl removal or use polish, is there any benefit to the PC, yes??

Thanks in advance for your replies...

blackntan · 03-27-05, 09:53

Hey,

1) I think it's fine. I use simple green for the same purpose, amoung others... I love it... I also think most people use it as an engine degreaser too, and if it's not hurting the rubber in the engine bay, the tires shouldn't be an issue..

2) Throw away the waxmaster. I have one of those too. As soon as you see the PC, you'll realize the waxmaster is more of a toy than a tool... It's what you'd give your 8 year old son to play with if he wanted to help detail the car with you..

The PC CANNOT do damage to your car. It's 99% impossible. You'd have to use it with the sandpaper pad to cause an irreversible damage... Think of it as your waxmaster with a hemi...

I'd definitly get one. It does everything you can do better and faster. You'll cut your waxing time in half, and the shine will increase exponentially. The pads themselves have a polishing action, which helps smooth the paint and increase the shine.

I have a 6 month old MINI cooper S, that I bought brand new. To say that you'll never have to polish of swirl removal is silly. It's impossible to avoid, and once you see that the polishing action of the PC and AIO (which is my favorite combo, btw) you'll never go back to hand. The MINI looks better today than it did when I brought it home, thanks to the PC and AIO.. (there are pics in the click and brag section if you wanna see proof...)

It really is the best investment I've ever made as far as car detailing.. I could use turtle wax and the PC and get better results than I used to with a boutique wax by hand...

CottyGee · 03-27-05, 10:25

Thx mucho for the thoughtful reply, B-n-T! Coupla comments/questions...

Quote:

Originally posted by blackntan
2) Throw away the waxmaster.

How come?? Wouldn't it be better than hand removal??

I understand there are huge fans of the PC, and perhaps deservedly so. However in my experience in the world, frequently, the cheap-o immitation wannabe product does 80% of what the "real" product does (but usually for a VASTLY shorter period of time before the POS immitation breaks!). Is this not the case with the WaxMaster vs the PC?

Quote:

Originally posted by blackntan
To say that you'll never have to polish of swirl removal is silly. It's impossible to avoid

Umm... Why's that?? How exactly would my paint get swirled?? Isn't swirling the consequence of polishing?? (Or poor washing technique or other issues that cause the need to polish?)

Perhaps I'm missing something. If I maintain the paint on this brand new car, keep it garaged, use a quality car cover, wash it meticulously by hand using Autopian techniques, materials and products, and then AIO and SG twice a year, plus the occasional PS2 topper here-n-there, how and why would my paint be subject to swirls? The paint shouldn't oxydize, cared for like that, should it?

FWIW, I live in Phoenix. No winter harshness to worry about - just TONS AND TONS AND TONS of blistering-hot sun... But the car is garaged now that my wife works from home nearly all the time. And when it IS out in the sun and gonna be parked for more than a coupla hours, it gets a WeatherShield HD carcover.

Please help my unejumikatued ignerunce there, wouldja, boys??

Tasty · 03-27-05, 10:30

Quote:

Originally posted by blackntan
The PC CANNOT do damage to your car. It's 99% impossible. You'd have to use it with the sandpaper pad to cause an irreversible damage... Think of it as your waxmaster with a hemi...

Read this thread...PC vs. paint

Granted he probably did things the wrong way, but it seems people were shocked by the PC doing what it did.

CottyGee · 03-27-05, 10:34

Yeah - saw that yesterday. Friggin' heart breaking...

I'd certainly be VERY careful using any kind of machine with any kind of abrasive - ESPECIALLY on cornerned metal, where it's soooo easy to hit one little spot, concentrating all of the energy of the abrasive and the machine together...

I'm comfortable with the idea of the PC. Well, mostly comfortable! I'd sure be careful tho. And no way I'd spend 30 minutes on one spot, unless I was trying to take something out and willing to risk having to repaint...

Bill D · 03-27-05, 10:43

Please be sure to put product discussions in the Detailing Product Discussion forum

CottyGee · 03-27-05, 11:02

Quote:

Originally posted by Bill D
Please be sure to put product discussions in the Detailing Product Discussion forum

PM sent...

Accumulator · 03-27-05, 11:08

Quote:

Originally posted by CottyGee
...How exactly would my paint get swirled?? Isn't swirling the consequence of polishing?? (Or poor washing technique or other issues that cause the need to polish?)

Perhaps I'm missing something. If I maintain the paint on this brand new car, keep it garaged, use a quality car cover, wash it meticulously by hand using Autopian techniques, materials and products, and then AIO and SG twice a year, plus the occasional PS2 topper here-n-there, how and why would my paint be subject to swirls? The paint shouldn't oxydize, cared for like that, should it?

FWIW, I live in Phoenix.

You have the right mindset. Problem is that "[stuff] happens". With my extreme wash methods I've kept some of our vehicles *basically* marring free, occasionally for years. But every now and then somebody would touch/brush against the car when it was dirty. Get an acidic bird bomb on a dirty car and what can you do? Clean it off (you'll mar the paint) or leave it on (it'll etch the paint)

Or, even with my method, I'd somehow mess up during a wash and induce some marring. And, heh heh, I'm about as careful as they come when it comes to washing

Make sure anybody who will be around the car (family, friends, mechanics) knows not to touch the paint. Then, heh heh, try to enforce that edict.

I've spent some time in Phoenix (love that area!), and IMO you're gonna get enough abrasive dust on the car that eventually you'll mar it. Probably when you put the cover on/take it off, if I had to guess. A light layer of "desert dust" will mean that any pressure against the paint will be like sandpaper. Hope you can prove me wrong

Try to be perfect, but don't be surprised if a moment's imperfection slips in.

Upside: With multiple layers of SG (about six), and my extreme wash technique with the foamgun, I can generally go for a good year with only a few isolated bits of marring to correct. Sometimes even longer.

The PC will have a lot more power than what you have now, which will equate to better performance with the AIO. Maybe not really *necessary*, just see how things go and consider it if you find some deficiency in your current approach.

ZaneO · 03-27-05, 11:16

Unless you exercise EXTREME caution when washing/drying/waxing, you will eventually get some surface marring...blowing desert dirt, crows, carless people, etc. You just can't avoid it all.

While I don't know the long term effects of using Simple Green that frequently, I really don't see any reason to use it that often. Regular car wash soap should be more than sufficient to maintain tires on a regular washing basis.

The PC will blow away your Waxmaster...it's variable speeds, interchangeable pads, etc., etc. make it a superior tool. It allows the use of better and more effective polishes and cleaners.

Just an FYI, AIO does have some abrasives in it along with cleaners.

CottyGee · 03-27-05, 11:42

Quote:

Originally posted by ZaneO
AIO does have some abrasives in it along with cleaners.

Umm, but my bottle of AIO says it's "Non-abrasive"!

I s'pose eventually I'll hafta do some polishing... So far (7 months) the AIO has removed any stuff - tho there *ARE* about 5-6 scratches/mars that I don't think there's anything I can do about. Two go to bare metal. One I did by stupidly raising the hood with the windshield wipers extended out away from the windshield, chipping the back rolled metal edge of the hood about 1/4"x1/8". And there was another spot I remember seeing that was similar, down to bare metal (don't recall exactly where). And there is a scratch into the plastic of the rear bumper where the hinge garage door scraped it. It looks better now that I AIO'd it, but it's into the plastic. There's a scratch in the clear that's about 5" long below the passenger's side rear door handle - I s'pose that could possibly be buffed out.

Hmm... I guess I'm beginning to see what you guys mean by needing to use polish...

Okay... Maybe a PC would be good for polishing these very small areas. In truth, I think if I were gonna go after the one scratch I think could possibly be polished out, I'd prolly tend toward wanting to do it by hand, to try to keep the area small...

Heck - I dunno!

Keep the ideas and info comin', guys!

TOGWT · 03-27-05, 02:56

Quote: Umm, but my bottle of AIO says it's "Non-abrasive"!

I also had my doubts (I was used to Car-Lack, Klasse UK) that did not have any abrasives, until ZaneO suggested this little test, Place some Klasse AIO between your fingers and rub, what do you feel? My answer was 'abrasives' albeit very minor but still abrasive
JonM

ZaneO · 03-27-05, 06:47

Quote:

Originally posted by CottyGee
Umm, but my bottle of AIO says it's "Non-abrasive"!

There are several members who have experienced AIO's ability to remove minor swirling, 15 years of oxidation, etc. IMHO, it would take an extremely strong chemical to perform tasks like that; so strong that one would be required to wear glasses, gloves, etc. to apply.