used pc for first time - questions

[ne1buthillary]

well a few weeks ago i broke down and bought a ton of detailing stuff and a pc. this is the combo i used today:

menzerna super intensive polish
menzerna 106ff
klasse aio
denase's wet glaze
pinnacle sig series II wax

i bought orange/white/blue lake country pads in both 4" and 6". After dawn washing/claying/dawn washing again I went at it with the sip and a 6" white pad. i quickly found that i don't like the 6" pads.. seemed very grabby to me.. not really sure why. possibly didn't have enough polish on the pad? dunno.. i put quite a bit on and kept adding more but still didn't seem to help. i switched to a 4" white pad and it was much easier. the white pad didn't do a whole lot so i switched to the 4" orange and it seemed to cut a little more. my car really didn't have any swirls just light scratches here and there so i made a point to compare the before and after in those places and found that i had to use the sip 2-3 times.. was kind of expecting a little more cutting action. my car was made by gm so maybe it's just hard?

sip is also very dry it seems. from the reading i've done on here it doesn't "go clear" like most polishes do. it just seemed to get a milky color and dry out even more. the sip is also very dusty. i finished up the first few panels with 106ff on a white pad and it was an absolute joy to use. went on easily, broke down quickly, and had a much wetter feel to it than the sip. i couldn't notice a difference on my car with the 106ff so for the rest of the vehicle i just used the sip. i am in love with the klasse aio to clean off the polish.. super easy on/off.

to apply the denase's wet glaze i started out using a 6" blue pad on about speed 4 and also found it to be very grabby. i did about half of my hood this way and ended up applying it to the rest of the car using a foam applicator and cleaning off with a mf. this stuff is awesome.. definately gave the car the "wet" look and left the paint feeling silky smooth. smells great too!

finally, i waxed it with the pinnacle sig series II paste wax. this stuff is like butter.. never used a wax like it before. again applied it with a foam applicator and removed with a mf. i also hit the headlights with a sip/106ff/kaio combo and they came out looking a lot better. much clearer but still not perfect. the car looks unbelievably clean now.. possibly the cleanest it has ever been. my dad got sucked into the reflections and an about hit it with the lawn mower

so here's my questions..

why do the 6" pads seem so grabby? anyone else experience this? when using the polish i was spreading it out on speed 3 and bumping up to 5. wasn't using a whole lot of pressure either.

do you guys use the pc for applying cleaners, glazes, and waxes? it seemed a lot easier just to do those steps by hand. am i missing out on anything by not using the pc for these steps?

how can i get a little more corrective ability out of the pc? i see that autogeek sells a more aggressive yellow pad but for some reason i don't really read about anyone using it. anyone tried it before? is there a more aggressive polish out there i could use?

[SuperBee364]

The six inch pads just don't seem to do well on a PC. You really can't get enough pressure on them before the PC starts to bog down. I think you'll be much happier with the four inchers. They will also give you better correcting power.

SIP works much better if you put a little PO106FF in with it. It'll extend SIP's working time alot, give you a good clear breakdown, and a much finer finish. It also won't "fight" with you so much. Just be careful not to use too much, as it'll start to diminish SIP's cutting power.

As for the total amount of correcting power, you have two things going against you: 1. using a PC instead of a rotary. 2. Dang hard GM paint.

PC's just do not even come close to the correcting power of a rotary, so you have to expect to use *multiple* applications of SIP (or even something stronger) in order to get the paint corrected.

I do use a PC for glazing and LSP'ing occasionally.

As for getting more corrective ability out of the PC, you can, but it's kind of a mixed bag... If you use a stronger correcting polish, you will probably end up with some compounding haze and marks that can then end up being every bit as difficult (if not more so) to remove than the original paint defects. I've never really had much luck using anything stronger than SIP to correct with the PC. Lot's of guys have, though, so hopefully they'll chime in here with the proper polish/technique to use.

I wouldn't bother with using a yellow pad on the pc. They are just too agressive to use with the PC.

My two cents, anyway.

[abbeysdad]

Originally Posted by ne1buthillary

why do the 6" pads seem so grabby? anyone else experience this? when using the polish i was spreading it out on speed 3 and bumping up to 5. wasn't using a whole lot of pressure either.

do you guys use the pc for applying cleaners, glazes, and waxes? it seemed a lot easier just to do those steps by hand. am i missing out on anything by not using the pc for these steps?

how can i get a little more corrective ability out of the pc? i see that autogeek sells a more aggressive yellow pad but for some reason i don't really read about anyone using it. anyone tried it before? is there a more aggressive polish out there i could use?

1) I don't have a problem with grab - did you condition the pad and are using the right amount of product? I apply product by hand with a foam applicator, then leave the PC set on about 5 all the time.
2) yes, I use the pc for polishing AND applying the LSP - I get a higher quality finish in less time than by hand - hands down (pardon the pun).
3) I've used the higher density yellow and orange pads. I just used a yellow pad for polishing - just don't need to bear down.
4) If you need serious correction, you may need a rotary.