Rookie Mistakes & Rookie Questions Regarding Porter Cable

[fotodad]

I received my Porter Cable buffer and assorted pads about a month ago, but due to crumby weather I wasn't able to use any of it until today. This is my intial reaction to using the PC for the first time.

Time: For some reason I thought using the PC would save me a little time. It didn't, and that's just fine with me. I actually found myself taking more time to make sure I did the job right the first time.

Effort: Again I thought the PC would save some muscle grease. While it did take less effort than applying by hand, I felt I went over the car more times than I would have if I were applying/buffing by hand.

Final Product: Wow! I may not have saved any time and my shirt may have been just as sweaty as if I did it by hand, but the finished product is marvelous. There is a sheen, a gloss never before seen on my G35. I am so happy I purchased the PC. It was money well spent.

Rookie Mistake: Lifting the PC off the surface and having product spray everywhere. I did it four or five times! You think I would have learned the first time I did it!

Questions:

1. How many times do most of you find yourself going over a particular place? For example, on the hood I went up and down once, then back and forth, then up and down, and then back and forth. So, basically, I made four passes. Is this too few, too many, or about right?

2. When removing cleaner, polish, and wax, do you remove them by hand or do you the PC with a pad? And if you use a pad, do you use the same pad for each product or do you use a different pad for each product? Since I only had five pads, I needed each one to apply product, so I had to remove the dried product by hand.

3. When applying product I know your suppose to apply up/down then back/forth. But when removing dried wax do you use the same pattern or do you use a circular motion?

4. Without buying all sorts of specialty products, how do you folks clean your pads using simple household products?

Thanks!

[JDookie]

Originally posted by fotodad
1. How many times do most of you find yourself going over a particular place? For example, on the hood I went up and down once, then back and forth, then up and down, and then back and forth. So, basically, I made four passes. Is this too few, too many, or about right?

As many times as it takes. I have spent over an hour on a hood alone before. Just remember to make very slow passes, not moving the machine all over the place. Do a section, wipe it down, and look at it. If it looks how you want, move on, and if not, do it again.

Originally posted by fotodad
2. When removing cleaner, polish, and wax, do you remove them by hand or do you the PC with a pad? And if you use a pad, do you use the same pad for each product or do you use a different pad for each product? Since I only had five pads, I needed each one to apply product, so I had to remove the dried product by hand.

I remove everything by hand, but if you want to use the PC you can. Just put a microfiber bonnet over a foam pad, and let her rip.

Originally posted by fotodad
3. When applying product I know your suppose to apply up/down then back/forth. But when removing dried wax do you use the same pattern or do you use a circular motion?

Anything works, but I still like to use front to back linear motions to reduce swirls from my buffing it off. Remember to always try to be as gentle as possible.

Originally posted by fotodad
4. Without buying all sorts of specialty products, how do you folks clean your pads using simple household products?

As soon as you are done with a pad, throw it straight in a bucket of hot water. Don't wait until after the detail because that will allow the product to dry in the foam. I, personally, like to just add some Dawn soap to the water and leave them soaking overnight and rinse them out the next morning. You will find that most of the leftover product that was in the pads will be at the bottom of the bucket, and just rinse the rest out with the hose and let them air dry.

[rkf76]

Originally posted by fotodad

Time: For some reason I thought using the PC would save me a little time. It didn't, and that's just fine with me. I actually found myself taking more time to make sure I did the job right the first time.

Effort: Again I thought the PC would save some muscle grease. While it did take less effort than applying by hand, I felt I went over the car more times than I would have if I were applying/buffing by hand.

Final Product: Wow! I may not have saved any time and my shirt may have been just as sweaty as if I did it by hand, but the finished product is marvelous. There is a sheen, a gloss never before seen on my G35. I am so happy I purchased the PC. It was money well spent.

Rookie Mistake: Lifting the PC off the surface and having product spray everywhere. I did it four or five times! You think I would have learned the first time I did it!

Questions:

1. How many times do most of you find yourself going over a particular place? For example, on the hood I went up and down once, then back and forth, then up and down, and then back and forth. So, basically, I made four passes. Is this too few, too many, or about right?

2. When removing cleaner, polish, and wax, do you remove them by hand or do you the PC with a pad? And if you use a pad, do you use the same pad for each product or do you use a different pad for each product? Since I only had five pads, I needed each one to apply product, so I had to remove the dried product by hand.

3. When applying product I know your suppose to apply up/down then back/forth. But when removing dried wax do you use the same pattern or do you use a circular motion?

4. Without buying all sorts of specialty products, how do you folks clean your pads using simple household products?

Thanks!

Time: Given the results you get using it, it does save time cause in order to get those same results by hand you'd be out there for hours.

Effort: I'm assuming this comment was made in regards to removing swirls/paint correction. Being that this was your first time, you may not have been using the proper pad/material to get the job done. As you become more familiar with the PC/pads/materials, you can make better pad/material selections to make your job easier.

Final Product: Sounds like another satisfied PC'er. I recently got mine and don't know how I survived w/o it for so long.

Rookie mistake: after cleaning splatter off of trim/windows/etc, you'll learn!

1. You go over it as much as needed. I find myself only having this issue when doing paint correction/removing swirls. Choosing the proper pad and material for the job helps and as you gain experience and knowledge, you'll be able to know what would work best given the condition of the paint.

2. I remove product by hand using a microfiber towel. I think it's faster that way. If you use the PC, make sure to use a different pad for each product.

3. Use the same motion

4. I use a mixture of Dawn dish soap and a scoop of OxyClean. It's worked on all my pads like a charm! Even the oily Vanilla Moose and Mother's PowerPolish pads came clean like they were new!

[themightytimmah]

As far as time and effort go, your speed and efficiency with the PC will vastly improve over time. It took me 3 hours to do a mediocre job on a door panel when I first got my PC. Nowadays, I could probably do a mediocre job on a whole car in that time, and if I could break out my Cyclo, I could do a good job in that time .

And don't worry about the rookie mistake, we'e all done it once. Or more than once, in my case. I once let my friend use the PC, and he lifted it off the surface, and not only did it splatter everywhere, the pad exploded (white PC pad). As long as you can avoid any pad explosions, you're not doing too bad.

For removing wax, it doesn't matter at all what pattern you take, as long as you are gentle. If you're rough, decide whether you'd like your fine scratches in straight lines, or circular patterns .

To clean pads, I soak them in vinegar after using, than I wash them in the washing machine with hot water and a little bit of APC. Some guys might feel thats a little bit harsh, but after months of regular washing, I have yet to ruin a pad in that manner.

[Burlyq]

Originally posted by rkf76

4. I use a mixture of Dawn dish soap and a scoop of OxyClean. It's worked on all my pads like a charm! Even the oily Vanilla Moose and Mother's PowerPolish pads came clean like they were new!

Have you ever tried one or the other?

[rkf76]

Originally posted by Burlyq
Have you ever tried one or the other?

actually I haven't. But you know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[emobob]

Hot water + washing machine = stripped off velcro section from one of my pads. First wash too, I was upset.


So I just use a bucket and dawn or something to that effect now.

[JDookie]

Originally Posted by emobob

Hot water + washing machine = stripped off velcro section from one of my pads. First wash too, I was upset.


So I just use a bucket and dawn or something to that effect now.

Yep, hot water is good and the washing machine is a