SSR3+PC isn't doing it..

Picus · 08-17-05, 03:17

Alright, so I detailed my car today. I didn't have enough time (do we ever?) but after trying a number of panels with poorboys SSR3 I wasn't making much progress. My technique is as follows:

Clean car:

Apply SSR3 to LC orange cutting pad. Work product into 1x1 area with ~10lbs pressure @ speed 3. Turn PC to speed 6 and work product in with ~20lbs pressure until it dusts. I did this on the hood 2-3 times and didn't remove all the swirls. Am I screwed? Do I need a rotary? Am I too anal?

I'm thinking of trying a slightly more abrasive pad with SSR3 and as much pressure as I can muster before I give up and try a rotary, thoughts?

JDookie · 08-17-05, 03:25

First, you need to majorly slack up on the pressure. The idea of a PC is that it provides very good, *safe* results. The only drawback is that the results take a while to achieve, and if they are bad enough, will take several passes before coming out. As far as pressure is concerned, you should apply a *small* amount of pressure and slowly ease up until nothing but the weight of the machine is pushing on the pad. It is possible that you were creating swirls just as fast as you were removing them. Patience is the key here, not speed.

You should be using enough product on the pad to do a 2x2 area on speed *5* for about a minute or two before dusting. Once you see dust, stop polishing and either do it again, or move on to the next area. You should also be moving the machine at a snail's pace. Slowly let the machine polish your paint, and overlap your passes. The slower the better.

If after you try this, and it still doesn't work, you can move to a more aggressive pad. I don't like polishing on speed 6 because it dries the polish too fast and it seems to beat up my pads.

Hope this helps.

Picus · 08-17-05, 03:54

Alright. so 1 minute @ speed 5? That does sound significantly slower than I was moving. I was moving slow but I would guess that I was conservatively spending 30 seconds on an area of 1x2, or 2x2. Working in @3m and then polishing down @6. Sounds like I just need to slow down. Thanks for the tip, I will give that a try tomorrow.

Just for more background info. I have used a PC before with good results, but my car is the worst paint I've worked on, and I didn't have enough time which probably did (and shouldn't have) dicatated how I worked. I somehow knew I was moving too quickly. I have pictures of the entire process and will post them as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks very much, JDookie.

toml · 08-17-05, 05:13

As Jason said ... go slow and give the abrasives time to break down. If you think you're moving the PC slowly, slow it down even further. It's amazing how fast we think "slow" is.

I've used SSR 2.5 with the PC, but I've never used SSR 3. I think I've read folks here saying SSR 3 is geared for the rotary ... is that right?

JDookie · 08-17-05, 05:29

Nah, SSR3 is fine for a DA or rotary. It's rare that you hear people use SSR3 because 75% of what most of us deal with can be tackled with SSR2.5, and you always want to try to use the least aggressive method as possible.

Picus,
I said 1 minute, but that's just kind of a round figure. The bottom line is you should be polishing each area for enough time to remove the defects. If the defects aren't coming out, then polish it longer by using more product on the pad or decreasing the size of the area you are polishing.

Picus · 08-19-05, 03:21

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=61059

Thanks guys, turned out magnificent today!

JBM · 08-19-05, 04:13

Good to hear you had success.

As a side note, when i am using a more agressive polish, i like to use a 6" backing plate, and find the balance of pressure that gives me decent rotation of the pad.

I have tried pressing hard enough to stop the rotation, but i didnt find it to work as good as having it jiggle and rotate.

With most of my pads, i get a better "spin" with a 6" BP/

What say everyone?