About to use a PC for the first time

[philupnorth]

I have read all I can about using a PC & watched all the videos I can find but have a few questions

I have a lot of custom raised graphics on my car, which will make the job difficult & was wondering about the best approach











Obviously I won’t be polishing over them but it will need some careful work

I was also wondering how you machine polish small edges like these where the panel rolls over



As well as curves in the bodywork like the nose cone



The spoiler & edges of the tailgate are curved as well & would this cause a problem?



Should I clay the car first

I intend to use Meguiars professional #7 for polish

All the videos I have seen show using a PC on flat panels but don’t go into details on curves & edges

[Accumulator]

[quote=philupnorth]I have read all I can about using a PC & watched all the videos I can find but have a few questions..I intend to use Meguiars professional #7 for polish[/b]

I don't recommend that you use that product. It's nonabrasive so it won't correct any marring. It's tricky to use, especially by PC (I've used it since the '70s but you don't want to struggle with "mastering" it IMO). I'd get something else, probably a polish from 1Z, which is my standard recommendation to people just starting out because it's just *SO* user-friendly and effective.

I have a lot of custom raised graphics on my car, which will make the job difficult & was wondering about the best approach...Obviously I won’t be polishing over them but it will need some careful work..

yeah, I'd go around the white lettering/etc. by hand.

I was also wondering how you machine polish small edges like these where the panel rolls over..As well as curves in the bodywork like the nose cone..

The PC is mild enough that you can just deform the pad so it fits the contours. Don't worry about it doing any damage; if you want to worry, worry that it won't be as aggressive as you'd like You can also just do tight spots by hand (if you get the 1Z stuff it's *very* easy to do this).

Should I clay the car first

Yeah, probably.

All the videos I have seen show using a PC on flat panels but don’t go into details on curves & edges..

Heh heh, those videos generally make the PC look a lot more aggressive/effective/efficient than it really is Just get a product that works well by hand and if the PC won't do an area then just do it by hand.

But I'm serious about the 1z polish recommendation...you could make this a lot harder than it needs to be by choosing the wrong product. I'd get the 1Z (and a Collinite wax for the Last Step Product (LSP) at either: Welcome to Exceldetail.com! or Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories

Oh, and Welcome to Autopia!

[ZoranC]

Accumulator's advice is, as always, one of best ones you can get. If I were you I would follow it to the last period. If you want extra safety factor when doing contours look into getting flexible backing plate (we don't know what equipment you might have beside PC). BTW, Meguiar's # 7 is not a polish, it is a glaze.

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by ZoranC

.. BTW, Meguiar's # 7 is not a polish, it is a glaze.

Yeah...I wish they'd go back to their old name for that stuff "Sealer and Reseal Glaze" but I suppose the "sealer" and "reseal" part of that name would just be even more confusing. One of my big gripes with Meguiar's is the...uhm..."inventive" ways that they use certain words and this use of "polish" is a good example.

#7 is a very good product, but not for what most people assume it's for.

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Yeah...I wish they'd go back to their old name for that stuff "Sealer and Reseal Glaze" but I suppose the "sealer" and "reseal" part of that name would just be even more confusing. One of my big gripes with Meguiar's is the...uhm..."inventive" ways that they use certain words and this use of "polish" is a good example.

It all depends on what one uses as a definition of word "polish" ... but if I was confused by their definition until I was educated on it I can only imagine how confused I would have been if I saw contraption of "sealer and reseal".

[Accumulator]

ZoranC- Heh heh, just think...back in the stone age when #7 came out (pre-WWII IIRC) that name made perfect sense to everybody

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by Accumulator

ZoranC- Heh heh, just think...back in the stone age when #7 came out (pre-WWII IIRC) that name made perfect sense to everybody

I know my brain is hurting just from reading it once ... but then again maybe if I lived at that time maybe it would be making perfect sense to me too, just like some other things were making perfect sense to them at that time Still, it seems that person responsible for that, or his/her heritage, is still working in their naming department