Need help using HTEC with rotary

[2006CivicSi]

Hey guys! I just bought a C5 Vette a little over a week ago, and man that thing has some HARD clear! Anyway, I tried a yellow LC pad on my rotary with IP (which, at the time was the strongest stuff I had) and that did pretty much nothing.

I bought some HTEC and tried that on a new yellow pad this past weekend and it seemed to get the job done a little better.

Now, this is the first time I've used HTEC before, and it seems to me like it doesn't really have a very long work time. It seems to dry out really quick, even with a spritz of QD. Is this normal? It wasn't a super hot day or anything, so I doubt that had anything to do with it.

Oh, and if anyone could offer any advice on how to get moderate swirls out of a C5 Vette easier, it would be appreciated!

Thanks

[SuperBee364]

Quite a few guys around here are having good luck using Menzerna Super Intensive Polish or Blackfire Scratch Resistant Compound with purple foamed wool pad on Vettes. Finishes down very nicely, too. Foamed wool has a bit more cut to it than the LC yellow foam pad, but not as much as a twisted-wool cutting pad.

And yeah, HTEC does have kind of a short working time. Alot of guys add Optimum Polish to it (at about a max of 20%) to extend the working time. Adding too much will reduce the cutting ability of the HTEC, though.

Grats on your new car.. Vettes are so sweet!

[01bluecls]

Congrats! Im in NoVA as well. I would HIGHLY suggest picking up some purple foamed wool pads and try that with EC. Amazing what corrections that makes. I find it funny that out of all the really nice cars I have done, I have never worked on a modern C5/C6 Vette to experience the "hard clear coat." LOL

[tdekany]

chris - it is very hard.

OP - welcome!!!

The wool pad Chris mentioned is awesme with EC.

[brwill2005]

How long were you able to work it? LC yellow pads are a pretty rough texture. I have never found them good for polishing. Try the white pad, it should work much better. What RPM were you polishing at? HTEC tends to like higher RPMS. I usually use it at 1500 or so.

[Accumulator]

2006CivicSi- Welcome to Autopia!

Yeah, the work time is sorta short, but you might get used to it (that's what's happening to me). I'll second the advice to add a little OP but not too much; I use less than the 20%, just a bit, a few dots on the pad.

brwill2005- Interesting about the polishing pad with H-T EC I agree, it likes higher speeds. I've *really* cranked it up on hard clear but that exacerbates the work-time issue a bit.

[2006CivicSi]

Cool! Thanks guys for all your help and your warm welcoming! I didn't think I would get this much advice so quickly.

I think I will try out the foamed wool approach. If that doesn't do the trick alone, I'll try the OP mix. I didn't even really think of doing that...it makes sense though.

Oh, yeah, kinda weird that we all live in the same area, huh? Small world...

Thanks a lot guys!

Oh, I'll try to post a click and brag when I'm done...if my work is worthy, that is...