First time using a DA polisher with good results.

[Bill1975]

I`ve mostly lurked here for many years. Some months ago I decided to buy a PC 7424XP, and got a lot of advice on products and pads in another thread. I *FINALLY* had the chance to use it for the first time a few days ago as I`m off work and the weather here is unusually mild. The sun was hit and miss, and it was difficult to get any close up before and after shots, but took what pictures I could. I detailed my 2013 VW GTI and my girlfriend`s 2015 Kia Forte. Both turned out well. However, it took me 5-6 hours per car. I clearly need to work on improving my technique and efficiency. Without any
"before" pictures, I can say the cars were dirty, and had some light swirls, my GTI has some RIDS on the roof that I may try to attack another time. I was very pleased with the results. I was able to knock out 90-95% of the swirls and holograms. If I look really really close I can see a few light swirls in a couple spots but nothing terrible.

I wound up using the same routine on both cars:

Two bucket wash with Meguiars Gold Class soap
Clay while washing
Dried with blue waffle weave towels
Tree Sap removal on the GTI
5 1/2" flat LC orange pad with Optimum Compound, with speed set to 6
5 1/2" flat LC white pad with Optimum Polish II, with speed set to 5
5 1/2" flat LC black pad with Optimum Poli-Seal, applied with speed set to 2 or 3, removed by hand and a MF bonnet on the pad

Afterwards I took a shower and laid on the couch with a stiff drink and a sore back

A few observations as a first timer: 1) The video that came with the PC suggested 5-6 section passes for each section (1 pass being covering the area with vertical, then horizontal motions), there was no way I could keep up that many passes. The compound especially got really dusty. I think I wound up doing 4-5 passes while compounding and 3-4 while polishing. 2) Arm speed and pressure on the pad are hard to define, but I feel like maybe I could move the polisher a bit faster. Softer pads seem to bog down easier. I guess it depends on the products and condition of the paint 3) The Optimum Compund got really really dusty. I still have some white specks of dust in various crevices. Is it normal for a compound to get that dusty? 4) I tried to see if I could get away with just using the polish and white pad, without compounding before, but the compound/orange pad combo really made the biggest difference.

Both cars have a few small spots that could stand another go-over, but I`m pretty happy with the initial results.

[The Guz]

Came out great.

Certain compounds will dust more than others. Temperature and humidity can make compounds and polishes behave differently as well. I am not familiar with those optimum polishes so I am not sure how they behave.

Over working a compound or polish can also create dusting. Did you clean the pads often? Another observation is maybe bumping the speed down a bit. Maybe speed 5 on the PC for compounding and 4.4-5 for polishing.

You could blow out the compound or polishing dust using compressed air or wait until the next wash.

Sounds like you did very good for your first go around. Once you learn the product you will get better and better.

[Old Pirate]

I agreed with Ron on this, but showing work by your pictures and write up came out great.

[BudgetPlan1]

The video that came with the PC suggested 5-6 section passes for each section (1 pass being covering the area with vertical, then horizontal motions)

Maybe too many passes? Dunno, these explanations seem to differ here and there...
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[Bill1975]

Yes, I was doing section passes. I might try fewer section passes next time. 6 seems excessive unless it`s really badly marred, I don`t think I had enough product to last that long. I primed the pad before the first use by rubbing a bit of product into it, then put three or four pea sized drops on it before doing each section.

[Bill1975]

Came out great.

Certain compounds will dust more than others. Temperature and humidity can make compounds and polishes behave differently as well. I am not familiar with those optimum polishes so I am not sure how they behave.

Over working a compound or polish can also create dusting. Did you clean the pads often? Another observation is maybe bumping the speed down a bit. Maybe speed 5 on the PC for compounding and 4.4-5 for polishing.

You could blow out the compound or polishing dust using compressed air or wait until the next wash.

Sounds like you did very good for your first go around. Once you learn the product you will get better and better.

I`ll try a slower speed next time. The polish didn`t really get dusty, it was just the compound. I`m not worried about the residual dust since I will wash the GTI again in the next week or so and apply some Meguiars 26 for a bit of added depth. I wasn`t really knocked out by the look of the Poli-Seal, but I put it on hoping for more than the 6 weeks or so a carnauba lasts.

I didn`t clean the pads while working. I used three pads of each color, so one pad did about a third of the car. I should probably use four of each, and maybe get a brush to clean them out a bit. I didn`t want to clog the washing machine up with all that gunk, and it probably wouldn`t get it all out anyway, so I hand washed the pads in a tub of hot water and dish soap, after each detail. The Kia was done on Sunday, and the GTI on Monday. When doing the GTI I didn`t realize the pads were still a bit wet, which caused quite a mess at first. I wound up just putting each pad on the polisher and letting it run by itself for a while to get the water out.

[rlmccarty2000]

Good work and congrats for getting out there and doing it yourself! Mike Phillips just (yesterday) posted a video on AG of himself doing a car with a PC. He goes into great detail on how much compound to use and section passes. It`s a great video to check out.

[kesmit]

Came out great.

Certain compounds will dust more than others. Temperature and humidity can make compounds and polishes behave differently as well. I am not familiar with those optimum polishes so I am not sure how they behave.

Over working a compound or polish can also create dusting. Did you clean the pads often? Another observation is maybe bumping the speed down a bit. Maybe speed 5 on the PC for compounding and 4.4-5 for polishing.

You could blow out the compound or polishing dust using compressed air or wait until the next wash.

Sounds like you did very good for your first go around. Once you learn the product you will get better and better.

I agree with everything here. I use the PC as well and I find that when I run at 6, it seems to dry out the polish too quickly and gets dusty (although I`ve been using Wolfgang and Menzerna polishes rather than Optimum). I tend to run it at 5 for most compounding and polishing.

A lot of it just takes trial and error. I`m still a beginner myself. After I finish a vehicle, I usually notice a spot or two that I probably could have done better on. Sometimes I`ll take a hand polishing pad and do a bit of touch-up, but overall it`s always a huge improvement.

[Bill1975]

Seems like running at a slightly slower speed would be a good idea. I`m hoping to become more efficient. I was so tired afterward, I didn`t dress the tires, clean the interior etc until the next day. Also wound up wiping down the engine bay and cleaning the door jambs this morning. Would love to be able to get all that done in one session.

[jrock645]

Seems like running at a slightly slower speed would be a good idea. I`m hoping to become more efficient. I was so tired afterward, I didn`t dress the tires, clean the interior etc until the next day. Also wound up wiping down the engine bay and cleaning the door jambs this morning. Would love to be able to get all that done in one session.

Never used a PC, but polishing is hard work- lots of odd positions, leaning, kneeling and such. It`ll wear ya out. You get used to it, at least to an extent but the biggest thing is learning to maintain focus and pushing through the fatigue.

[kesmit]

Seems like running at a slightly slower speed would be a good idea. I`m hoping to become more efficient. I was so tired afterward, I didn`t dress the tires, clean the interior etc until the next day. Also wound up wiping down the engine bay and cleaning the door jambs this morning. Would love to be able to get all that done in one session.

The good news is that after getting the paint corrected, as long as you use good washing techniques, you should only need to do light polishing once or twice a year from now on.

[Accumulator]

Bill1975- Glad you`re pleased with your results! Heh heh...you`re getting work done quickly too...it takes me *days* to correct a vehicle!

Different products and pads behave differently with regard to work-time and dusting and pad-cleaning and, well...most any factor you can imagine.

Only advice I can think of:

-experiment with longer/shorter work-times, higher/lower arm and polisher speeds, and other factors under your direct control. You might be surprised what works/doesn`t for you and it might differ from what others do
-clean your pads more often/thoroughly than you currently are no matter how often/well you`re doing it now
-if something about your current products isn`t to your liking, figure out what different products might take that factor out of play. I know the old saw about "a poor craftsman blames his tools", but I see little point in struggling to master something when there are options that can work so much better/easier. Some products that I love (because they`re downright Accumulator-proof, easy as can be for me) are roundly hated by others who find them hard to use...and vice-versa because different people are different

.. as long as you use good washing techniques, you should only need to do light polishing once or twice a year from now on.

IMO it shouldn`t need *any* polishing for quite a few years Sorry, couldn`t resist...annual polishing is one of my pet peeves even if it is quite common.

[Bill1975]

I did this hoping that I can keep more intensive polishing to once per year. We will see how that goes. I will likely reassess in a few months and do a quick pass to keep things fresh.

I did notice this afternoon that it looked like someone ran their fingers across the hood of the GTI creating a light hologram. I think considering both cars are daily drivers with about 20-25K miles per year of use, I have to expect a certain amount of marring, but am hoping to keep it at a minimum.

[Accumulator]

..I did notice this afternoon that it looked like someone ran their fingers across the hood of the GTI creating a light hologram..

Heh heh, guess it looked so good they couldn`t resist.