Borrowing a PC - how much trouble?

[Merche]

My car has some swirl marks on the hood that I`ve been wanting to take care of for a while. Tried hand polish - no effect. I`ve been debating about paying someone else to do a full detail or buying a PC or UDM for myself, when I find out that a friend has a PC and has offered to let me borrow it.



What I want to know is - since I have no experience using it, how much trouble can I get myself into with this machine? I`ve seen the posts recommending practice on a junk panel, which I know is probably a good idea, but I don`t have a junk panel to practice on. If I take it slow and easy am I still in danger of screwing up? My car is somewhat of a classic (black 1993 Mercedes 500E) that I can`t afford to damage. I`d rather leave it as it is (which still looks pretty damn good) than risk doing anything that would damage it.



I`m guessing a little paranoia is healthy here, but the question is how much? Enough to make me be very cautious or enough to make me not try at all? Bottom line - how user-friendly is the PC for a cautious but inexperienced user?

[Hey, Moe!]

I would say that it would be pretty user-friendly. A lot would depend on the polishes/pads used. Others who have experience with your paint will hopefully chime in.



As long as you start with the least-aggressive approach in terms of polish and pads, and bump it up a notch as needed, you should be OK. I received a PC as a Christmas present years ago, and I have used it without any help with no issues ever since. I don`t always get the result I want right away, but changing pads/polish always got the results for the vehicles I have owned.

[MatrixXRS]

It may seem scary at first, but the learning curve isn`t that steep. It does take some practice to get your product/pad/speed/pressure mix to yield the best results in the least amount of time, so some research in advance will help you along that path. You`d pretty much have to be a gorilla to do any damage with a PC. Either that or drop it on your car. Is the PC damage proof? No. But it can be used very safely by starting slow and then working up to the level you need to remove defects.



Check this out and see if it doesn`t make you feel a little better:



Dual Action Orbital Polishing Guide (http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html)