Porter Cable 7424xp SUX

[Sawyer65]

After doing a ton of reading and watching videos, I got the impression it is difficult to damage your paint with a PC.I picked up a used one and bought some pads and polish.I started on the trunk lid which turned out good then moved to the drivers side quarter panel.Turned the speed to 1 and spread out the polish then was holding the PC by the top to turn the speed to 5 when the plastic top slid off.
IMG_20180628_124802_burst_03.jpg Photo by sawyer65 | Photobucket (http://s543.photobucket.com/user/sawyer65/media/IMG_20180628_124802_burst_03.jpg.html)

[DaveT435]

I can`t get your link to open. If a plastic part slipped off I would have to say that has more to do with something the previous owner did rather than a bad machine. I as many on here started with a PC, it a workhorse. I would have to go out and look but I`m pretty sure there are two screws with large black heads that should be holding that piece on. Are they there and if so is the part cracked around the holes??

Welcome to Autopia by the way. Hopefully someone else will be able to see the pictures and will at least be able to tell you why it happened for sure.

[Poorboy]

Welcome to Autopia ... Buying used is always risky .... yes the only known way you can damage a vehicle with a PC is to either throw at or drop on a vehicle

[RaydiantDetail]

Welcome to Autopia. Sorry about your experience with the PC. I started machine polishing with the PC a few years ago and it truly is a work horse. It is possible you may have bought one already damaged/ screws missing due to the used nature of the machine. As mentioned with used you never know what you will really get. I have dropped mine on the floor on quite a few occasions and nothing every happened to it. I still use it to apply waxes and sealants.

I re-shared your photo I hope you do not mind. Your embedded link was broken.

https://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=35045&stc=1

[Sawyer65]

I grabbed a couple of bolts and screwed them into the holes for the handle to keep the cover on. I also ordered touch up paint, I know it will still look like crap but maybe I can get to to pass a 20 foot test.

[rlmccarty2000]

Welcome to Autopia! Sorry to see that happen to you, but other than the dent the paint looks really good. Find a paintless dent repair guy and they can do wonders to that dent for not much money. Call a few body shops if you can’t find a PDR guy close to you. Also Dentsmart is a regional company that can locate a PDR guy in some areas.

Why don’t people like to say where they are located on forums? It seems like the screen name would be enough anomitity. It would help to know peoples general location if they need detailing help. Sorry, just a pet peeve.

[Accumulator]

Why don’t people like to say where they are located on forums? It seems like the screen name would be enough anomitity. It would help to know peoples general location if they need detailing help. Sorry, just a pet peeve.

Ah, gave me an excuse to address something that`s been on my mind again recently :D

I hope my "NE Ohio", which sure covers a lot of ground, is sufficient..e.g., "he knows from winter".


[EDIT: Hey, where`d that go?!? Gone...gotta fix that some time..]

But I realize it might not be and I know that I sometimes put people off by basically stiff-arming them about IRL personal info,let alone in-person interaction. And yeah, I accept that such practices will diminish my credibility with some people ("who knows if his cars/shop/whatever are what he says they are?!?") .

It`s all a matter of cost/benefit analysis.

I stay vague because it`d be *so* easy for a [nefarious individual] to spend a while here and gain info that could lead to unthinkable horrors. They so-professional guys who robbed my family home, and the crew that tortured my pal during a home invasion (they spent a long, long time trying to get info he just didn`t have, not just a day, and destroyed his life), obviously put *ages* and a lot of $ into their research and prep. Such [individuals] are still around preying on people who have what they want to take...won`t be me or mine.

I`d rather be considered [whatever] by people I don`t know IRL, even my fellow Autopians, than run the risk that I *know* is a valid concern. (Local LE agrees completely.) And agreeing about this kind of thing is also how my wife and I stay OK with each other`s internet activities; we don`t open the gate for goblins to come in.

[Sawyer65]

Thanks for the dentsmart suggestion, I contacted them but I am just outside their range. I have the week off next week, I`ll check some local body shops and see if they point me in the right direction

[rlmccarty2000]

Ah, gave me an excuse to address something that`s been on my mind again recently :D

I hope my "NE Ohio", which sure covers a lot of ground, is sufficient..e.g., "he knows from winter".


[EDIT: Hey, where`d that go?!? Gone...gotta fix that some time..]

But I realize it might not be and I know that I sometimes put people off by basically stiff-arming them about IRL personal info,let alone in-person interaction. And yeah, I accept that such practices will diminish my credibility with some people ("who knows if his cars/shop/whatever are what he says they are?!?") .

It`s all a matter of cost/benefit analysis.

I stay vague because it`d be *so* easy for a [nefarious individual] to spend a while here and gain info that could lead to unthinkable horrors. They so-professional guys who robbed my family home, and the crew that tortured my pal during a home invasion (they spent a long, long time trying to get info he just didn`t have, not just a day, and destroyed his life), obviously put *ages* and a lot of $ into their research and prep. Such [individuals] are still around preying on people who have what they want to take...won`t be me or mine.

I`d rather be considered [whatever] by people I don`t know IRL, even my fellow Autopians, than run the risk that I *know* is a valid concern. (Local LE agrees completely.) And agreeing about this kind of thing is also how my wife and I stay OK with each other`s internet activities; we don`t open the gate for goblins to come in.

N.E. Ohio is fine. For all purposes Ohio would be ok too. It’s just nice to have a reference point when discussing different products. Stuff that works well in Florida might not work as well in Arizona types of discussions.

[Stokdgs]

Thanks for the dentsmart suggestion, I contacted them but I am just outside their range. I have the week off next week, I`ll check some local body shops and see if they point me in the right direction

Sawyer65 --
So, in the pic that Raydiant fixed and posted for you, is that white, long, rounded thing in the middle or so, what happened to your paint??
I guess I just cannot see what happened very clearly here..

Hope you get it all worked out..
Dan F

[Sawyer65]

White spot in the middle is a big gouge out of the paint

[Accumulator]

..It’s just nice to have a reference point when discussing different products. Stuff that works well in Florida might not work as well in Arizona types of discussions.
Heh heh, according to somebody I respect in AZ, some products that wow me in Ohio aren`t All That out there either!

Back on-topic, namely the damage to Sawyer65`s car...maybe it`s just another of my eccentricities :o But IMO a good touchup of the paint following a good PDR job, combined with keeping the car in otherwise impeccable condition, might be just fine. In the case of my Tahoe, *to me* the dents say "real world vehicle that gets used, so [stuff] happens to it" and/but it`s level of Detailing says "the owner *really* takes great care of that thing, even though it gets used in the Real World. And he doesn`t use the dent as an excuse to slack off."

[Sawyer65]

I contacted an experienced local detailer and received a recommendation for a PDR shop. They done a nice job on the dent and even added a little touchup paint. It looks a lot better but it is still way low, I plan on touching up some rock chips on the hood on Sunday.I will try building it up some more then.

http://i543.photobucket.com/albums/gg470/sawyer65/IMG_20180706_144952_hdr_1.jpg (http://s543.photobucket.com/user/sawyer65/media/IMG_20180706_144952_hdr_1.jpg.html)

[Accumulator]

Sawyer85- Ah, glad the PDR and touchup went well. Be careful about trying to make things "just a little better", sometimes it`s best to say "I can live with that".

BTW, I trust you are fully dialed-in on the touchups. People often make things a whole lot worse instead of even a little better because they do a "simple little touchup" without the requisite knowledge base, so well....don`t be that guy :D

[JSFM35X]

My pc was not the best machine but it never fell apart. I’d say the used part is what got you this time