Am I doing something wrong?

[kb798]

I PC`ed my black car today with the Menzerna Twins. Mind you, it`s a small car too. To do the roof and the hood ONLY, it took me from 10am to 6pm. I used the Menzerna IP with a LC yellow pad set at 4, and the Menzerna FP with a LC white pad also at 4. Even though it took a while for the IP to break down into powder, I`m still confused as to whether or not taking 8 hours to do 2 sections sounds right??



I don`t know if I would want raise the RPM on the PC with the yellow pad since the LC yellow pad will marr the surface. Then that would only leave the option of...spending more time with the white pad and taking longer than 8 hours to do only 2 sections.



Please help a tired enthusiast :(

[kb798]

Today was the second day of using the PC, and I got more done given the time span. From 9am-6pm I managed to finish everything but using the FP on the front bumper and passanger front quarter panel.



What can I do to speed up the process? The results are great without a doubt, but any recommendations or tips to speed up the process?

[SK2003TypeS]

I consider myself slow when doing any detailing. How much of the product did you use ? I know if I use too much product, it takes me longer to "work" it. It sounds like you spent a lot of time just doing the hood and roof that first day.



When you say 8 hours, is that constantly using the PC, removing, PC again and so on ? Or is that including "hazing" time or what. This block of time also include applying and removing a wax or sealant ?



Bottom line, if you`re happy with your results, then it`s time well spent. :xyxthumbs

[GearHead_1]

You haven`t really told us what you are up against. Too many potential variables to be able to tell you much about a recommended process. Pictures may help. The amount of time it has taken you is probably 3 times as long as it should be even with a rough starting place. Off the top of my head I would think that you either need more aggresive product or a more aggresive pad.

[Accumulator]

kb798- Depending on what you`re doing, it *can* take a very long time. If you`re trying to basically "do rotary work with a PC", it can be quite time consuming.



But you can safely speed up the PC without worries. Do your polishing at a higher speed and switch to a milder pad (after the cutting pad) if you need to. It`ll end up saving time overall.



I do *ALL* my polishing at 6 unless I`m working on something especially fragile (like an old car with original paint).



The harshness of the yellow pad is not, IMO a matter of speed in the context of PC use (rotaries are a different story). The pad either is or is not aggressive enough to mar your paint and a little faster/slower won`t affect that.



Once you get it all polished, just be careful washing/drying so you don`t have to do it again for a while!

[kb798]

Well I finally finished polishing the car and I topped the Menzerna IP/FP with the S100. I think one of my main problems of taking too long with the Menzerna was that it was my very first time using the PC. On the third day (today), I was moving at a much quicker pace since I knew how to handle the machine better and was more comfortable with increasing the speed to 6 with the white pad. However, I just hope that the next time I polish the paint I`ll be able to do everything within a full day.



Also, I did some more searching throughout the forum about the Menzerna and a lot of people just use 2 lines on the pad or dabs/globs around the pad. I did a full circle of the product and that was probably too much to begin with as well.




Originally posted by SK2003TypeS

I consider myself slow when doing any detailing. How much of the product did you use ? I know if I use too much product, it takes me longer to "work" it. It sounds like you spent a lot of time just doing the hood and roof that first day.



When you say 8 hours, is that constantly using the PC, removing, PC again and so on ? Or is that including "hazing" time or what. This block of time also include applying and removing a wax or sealant ?



Bottom line, if you`re happy with your results, then it`s time well spent. :xyxthumbs



When I say 8 hours, I mean working in the product to the point where I didn`t really get any hazing. After using the IP, I used CMA`s directions by using the 50/50 water/alcohol solution.