Just got my PC and Poorboys...need details please!

[02blackbullet]

Hey guys, If you search for my screen name, you will find one other thread that I started a few months ago asking what I should get. Well, finally tax returns have come back and I went ahead and ordered:



Porter Cable 7424 6" Variable-Speed Polisher

Sonus DAS Pad Kit with extra blue, green and orange pads

Meguiars Car Wash

Sonus Ultimate Drying Towel

Sheepskin Wash Mitt

Four Star Ultimate Detailing Clay

Poorboy`s SSR1

Poorboy`s SSR2

Poorboy`s EX

Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax





My question is this:



I know how to do the claying and washing process leading up to polishing but I have questions from there!



What speed should I use on the PC for each of the SSR`s?



I know to start with the green pad and then progress to the orange if the green will not cut the scratches.



Do I use the green for the SSR1 after using the orange/green (depending) with the SSR2.5?



I know I can use the EX with the PC but it will be with the blue pad right?



I know the Souveran goes on by hand in the shade (of course)





Please Help!!!:bounce :bow

[mgm2003]

What speed should I use on the PC for each of the SSR`s?



Based on my experience, and what I`ve read from other posts, SSR`s like 5.5 on the PC dial the best. Work in the polish until it disappears.



I know to start with the green pad and then progress to the orange if the green will not cut the scratches.



Correct. Just realize, that the orange pad will probably produce some haze & marring, which a pass or two of SSR1 should clear up.



Do I use the green for the SSR1 after using the orange/green (depending) with the SSR2.5?



SSR1 should be applied with your polishing pad.



I know I can use the EX with the PC but it will be with the blue pad right?

If the blue pad is your finishing pad you can. I would apply EX with an applicator (yellow sponge, etc...). The carnauba in EX will load up your blue pad, which will be a PITA to clean out.



I know the Souveran goes on by hand in the shade (of course)

Correct.

[02blackbullet]

So I should use speed 5.5 - 6 for each of the SSR`s and then use the EX and Souvarian by hand?



Thanks for the help guys. :xyxthumbs

[mgm2003]

Yes to both questions. Be sure to take a few pictures!

[02blackbullet]

Awesome, I`ll be sure to take before and after pictures. Thanks for the help. I can`t wait to get home and start on this finish. This will be the first FULL detail on my black car with some worth wild products. Hopefully everything turns out like I hope it will.



Count on a polished washing machine lid for starters! :p

[LarryM]

For a little bit of practice I tried the PC with the porter cable pad with SSR 2.5 on my mom`s abused Explorer



All I can say is WOW!!! the 2 small panels I did came out fantastic....I can`t wait to do the rest of the car when my products arrive

[02blackbullet]

What did I do wrong?



First, I washed the car very well, clayed, the washed again making sure to get all of the clay residue off of the paint. The whole car was very smooth and I barely had any contaminants on the clay after this step. Then I moved on to the polishing.



I worked the SSR2.5 with an orange pad (after using green to no results) in on a low speed of 2.5 and then stepped it up to 5.5 and worked the polish in using a very light pressure until it almost disappeared. I did this on a 73 degree day in the shade of my garage. After the SSR2.5, the paint was hazed quite a bit.



Then I moved on to the SSR1. I used a green buffing pad for this step using the same process as the SSR2.5. I am very unhappy to say the least. I even went as far as to top this crappy result with the EX and then Sovarian...I`m still pissed but have a little faith left in me.



Excuse the temper but what the F#*$ did I do wrong!!!???





More importantly, what can I do to make it right?!



I have removed most of the swirls but still have dull paint with very small markings all over the paint from the buffer. I did not get anything in the pad. I made sure these were kept in the bags that they came in and then used extreme care not to contaminate them with any harmful crap. I have made second and third passes with the SSR1 and the little marring in the paint is still there! I have 16 hours invested in this as well as over $300 in products and am losing my mind rapidly!



Where did I mess up?



How can I get this haze out?



Where is my beer!?



:mad:

[JasonD]

Okay, first take a deep breath and slow down. Detailing is a very tedious hobby and getting frustrated will only make thing worse.



Let`s take a step back to where the haze was introduced, immediately after SSR2.5 and the orange pad right? Okay, this is an aggressive step so hazing is normal. Basically, you just took too big of a step from one polish to the other. Not only were you using and aggressive polish, but you were using an aggressive pad too. Hazing aside, did your defects come out? Your finish should be perfect aside from the hazing, correct? If not, you have some more polishing to do with the 2.5. Regardless, I would have gone over the really bad areas with 2.5 and the orange pad like you did, but would have switched to the green pad (still 2.5) and then gone over the whole car. This will remove the hazing. After this, then you can step down to the SSR1 and the green pad to finalize the finish.

[White95Max]

The haze was most likely caused by the orange pad + SSR2.5. To remove it, you would use a polishing pad and SSR2 or even 2.5 with a polishing pad. SSR1 is pretty gentle stuff from what I`ve heard, and I don`t think it has much of any real abrasive capabilities.

[Eliot Ness]

One possibility is you didn`t work SSR2.5 long enough to break it down properly. If that`s the case then it will leave more hazing than SSR1 is able to remove. Try using the 2.5 on a small section and work it longer and see if it clears up most of the hazing.



The other possibility is that the SSR2.5 and orange pad left more hazing than SSR1 is able to remove. You may want to try going over it with SSR2.5 on a polish pad (green) and then step down to SSR1 (use a fresh pad, or make sure all of the SSR2.5 is washed out first).



Also, make sure you are working on a small area at a time, no larger than 2x2 or 3x3, and with the PC speed at 5 or 6 make very slow passes.



As Jason mentioned, polishing requires some patience as well as some practice. You`ll eventually get the "feel" for how long to work a polish, the pads to use, and how a process on one finish may be different on another finish (hard vs. soft paint, etc.).

[cwcad]

how fast are you moving the pad on the area that you are working?



how big of an area are you working?



did you prime the pad before you started?



have you been putting any pressure on the pc?



it has been said and i have put into practice with my pc, that in order for the pc to do its job one must do a small area. two feet by two feet. moving the pc at a bout an inch per second. putting enough pressure to make the pc work but not pull it down. you can hear it when it starts to lug down.



work the product to where it flashes. then buff it off. if you put to much product on the pad it will take to long. if you put to little on you spread it to thin to work. it is important to remember to work in small areas going very slow. i put the product on the pad then spread it around the area that i plan on working(2ft.x2ft.)



i use a speed of three to work the product. then turn the speed up to finish the area. applying less pressure the closer i get to finishing the designated work area.



i have done a lot of work with my pc. the results have been good but i always felt that i needed a little more. not enough pressure....maybe i moved to slow ....too fast...not enough product...all giving me a complex. practice, patience, and research help me get better results each time that i used the pc. it did not happen for me the first time that i used it.

[02blackbullet]

Alright, sorry guys. I was pissed and that post was right after I was having thoughts of removing a solid area from my oak garage door. After about 20 minutes of a friend calming me down and a pack of smokes, I`ve got my head back leveled. Sorry to jump the gun. The haze is not really the biggest problem. I have used about 9/10 of the 2.5 and about 3/4 of the ssr1. I stepped up from the green pad and 2.5 to the orange and 2.5 because the scratches were pretty deep and the green just wasn`t cutting it. I have had patience with this process. I`ve put about 16 hours into it and haven`t even got the haze out yet. I moved really slow and made sure to use an even consistant *light* pressure for the PC. I made sure not to bog it down and yet to keep pressure on the pad to help it do the job. I still have places that I have got to go back with 2.5 and get some more scratches out. I have what looks like tiny scratches made by the PC that are the size of a 4 year old`s fingernail. They are very small and cover the whole car. I have made very cautious steps to ensure the pads were cleaned properly and were not contaminated. I also made sure to keep a fresh high quality MF with me to buff the polish when done with a 2x2 section. I made sure to work small areas (2x2) and go slow in a circular pattern. Thanks for letting me know about the green pad with the 2.5 will take the haze out. I didn`t know that. I guess I`ll have to order ANOTHER bottle of the 2.5 to finish. I also made sure to make an X with the polish and to use a correct quanity of wax with a spray of QD to make it last longer. These pads SUCK the polish right up. I`ve used almost a whole bottle and still am no where near where I need to be. My pads never got clogged up or anything. I made sure to brush the extra wax from the sides and wash them in a higher quality detergent (Meguiar`s Gold Class Car Wash). I just guess I have to take a breath, suck it up, buy another bottle of 2.5 and I guess another bottle of 1 to finish the job. I guess this level of detailing isn`t for me. Who knows, I`ll start fresh later this week and hit it again. Thanks guys. Can you guys suggest anything that would work better than the SSR1 that will pull these small imperfections and haze out? Or should I stick with the PB`s and get more product?



Thanks again.

[JasonD]

One thing that keeps jumping out at me is that you are saying that you went through a whole bottle of 2.5 on this detail. If this is so, then you used WAY too much product. You shouldn`t have even put a dent in a new bottle with one detail. Start off with a couple squirts of QD to moisten the pad, and then put one or two X`s of product (separate times) to load the pad initially. After the pad is loaded you should only need a couple dots or small circle of product to continue. I am thinking that the haze is mostly coming from too much product which means you aren`t breaking it down completely. Polishes have diminishing abrasives that start out aggressive and finish mild(er). If you aren`t breaking it down, then you are always dealing with an abrasive polish which will cause marring and/or hazing. PC speed should be 4 to start and then up to 5 and don`t look back. I like speed 5 because it gives you enough speed to do the job but not so much that it dries the product prematurely.



I suggest starting over, but this time use a lot less product and let the polish break down correctly. You might even want to pick up PB`s 2.0 in addition to what you have because you aren`t always going to need such an aggressive polish as 2.5. Actually, I would probably say that 2.0 should be perfect for finishing this job. Hope this helps.

[Poorboy]

ok ..just saw this thread....



as stated above you should have only used a few ounces for a full size vehicle...



i don`t recommend using QD`s as a primer, but use a little product spread in a circle as the primer and rub it into the pad with your fingers....then make a fine circle around the pad with the SSR ....



also i don`t recommend using cutting pads on black unless a) the finish is really bad, or b) you have a good deal of experience with using cutting pads, as they do cut and leave a haze behind that will need to be removed.



use a polishing pad, prime as directed above, after making a circle on the pad, tap the pad on the surface of the panel, spread the SSR2.5 at a speed of 2-3 on the area to be worked, then raise the speed to 5-5.5. Work the product until it just about disappears and the shine is trying to peek out. then wipe the area and see what you have. Repeat if there are more scratches or spiderwebbing you are trying to remove and if they are gone, then move on to the SSR2 or SSR1 ....repeat the priming on another polishing pad and buff out using the same technique as the SSR2.5 but keeping the SSR1 to a speed of 4-5...



if you still have problems, give me a call and I can help work it out with you...:)



a couple questions though...why are you working in cirles? back and forth only and what was this "x" you made sure to do?

[White95Max]

I would recommend doing just the hood first. Use the SSR2.5/cutting pad in sections until the hood is done except for some hazing. Then do the hood in sections with the SSR2.5 or SSR2.0 with a polishing pad to remove the hazing. When you have the hood to the point that you want the whole car to look like, you will know just how to go about the process to achieve those results.



BTW, I know you`re upset about wasting so much product and time, but please split up long paragraphs. They are much easier to read when split into sections.

Thanks