New at PC....have a question

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username182

New member
I just picked up a PC 7336 from Lowes and I purchased the Optimum Kit from AG with an orange, white and gray pad. I've watched all the videos and read alot about how to use the PC.



I decided to try everything out tonight.....First off, the car is a 2005 Dodge Neon, the car has about 9k miles on it. Paint is in decent shape, minor swirls, some weird water spotting on the hood and normal light scratches from bad washing habits.



I started with the normal, wash claybar wash routine. Next I decided to start on the hood. I started with the white pad and OP but didn't get the results I was after. I switched it up to the orange pad with the OP. I worked it in until it was almost invisible. I STILL wasn't getting all of the light scratches out, but most of the swirls were gone. I tried another pass with the orange pad and OP, but it didn't get any better.



Then I moved to the orange pad and OC. I worked it in the same as I did the OP. It got a few more of the light scratches out, but left pretty bad micromarring. I followed up with a pass on the white pad with OP. I STILL am not getting the results i'm looking for. There are still very very light swirls (almost un-noticable), but the light scratches are STILL there (they are light, I can't catch them with a fingernail) and they are not improving with each pass. There is also some light micromarring or something that I can't seem to remove with the white pad and OP.



Am I doing something wrong here? Do I need a more aggresive pad? Could I not be working the OP/OC in long enough? Is Dodge paint notorious for being so difficult to work with or do I just suck?



Maybe I am just expecting TOO much here????
 
First of all, it sounds like you are off to a great start with the PC in that you are able to remove at least some of the defects, as this is the big part of the learning curve. Now its just a case of honing your technique to obtain the results you are loking for and this will come with practice...



Some of the light scratches in paintwork can be deeper than they first look, despite not catching the nail, and will take a significant amount of effort to remove. They will also require significant clearcoat removal, and for this reason many detailers will leave the odd deeper mark in order to preserve the clearcoat and prolong the serviceable life of the paint.



The OC is quite an aggressive compoound, and by PC is likely to leave some marring as all aggressive compounds do on the PC, as the machine being gentle struggles to fully break down the abrasives. As you have found, a further hit with a lighter polish solves this by removing the marring from previous aggressive compounding stages... However, as you have aklso noticed, the PC does leave a very small amount of very fine micromarring on all finishes which is only really noticeable on dark solid colours, again because the tool struggles to fully break down abrasives. With many polishes, this micromarring is very very hard to spot, but it is there and the only real way to eliminate it fully is with a rotary polisher.



However, you can take steps with the PC to get very close to a perfect finish and that is ensuring that you thoroughly break down the polishes. The Optimum polishes have a very long work time and are very well lubed, so you would work the residue until it goes clear as you say... What size area are you working at a time? Too large an area will result in the polish drying too fast and the residue vanishing before it should and the polish not thoroughly breaking down: I would work on an area not more than 18" by 18" by PC, less if using an aggressive compound so you can concentrate on thoroughly working it. Check this and see how you get on :)
 
thanks for the very helpful reply.



I am typically working about a 12"x12" area. After looking back, I think I might have been using too much product, and I also might need to work it in more than I was.



I will work on it again tonight and post my results.



Thanks again for the help.
 
Couldn't have said it better than the Scottsman...The PC takes time and experience to master. You will learn what you can achieve and what you can't achieve with this machine
 
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