The PC is not a rotary buffer. It is a dual action/random orbit type of polisher. It provides more power than a store purchased orbital buffer with those big bonnets (Craftsman comes to mind, wait because I have one!) but is less powerful than a rotary (a Makita 9227C, DeWalt 849, the new Vector at
www.properautocare.com (doing research, I'm in need of a rotary, debating day to day if to order one.)
Sure clay is a must in every detailing arsenal, along with a bug/tar/sap remover. Clay might not help all finishes though. i've seen surfaces so oxidized that clay didn't even make a dent in it. Bring out the PC and a good paint cleaner and the finish was gleaming. Polishes are also needed. Swirls and scratches will happen. I have seen swirls and/or scratches on 100% of the cars I've seen no matter how well it is detailed and maintained. Sure they might not be evident in sunlight or flood lights, but some how someway there is at least one or two swirls/scratches in cars that have over 1 mile on them. The only way to get NEAR perfect paint is a custom paint job or wet sanding and polishing. I doubt anyone owns a car in the world with 100% perfect paint. There is always that one crack, one spider web, one small miniscule patch of orange peel, etc. etc.
I wax by hand most of the time. The only time I break out the PC to wax is if I'm doing a larger pick-up truck/SUV to ensure even coverage, and I settle for hand most of the time. No need to get tangled up in cords and putting down the wax to properly operate the PC.
Now waxing aside. On a car with light/medium washing swirls using a good polish (3M, Meguiar's, and Valugard polishes are in my kit) by hand is actually less effective than using a PC. I used a PC for polishing most veichles and I lent it to a friend. I had to polish my godmother's recently purchased (2 days ago) silver caravan (used car with 97000 miles, owner used a scotch brite pad or the like to scrub the hood, all dull and really deep scratches.) I sucked it up and went at it by hand. The hood took me two hours alone. The hood was the worst part of the car. It was a dull silver. It had no reflection what so ever. I used Valugard (
www.autoint.com) Heavy Duty Cutting Compound (used to remove 800 grit sand paper marks), worked it in twice, followed with Clear Coat Compound, worked this in twice, then Pre-Conditioner cleaner (find it similar to 3M FI II.) the hood came out decent. It didn't have that crisp sharp silver reflection, but a sort of blurry reflection. The hood needs more work. I polished the rest of the car by hand with Pre conditoner cleaner and followed up with their Carnauba Cream wax (ok, ok I broke the rules, forgot thin, I laid it on thick, used two ounces for the caravan.) The car came out ok. The hood was my main problem. there are still faint-light swirls you can see at an angle in sunlight, but hey it is silver. I am trying to convince my godmother to get me a rotary to polish out this caravan. There is also one spot of rust about the size of a quarter on the passenger side door. I know I will need to use a rotary to blend that repair in, along with mixing up a special batch of touch-up paint. Anyhow, I will post pics of the hand polishing job and follow up later on about the out come of the rotary and have an in depth review of the paint chip quarter size repair.
I get enough exercise, detailing to me is a laid back hobby. Sure my arms and back were sore after polishing the caravan but my godmother was happy (spent 10 hours cleaning it at a slow pace, interior, exterior, and engine, along with 4 powerbars and 1/2 gallon of gatorade.)
Oh gosh, what a long rant. Ok I'm ending the rant.
so here is my reply in 3 lines
Wax - hand
Polishing - PC
Need help PC won't cut it - Rotary
Happy Detailing
Jason
