I bought a PC 7424 a while ago and have been using it on my black Dodge Ram with Zaino Z-5 and a white pad and I can't seem to get the webs out. I know I'm not being very aggressive because I don't want to do more harm than good but maybe someone could recommend a good polish/pad combination to get the webs out and then something to protect it. Any help is appreciated!
That spiderweb free shine!
- Thread starter jfteague
- Start date
Since different manufacturers use different colors for their various pads, a "white" pad doesn't give me much to go on.jfteague said:
The Z-5 is only going to take out or fill very minor flaws. You will need something more abrasive to do what you are trying to do.
I happen to use products other than Zaino, but if you are wanting to stay within the Zaino product line, I think they have ZPC that probably will do the job when used with a polishing pad.
Keep in mind that the PC is a great tool, but has its limitations. Severe marring takes a lot of time to remove enough paint for correction with a PC.
Charles
MoparAddict
She'll Buff Out
I had this same problem with my white dakota and my dads black canyon. I tried the zaino Z2 and Z5, niether worked. I ended up using Presta cutting creme light with a yellow foam cutting pad, put a little pressure on it (took them all out with one pass), then went over with P&S ultracoat polish with a blue finesse pad, then finished up with ultracoat wax. This worked for me, hope this helps you a little.
Thanks for the replies!
Charles, sorry I wasn't more specific but I believe the white pad I'm using is a finishing pad.
MA, is there anything I sure be cautious of if using a cutting pad? I have one with my PC but am nervouse about using it since I could see it getting pretty aggressive with any agressive compound.
Thanks again for the help!
Charles, sorry I wasn't more specific but I believe the white pad I'm using is a finishing pad.
MA, is there anything I sure be cautious of if using a cutting pad? I have one with my PC but am nervouse about using it since I could see it getting pretty aggressive with any agressive compound.
Thanks again for the help!
MoparAddict
She'll Buff Out
jfteague said:
Using the PC you should be fine, just use a medium duty compound like PB SSR2 or 2.5, nothing heavy duty with the cutting pad. Just check it as you go. you might have to put a little more pressure here and there, otherwise you should be good to go.
Good advice so far. Z5 is not an abrasive, but rather an optical filler. As suggested go with ZPC (a moderate abrasive), with a finishing pad. Then go up to a polishing pad. The color of pad you are mentioning doesn't mean anything to us unless you mention the manufacturer. Better yet, pictures would really help and a background on the paint (how old?). That's really the first step of the process, examining the paint to determine the plan of attack.
Bobcat
New member
I know you feel like the PC will really do some damage, it's loud, vibrates like hell and all, but like someone said - the only way to damage a car with a PC is to drop it on it. Now, with a rotary,it's quiet, smooth and before you know it - oh my GOD! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, trust me, been there - done that. Older, wiser and more respectful now. I use the rotary (carefully) for serious flaws, and for some polishing, but if the paint is just dull with minor webs - PC, orange LC pad and your choice of polish, I'm finishing up my XMT#3 and probably going to Meg's cause I can get it at Carquest.
Jngrbrdman
New member
Here is a good example of what can be accomplished with a PC and the right products. I did this with a meguiar's red pad (your basic cutting pad) and Meguiar's #83 (DACP/Dual Action Cleaning Polish). It took maybe 7 - 10 minutes of polishing to achieve this result.
The only thing you have to worry about when you are using a cutting pad are the haze marks that it may leave behind. Those are not problem. Just follow up your polishing with a lighter polish and a softer pad to remove the haze. Here is a good example. This first picture is the straight up before shot.
I hit it with Poorboy's SSR2 and a yellow Detail City cutting pad. That got most of the big stuff taken care of, but it left some hazing behind. You can see the difference here.
In order to sort out the hazing I switched to a softer pad and SSR1. That took care of the haze and only left me with swirls that I should have sorted out with a stronger polish to begin with. I should have been a little more agressive with the first cut, but I was just experimenting on this fender, so I wasn't to upset. You can tell that I left some marks on the paint, but they aren't anything that didn't come out with another round of the same process.
Here is a before and after of the same process on the spoiler. I was a little more diligent in removing the swirls first and then going on to polish out the haze by this time.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to be too paranoid with the PC and your cutting polish. Your paint can handle quite a bit of polishing. If you go to easy on it then you won't get all the swirls out. It is true that if you are too over eager to polish then you might burn some paint, but I really believe you would have to try hard to do that with the PC. It is a fairly safe and idiot proof tool.
The only thing you have to worry about when you are using a cutting pad are the haze marks that it may leave behind. Those are not problem. Just follow up your polishing with a lighter polish and a softer pad to remove the haze. Here is a good example. This first picture is the straight up before shot.
I hit it with Poorboy's SSR2 and a yellow Detail City cutting pad. That got most of the big stuff taken care of, but it left some hazing behind. You can see the difference here.
In order to sort out the hazing I switched to a softer pad and SSR1. That took care of the haze and only left me with swirls that I should have sorted out with a stronger polish to begin with. I should have been a little more agressive with the first cut, but I was just experimenting on this fender, so I wasn't to upset. You can tell that I left some marks on the paint, but they aren't anything that didn't come out with another round of the same process.
Here is a before and after of the same process on the spoiler. I was a little more diligent in removing the swirls first and then going on to polish out the haze by this time.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to be too paranoid with the PC and your cutting polish. Your paint can handle quite a bit of polishing. If you go to easy on it then you won't get all the swirls out. It is true that if you are too over eager to polish then you might burn some paint, but I really believe you would have to try hard to do that with the PC. It is a fairly safe and idiot proof tool.