I received a Porter Cable 7424XP polisher / buffer from Santa this past X-Mas. Has anyone here used this type of polisher? My goal for using this little tool is to remove any / all micro-scratches and other fine discontinuities on base coat / clear coat paints. I have all kinds of polishes, wax's. sealer's...you name it..... and I think I have it or have tried it. Can anyone recommend the best solution to use with this tool to remove the above? I think I will start on my daily driver (truck) before trying it out on the Vett.

Here are the steps and what I intend to use, and of course, all the car surfaces shall be clean prior to starting the below. I have 8 different pad's that came with the kit, so I will have to decide which one is best for the application.

1. Buff with GM Surface Cleaner....in lieu of a claybar.

2. Buff with Zaino Fusion PC (Dual Action - Paint Cleaner & Swirl Remover) Note...not that I have any swirls, but if it will remove them, my thinking is that it should get the micro scratches as well.

3. Hand apply and remove Zaino Show Car Polish # 2 w/ microfiber cloth's.

4. Repeat step # 3



If, there are any better cutting solutions out there I am all.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Stay in tune.....

 

Dunno what stuff you have but I went to a automotive paint supply store and got their recommendations. I had a freshly painted car and opted to do the color sanding myself on some of the small parts where the painters machine could not reach (headlight bezels for instance). I color sanded with 2000 grit and then had to polish it.

The key is to use the right coarseness of compound. A swirl remover is usually fine grit and will never take out scratches. I used 3 grits. I also found that the most time/work should be done with the coarsest compound. Once that's done it doesn't take very much with the medium and fine to get a perfect result.

 

Bought one new from a friend that never used it for $50, haven't tried it yet though. Keep us posted on the results.

 

If you head to autopia.org and search "Kevin Brown method" you'll find how to make the PC a serious polishing machine.

 

Thanks for the posts, I have been doing nothing but going from one site to the other...all have very informative, but I have been doing this a long time, most sites are for the beginner. What I was hoping for if anyone here is using a different cutting solution, or a better one than I plan to use.... with this particular machine.

Stay in tune....

 

ttt

 

i have that one from "griots" these are not what you think....the clutch in them stops you from burning up the paint so its harder to get the buffing action then you think.....i use the regular buffer and immediately move to the orbital one letting the regular buffer do the hard work and let the orbital only take care of the swirl marks.....i use the meguiars products in the brown bottles specifically their glaze and polish


i have found no amount of buffing beats a clay bar

 

I think I am going to try out this MEZERNA Intensive Polish....anyone here use it?

Stay in tune.....

 

i have found no amount of buffing beats a clay bar[/QUOTE]

Really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????? ?? I thought I was ahead of the curve / game? Go figure...I guess I am just a day late and a dollar short. Now, you have me rethinking my approach, as I was going to go back to the claybar, but now I just am not sure. Maybe I will do side by side panels to see which method gives me the desired effect / best results. Claybar than buff vs Buff with liquid solutions.

Stay in tune....

 

I have one and I love it. It came with a CD on how to use it and the demo was on a C1 Vette.

Look in the FORUMS tab for GENERAL CORVETTE and pick the CAR CARE PRODUCTS. There will be lots of info on it there if you search.

 

Really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????? ?? I thought I was ahead of the curve / game? Go figure...I guess I am just a day late and a dollar short. Now, you have me rethinking my approach, as I was going to go back to the claybar, but now I just am not sure. Maybe I will do side by side panels to see which method gives me the desired effect / best results. Claybar than buff vs Buff with liquid solutions.

Stay in tune....[/QUOTE]

my brother sold me his jaguar xj8l that had not been garaged for years other then the parking garage at work .....i buffed the snot out of the car it was looking great...Jags have great paint...i spent tens of hours buffing the car....i ran my hand over it and it was still scratchy ( not really scratchy but more gritty )......i clay barred it after those seriously 20 hrs of buffing and it took all the grit off.....this totally changed my perspective on buffing.....now i clay bar first and buff second.....dont get me wrong the buffing does great ....its just that the clay bar is the first step in removing the grit and does a better job in removing grit then buffing does....it does not remove dead paint swirls etc etc etc....so buffing after the clay bar is a great final step

 

I'm a detail freak so I can give you some tips.

I own a portal cable 7424, if you have a slick paintjob and want to get any mirco swirls out here's how to do it.

1. wash
2. clay bar
3. pinnacle intermediate swirl remover
4. pinnacle fine swirl remover
5. pinnacle ultra fine swirl remover
6. pinnacle glaze
7. pinacle souvern top coat which is a carnuba wax

that will get you a ULTRA deep shine nobody can compare to! pinnacle products are IMO way better than zanio.

 

I have Meguiars version of the PC machine. Got it on Craigslist for $75.00. They have a great website with lots of information. Bought my pads on line from a place in San Diego.
Those machines can produse an incrediable shine.

 

try wolfgang 3.0 and ccs lite cut pad follow up with glaze/white pad /sealer,let cure,top off with pinnacle solvg..Tommy

 

Not all of us know who Adam is or his web site. What is the address?

Thanks Bill

 

Bill,

Here you go.... http://www.adamspolishes.com/


Stay in tune....

 

my brother sold me his jaguar xj8l that had not been garaged for years other then the parking garage at work .....i buffed the snot out of the car it was looking great...Jags have great paint...i spent tens of hours buffing the car....i ran my hand over it and it was still scratchy ( not really scratchy but more gritty )......i clay barred it after those seriously 20 hrs of buffing and it took all the grit off.....this totally changed my perspective on buffing.....now i clay bar first and buff second.....dont get me wrong the buffing does great ....its just that the clay bar is the first step in removing the grit and does a better job in removing grit then buffing does....it does not remove dead paint swirls etc etc etc....so buffing after the clay bar is a great final step[/QUOTE]


This is why it took so long.
Those little things are really just polishers for the hobbyist and won't handle true buffing, but great for wax on/off.

To truly buff, you need a true buffer like this and drop the whole process down to about 4 hours.
http://www.detailking.com/content/view/81/189/
Notice it has 11 amps vs 4.5
Before buffing, wet sand lightly with 2500 or 3000 grit
and use 3m's Finessit compounds glazes and polishes, with the appropriate pads, a little pricey, but you get pro results, fast.
To final coat it you can play with all the bling products.

 

I have used the regular old style buffers. I can not even begin to estimate the number of cars I have buffed with them as I did this for a living (12+ years) in my formative years and I still have a very nice one.

But that was before the BC/CC paints came to market. My vehicles are in no way needing a harsh buff. My truck sits outside...but its a Silver 2005 and very well maintained....it just needs the once over now being 5 years of age. The Vette is always garaged and covered, but it is 1990dark green and I would just like to see the micro-scratches disappear. Neither is that bad....but, when I turn on the flourescent lights in the garage, I see them...and I know I can make them go away. So, I will be tackling both here real soon. At my age I believe the PC 7424XP shall work just fine. I will post some photo's when completed.

Now, if mother nature will just cooperate a little, that would be great.....come on springtime.

Stay in tune....

 

I've been using one for a few years now. I bought a set of buffing and polishing pads with velcro on the back from Meguiars website.

First, wash and dry the car. Then clean the paint with clay bar. I use the Megiuars Mirror Glaze polishes and wax. They used to have how-to videos on their website but I haven't been there lately. I first use the polisher with Meguiars Swirl Remover and wipe off. Then I use the Show Car Glaze which is a finer polish with the polisher and wipe off. Then I apply Hi-Tech Yellow Wax by hand. (I think they may have a newer wax in this line but I'm using what I have until I run out.) There is no advantage to using the polisher with the wax. This wax is super easy to work with - it wipes right off with no effort. People frequently ask how I get my cars to shine so nicely.

I do the whole thing once a year and just wax a couple more times during the summer.