PC Questions
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 56
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From: West Paterson NJ
PC Questions
Based on the reviews from Forum members, I recently purchased the PC 7424 kit from Autogeek. Because this was the first time using the PC I practiced on a friend's 1986 silver Caprice Classic. The paint was very dull on the hood, roof and trunk (not as bad on the sides). I set the PC on 4 as per instructions and used the light cutting (orange) pad with MIP followed by the polishing (white) pad with FPII, topped by Rejex. While the gloss improved somewhat, I didn't get the eye-popping results other Forum members have gotten with older cars. Am I doing something wrong or are my expectations too high?
Also, I noticed that after polishing, each of the pads had residual silver paint on them. Does this mean that the clear coat is gone?
Also, I noticed that after polishing, each of the pads had residual silver paint on them. Does this mean that the clear coat is gone?
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 4,559
Likes: 28
From: Amarillo TX
I would recommend bumping your speed up to 5-6. Don't move on to the next step until you're completely satisfied.
Paint transfer would indicate a single stage paint or lack/failure of clearcoat - given the age, I would assume single stage paint.
Paint transfer would indicate a single stage paint or lack/failure of clearcoat - given the age, I would assume single stage paint.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,034
Likes: 11
From: Lewes DE
yep - I also prefer speed 5.5 or even 6 for the MIP polishing step.
and probably a good idea for you to REALLY just concentrate on a single 2' X 2' test area first - mark off a square area with blue painter's tape and just concentrate on that area with your MIP. go over it with MIP until the polish flashes clear, wipe off with alchohol/water and cotton towel, inspect, then apply more polish and start again. Probably do this 3 or 4 times at least. No reason to apply pressure - just let the machine work.
See if you can get the gloss up on your tiny 2' X 2' area. Keep comparing it to the areas outside the 2' X 2' box, so you can tell if you've actually made any further improvement or not.
Hopefully you'll eventually reach a nice gloss that you're happy with. At that point you can just reproduce the process over the rest of the hood, roof, and trunk, and you'll know exactly how much effort each 2' X 2' section will require, OR you'll know that even after 4 or 5 passes there is no visible improvement at all, and so you'll want to either give up, or move to more aggressive approaches (rotary machine, Menzerna power gloss, or even yellow pad - yikes !).
and probably a good idea for you to REALLY just concentrate on a single 2' X 2' test area first - mark off a square area with blue painter's tape and just concentrate on that area with your MIP. go over it with MIP until the polish flashes clear, wipe off with alchohol/water and cotton towel, inspect, then apply more polish and start again. Probably do this 3 or 4 times at least. No reason to apply pressure - just let the machine work.
See if you can get the gloss up on your tiny 2' X 2' area. Keep comparing it to the areas outside the 2' X 2' box, so you can tell if you've actually made any further improvement or not.
Hopefully you'll eventually reach a nice gloss that you're happy with. At that point you can just reproduce the process over the rest of the hood, roof, and trunk, and you'll know exactly how much effort each 2' X 2' section will require, OR you'll know that even after 4 or 5 passes there is no visible improvement at all, and so you'll want to either give up, or move to more aggressive approaches (rotary machine, Menzerna power gloss, or even yellow pad - yikes !).
