Buying a used hood.

[chilly]

I am going to have to disagree with those of you who don't see value in getting a panel to correct

Change "test hood" to "practice hood" and maybe that will help

In my mind the only way to learn to correct paint is to correct paint and that takes hours behind a machine

You can watch all the youtube videos in the world and get all the input you want from armchair detailers (calm down, calm down, not YOU guys) but until you put pad and polish to paint you are just spinning your wheels

Do you really want a possibly steep learning curve to be on YOUR precious clearcoat, or your brother in law's, or neighbors?

Running a PC with an orange pad and some 3D Speed on your own ride is one thing, it's hard to screw that up, but learning to take REALLY thrashed paint from wool/microfiber/hard foam with a heavy cutting compound through to jeweling and all the possible stages in between is quite another

Why not correct a "practice" hood or door until its perfect, sand it and do it again, until you know what a flat pad position feels like, and what causes pads to stall, and then get a microfiber pad and some coarse compound and learn exactly what it takes to burn an edge or the ridges on a hood and just what that looks like

Better someone else's junk than your personal ride

Just my 2 cents worth and as always, your mileage may vary...

[opie]

Chilly i see value in your decription, and i have done that , like i pointed out with a rotary.

I see less of a value of it if a person is just trying to...lets say learn the ropes of a DA, because it is mearly stupid proof. Hense why i got my megs mt 300 when i started out on our own vehicles years ago.

Also if you are trying to be like some of those youtube yahoos testing products out on a hood and spraying a hose and other shat on it to "test" its duralbility and beading action, well thats just a joke.

Like bosko said, its not real world conditions.

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[chilly]

Chilly i see value in your decription, and i have done that , like i pointed out with a rotary.

I see less of a value of it if a person is just trying to...lets say learn the ropes of a DA, because it is mearly stupid proof. Hense why i got my megs mt 300 when i started out on our own vehicles years ago.

Also if you are trying to be like some of those youtube yahoos testing products out on a hood and spraying a hose and other shat on it to "test" its duralbility and beading action, well thats just a joke.

Like bosko said, its not real world conditions.

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No argument there at all, I will leave that waste of time to the YouTube mafia

Someone said years ago that the only way to hurt paint with a Porter Cable was to pick it up and throw it at the car and for the most part that was true

But at the same time you always hear people say when the clear coat is gone, you can't put it back, and that has kind of been one of my guiding principles since I first picked up a machine

I want the paint on my cars to last so once I correct a car I am hopeful that barring some unforeseen catastrophe the most I will have to do is a yearly freshening up with a light pad and polish combo

That doesn't leave much room for practice to stay proficient, I don't want to do a heavy cut on my car just to keep my chops up

I am just saying that if a person isn't a pro or even a hobbyist that is competent and confident enough to do freebies/at cost jobs for neighbors, friends or whatever then your opportunities to practice and get better can be limited and getting a panel can be beneficial in building skills, muscle memory, etc

It is hard to screw up paint with a DA machine but at the same time you watch videos where the honest to god pros are walking around new cars with a paint thickness gauge and there is a half to a third the thickness of paint there was just a few years ago

That is not paint I want to learn on, practice on, or be just a bit to heavy handed on around the sensitive spots so I would rather have honed my skills on something else

As always I respect your's and everyone else's' opinions, we each have our own way of getting to where we want to be

Peace

[opie]

That is not paint I want to learn on, practice on, or be just a bit to heavy handed on around the sensitive spots so I would rather have honed my skills on something else

Good points on your post.

The quoted txt above is where i think a forum like this is a huge help to someone just starting out. You can learn so much from others that have delt with a slue of different brand vehicles and you can learn b4 ever runnin a machine which vehicles are softer and so i may want to stay away from those until i gather some level of skill. Panels could help there.

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[chilly]

Good points on your post.

The quoted txt above is where i think a forum like this is a huge help to someone just starting out. You can learn so much from others that have delt with a slue of different brand vehicles and you can learn b4 ever runnin a machine which vehicles are softer and so i may want to stay away from those until i gather some level of skill. Panels could help there.

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Honestly, with some of the new paint I have seen in videos, this would be a scary time to be a pro and have to tiptoe around anything but a light one step on a new car

This kind of ties in with the thread running now about paint thickness gauges, I don't see how a pro could survive without one

You are so right about what can be learned or passed on by the folks on this forum, the depth of knowledge represented here is amazing

I don't think a day goes by that I don't learn something new

Retaining it is another story all together...

lol

Have a great day!!!

[PouncingPanzer]

I have always wanted a test hood. A dark color like black. Could easily mount it to a wall and not be in the way much. One day.