Newbie: First try with PC questions/comments

[PTMathMan]

Hello all - Short time lurker, first time poster.

I'd been itching to get my hands on an electric buffer because I was never fully satisfied with results doing things by hand. So this week I received in the mail the following:

PC 7424XP
LC Yellow, Orange, and White pads w/ spray
M105
M205
Mequiar's NXT Tech Wax

The guinea pig was my gf's 2006 BMW X3 in dark blue. She love cars, but doesn't really take care of hers. It also spends 3/4 of the year in Washington with snow, sand, and salt. Strong swirling and scratching, but no oxidation that I could tell.

I began by spraying and wiping down the engine bay, attacking the bugs on the front bumper, and cleaning the tires/wheels. That was followed by a washing and claying.

I'm in Phx, AZ (extremely hot and sunny), so I washed at night an let it sit 'til morning.

In the morning, I applied M105 with the yellow pad, M205 with the orange, and wax with the white. All residue was removed by hand with microfiber towels. This was all done in the garage.

1) Seemed like it took forever. I probably spent about 4+ hours polishing and waxing, including water breaks. What's normal for a 3 step process on a small SUV?

2) I have no after pics - I was too drained to think about it. How do you determine % correction? I feel like I may have gotten about 65-75%, but who knows. Some scratching may have been too deep, but I also know my technique could have been better.

3) Should I use a different pad combo next time? Gray for wax? What speed should I use on the PC for wax?

4) I thought I was somewhat of a perfectionist, but I don't know how you pros/semi pros can stay focused on one car for so long and detail every square inch. It makes a lot more sense now that a detailer can charge so much for a complete job, and I've got a ton more respect for them!

Anyway - please reply with answers/comments. Any tips for improvement would be great.

Next up will be my car - 2006 Honda Civic Si in white. Any tips for white? I'll wait until the weather is much cooler, and hopefully the second try will be an improvement.

Thanks in advance!
Joshua

[Rsurfer]

First of all welcome to AG. 105 with a yellow pad is pretty aggressive. 205 with a orange pad is also aggressive. You probably have some hazing or miro marring from the above. BTW the white pad is a polishing pad and not to be used for applying waxes. Use a grey, blue or red for waxes/sealants. Since waxes don't need to be worked into the paint, speed 3 should be good.

[ScottB]

yellow pads are much to abrasive IMO ... I would have used 105 with an orange pad, the 205 with white pad as possible. Grey or blue can be used for wax application and bonnets for removal but I prefer both by hand. Alot of patience and time is needed on first polishing session but proper washing and drying will reduce this need in the future.

[e24mpwr]

Yellow pads have their place. In my experience, hazing isn't caused by too aggressive a pad/polish combo, but by not allowing the polish to fully break down and finish the process before you quit. That said, a yellow pad is for fairly serious correction.

I also use the LC black pads for wax application.

- Four hours isn't too much, especially for a first-timer detailing a car that hasn't been polished before. Next time you'll be faster in all respects.

- Correction % is pretty subjective IMO.

- I think some of your lukewarm satisfaction came from the fact that you used a white pad (which is a very light cut polishing pad - I use it with our glaze, which is an ultra fine finishing polish with a gloss enhancer) with wax. That probably limited your results. A gray, blue or black (or red w/ Griots) pad with the wax would probably give you much better results.

- The machine saves you a ton of time, but it isn't a short process to do all the steps. The good news is once you get it corrected to the point that you're comfortable, you'll do things like glaze and wax often and polish rarely, which will give you terrific looks with less time invested. I agree that Pro detailers earn every penny.

You should make sure to detail your car in full cover from the sun. For white cars, the glaze and wax can be especially important steps.

[BlkTAWS6]

Just a little tip or advice if ya want it. When you do your white car and it is in your garage, make sure you have good lighting. Not just the lights on the ceiling, go buy ya a good work like to place directly in the reflection so you can watch your progress easier. Helps a lot with whites, silvers, and light colored cars quite a bit.

[gwilo]

I am new also but from doing a lot of reading and some buffing/polishing, I wound say for pads

ORANGE (Yellow was a mistake .... Thanks Rsurfer for pointing that out)

White

Black

in that order.

The work you did was not wasted as you got rid of all the 'big' swirls and scratches. So next time start with a yellow pad and work up to black (gray) or blue.

S for time, I spend 4 to 6 hours working the exterior on a '92 Miata.

[Rsurfer]

I am new also but from doing a lot of reading and some buffing/polishing, I wound say for pads

Yellow

White

Black

in that order.

The work you did was not wasted as you got rid of all the 'big' swirls and scratches. So next time start with a yellow pad and work up to black (gray) or blue.

S for time, I spend 4 to 6 hours working the exterior on a '92 Miata.
You are missing orange, between yellow and white. Besides white, orange is the most used in correction work.

[CEE DOG]

Don't feel bad about the time! I spent 16 hours straight on my Skybaby yesterday! I did eat 2 quick pieces of pizza in the middle and had some leaks here and there. LOL
I think I spent too much time on the taping of trim and on the claying.

I spent about 4 hours on the polish and sealing using Ultima UPP and UPG.