Lurker turned member

[Pulpit]

I figured it was time to stop lurking on this great site and sign up, so I did. I sincerely appreciate everyone for all of their knowledge and expertise. Not only that, but your willingness to share it with a novice like me.

I have read and read and am very excited to get started detailing my own, and my families vehicles. I have "detailed" my cars and trucks in the past, but now I realize what I was doing was not a true detail.

My name is Craig, I am 32 and I am married with 4 kids. We live in Cumming, GA and I teach elementary school PE and also pastor a Baptist church here in town.

I recently sold a truck that I had a note on, and bought something that I could just pay for. It is a 2002 black vehicle. It is in very good shape but has some swirls and such that I would like to get rid of. That being said, I purchased the PC 7424xp with Pinnacle twins. I also got some compound if needed on another vehicle. I purchased some pure carnuba wax, and will have microfiber towels ready to go. I also went with a leatherique kit for the leather seats of some of our vehicles. 303 protectant as well.

Any advice for what I have purchased, and in what order I should conduct things? If I have left something off, please advise and I will add it to my list of things to get to begin.

Truly, I appreciate you all and your help very much!

[dad07]

:welcome:to AGO. Your going to Love here!

[BobbyG]

:welcome: To Autogeek Craig!

From what I can tell you're off to a great start!

The Porter Cable 7424XP is a great choice for a polisher. I have the original 7424 and I hear the new XP model has some welcome changes.

Pinnacle's Twin Combo is a nice way to begin your paint correction experience. The entire Pinnacle line encompasses a wide variety of products for most of your detailing needs.

The Leatherique kit seems to get high marks from what I've read.

I don't see any pads in your arsenal and recommend the following.

Lake Country 5 1/2 x 7/8 inch Beveled Edge Pads 6 Pack, foam pad kit, build a kit, buffing pads, curved edge pads (http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country-beveled-pad-kit.html)

Enjoy! :props:

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Craig,

Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:





Any advice for what I have purchased, and in what order I should conduct things? If I have left something off, please advise and I will add it to my list of things to get to begin.



When working with the Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover and the Advanced Finishing Polish, prime correction pads with the product you're going to use with the pad and then only use a small amount of product for the sections you work.

These two swirl removers are very concentrated and the normal tendency for most people used to using other products is to use too much product when buffing out a car.

I had to learn this when I first started using the Pinnacle Swirl Remover and Polish.

Besides that, if it's your first time to buff out a car then maybe only tackle have of the black truck the first day because washing, claying and the machine cleaning, (swirl remover), and the machine polishing, (finishing polish), and then sealing your work with a wax or paint sealant is going to take you all day.

It's the swirl removal step that will take the longest because you only work one section at a time, about 20" squarish or so... most how-to articles, websites, personalities, etc. recommend the standard reply of work a 2' by 2' section but I find that's just a little too large for most people new to machine polishing and if you shrink down your work area a little you'll get better results and actually get the job done right the first time faster...

Besides the above, I'll add some "how-to" information in my next post...


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Read through this, although it's titled to address the first generation Porter Cable DA Polishers, the tips and techniques also help you to maximize your time, energy and results for any DA Polisher.

How to maximize the ability of the 1st Generation Porter Cable Dual Action Polishers (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/27166-how-maximize-ability-1st-gen-porter-cable-dual-action-polishers.html)


It's very important to learn how to do a "Section Pass", buffing out an entire car with a DA Polisher or ANY machine is a matter of buffing out section by section.


Here's how to do a "Section Pass" when trying to remove swirls, scratches and other below surface paint defects.


How to do a Section Pass
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q70g83mnTn4]YouTube - How to do a "Section Pass" with a Porter Cable 7424XP[/video]



Visit Autogeek's YouTube Channel for more YouTube Videos (http://www.youtube.com/autogeek)



When talking about machine polishing on discussion forums or even in detailing classes, the below questions always comes up,

What's a pass?
How many passes do I make?
What's a section pass?



The definition of a pass
There are two definitions of the word pass as it relates to machine polishing with any type of machine.


Single Pass
A single pass is just that. It's when you move the polisher from one side of the section you're buffing to the other side of the section you're buffing. That's a single pass.


Section Pass
A section pass is when you move the polisher back and forth, or front to back with enough single overlapping passes to cover the entire section one time. That's a section pass.

In most cases if you're removing any substantial below surface defects you're going to make 6-8 section passes to the section you’re working before you either feel comfortable you've removed the defects or you're at the end of the buffing cycle for the product you're using.


Buffing Cycle
The buffing cycle is the amount of time you are able to work the product before the abrasives have broken down, (if you’re using a product that uses diminishing abrasives), and/or the product begins to dry and you lose the lubricating features of the product. Different products have different buffing cycles depending upon the type of abrasives used in the formula and the different ingredients used to suspend the abrasives and provide lubrication.


Factors that affect the buffing cycle include,

Ambient temperature
Surface temperature
Size of work area
Type of machine
Type of pad material
Humidity
Wind or air flow surrounding the car
Amount of product used
Technique



Wet buffing technique
Most compounds and polishes should be used so that there is enough product on the surface to maintain a wet film while the product is being worked. The wetness of the product is lubricating the paint as the abrasives abrade the paint and cushion or buffer the abrading action so the abrasives don’t simply scour the finish leaving behind swirls and scratches.


Dry Buffing Technique - Buffing to a dry buff
There are some products on the market where the manufacture recommends buffing the product until it dries. As the product dries you’ll tend to see some dusting as the product residue becomes a powder and the paint will have a hard, dry shine to it.

Although some manufactures recommend this, it’s important to understand what’s taking place at the surface level as you buff to a dry buff. As the product dries, in essence you are losing the lubricating features of the product and as this happens friction and heat will increase. As friction and heat increases, so does the risk of micro-marring the paint or instilling swirls either by the product residue or the pad material and/or a combination of both.

While we trust that the manufacture knows their products best, when we take a close look at what it means to buff on a delicate surface like an automotive clear coat, it doesn’t make sense to run a buffing pad on top of the paint without some kind of wet film to lubricate the paint at the same time. We always recommend that you follow the manufacturer's recommendations and use your own judgment.

Everyone new to buffing wants to be told some easily identifiable sign that they can use to tell when it's time to stop buffing and it's not that simple, so here's an indicator I've always used and taught to others,

Wet film behind your path-of-travel
As you're making a single pass with the polisher, the paint behind the path of travel of the buffer should have a visible wet film on it. If the paint behind the pad is dry and shiny, you've run out of lubrication and you're dry buffing. Turn the polisher off. Wipe the residue off and inspect using a Swirl Finder Light to make sure you didn't dull or mar the paint, you usually won't cause any harm, but pay attention when your running the polisher and don't buff to a dry buff. If you do, you can quickly re-polish that section by cleaning your pad and adding a little fresh product and making a few new section passes.


UMR
Remember, in most cases the goal is UMR or Uniform Material Removal. The reason for this is so that you remove an equal amount of paint over each section and in turn over the entire car. In order to do this you need a method that you can control and duplicate and for most people following a back and forth, side-to-side pattern works because it’s easy to remember, easy to do and easy to duplicate.


Resources
The above video segment is a 4 minute clip filmed during the extended version of How To Remove Swirls using any Dual Action Polisher like the Meguair's G110v2 (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-dual-action-polisher-g110.html) and the Griot's Garage ROP (http://www.autogeek.net/griots-random-orbital-polisher.html) and all models of he Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher, including the PC7424XP (http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polishers.html), PC7424, PC7336, G100


How to Remove Swirls using the Porter Cable 7424XP or any D.A. Polisher (http://www.palmbeachmotoring.net/ascg-videos/porter-2-20-10.html)


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Mike Phillips]

I'm spreading the word that we have our own TV show starting in 2011 and they're looking for cars and cool car stories for the show so if you have one or know of someone that does then here's a thread that talks about it...

1931 Ford Sedan - Restoration Project for Dad (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/30316-1931-ford-sedan-restoration-project-dad.html)



"What's in the Garage" - Press Release (http://www.masterstv.com/story-092410-AutoGeeksWhatsInTheGarage.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/WITG-logo-2.jpg



TV Airing Schedule
The thirteen (13) week series will debut on Fox Sports Network (FSN) National in the second
quarter of 2011.

It will be televised on Sunday’s at 11:30 A.M. Eastern Time and will repeat on Monday’s at 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time nationwide.


:xyxthumbs:

[Flash Gordon]

Welcome to AOL Craig. Looks like you already are off to a fine start :props:

Do you have a garage?

[Meghan]

Welcome glad you decided to join us, let us know if you need any help.

[Pulpit]

Wow!!! Thanks for all the welcomes.

I have read lots of your articles, Mike, and I appreciate the links as they will definitely be a huge help.

I bought clay as well, and will take your advice on making it a two day event.

I have two pads, and will add some more. Thanks BobbyG!

Yes, I do have a garage. It is not huge, 30x50 with 20x50 upstairs. It should work well to do the jobs inside this colder weather time of year.

Thanks again all!

[WestEnd]

:welcome:

My first car at a true detail/paint correction was also black. That color is pretty unforgiving but, what I really liked about it was that I could easily see what my technique was doing to the finish.

Looking back now, if I had started on a silver or white, etc. I wouldn't have learned nearly as much about the process as I did with the black.

So I think you are going to have a blast seeing your results.

Enjoy your new hobby!!

[Pulpit]

WestEnd,

That makes me feel better!

My wife has a silver suburban, and my in laws have a white trailblazer, my mom wants her green explorer done...almost got the color spectrum covered!

[WestEnd]

haha That's great, lots of experience and experimenting ahead.