Teach me what not to do and mistakes to avoid

[Setec Astronomy]

Didnt know anything about it. Thanks for the info and any more you can offer.

I think if you google Thursday Night Open Garage that will get you where you need to go.

[opie_7afe]

meguiarsonline.com has all the open garage info you need. and detail dude i dont have a link handy but go to autogeek youtube, click on their videos and sort from newest to oldest.

[brian45acp]

Been watching some vids of Mike's and have some questions.

Since my truck is brand new and just has some dealer induced broom wash scratches in the CC I figured I dont need aggressive techs to remove them. Would this then imply that maybe a LC white pad with swirl remover product be a better choice then an Orange pad? My plan was to start orange then step down to white for my AIO product then gray for my non abrasive product and finish with blue for the last step shine product. I am thinking about knocking out the orange as the first step and starting with white. Perhaps I will do a test area and find out if this is a good idea or not but thought I should ask so that I can have the right thinking process here.

Also I spent some time before my PC gets here going at tight areas by hand just using the regular white cotton hand held applicators. I was able to remove the scratches on my door sills and pillar areas which are pretty small for a 5.5 pad. Is it possible to still use the PC with a 5.5 on those smaller 3-4 inch wide areas or is it dangerous in some way I dont know about? I see vids of Mike using a 3 inch BP and pads but I dont want to go there just yet and have no issues doing the tight areas by hand as needed. In my mind I figure I can still safely get most of the 5.5 pad on the area I need to work but am not aware of any dangers this might cause.

I also noticed that I should clean my pads often but am not entirely sure what this means. I am going to do Mike's "on the fly" method but do I do this after each 2x2 section or after each panel?

[A-train]

My advice is take some extra time and tape your plastic trim! nothing worse than getting done and stepping back to admire your work and finding polsihing residue nicely stuck to your trim.
The pad cleaning doesn't have to been done after every section, the point of that is just to not let it become so gunked up that it can't properly work the abrasives in your polish in. You just have to watch your pad. Idealy it would be best if you could have several of each pad that way you don't have to worry as much about it.
in reguards to which pad and polish to start with, you are right to do the test spot and see what it will take to get the desired results.
I finally just broke down and bought a Griots Garage 3 inch polisher. Instead of having to change out backing plates. It may be more of a convenience but I didn't feel safe in some areas polishing with a 5.5 in certain areas and I didn't want to do it by hand.

[brian45acp]

The product I am using doesnt seem to muck up the plastic trim. I spent all the time taping off the trim and came back to find the tape sagging off because it wouldnt stick to certain rubber type door and window seals. This was when I was applying product by hand and it took a longggg time to tape off all that just to realize it didnt work as planned, lol.

I bought about 3-4 pads of each color so as one starts to get used up I will change it out. I also bought the DP pad rejuvinator to wash them in.

I will do as you say and start with an area I know to have scratches then go at it with a white pad and swirl remover first. Explain to me how the pad makes the product more abrasive vs another pad that doesnt? What is it about the pads that pushes the results like that?

Oh and because I have been reading about plastic painted bumpers possibly being an issue with paint wrinkle I decided to hit all those areas by hand. What do you guys think about painted plastic areas like bumpers and using a PC?

[FlawlessJ]

This will not only help you if you're looking for machine help but will also help with detailing in general get Mike Phillips book The Art of Detailing it's a great read packed full of information.

[brian45acp]

I ordered his DVD about using the PC which I hope will be good. It will be here along with the PC tomorrow.

I am thinking of starting on my daily driver car to practice but really just want to get started on my truck. I cant decide what I want to do but for a first time maybe going at the car I dont care about is a better idea.

[A-train]

The product I am using doesnt seem to muck up the plastic trim. I spent all the time taping off the trim and came back to find the tape sagging off because it wouldnt stick to certain rubber type door and window seals. This was when I was applying product by hand and it took a longggg time to tape off all that just to realize it didnt work as planned, lol.

I bought about 3-4 pads of each color so as one starts to get used up I will change it out. I also bought the DP pad rejuvinator to wash them in.

I will do as you say and start with an area I know to have scratches then go at it with a white pad and swirl remover first. Explain to me how the pad makes the product more abrasive vs another pad that doesnt? What is it about the pads that pushes the results like that?

Oh and because I have been reading about plastic painted bumpers possibly being an issue with paint wrinkle I decided to hit all those areas by hand. What do you guys think about painted plastic areas like bumpers and using a PC?

The products abrasivness is what it is, i believe it's the coarseness of the foam that makes the difference. If you used the same compound with a white pad vs a yellow , you would get more cut from the yellow. And as far as painted plastic bumpers I've never had a problem but know some that have if the area was repaintes or when using a rotary.

[brian45acp]

I just got my PC in today along with the PC How To video by Mike. I noticed that he didnt run the PC up to the edge of the hood during his example. Does that mean anything or is just an example and that is all? I am just wondering if I am not suppose to get the pad near body edges.

Also in the video Mike was saying to start with the least abrasive method first. Even though my truck is brand new I have clear coat scratches from the dealer broom. I know that is what they are because they are all in a straight line and not swirls. I used my swirl removing product by hand on a cotton pad and with a lot of work was able to remove small tight areas by hand. I doubt that my AIO product with mild abrasives would do the job but do you guys think I should give that a try or just correct the car now and then go to the AIO as a polish then finish off with the wax product?

Just for a run down this is what I came up with:

Swirl remover= Orange pad
AIO= white pad
Wax= black pad
Sealer= blue pad

[Jomax]

I just got my PC in today along with the PC How To video by Mike. I noticed that he didnt run the PC up to the edge of the hood during his example. Does that mean anything or is just an example and that is all? I am just wondering if I am not suppose to get the pad near body edges.

Also in the video Mike was saying to start with the least abrasive method first. Even though my truck is brand new I have clear coat scratches from the dealer broom. I know that is what they are because they are all in a straight line and not swirls. I used my swirl removing product by hand on a cotton pad and with a lot of work was able to remove small tight areas by hand. I doubt that my AIO product with mild abrasives would do the job but do you guys think I should give that a try or just correct the car now and then go to the AIO as a polish then finish off with the wax product?

Just for a run down this is what I came up with:

Swirl remover= Orange pad
AIO= white pad
Wax= black pad
Sealer= blue pad

U want sealer first then top it off with a wax if desired.