PC 7424XP Questions

[mattymax]

Hi ladies and gentleman. Got a PC 7424XP for Christmas and had a few questions on it.

All three of my vehicles have been waxed since day one so I don't plan on any heavy detailing. All the vehicles are in great shape.

Can I used PASTE wax with the PC ? Only reason I ask is cause I have a ton of paste wax

I got the starter kit which came with a bunch of pads. How do I know what one to use ?

I am so used to just waxing by hand and buffing off.


Thanks
Matt

[Mike Phillips]

Hi ladies and gentleman. Got a PC 7424XP for Christmas and had a few questions on it.

All three of my vehicles have been waxed since day one so I don't plan on any heavy detailing. All the vehicles are in great shape.

Can I used PASTE wax with the PC ? Only reason I ask is cause I have a ton of paste wax

I got the starter kit which came with a bunch of pads. How do I know what one to use ?

I am so used to just waxing by hand and buffing off.


Thanks
Matt

For the most part I apply all paste waxes by machine and mostly the Porter Cable 7424XP.

I have hundreds of articles in my articles list and hundreds that are not on the list.

A lot of the time when I want to find one of my articles I'll type a few key words into Google and then add my name and in most cases the article will come up.

For example, just typed this into Google,

machine applying a paste wax mike phillips


and found this,

How-to Machine Apply Wax using a DA Polisher

Here's another...

How To Apply Mothers California Gold Carnauba Paste Wax by Machine


You can type a few key words about any detailing topic into Google and add my first and last name and likely find an article on the topic. Sometimes multiple articles.

This specific question is also answered with pictures in my how-to book

The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine


ibook version

[Mike Phillips]

I also show how to machine apply a wax in this thread,



The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints





How to apply a paste wax by machine
You'll need a DA Polisher like this Porter Cable 7424XP with a 5.5" Flat Gray Finishing Pad, Dodo Juice Banana Armour Hard Wax and some Microfiber Gloves. For this step you could substitute any quality finishing wax or paint sealant. Here's a list of finishing waxes, sealants and hybrids.

How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project


For this procedure I'm going to place a microfiber glove over one hand in order to hold the wax without contaminating it or without it slipping out of my hand.





To get the wax out of the plastic jar you just have to carefully knock it out using inertia by holding the jar upside down and then knocking it against your other hand with a Microfiber Glove on it.








Then hold the polisher in one hand and the wax in your other hand with the glove on it and blip the on/off button of the polisher while holding the wax against the face of the pad and you can quickly transfer wax to the pad.




The Microfiber Gloves keep the wax clean until you place it back into the jar and enable you to grip the wax so it doesn't slip out of your hand and onto the floor...





Ready to start laying down some Banana Armour...




It takes a little muscle to do this because in one hand you're holding the wax and the other hand is holding the polisher for the duration of time it takes to run the polisher over every square inch of the car. If you had a helper they could hold the wax with microfiber gloves on and you could use both hands to hold the polisher, then as you needed more wax your helper could apply the wax while you hold the polisher, otherwise hit the gym.


If you look carefully you can see I spelled out Dodo on the hood in my wax pattern...




In the forum world you'll often read people talking about getting the "Sun Shot" , that's where they pull their project car out into the sun to show there are no swirls in the paint.

The below shot is kind of like the "Sun Shot", but I call it the "Fun Shot" because I was just having some fun with the Dodo name in wax.

I used a rubberband to hold a Cobra Indigo Microfiber Bonnet over a 3" Griot's Garage Polishing Pad on a DA Polisher and took the wax off only where the word DODO was spelled out and then pulled the car into the sun for a "Fun Shot".

The Sun Shot Fun Shot




Yep, this is how you get the high overhead shot, you have to get up in the air a little ways...





Removing the wax
After capturing the fun shot I pulled the car back into our studio and let the hood cool down and then removed the wax by hand using Cobra Indigo Microfiber Towels. Always fold your towels 4 ways to give you 8 sides to wipe with and to provide cushion to spread out the pressure of you hand.

Below is a link to a video and at the end of the video I show how to remove Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 by hand using the Cobra Indigo Microfiber Towels. In this video I share a technique I call "Breaking the Wax Open" and then "Creeping Out". Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 is a finishing synthetic paint sealant but the technique shared in the video can be used with any finishing wax, sealant or hybrid.

How to Apply a Synthetic Paint Sealant by Hand using the Straightline Technique


After removing the majority of the wax it's time to give the paint a final wipe. Here's an article on the technique for giving paint a final wipe.

The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish

[Mike Phillips]

Lots of info here too...


The white foam pad that comes with a Porter Cable Polisher


And if the wax you have won't come out of the jar easily what most of us do is use the blade style handle of the PC wrench to remove wax out of the jar and spread it over the face of the foam pad on your PC.

Just wipe the handle clean before use. Works kind of like a butter knife.

I show a picture of this in my how to book on page 130

[Paul A.]

Congrats on the new machine. You will love it. As usual, Mike has provided volumes of info directly related to your question. I certainly can't add anything new to it other than saying that is exactly how i use my PC to apply waxes! Have fun with your new machine.

[mattymax]

Thanks for all the info

The kit came with 6.5" pads and all I read sais to stay away from the 6.5's and only use 5.5" or 4" foam. How true is this ?>

Thanks
Matt

[Nick McKees37]

Thanks for all the info

The kit came with 6.5" pads and all I read sais to stay away from the 6.5's and only use 5.5" or 4" foam. How true is this ?>

Thanks
Matt

Great gift!

6.5 inch pads are ideal for polishing and waxing. If you need to perform any correction work, a smaller (5.5 inch) pad will work much better because its less mass for the machine to rotate.

[mattymax]

The more and more I read about the 6.5"s the more and more bad info I hear about them about how they are too big and too hard to use.

Also do I want straight foam flat pads or the dimpled pads

matt

[conman1395]

Flat is what I prefer. And I've never used 6.5 pads. I'm using 5.5 1.25 thick and am getting 5.5 7/8 thick pads. Even the 1.25 are too thick. So 6.5 wood be way too much in my opinion

[mattymax]

Right now I need pads to apply wax. The paint is all in great shape on my vehicles.