George,

Could you give some info on the various speeds of the PC 7424?

The lowest setting would be ? rpms?
The highest setting would be ? rpms? etc....

Does it really make a difference when working at a slower speed vs a higher speed when using a product to remove swirls or deeper defects in the paint/clearcoat?

Thanks.

Bill

 

I use 5-6 almost all the time when doing correction, 4 for poliseal or other sealants

 

Bill,

Good questions. The Porter Cable 7424 is actually measured in OPMs or oscillations per minute. Rotary buffers are typically measured in RPMs just for clarification.

At speed setting 1 (min) the PC operates at 2500 OPM
At speed setting 6 (max) the PC operates at 6000 OPM

Yes, the speed makes a significant difference in paint correction. As redlude97 stated, paint correction with the PC really only happens during speed setting 5 or 6. Another key factor is moving the buffer at a pace of around 1" per second, while letting the buffer do the work. I also usually make a minimum of 6 passes over each part of the working area before moving onto the removal step for that area. Monitoring the pressure applied also will have a big impact when paint correcting. I will typically spread a polish around the working area (18" x 18" or so) at speed setting ~3 just to spread the product evenly.

For anything other than paint correction, I use speed setting ~3.5 - 4 and do not move the buffer as slow as 1" per second. You're basically just looking for even coverage.

If you have any other questions regarding the PC, please do not hesitate to ask.

George

 

Hey george, its me Peter i finally ordered a PC from u guys. The advanced kit. I was tired of the results i was getting by working by hand, hopefully i get the detail results i always wanted with the PC. I still have the Menzerna intensive & finishing polish u sold me,so it should be a combo with the PC. Wish me luck and ill be asking lots of questions so be prepared lol. take care.

 

Oh yeah . . . . you're gonna luv the difference you'll get with the pc.

 

Peter, we greatly appreciate your support. I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with the PC and your G. I'm ready for your questions, be ready to post up some pics of the detail afterwards!

George

 

Mr. George i got my shipment today when i got home from work, my PC was waiting @ my doorstep, thank you for the speedy delivery and i plugged it in to check it out and it definitely packs a punch. i cant wait till i get a few hours off this week to put it to the test, thanks again George!!!.

 

Sounds great, Looking forward to hearing how you make out with it.

Let me know if there's any questions I can answer regarding using the buffer.

Thanks again for your support.

George

 

Hey George,

This might have been asked before, but I did a search and didn't come up with much... and I haven't had time to read through this entire thread... but here it goes!

I wash my car once a week, and around here in NC and southern VA, there are TONS of bugs that commit suicide on the font of the car in a week. I've got a black '07, and know that black paint is a little more delicate to clean. I also don't like to sit on a bucket for 45 minutes trying to get every individual bug off of the front end, and even when I do, it's taking a good amount of rubbing to get them off with car wash, or polish for that matter.

My question is: how bad, exactly, is wheel cleaner on paint for only a matter of seconds? Does it help if you put a layer of wax on the front every wash so that the cleaner eats more bugs than paint, and the wax adds a buffer?

I've been frustrated by the whole thing for a while, and finally started "experimenting" on my girlfriends car, haha (at least it's a VW Beetle). I only had to have wheel cleaner on the car for about 20 seconds to be able to just WIPE the bugs right off in one fell swoop. After that, it was regular car wash with wax additive and LOTS of water to clear the hard cleaner from the paint surface. After that, not one bit of bug residue, and no signs of distress from the clearcoat. It really looked incredible!

I'm tempted to just put wheel cleaner on the front of mine for a few seconds to loosen up the bugs. How much worse is this vs. rubbing the paint with the microfiber rag for 45 minutes, or using polish to strip the clearcoat? I was thinking the wheel cleaner would definitely eat the paint to some minute degree, but then I could use polish/wax on the front every 6 months to keep it looking slick (as I would anyways).

Any guidance/advice is much appreciated!!! Let me know if you need more information. Thanks!

John

 

John,

As far as your bug situation is concerned, there are other steps I would take in place of using wheel cleaner as an option. I personally would use a paint safe degreaser, such as Poorboy's World Bug Squash, as my first option. It's recommended usage is at a 3:1 (H2O:Bug Squash) however, if this is not cutting it for you, then I'd suggest trying 2:1 or 1:1.

Another option would be a regular degreaser, such as Poorboy's Biodegradable APC. This is a stronger option than the Bug Squash and is recommended to dilute again from 4:1 or stronger as needed.

Wheel cleaners are typically very acidic, which is why it's not recommended to use regularly on the paint. If you continue to use the wheel cleaner, keep in mind you are stripping off your coat of protection every time, which could lead to making the bug cleaning so difficult. The other products I mentioned will weaken your protection, least amount w/ the 3:1 Bug Squash and most with 1:1 Bio-APC.

You're best bet is to keep a quality coat of sealant always on your front bumper, and you could wax on top of that for added protection. Quality wash tools will help as well.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

George

 

Thanks a bunch George! I'll try Poorboy's and step up with the strength until I find a happy medium.

 

George,

Do you carry the new Menzerna Super Intensive Polish? Also had a question about some product combinations. I have the full Zaino line right now, but when I did my last detail all I had was ZPC for correction and it didn't quite cut it. It took about 50% of the swirls, but looking for more correction that that. I was thinking of going with SIP on orange pad with the UDM then following that with ZAIO by hand or with a blue pad on the UDM. Would that work or do I have to use ZPC after either IP or SIP? I'd prefer to stick with the Zaino line for everything except the first correction/polishing. Thanks!

 

Hi George,

Back again with more questions! BTW, the BHB is working great...It didn't rain for the latter part of the week so I too the opportunity to use it on the rest of my paint and it worked great!! i still used the two-bucket method with an extra rinse from the hose just to be safe (i know i've got OCD) and of course it starts raining again this week...oh well it's an excuse to use it again...hahah

Anyways, on to my question...I seem to be having (this is gonna sound gross) elbow grease stains on my arm rest and my headrest. I've read in autopia about using a saddle soap to possibly remove stains from leather is that true. Right now i'm using Lexol cleaner and conditioner. I've followed the instructions on their website but it doesn't seem to remove it. I'm thinking of using my PC 7424 to try and get rid of it. TIA for the info!

Ryan
Infinite1

 

Thanks for contacting us. We have Menzerna Super Intensive Polish on order, and are expecting it to be in stock in ~3 weeks. It has been on back order from the Menzerna and we're just waiting for our shipment. Here's a great review from picus on Menzerna Super Intensive Polish.

From what I've gathered, you may be able to go to the Z-AIO after SIP since it finishes down better than other medium cut polishes with less haze and marring. I personally would apply it with a buffer.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. I'm very excited to get this promising product in stock, another A+ product from Menzerna.

George

 

I have Racing Hart J5 Pro with polished lips. Right now the lips are not as shiny as before. How do I go about repolishing the lips? Is there some chemical I should not be using to clean my wheel? I'm just using the same Zaino stuff I use to clean my car to clean the wheels.

Also what should I use to clean the area between the spokes and the lips? That area is probably less than 2mm and it's hard trying to fit anything in there. A good amount of brake dust is in that area and it's almost impossible to remove it.