Hey everyone,
I got a new PorterCable 7424 a couple weeks ago and set to work to polish my black 05 coupe that had significant, but not overly serious hazing. I read quite a few threads, including the great sticky and associated links, on how to use the PC. Here was my process:

Wash
Clay
Poorboys SSR 2.5 on white sonus pad, speed 5
Poorboys SSR 1 on orange sonus pad, speed 4.5
There was still obvious hazing/wheelmarks from this, so I did another round with no pressure whatsoever and speed of 3.5

Car looked really good at this point, so I waxed with Poorboys Natty Blue.

She looks beautiful now in about 95% of lighting conditions. However, in low angle bright sunlight (around the time I hop in to go to work) I can still notice some wheel marks and hazing.

How can I get rid of this? Is this a common newbie mistake or did I just really screw something up? Any tips to avoid this in the future?

Thanks for the help, its driving me nuts!

 

You need to give pressure when polishing...about 15lb~30lb from what I heard.

 

10 lbs! not 15-30!

Your suppose to do certian amount of passes with some weight on it like 10lbs then the last 2 passes or one pass just the weight of the PC.

I am not familiar with the pads and polishes you used so someone will chime in.

Also with a PC you will never hit 100% perfection. So you say its 95% thats pretty good.

 

you either ran the polisher dry or you didnt work the product long enough

run a pass with a glaze like chemical guys EZ glaze with a blue/finishing pad at speed 4and inspect results .. if it doesnt go away you have to do the whole car again with the mildest polish you got

 

SPEED 6 IS THE ONLY SPEED TO USE WITH THE PC UNLESS YOU ARE APPLYING WAX...THEN ITS 5!!!!

the reason you are not getting the proper results is because your speed is too slow! also, is the sonus white less aggressive than the sonus orange? every other company uses orange as a light cutting pad and the white as a heavy polishing pad to be used orange first with more aggressive polish, then white with less aggressive polish!

and you can get 99% with a PC...i have done it on black G35's and will shoot for it on friday with a black G35 and post pics!!!

 

LC pads are probably the most common used and I know orange is more aggressive than white. 3.5 is for sure too slow for what you're doing. Start at 6 for a couple minutes then step down to 5 for another minute or so.

 

I honestly dont see why you would want speed "<6" its not doing anything at that point besides spreading the product! Its the heat and friction that breaks down a polish, not just the friction from pad to paint! at <6 speeds, there is no heat building up...

90% of my work is done with the PCXP now, rotary only for severe defect removal!

run the polish from start to finish on speed 6 and once the polish starts to flash (dissappear), stop and wipe it off and check your work! If you are not removing the defects, then its time to step up to a stronger polish! M105 is a good one!

 

As others have mentioned, chances are you didn't work the finishing polish long enough to remove the rotary holograms / hazing you are describing. Also, do you have the pink SSR 1 or the newer yellow SSR 1? I never found any of the SSRs to finish ultra clean, I always turn to the Menzerna polishes to remove hazing / holograms. Consider trying PO106FA on a white (lake country) pad to clean up the light imperfections you're seeing. Also, be sure to apply some pressure and keep the pad as flat as possible. Using a smaller pad can also help improve your results since you'll be concentrating the energy in a smaller area. As Eric mentioned, when polishing, you typically want to always use speed 6 for maximum effectiveness.

Good luck, keep us posted how things turn out.

 

grrr... i bought SSR1 and SSR2 from you haha

 

some people like the SSR lineup and use it on every detail...everyone has their favorite polish, and not one suits everyone's polishing style! Menzerna may work for us, but not for you! (I use menzerna as well, but I also use meguiars and optimum) I have so many products in my garage that I am going to group them, take a picture, and record who much of each product is left and do a group buy for a low price. probably will end up with about 250-300 in products for about 100 bucks...yeah, that much because its all stuff I tried and didnt like, but see other people using it all the time!

 

Well put Eric, it's always great to have multiple polishes around to tackle different types of paint, especially for a detailer. I'm excited to use the new Meg's polishes next time around.

You should have contacted me prior to purchasing I always try to recommend what I feel the best combo for your specific needs.

The Poorboy's polishes will do the job when used correctly, I just don't feel they are up to par with some of the other main polishes many pro detailers use, like the ones Eric mentioned. Some people love them though, it's all about process and technique, I just never got the hang of them.

 

Wow, thanks for so many responses and advice guys. I'll give the car another once over with the speed cranked up and if I'm still not getting the results that I want I'll try switching to another one of the polishes that was recommended.

The last time I was using a rotary action sander/polisher was when I was making surfboards back in the day, which left me weary since too much speed and pressure would burn the resin or fiberglass. I guess with clearcoats I don't have to be so conservative....

Once again, thanks for the support and I'll be sure to post some pics up after I get it cleaned up again.

 

wrong wrong wrong...you HAVE to be careful with the rotary! You will induce holograms, burn paint, burn edges, create a mess if you are not careful!!!

 

Put a black line on your backing plate. If the line stops spinning, you are using too much pressure with the PC.