I just used the PC buffer for the first time. My process was Swirl, Amigo, Epic. The car looks so much better. I do have several questions regarding the detailing process that I am hoping some of you can help me with.

1. What PC speed an arm speed should I use when applying Amigo?

2. How do I clean the pads?

3. I had a lot of Epic left in the pad after waxing the car, does that mean I did something wrong?

4. I had a harder time removing the swirls and scratches on the side of the car, what do I need to do differently?

5. When I was using the PC buffer on the car small particles of the pad where spread all over, is that normal?

6. There are several places where the swirls and scratches have been mostly removed but some swirls still remain. Can I continue to apply Swirl and they will all be removed?

Thanks for your advice.

 

I tend to use mid range speeds on the machine, and slow easy motions with my arms, over about a 2 square foot area. Like 1/2 the bonnet, 1/4 of the roof.

Soap and water, Dawn soap works great. Then rinse well and air dry.

Most of us don't apply Epic with a machine, we hand apply it. It takes VERY LITTLE product to cover a whole MINI. It does not need to be " worked in" just spread thinly and evenly. Multiple thin coats is better than one heavy coat.

When working on vertical surfaces, you need to apply more pressure than you would on a horizontal one. On the roof/bonnet, the machine weight is about all the pressure needed. Just get used to getting machine weight pressure on the vertical surfaces.

Pads loosing bits means to much pressure to me.

Working with Swirl may remove them, or you may need to go to a more aggressive pad/polish combination.

Hope this helps. Keep up the good work

Mark

 

1. What PC speed an arm speed should I use when applying Amigo?

I haven't used Amigo, but I'm going to guess that it should be applied the same as Swirl: Speed 5 and a slow arm speed so the distance between each arc of polish is about 1/4".

3. I had a lot of Epic left in the pad after waxing the car, does that mean I did something wrong?

What pad were you using? I do use the black pad to apply Epic (it's a beautiful thing) and there isn't much in the pad when I finish. It sounds like you were using too much.

5. When I was using the PC buffer on the car small particles of the pad where spread all over, is that normal?

That doesn't sound good. Which pad(s) did this happen with?

6. There are several places where the swirls and scratches have been mostly removed but some swirls still remain. Can I continue to apply Swirl and they will all be removed?

Which pad were you using? If you were using a white pad, try using an orange pad. If you were using an orange pad, try another pass, then a pass with a white pad.

Or, perhaps more likely, you may have been using too much pressure. The pad needs to be spinning freely when you are applying the polish in order for it to do its job. If you were applying pressure, the pad may not have been spinning all the time so the polish didn't get worked into the paint as much as it should have. On horizontal surfaces it takes very little pressure before the pad stops spinning. You want it to almost float along the surface. A One Grip from Show Car Detailing is a big help with this.

 

All good advice suggested so far. I'd like to add a couple of things..I realize this isn't the first time I've suggested it, but there is a reason I'm suggesting it as all of these questions can be answered by either watching it be done in front of you, or on a video.


http://www.showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=62&bc=no


And as BEE1000 suggested, the OneGrip--one of my inventions for the PC check out the combo or single
http://www.showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=155&bc=no

These recommendations are based on my experience of using Prima, not necessarily what Prima recommends to their customers.


1.) Amigo is the absolute final polishing stage before going to wax. Because all of the major defects have been removed by the time I'm doing Amigo, it's to polish out any super fine micro marring that didn't come out in previous steps, to take advantage of the filling and darkening capability of Amigo, and best of all--it adds a really slick finish to the paint that makes it a joy to use.

So I like to use a white pad with Amigo on speed 5 of the PC. If you aren't trying to polish out any micromarring and just want to utilize the filling and darkening abilities, then apply using either a white pad or black pad on about speed 3 to 4.


2.) I clean pads by washing them in water. Swirl washes out very easily. Amigo washes out with some Dawn soap and warm water and some massaging of the pad with my fingers. I have the benefit of a rotary buffer, though one can be bought from Harbor Freight for $19-$50--and you can spin dry your pads such that you wash them, spin dry--and ready to use in 30 seconds. If you must air dry them, an Absorber towel is a great way to expedite drying. Just wrap the towel around the pad and wring the pad and towel wrapped around it, holding it there and slowly unwinding it. This will let the Absorber suck all the water out as you squeeze it. Wring the Absorber out and repeat a few times until no more water is collected.

3.) If you have a lot of Epic on the pad, you'll know as you apply because the black pad gets really soft and difficult to spread Epic evenly over the paint. I do a visual check about how even Epic is going on by looking at the application pattern that appears when you apply with a PC. They are concentric patterns--assuming you used good technique. Bad technique may not reveal these as readily.

Having a heavily loaded pad doesn't imply you did anything wrong except that you probably used too much product or didn't clean the pad often enough.

4.) On the side of the car you have different issues. One you don't have the benefit of gravity helping you push down on the polisher ever so slightly. Second the types of scratches that you get from people brushing alongside the car are differnt than the scratches typically found on the horizontal surfaces. If someone brushes your car by walking past it with a sharp object, it might be deeper than a simple clear coat scratch, and you'll have to remove more paint to improve it. Most often, you can improve a scratch that hasn't gone all the way through the clear coat, but you can't always fix it 100%.


5.) This is known as "dusting". Both the white pad and orange pad dust to a certain degree. The orange pad tends to dust more. If the dust is fine, you might try spritzing some QD on the pad before polishing. If the dust looks more like little worms--it probably means the pad is saturated. Check the pad---does it feel wet with polish? If so, wash it, and try again.

6.) Yes and no. Yes the more you polish the better it will look. However consider that there is "depth" to swirls. If you don't start aggressive enough to get rid of the deepest scratches, it's like trying to finish wood that has 60 grit scratches but starting with 150 or 300. You'll get out the finest scratches, but never the 60 grit because you didn't start off coarse enough. So with that analogy, yes you can certainly improve the paint, but you should be doing test spots to determine which pad/polish combo gets the results you want instead of just polishing. My DVD goes over this in depth.

Richard

 

Thanks for the information.

I used the orange pad (from Octane Guy) and Swirl on a test spot. It removed some of the scratches, so I switched to a yellow pad. I applied the Amigo with a white pad and Epic with a black pad. It was a huge improvement. I watched the DVD which helped a bunch but, I am just learning and don't think I picked everything up. I really appreciate you willingness to share your insight.

I am still unclear on how to clean the epic from the black pad.

 

Oooops. I forgot about that!! Washing the black pad with Epic is the same as the white pad with Amigo. Although when you wash it is more critical with Epic than Amigo. First you need to wash it after each use. If you don't you'll find Epic very hard to remove. if you don't clean the pads before the wax has dried, the soft pads will become rougher and you really don't want to be abrading the surface during the wax application step.

I like to use warm water and Dawn soap to work the Epic out. Just apply Dawn and massage the heck out of the pad under running warm water and after several wash/rinses the pad will be clean and soft again. Even if you forget to wash the pads, you can still wash them this way, it just takes more work and patience. It's easiest to do after each use though.

Also, I don't wash the white pad until the Amigo grey color is out 100%. I stop when there is a faint trace of color left. It won't hurt anything and besides the pad is dedicated to Amigo and helps remind me of that fact.

Richard

 

I know exactly how you feel. If you're anywhere in Southern California, keep an eye on Octane Guy's Show Car Detailing web site and wait for his next Saturday clinic. It may be a while since I know he's busy (and he scared away his assistant a couple months ago), but I imagine he'll have one at some point next year. Get yourself to it. There is a big difference between hearing about what you are supposed to do and seeing someone do it right and then doing it yourself (even though you've watched the DVD). You won't be an expert by any means, but you'll have a good foundation for success.

 

Just a couple of quick notes. Thanks bee1000n for the plug!!

To get reminded of future clinics, go here
http://www.noswirls.com/mailinglist/clinicsignup.html

Also ShowCarDetailing.com and NoSwirls.com are one and the same.

My assistant was replaced the same week she left with Erik, an LAPD officer, and detailer extraordinaire! He works part time for me on his off days helping me with the biz and practicing his chops on the variety of cars I get---from Bill Goldberg's classic cars for the Barrett Jackson auctions to modern cars of all types--Porsches, Mercedes, BMW's, MINI's, Mazdas, Hondas (Acuras).....

Btw, be1000n brought his MINI to a clinic because a local detailer had left buffer trails and swirls all over his roof and he needed to get it corrected without further damaging the paint. We showed him how to do it with the PC and Prima Swirl and he went to town and fixed it himself!

Richard

 

This has nothing to do with the thread so far, but the title makes this a good place for my question: When I Hydro'd my Lightning Blue Mini, it had a great, deep shine afterward. However, when I Hydro'd my Metropolitan Gray Mazda (which has just as dense, if not denser, metalic flakes), although shiny, it just doesn't seem as "deep." Is that just the way the color is, or should I use something else (although I'm not sure there is an alternative to Hydro in terms of ease of application)?

 

1. It might change after a couple applications of Hydro. My experience when applying Hydro to a pretty much wax-less car was that it took 2 applications before the finish felt waxed, could be the same deal if you're looking for color/gloss change. Maybe your Mazda needs another "coat" of Hydro, or maybe the color will never look as deep, or maybe it needs more than just wax, like a polish job.

2. You could put a coat of Banana Gloss on it. It's not as easy as Hydro since there is some wax-on-wax-off rubbing involved (so you probably should clay first, too), but it's pretty darn easy.

 

Yeah, I was one of the Banana Gas (later to be renamed Banana Gloss) prototype testers. I may try that. I plan to polish when warmer weather arrives.