Correct PC teqnique

I need a little insight. For example, I 1 stepped a white Volvo wagon using my PC XP along with Uber yellow and Megs 205. Although this combination brought a lot of life and reflection back to life and removes some fine swirling and scratching, I feel as if it should have gotten more correction done.

Here is my technique:

Prime pad with a few pea size dots of 205, wipe down panel with 70% IPA non-diluted, spread 205 over 1.5 ft X1.5 ft section, turn on PC to speed six and go to town. Now, how much pressure should I be using? How fast should I be moving the machine?

For this vehicle, I did 1 side to side pass going down, came back up with another side to side pass, and did 1 or sometimes 2 top to bottom passese as well (is everyone following?). How does that sound?

As far as pressure, I guess I am just going by feel. I am putting enough pressure to not let the machine spin freely over paint, but enough pressure to not bog the machine down. I am slo moving it over the paintwork pretty slowly.

I am also switching the pad out every 4 panels or so.

Any help or advce is greatly appreciated.

 

If i were you i would try to use something a little more abrasive then 205.The pad your using is fine. 205 imo is more of a medium to light polish.try using menzerna super intesive polish or even try a compound.(might be a little tough to do)
Also when cutting with a pc it takes some time.so you need to be patient. stay at the speed of 5 or 6, add preasure but make sure you dont add too much preasure that the pad isnt rotating.if the pad isnt rotating there is a good chance you wont remove much swirls and scratches. Stay in a 2' X 2' area. do about 4-5 passes in the same area with medium preasure with a slow steady pace.then do 3-5 more passes with light preasure but try to not speed your hand movement up even though the pc will be rotating faster.other then that it all depends on the car and what product you use on the paint. its a lot of trial and error. in most cases if the paint is too scratched up, your better off using a buffer. good luck!

 

Yeah - 205 isn't cutting enough for you.

Step up your pads to something with more bite - like Meg's MicroFiber (now carried by Detailers Domain here).

You could also step up to a compounding polish (Sticking with the Meg's line 105 also at the above link).

 

I guess I am a bit confused because yellow if Buff and Shine's version of a "cutting" pad. I never thought of using maybe a green pad with 105 or even a yellow with 105. I am just bummed that it didn't remove more. I like the Buff and Shine pads and I know a ton of people have had great luck with them. Is 205 similar in cut to say Powerfinish? I was under the assumption that 105 was a pretty heavy compound and 205 was a polish, am I wrong in my assumption?

I also have Scholl S30 and S03+. Can anyone comment on these? I tried the polish (I can't even remember which of the 2 is the polish) on my Uber green and it didn't do much.

 

If you are trying to one step, the Uber ( B&S ) yellow is a great pad but you'll need something with more cut like Menz Power Finish. Megs 105 will even finish down nicely on lighter colours. You are correct in that 105 is a compound and 205 is a polish. Menz Power finish falls between the two. The Scholl S03 is is a compound but will finish down beautifully. The S30 is a finishing polish like Menz 85rd.

 

Thanks Ken, just the insight I needed! So it does sound like I didn't have an asgressive enough combination to get the correction I was after. I will hopefully be able to 1 step the same customers Explorer soon, so I will try both 105 and SO3. Ken, am I also correct in my assumption that both the Scholl products I mentioned would be very similar to the 105/205 combination? Which of the 2 do you prefer? It seems as it takes more Scholl to get similar correction compared to 105/205. It also sounds like I need to get my hands on some PF.

How many passes should I be making doing a 1 step with either of these products Ken?

 

The Scholl products you have will be similar to the Megs. I really like Scholl products but use Megs 105 if something is REALLY messed up and I have yet to try 205. Power Finish works so well that 205 is a mute point. In terms of aggressiveness, your products would line up Megs 105, Scholl S03+, Power Finish, with Megs 205 and Scholl S30 being similar. The number of passes are irrelevant. Always work the polish until it is broken down completely. Some polishes will take longer than others.

 

Alright so when you say, "broken down completely", I know what this means, but have a hard time understanding when it personally breaks down while I am spinning the PC. I think I was also putting too much pressure on the pad because my backing plate broke clean off while doing that Volvo I was talking about. Had to get a new one, luckily a local shop guy opened the doors for my last Sunday...people are great in the detailing world!

 

You broke your backing plate? How on earth did you do that? On your new one, mark the backing plate with a piece of tape, Sharpie, whatever. This way you can tell if the BP is still spinning. If it stops spinning while on a flat horizontal or vertical surface, you are pressing too hard. The Megs MF discs work great on hammered paint so consider getting a set my friend! As for breaking down conmpletely, when you make the first few passes, the polish will make it impossible to see your reflection in the paint. When the polish has broken down completely, there will still be some residue on the paint, but you'll be able to see your reflection through it.

 

That's a good description of the polish breaking down, thanks.

 

Great Ken, that is a great description. I will pay more attention from now on! As far as the backing plate breaking, I honestly don't know what happened. I really wasn't putting that much pressure on it. I will also be sure to mark the backingplate for my next polish.