Porter Cable Questions

[SergioRZ]

Hi!

I'm about to buy a Porter Cable Orbital Buffer. Please help me with these questions:

Which model is better and easier/safer to use? 7424, 7336SP, or 7428?

Porter Cable Models


What about pads? Which pads to use when applying paint cleaner, polish, and wax? And I can use the Porter Cable to apply and remove products?

How many pads do I need? Do they wear fast?

Finally, if I use Porter Cable, will it be fine to use normal products like Gold Class Wax, or do I have to use professional products?

Thank you very much for your help!

Sergio

[LusterMeister]

Hello Sergio !

First off let me say that I had the privilege of visiting your country many years ago. I rented a car and saw what a beautiful country it is. Very memorable.

Well, here are my suggestions to your questions -

As far as the PC choice . . . I would say that most of us who use the PC have 7424s. I'm very pleased with mine and can't imagine detailing my car without it. You'll need the 6" backing plate and counterweight which may or may not come with the PC. It depends where you buy it. I got mine at Coastal Tool in Connecticut. They include the backing plate and counterweight with the 7424. I'm sure they ship overseas.

Pads . . . start out by getting yourself 2 pads each of Meguiars #7006, #8006, and #9006. (Cutting, polishing and finishing pads). Use them to apply all your products, however you should remove the products with quality Microfiber towels. You can use the pads with both the maroon and tan bottles. Just follow the directions on the back, or ask on this forum. There are some very knowlegeable and helpful people here.

I hope this helps. I'm sure others will respond as well.

Have fun !!!

[TOGWT]

~One man’s opinion / observations ~

The Porter Cable 7428 is a high-speed rotary polisher; the 7336 and 7424 are identical machines (they just come with differing accessories)

Two of ech type foam pads should get you started plus a backing plate.


~Hope this helps~

Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon
justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *

[SergioRZ]

Thank you Luster Meister. I've been to the USA in 1998, and also rented a car... 1 month going around (NYC, to San Francisco). It was great!

I'm a bit confused about using the Porter Cable only to apply products. I mean, the hard part is removing them That's what made me think about buying one...

Is it really not supposed to use the Porter Cable to remove the products? There is no special pad for this?

Thank you!

[Chris Nemlich]

I too have some questions about getting a PC.

Are there any products (waxes, polishes, etc) that CANNOT be applied using a PC? For Instance I have meguiars Gold Class wax and Meguiars Cleaner wax, can these be applied by the PC?

Also, I've read something about an Ultimate Bonnet that can be used to remove products, is this true?

And (I'm not sure how possible this is) can you estimate how much time a PC saves? Because this would be my only reasont to buy one really.

Last, how much skill is involved with using one? Can you screw things up easily?

[SergioRZ]

That's right, Ultimate Bonnet is supposed to remove wax when it has hazed/dried, right?

So, what happens if I put Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner by hand, let it dry, and then remove it using the Porter Cable with the apropriate pad, like Ultimate Bonnet?

Or, say, do the same with some Cleaner Wax, or with pure polish?

Not a good idea?

[Mike Phillips]

Just to chime in here,

Meguiar’s Ultimate Bonnet work great for removing most products as long as they have been applied using thin, even coats. If you apply a thick coat of any product then the bonnet will struggle to remove it and load up with the product quickly.

If you want to remove all the products you apply by hand or machine using an Ultimate Bonnet, you can, but remember some products will remove easier than others. For example, Tech Wax will remove easy with microfiber bonnet on a PC with either a W-8006 or a W-7006 foam pad. #16 Professional Paste Wax will probably not remove easily as this wax tends to dry very hard.

If you plan on using the PC to remove most of your products, then you will need to stock up on bonnets. Figure 2-3 bonnets per product per car. In other words, if you have a Honda Acura and you apply Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, Deep Crystal Polish, and Deep Crystal Wax, then you should plan to have 6-9 bonnets on hand. They are reversible and you can often remove all of your product with one or two bonnets per car. But your better to have a few extra than to run out. Of course, you an always use a microfiber polishing cloth by hand.

Of course they are washable just like microfiber polishing cloths for re-use later.

Mike

[SergioRZ]

Ok, sorry to insist on this subject, but I really need to make sure I make the right option. (importing a PC from the USA is very expensive for me because of customs tax and shipping cost).

All I want is an easy method to wipe off products like DC Paint Cleaner or GC Wax.

I don't want to use cut foams to polish the paint. I don't even want to use the machine to apply these products... I found that applying the products is quite easy, and relatively fast. The problem is removing them when they have hazed completely dry. It is really very hard to do by hand, and takes a long time to wipe to a great finish.

So, I need to know if this makes any sense:

1- Apply DC Paint Cleaner by hand using foam pads.

2- Remove dry DC Paint Cleaner using the Porter Cable with Ultimate Bonnet Microfiber.

3- Apply GC Wax by hand using foam pads.

4- Remove dry GC Wax using the Porter Cable with Ultimate Bonnet Microfiber.


Is this ok? Anyone does this? Will the results be good, at least better than removing products by hand? And does the Porter Cable with Ultimate Bonnet work well over dry products?

Thank you!

Sergio

[rjstaaf]

It is just my opinion but, if you are going to spend the money to import a PC just to remove products than you are going to be dissapointed.

The products you have mentioned should not be difficult to remove at all. Have you considered that maybe you are using too much or letting them remain on your paint too long before wiping off the residue?

Maybe it would help if you would describe the technique you are using to apply the products you are having problems with.

Don't get me wrong the PC is a GREAT tool but, it really shines in application of product, not removal.

[the newbie]

remove products......

i think i know,why you guys want to remove the products by machine.
you probably have problems removing them by hand,because you put too much product on the car,this makes it hard to remove,or don't give the products the right time to set on the paint(easy to check,make a strike with your index finger,if the stroke underneath is shiny,it's ready to buff out,if it's smearing,leave it on for a couple more minutes),and last,but not least,it could be,that it's just to hot.then the wax kind of "bake"in,and is also hard to remove.
if you use a pc,you will apply thin even layers of product,which are simple to remove,and believe me,if you like to detail cars,you'll love it when you became one with your pc.
these machines can make things happen,you can't even get close to,when applying by hand.

hope to hear from you soon,


ciao,

Rick.

[hirosh]

The Porter Cable (PC) polisher is better at applying products than removing them. Yes, it can be used to remove products, but in my experience, using it to apply products makes it easy to remove them too. The reason is that the PC is able to spread the products more evenly and thinner than you can by hand, not to mention the other benefits that it is also more efficient at working a product than by hand. And by applying a product THINLY is one of the keys to easy removal.

So, before you spend a lot of money on the PC, why don't you try to applying your products thinly by hand? Don't use too much product on your foam applicator, and try to spread it thinly and evenly over the surface.

For the DC Paint Cleaner, I read the instructions on my bottle and it DOES NOT say to let it HAZE or DRY. So you should be using a small amount of it on a small section, apply it thinly, and then remove.

For the GC Wax, again, use a small amount and apply it thinly and evenly as possible. This is what you want to allow to HAZE or DRY, and you can check this by swiping your finger across it to see if it is removed cleanly. If it doesn't remove cleanly and streaks, allow it to haze/dry a little more.

Again, a PC is a great machine (I just got mines and I love using it). Using the correct foam pads and products can really make your paint beautiful. It is great in removing swirls, polishing paint, and applying waxes/Last Step Products (LSP) thinly and evenly. And it is very hard to damage your paint with it. Most of the time you read about buffer holograms and such is because of the improper use of a Rotary Buffer, not a PC. You should check out the "Extreme Makeovers" and "Show Off" sections for some examples of what a PC can do.

Lastly, you CAN use a PC to remove products by using an Ultimate Bonnet, and I'm sure it will work, but in my opinion, you could get the same results with a cheaper Craftsman Buffer/Polisher.

Hope this helps.

Reid

[SergioRZ]

Ok, so maybe I'm not doing the correct thing...

I'll try again, and I will try to apply less product and spread more evenly.

I found the DC Paint Cleaner quite easy to wipe off. But as I followed the intructions on the bottle, I worked one panel at a time, so it did not dry for a long time.

On the other hand, GC Wax was allowed to dry for a long time. Wipe off was very, very, very difficult. Ultimate Wipes would stick to the wax, and fold under my hand as I tried to move it...

What caused this? Too much Wax? Or did I let it dry too much?

Also, I just found that the initial good results removing swirls with the DC Cleaner / GC Wax combination, is fading away... Swirls are back, just a week after I did the job.

Maybe ScratchX can help?

Thank you very much for your help.

[LusterMeister]

Sergio, from what I see happening is you're letting the product remain too long on your car. (there are exceptions of course). Even a very easy wax-on/wax-off carnuba such as S100 comes off easier if you wipe it off immediately.


What I do is apply all my products with my PC (7424), even most of my waxes. If I'm in the mood I'll apply my waxes by hand but the PC definitely allows me to lay on a much thinner coat.
And there in lies the secret. As has been stated - apply THIN coats. It's better to apply 2 thin coats than 1 heavy coat.

I can't comment on the products that you mentioned Sergio as I haven't used them. Exception is Scratch-X. That I've used both by hand and PC. Yes you can apply Scratch-X by machine. I use a yellow pad on a setting of 2-3 and I just keep moving the machine over and around the scratch till it's gone. It may take a few tries.

The Ultimate Bonnet is something that I have yet to tryas well. Tim has used them and loves the results. He did a post on this not too long ago. He uses the Bonnet however to give that last pass to bring out that extra "pop" not to remove the product.

Hope this helps. Don't get discouraged. Keeep at it and pretty soon you'll be an old hand at this detailing obsession !!!


Keep in touch.

[Totoland Mach]

SergioRZ: I recently purchased a complete Meguiar's kit with the porter cable, foam pads, polish, etc. Meguiar's has a lifetime warranty on the porter cable and I got everything I needed in one place.

If you decide to use a porter cable, you will find (as I did) that the wax is distributed very evenly and all that is required is a very fast buffing with a microfiber towel. You can also use a microfiber bonnet, but I find that buffing with the towel first, then using the bonnet as a "super shine" makes the bonnet last quite a long time.

I hope this helps you with your decision. Buying the Meguiar's kit has been the best investment in detail equipment I have made. It has saved me lots of time and wasted energy applying polishes and waxes.

[SergioRZ]

Thank you all for helping me

Today I ordered the PC7424.

Now reading this topic again, I realized that I ordered a 5" plate... not 6" like probably I should have done.

Is it ok to use a 5" plate?

I also ordered some 6,5" pads. It was a kit, all included. So I guess 6,5" pads work fine on the 5" plate.

I can't wait to try the machine. I think I'll get some car bonnet from a scrap yard, just to do some testing before I work on my own car...

Since I have a lot of products I was using by hand, I'm going to use them until they are finished. I can't throw them away... I have some GC Liquid Wax and DC Paint Cleaner. Both can be applied with the PC7424, I believe... but the results should be no match for other more special products.

I'll keep you posted, and I hope you can keep helping me on this