Just got around to testing out this bad boy.. Got it the other week and just couldn't wait till spring to really go crazy with it, so I decided to give it a go at my hood which has some swirls that I could test it out on.

At first I used some meguires paint cleaner, then scratch x (with the PC), deep crystal polish (with PC) and then a coat of NXT tech wax and then a second coat with carnauba wax.

In the end, it looks amazing. It got 95% of the swirls out, leaving only a few random ones here and there, but im sure once I get my better pads in (lake country pads) and have a little more experience I can really eliminate them all (except deep scratches of course).

All in all, worth the money for the PC. Simple to use, impossible to screw up.

I can't wait to really do the whole car and see how it takes care of my more serious swirls (mainly on the back hatch).

Anyway, here are two pics. It's like a mirror reflection, no swirls to be seen!

 

I love getting a chance to detail my cars... I have a 7424 too, and also use Lake Country pads and get all my microfibers from pakshak.com. Definitely a wise investment!

 

you not supposed to use scratch x with a polisher. yes i know it is a new toy and all. but you can do som damage with that thing.

i had to buy a new buffer this year as i am getting back into detailing and some how my PC srouted legs and walked off. right now for relearning i have the g110. might invest in a PC down the road when i get back into it

 

Why not?

I have read mixed views on using it only bad hand vs. a polisher, but it was not a problem at all by machine. Did an excellent job with no side effects.

I guess their new formula is able to work with DA buffers, where before it would turn gel like or something.

Oh well, it worked for me without issue so I prob will use it like that in future as well, lol.

 

looks good, i just detailed mine too

 

Drive down to Anaheim Hills and do mine next .
I'll give you a cookie and a TRD radiator cap, lol.

 

According to Mike Phillips at Meguiar's, Scratch X was reformulated a couple of years ago so it now can be used with a dual action polisher.

Meguiar's has a class on detailing each Saturday, that's where I learned about Scratch X and that everything I knew about car care was horribly inadequate.

 

Have any pointers?? haha

 

1. When washing your car use two buckets. One for soap and the other to rinse out the sponge/mitt. After each pass of the mitt rinse it out in the water bucket before going to the soap bucket. This gets rid of most of the dirt so it isn't mixed in with the soap, so there are less abrasives swirling up your car. If you want to take it a step further you could rinse out the mitt with the hose each time before reloading with the soap. Also make sure you rinse off as much dirt by hose before you start soaping your car.

2. When polishing make sure your pad doesn't get too saturated with polish. It slows the porter cable down and is less effective. You should have have a pad for each quarter of the vehicle. If you don't have enough pads then clean it between each panel. To do this set the Porter Cable to 1, get a bath towel and hold the pad with the towel, turn on the porter cable and hold the towel down on the pad to squeeze the excess polish out. Don't worry it won't hurt.

3. For Polish. Spread on speed 3 then work it in/break it down on speed 5. Overlap up and down and side to side. You should do this in 2'x2' sections. If you get lazy or inpatient then it will show. If you are going to use meguiar's products in the future to polish your car then look for meguiar's #80(speed glaze). Also have good lighting, if you are polishing in a dim garage you probably won't be able to see your progress.

4. Pads. For Polishing you should stick to to Meguiar's 8006 Pad (the yellow one), the 7006 Pad(maroon color) was not designed to work with the Porter Cable, it will leave marring/holograms most of the time. If you go with the Lake Country Pads then go with the White ones for polishing. Also before you begin polishing you should spritz the pad with some sort of quick detailer, to lube it up so there isn't to harsh a friction with the paint.

5. Wax/Sealant. Thin layers. Why because thick layering is a waste. only the wax that makes contact with the paint is doing the work, the rest is on top of the wax. So that bottle of NXT wax should last you at least 15 layers on an xb. Use the Porter Cable to spread the wax, set speed to 3. Literally a nickel size amount should be able to do the whole hood. Two nickel sizes for the roof, and two for each side. Use Meguia'rs 9006 pad or Lake Country's Blue or Gray pad.

6. if you have time use painters tape on any black plastic trim that you don't want to stain with the polish or wax. BTW, cleaner waxes are the ones that do the most staining on black plastic trim. Also when you tape it you can be a bit more reckless with your polishing patterns.

7. After you finish all that detailing it takes an average of 73 minutes before a bird ____s on your car. So carry a bottle of quick detailer and a rag in the car. Bird crap has some sort of acid in it that etches through the paint if left there too long. It looks like the the clear coat is crackling from the inside out.