MasterShake
New member
I've been reading this forum for months now and it's been invaluable, so this being my first post, thanks to everyone who contributes. Now on the review...
Two firsts actually, first time I used the Porter Cable (just got it last week) and first time I used a polish.
So, this was my procedure
1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Mask with tape
4. Z-PC with Sonus DAS green pad.
My goal here was to remove some pretty bad swirl marks - not bad enough that they were noticeable in natural light but bad enough that they were very noticeable at night under a street lamp.
Now I'm used to zaino sealants so layering thin is no problem, but when i read you have to lay polish on thick I took it to the extreme - very messy. So, some more trial and error, a little less z6 spritz on the pad, a little less polish - I went over and over the same area with PC at 4.5 until it flashed - maybe... Seems to me there are a few different levels the polish reaches, first it's creamy, then it's hazy (almost like z2pro) then it dusts - I'm assuming flashing is when it dusts.
Now I know they say smooth slow strokes, but what I found best during my 5 hours of polishing (really took it slow this first time) was: polish on the pad, quickly move the PC over the area to be polished, depositing the polish - THEN slowly go over the area with each pass overlapping 50% of the last pass, etc. Well Z-PC and the green pad didnt do much of anything for the swirls. I did a pass, I buffed, I checked, did another pass over the same area- about 4 passes and still nothing. That's when I stepped it up to the DAS Orange pad and Z-PC, now I started to see a difference. After about 4 passes over the same area (my hood) I could still see the swirls, but they were reduced to a point where they didnt connect - I mean the "circle" of swirls you usually see wasnt contiguous, it just looked like faint small curved scratches. Well after spending over 2 hours washing and claying, I wasnt about to do 4 passes over the whole car, so the rest of the car just got one pass with Z-PC and the orange pad, results werent that great.
One after-effect I guess of layering the polish too thick when I started was that parts of my hood had some hazing - maybe it was too much z6 spritz on the pad because you're not supposed to let that stuff dry and I did. Whatever caused it no amount of hand buffing and z6 got rid of it - interestingly some spit and a finger took it off but i didnt have enough spit to do the entire hood so I took out the green pad again (it had been soaking in soapy water) , dried it and did another pass with Z-PC, not only did the hazing disappear but the shine increased - that makes sense because Sonus instructions say the orange pad should always be followed with a green pad.
I finished all the polishing, took the polish off with a buffing cloth, man that stuff gets into everywhere - I'm going to have to pick up a small detailing brush tomorrow. Also, my car's sort of a mess with chrome here and anodized aluminum there and chrome circles and emblems - that masking part was not easy, took me about 45 minutes. In a few places the tape slipped and I think I can see slight scratches on the chrome but they may have been there before. I think next time out I'm going to skip masking and just not get anywhere near the chrome - I can deal with my paint not showing its best in a few small areas if it means keeping the chrome safe.
At this point (maybe 8 almost straight hours) I was hurting so I called it quits for the night. Tomorrow I'm going to attack the swirls with SFX2 and the Orange pad and finish off with Z-Pc and the Green - we'll see how that goes.
I cant really comment on how Z-PC works as a polish because I'm used to seeing my car fully "zaino'd" and I havent gotten there yet so I have no reference for comparison, but it seems like a good last stage polish - just not a very good swirl remover. Keep in mind though this was my first time with the PC and my first time with a polish, so your results may be better than mine.
Okay, I think I'm going to lie down now and not wake up for a long time. I ditched an early 4th of July party, kegs, fireworks, etc. to spend the day working on my car - what's happened to me. Life was much simpler back when I thought a drive thru car wash was the ultimate in shine
-MasterShake
Two firsts actually, first time I used the Porter Cable (just got it last week) and first time I used a polish.
So, this was my procedure
1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Mask with tape
4. Z-PC with Sonus DAS green pad.
My goal here was to remove some pretty bad swirl marks - not bad enough that they were noticeable in natural light but bad enough that they were very noticeable at night under a street lamp.
Now I'm used to zaino sealants so layering thin is no problem, but when i read you have to lay polish on thick I took it to the extreme - very messy. So, some more trial and error, a little less z6 spritz on the pad, a little less polish - I went over and over the same area with PC at 4.5 until it flashed - maybe... Seems to me there are a few different levels the polish reaches, first it's creamy, then it's hazy (almost like z2pro) then it dusts - I'm assuming flashing is when it dusts.
Now I know they say smooth slow strokes, but what I found best during my 5 hours of polishing (really took it slow this first time) was: polish on the pad, quickly move the PC over the area to be polished, depositing the polish - THEN slowly go over the area with each pass overlapping 50% of the last pass, etc. Well Z-PC and the green pad didnt do much of anything for the swirls. I did a pass, I buffed, I checked, did another pass over the same area- about 4 passes and still nothing. That's when I stepped it up to the DAS Orange pad and Z-PC, now I started to see a difference. After about 4 passes over the same area (my hood) I could still see the swirls, but they were reduced to a point where they didnt connect - I mean the "circle" of swirls you usually see wasnt contiguous, it just looked like faint small curved scratches. Well after spending over 2 hours washing and claying, I wasnt about to do 4 passes over the whole car, so the rest of the car just got one pass with Z-PC and the orange pad, results werent that great.
One after-effect I guess of layering the polish too thick when I started was that parts of my hood had some hazing - maybe it was too much z6 spritz on the pad because you're not supposed to let that stuff dry and I did. Whatever caused it no amount of hand buffing and z6 got rid of it - interestingly some spit and a finger took it off but i didnt have enough spit to do the entire hood so I took out the green pad again (it had been soaking in soapy water) , dried it and did another pass with Z-PC, not only did the hazing disappear but the shine increased - that makes sense because Sonus instructions say the orange pad should always be followed with a green pad.
I finished all the polishing, took the polish off with a buffing cloth, man that stuff gets into everywhere - I'm going to have to pick up a small detailing brush tomorrow. Also, my car's sort of a mess with chrome here and anodized aluminum there and chrome circles and emblems - that masking part was not easy, took me about 45 minutes. In a few places the tape slipped and I think I can see slight scratches on the chrome but they may have been there before. I think next time out I'm going to skip masking and just not get anywhere near the chrome - I can deal with my paint not showing its best in a few small areas if it means keeping the chrome safe.
At this point (maybe 8 almost straight hours) I was hurting so I called it quits for the night. Tomorrow I'm going to attack the swirls with SFX2 and the Orange pad and finish off with Z-Pc and the Green - we'll see how that goes.
I cant really comment on how Z-PC works as a polish because I'm used to seeing my car fully "zaino'd" and I havent gotten there yet so I have no reference for comparison, but it seems like a good last stage polish - just not a very good swirl remover. Keep in mind though this was my first time with the PC and my first time with a polish, so your results may be better than mine.
Okay, I think I'm going to lie down now and not wake up for a long time. I ditched an early 4th of July party, kegs, fireworks, etc. to spend the day working on my car - what's happened to me. Life was much simpler back when I thought a drive thru car wash was the ultimate in shine
-MasterShake
