What PC pad/polish combo to remove this?

[SamS]

IHi again,

I got this diagonal scratch (center of image) from my luggage, while on European Delivery. The VPC didn't fix, even though I requested it.

My PC 7424XP is on the way, along with the following:

• Lake Country 5" Backing Plate for Porter Cabl - 125 mm 1
• Lake Country Black Finishing Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Lake Country Blue Fine Finishing Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Lake Country Orange Light Cutting Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Lake Country White Polishing Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Menzerna Power Finish (PO203S) - 32 oz 1
• Menzerna Super Finish Polish SF 4000 (PO106FA - 16 oz 1

In the bright sun, I can see several hairlines, especially on the flat horizontal surfaces, i.e. hood and trunk lid. The sides seem much better. The scratch I'm attaching a picture of is about the worst of any particular defect.

Thanks!

[MuttGrunt]

203 on orange (probably 2 or 3 times), followed by 203 on white, followed by 106 on black and you should b looking good again. GL!

[THE TECH]

You'll have to post about your experiences with the polishing goes. I've been apprehensive about doing my own polishing for some time now.

[PINHEAD]

orange with power finish
then white with super final polish

[SamS]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

203 on orange (probably 2 or 3 times), followed by 203 on white, followed by 106 on black and you should b looking good again. GL!

Originally Posted by PINHEAD

orange with power finish
then white with super final polish

Thanks to you both. I assume after the first step of 203 on Orange, I should still see some of the mark? And the very last step (either 106 on Black or White) will take the very last bit of it out?

Originally Posted by THE TECH

You'll have to post about your experiences with the polishing goes. I've been apprehensive about doing my own polishing for some time now.

I've been psyching myself up and learning about this for several months. I've watched countless how-to videos and been trying to learn about all the products. I am very much a DIY'er, and can spend lots of time getting the car just right, it's not my daily. I'll let you know how it turns out!

[THE TECH]

Originally Posted by SamS

I've been psyching myself up and learning about this for several months. I've watched countless how-to videos and been trying to learn about all the products. I am very much a DIY'er, and can spend lots of time getting the car just right, it's not my daily. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Cool. I am with ya on the DIY. I'm sure it's fairly safe as long as you take your time and don't get the surface too hot with the polisher.

[PINHEAD]

Originally Posted by SamS

Thanks to you both. I assume after the first step of 203 on Orange, I should still see some of the mark? And the very last step (either 106 on Black or White) will take the very last bit of it out?

no, with the stronger compound and the aggressive pad, the mark should disappear altogether if its not too deep. If its still there, you might need a more aggressive pad. The white with the final polish is to reduce swirling or marring created by the orange pad and aggressive compound.

[SamS]

Originally Posted by THE TECH

Cool. I am with ya on the DIY. I'm sure it's fairly safe as long as you take your time and don't get the surface too hot with the polisher.

I do have plenty of time, I hope my patience holds out

Originally Posted by PINHEAD

no, with the stronger compound and the aggressive pad, the mark should disappear altogether if its not too deep. If its still there, you might need a more aggressive pad. The white with the final polish is to reduce swirling or marring created by the orange pad and aggressive compound.

Makes sense, thanks for the info. The mark looks much worse in the picture. I made sure the sun was shining directly on it for photographing.

[W Cole]

If I have a small deep scratch I usually polish it by hand with a microfiber so I can control exactly where I am removing clearcoat.

Can't really tell how deep this is from the photos. The rule I have learned for scratches is if you can feel it with your fingernail you will probably be able to make it look much better but not completely remove it without running the risk of burning through the clear.

[SamS]

Originally Posted by W Cole

If I have a small deep scratch I usually polish it by hand with a microfiber so I can control exactly where I am removing clearcoat.

Can't really tell how deep this is from the photos. The rule I have learned for scratches is if you can feel it with your fingernail you will probably be able to make it look much better but not completely remove it without running the risk of burning through the clear.

Ya, it's not deep enough to feel with a fingernail. I made sure the photo highlighted the scratch in direct sun. It's actually quite hard to spot unless the light hits it just right.

[MuttGrunt]

I wouldn't recommend hand polishing except when you have to. You'll have a more uniform material removal with a machine, and less pressure points means you'll likely remove less clear-coat.

As someone that's been doing plenty of research, I'm sure you'll be a quick learner. Some things take experience. Reading, videos, and research is great, but with practice knowledge of actually trying it out, you'll find truth in some of what you've read or in what you've found to be controversial in your research.

[SamS]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

I wouldn't recommend hand polishing except when you have to. You'll have a more uniform material removal with a machine, and less pressure points means you'll likely remove less clear-coat.

As someone that's been doing plenty of research, I'm sure you'll be a quick learner. Some things take experience. Reading, videos, and research is great, but with practice knowledge of actually trying it out, you'll find truth in some of what you've read or in what you've found to be controversial in your research.

You are definitely right. After all the reading, I'm ready to go hands on, this weekend.

[Templar]

Originally Posted by SamS

You are definitely right. After all the reading, I'm ready to go hands on, this weekend.

Good luck! I was in the same boat until I just got the gear and tried it. I'm happy with my results though!

[SamS]

Well, good news and not-as-good-news.

First, I tried the orange pad + 203 on a RID I had on the front fender. This was a weird smear type defect, that almost looked like an oily rag had rubbed spot on the paint. Standard washing didn't make a dent in removing it. Orange pad and 203 immediately took care of it! At some point, I made the newbie mistake of lifting the PC off the car too early, I had compound every where! Oh well.... The sun wasn't out, and my lights were not great, so I stopped at the orange/203 instead of following up with a polish. If I go any further, that will be the best looking spot on the car! I'll need to work out some time to do the entire hood with a polish.

Next, I moved to the scratch on the bumper. I did multiple passes with the orange/203. This improved things, but did not remove it completely. I can't feel it with my fingernail, but close inspection indicates it went into the clearcoat. Not all the way through, of course, but I can see how it's into the clear. It is at least 50% better, maybe more. I may stop at this point, kinda scared to go much further.

The real problem came when the backing plate flew off the PC! I tried to reattach, and realize the backing plate screw was stripped! Damn. I'll have to buy another. I wonder why this happened? I tightened it hand-tight with the included wrench.

[MuttGrunt]

I can only think you might have stripped it when originally putting it on. Pics?

[SamS]

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

I can only think you might have stripped it when originally putting it on. Pics?

It didn't feel like I was stripping it when I attached the backing plate. It screwed in by hand just fine, and I tightened it with the included wrench. I'll post pics later tonight. Thanks.

[luckychicken]

Always start with the least aggressive pad/polish combo and work your way up till you are satisfied with results. You can always remove more clearcoat, but you can't put it back!

I've never had problems with my backing plate on the PC.

[SamS]

Originally Posted by luckychicken

Always start with the least aggressive pad/polish combo and work your way up till you are satisfied with results. You can always remove more clearcoat, but you can't put it back!

Yeah, that's why I'm tempted to leave it as-is. This is not a show car, I'm satisfied with ~90% perfection I'll try to take pictures this weekend when the sun is out.

Originally Posted by luckychicken

I've never had problems with my backing plate on the PC.

I never got around to taking a picture, but basically the thread is stripped on the backing plate screw. I can't tell if the female thread is jacked up on the PC or not. I guess I'll just have to buy a new backing plate to test.

[DylanMckay]

Doing anything by hand is just silly in this case. I would save your time and effort of taking off multiple layers with an orange only to realize you could have used one pass with a yellow pad and Menzerna power polish and will completely eliminate that puppy. Then a quick pass with orange and the power. Then the white pad with any stage 1/light cutting/finishing polish. 3 steps with guarenteed results and completely safe to your paint.

Using an orbital buffer is nearly impossible to damage your paint unless you stick a wool pad or yellow pad on full speed and literally leave it in one spot for 5 minutes. Its nothing like a rotary which can burn through paint in seconds if left in one spot. Orbitals like the Pc are no brainers and hard to screw up in anyway.

Good luck!

[SamS]

Originally Posted by DylanMckay

Doing anything by hand is just silly in this case. I would save your time and effort of taking off multiple layers with an orange only to realize you could have used one pass with a yellow pad and Menzerna power polish and will completely eliminate that puppy. Then a quick pass with orange and the power. Then the white pad with any stage 1/light cutting/finishing polish. 3 steps with guarenteed results and completely safe to your paint.

Using an orbital buffer is nearly impossible to damage your paint unless you stick a wool pad or yellow pad on full speed and literally leave it in one spot for 5 minutes. Its nothing like a rotary which can burn through paint in seconds if left in one spot. Orbitals like the Pc are no brainers and hard to screw up in anyway.

Good luck!

Thank you for the tips. Menzerna Power Finish is different than Power Polish?

This weekend, I will try to take some pics in the sun with my good camera, and maybe you guys will give me some additional tips.

[SamS]

OK gang,

Here's my "after" photo on the single rear bumper scratch. It was really hard to photograph and even to see. The light has to be just right. If I can't fix this scratch any more than this without risking damage, I'm OK with that. I used Orange pad and 203. I'm also hoping you guys can recommend how to attack the rest of these scratches, and maybe even guide me through each of the steps. As a reminder, here's what I have (well, my backing plate is broke, currently ):

• PC7424XP
• Lake Country 5" Backing Plate for Porter Cabl - 125 mm 1
• Lake Country Black Finishing Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Lake Country Blue Fine Finishing Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Lake Country Orange Light Cutting Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Lake Country White Polishing Pad - 5.5 inch 2
• Menzerna Power Finish (PO203S) - 32 oz 1
• Menzerna Super Finish Polish SF 4000 (PO106FA - 16 oz 1
• Menzerna Power Lock
• RED SHINE KIT JETSEAL & PETES 53' PROTECTION & SHINE KIT- (6 Items)
• Clay bar from Chemical guys and clay lube

[MuttGrunt]

Looks like you have pretty light swirling going on, which is awesome. Most cars I've seen aren't near this.

I'd recommend trying 106 on a black pad (work it good and long as this oily polish doesn't break down very fast on a DA) and seeing how that works. You'll likely get at least 50-80% correction with just that. If it gives an acceptable result, you're good to go. If you want more correction, compare 203 on white followed by the 106 on black.