Drummerskey

I promise that I am not trolling....... As a complete beginner, I have been thinking that the 4" Focus pads were a bit over my pay grade. With the drill, this is a rotary and without any previous experience wonder if I would do more harm than good until I have used my PC a little more and have some time under my belt. Thoughts? Second and last question. In my quest for fame and glory, I didn't order enough black/red pads to do sealant, glaze and wax. I know that the Adams group would likely discourage this but cleaning and drying the one pad I have for these 3 steps would take days and I am making an order for more now but would putting a bonnet over a pad for a short term fix be a good or bad idea?

Thank you for the pictures.....they helped. Does avoiding the body lines like that leave a noticeable difference (like, you can see where you did and didn't polish)? It seems as though you are saying to "not polish" the body lines like shown in your photo.

It is much appreciated! Everyone is being very helpful. So, I assume using for spaces on the body that are smaller, you don't use the edge of the pad? There are spaces on both cars smaller than the 7 and 4 inch focus pads around the bumper, cowl hood and etc. Am I avoiding the hard creases or am I avoiding anything that the pad doesn't have full contact with AND hard creases/contours

@Kustom, I didn't but this is a paint job within the past 5 years @BK, so, 2 questions. I am brand spanking new at this. Watched a lot of videos and what I would say above average IQ and mechanical inclination...... with a PC 1. Should I start with step two in Adam's 2 step (I saw that already here) 2. As a complete novice, should I avoid the body lines, go over them or tape them as you suggested. Now I am nervous again because I thought I would be safe with the PC on both the pricey Beemer and the classic but it looks like it isn't that straight forward

past owner got back to me.....it is paint.

I appreciate the look on the Camaro's color but it came off the line Burnished Brown according to the cowl tag. I did ask the owner just to be safe.

@Wayne, sorry....just bought it and I like it @Hotwagon, I can't see how it would be vinyl. It has the same shine, texture and everything as the white paint right next to it. Every vinyl pinstripe I have see has a rougher feel to it and there is no real edge to the stripes. It feels raised like they painted the car white and then went back and painted the stripes. It rounds over as opposed to feeling like an over-lay but calling the previous owner is a good call. @Bk, 2009 335 xi

Thanks......already doing the 2 bucket. My brother uses Adams and a PC and recommended it to me. My issue is that I bought both cars used and both of the jack-holes who owned both apparently took the cars to the auto car wash and swirled up the paint. I take a lot of care with both cars now but it's like trying to be careful with already cracked eggs. Thanks so much to everyone for the responses.

Sorry, I was trying to figure out how to post a picture. I did mean vinyl but it doesn't appear to be vinyl; it really looks like paint. There are no edges to it but the accent lines around the main stripes feel raised, like they painted the car white and then painted the stripes. @Dylan - My BMW has a pointed crease running from the windshield to the grill and it has it again running the length of the car from the front to back. Almost like a "v-point" and would look like this --^-- For the Camaro, getting the Cowl hood also looks tricky with the contours. I just wanted to make sure that it didn't make a mess when I got to that point and I know I can't ignore it. One more quick thing, is there a number of times you can machine polish a car before getting through the clear coat?

I just ordered the machine polish kit with the PC and I did some research already (videos, reading). I have two cars, a jet black BMW and and 1969 Camaro. It seems to me that the BMW will be pretty straight forward other than the contours, which is one of my questions but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about putting a machine to a 40 year old classic. So here is my super novice list of stupid questions that I probably could have searched. 1. With the contours in the body (not gaps) and hood where you have a hard lip or the center (vertically, facing) how would you address the swirls of the BMW with the PC? I understand that the PC is not very effective if the pad isn't flush but by hand, you will not get the swirls out. 2. If you look at my profile picture, the Camaro has two wide stripes running down the center of the car. Since they are black, you can see the swirls. They appear to be paint, not pin stripes but for the thinner outer line, do I tape it and skip it since it is only about an inch wide? 3. Even if it was pin stripe and not paint, can I still machine it? 4. Is it just the edges I have to be careful with? Basically, I just need some advice on the contours and how much bend I can effectively get out of the pads. The rear spoiler has a good curve to it and I would like to get the swirls out of that as well.