Questions before trying the PC on my G8 GXP

[Eidolon]

Alright, so I have the Porter-Cable 7424XP, newly purchased. I'm going to get a halogen work light and extension cables. And then I'm going to tackle my G8 GXP with it after giving said car a full wash and clay.

 

But this is my first time use. So I have many, many questions.

 

First off, what should I polish? Originally, I'd intended to tape off all the lights and trim. But I noticed that even the taillights have some swirl marks on them. Would the FMP make short work of those without scarring up the lights? And should I wax the lights, even, with the SMW? I intended to follow up the SMW with the Americana wax. What's the rule for the Americana wax on the lights?

 

What about rubber trim around, say, the doors? I bought painters tape so I could tape things up.

 

Also, the hood scoops on my GXP, I believe, are plastic. Can those be safely polished and waxed with the FMP and SMW? Or should I pop those out of the hood so I don't have to get polish and wax out of the cracks?

 

Any advice on how to polish around the lettered logos? Q-tips and toothpicks?

 

Should I make sure the polisher itself stays away from the logos?

 

Sorry, this is my first time using the PC Kit! Lots of questions!

Edited August 21, 2009 by Eidolon
Correcting grammar!

[xlr8rvette]

Practice on another car first. Very important !!

[Eidolon]

Practice on another car first. Very important !!

 

But I only have the one car! ... Unless one of my roommates lets me polish their car. But that also means washing and claying...

 

Oi.

[xlr8rvette]

Claying doesn't take long (unless car is a real mess). If you only need to clay and wash ( or onlywash) to have a vehicle to practice on I highly recommend you do so.

[rb11701]

Not that I am an expert on anything, but I have used the PC 7424XP a few times with adam's stuff on some of the same type materials you are asking about.

 

Ok, the lights. You can use the FMP or SHR to clean those lights up if they are plastic (which most cars are today I think). The best are the 4" pads and a drill. It makes short work of the lights. I would still tape the edges only to keep gunk out of there. Also, if you have paint near those lights, those edges are the most delicate. As for waxing them, I wax mine. I think it helps with the bugs, but that's just me. I would use the SMW but only a dab. It spreads nicely, and you will not need nearly as much for the lights as the hood. Remember, SMW needs 12 hours to cure before topping with anything.

 

If you car is in good shape, I would try to do all edges and any tight spots by hand. Then tape up a section and use the PC.

 

Hope that helps out some.

 

As for taping, I tape every edge, all black trim and anything I do not want polish/wax on. As for the door trim, I tape that as best I can. (a) To keep polish/wax out from the cracks and ( to keep it off trim. I only tape up one section at a time. This way, I can cheat on say the fender panel and ust leave a sliver of tape on the fender and the bulk on the door panel. When I do the door, the bulk of the tape goes on the fender panel (if that made sense to you). This way, I am only leaving a very small line that didn't get the PC. I can go back by hand with the 4" pads (or MF towel if need me) and polish that line. Take your time with the tape. It is a life-saver.

 

As for the plastic scoops. I have plastic color-matched fenders. I go over them with a 4" orange or white pad by hand with my SHR. When I am doing thw whole fender panel at the FMP stage, i will go over the fender every so lightly and I am done. You said they come out. If it easy, pop them out. Do them by hand and tape up the edges. Fold the tape around that edge. Then do the whole hood.

 

As for emblems, those are tricky. The best I have ever seen is SunDog Detailing on here. I dunno how he gets it done. I try to use MF towel and jamp it in there. I have this rubber looking pointy thing that has a real cheap brush on the other end. Don't use the brush, but the rubber thing is nice with a MF towel on the tip. Gets in there pretty good.

Q-tips might work. Just make sure to get the baby ones. They have a thicker head and a nice pointy tip. Good for the all kinds of babies. Human and gasoline-powered! Don't get crazy rubbing with it. Be delicate yet forceful.

 

I use toothpicks to get any crud out from real tight cracks. Like around my door handle. Under the edge of plastic paint guards on the rear fender. (think clear bra only down by the tires)

[Eidolon]

Ok, the lights. You can use the FMP or SHR to clean those lights up if they are plastic (which most cars are today I think). The best are the 4" pads and a drill. It makes short work of the lights. I would still tape the edges only to keep gunk out of there. Also, if you have paint near those lights, those edges are the most delicate.

Unfortunately, I don't have the 4" pad kit. And even if I did, I have no corded drill with which to use them. The Porter-Cable ought to be able to handle these with a lesser amount FMP, correct? Do a metal surface, work the stuff out of the pad, then use just a dab to quickly cover the lights and get the swirls off the plastic.

 

If I don't tape the edges, I may be able to use the detail spray and a microfiber towel to clean the polish out, then use a toothpick to get at the wax. I guess I could tape up JUST the seam... That would keep me from polishing or waxing the paint under the tape, though. Any suggestions on that front?

 

As for waxing them, I wax mine. I think it helps with the bugs, but that's just me. I would use the SMW but only a dab. It spreads nicely, and you will not need nearly as much for the lights as the hood. Remember, SMW needs 12 hours to cure before topping with anything.

Roger that.

 

If you car is in good shape, I would try to do all edges and any tight spots by hand. Then tape up a section and use the PC.

It's only three months old, but the clear coat is unfortunately rather soft. Do you mean do the edges and the like by hand using the FMP, though?

 

As for taping, I tape every edge, all black trim and anything I do not want polish/wax on. As for the door trim, I tape that as best I can. (a) To keep polish/wax out from the cracks and ( to keep it off trim. I only tape up one section at a time. This way, I can cheat on say the fender panel and ust leave a sliver of tape on the fender and the bulk on the door panel. When I do the door, the bulk of the tape goes on the fender panel (if that made sense to you). This way, I am only leaving a very small line that didn't get the PC. I can go back by hand with the 4" pads (or MF towel if need me) and polish that line. Take your time with the tape. It is a life-saver.

I figured the doors would be the things to tape up. And my car has the black rubber lines along the top, so I'll tape those up, too.

 

Not sure what you mean about taping the fenders, though...

 

As for the plastic scoops. I have plastic color-matched fenders. I go over them with a 4" orange or white pad by hand with my SHR. When I am doing thw whole fender panel at the FMP stage, i will go over the fender every so lightly and I am done. You said they come out. If it easy, pop them out. Do them by hand and tape up the edges. Fold the tape around that edge. Then do the whole hood.

All I have for machine polishing is the Porter-Cable, so I can either hit the scoops/vents as part of covering the hood, or find a way to pop them loose and do them separately.

 

"by hand"? I'm guessing you mean hold them down separately and polish them as though you were sanding a block of wood?

 

As for emblems, those are tricky. The best I have ever seen is SunDog Detailing on here. I dunno how he gets it done. I try to use MF towel and jamp it in there. I have this rubber looking pointy thing that has a real cheap brush on the other end. Don't use the brush, but the rubber thing is nice with a MF towel on the tip. Gets in there pretty good.

Q-tips might work. Just make sure to get the baby ones. They have a thicker head and a nice pointy tip. Good for the all kinds of babies. Human and gasoline-powered! Don't get crazy rubbing with it. Be delicate yet forceful.

I use toothpicks to get any crud out from real tight cracks. Like around my door handle. Under the edge of plastic paint guards on the rear fender. (think clear bra only down by the tires)

Yeah, the "delicate yet forceful" part is the one thing about this I understand. I'm guessing that's why xlr8rvette is recommending I try on another car first.

 

Is it safe to let the Porter Cable pads hit logos, though, or should I be looking to tape those off?

[Bill-V8V]

Hi Kevin

 

Have you watched all of the video's yet ? I think they will answer most of your questions :2thumbs:

 

Bill

 

http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

[Chris@Adams]

Hi Kevin

 

Have you watched all of the video's yet ? I think they will answer most of your questions :2thumbs:

 

Bill

 

http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

 

Always be neat when you polish or wax try to avoid any plastic trim, rubber ect. How ever you can polish ,wax ,buff your tail lights. Like Bill said watch the video's. Its not that hard & the PC and Adams pads are safe!

[11chevz71]

Hope everything works out for you.

[rb11701]

You can hit the lights with the bigger pads. The 4" pads just make life a little easier. FWIW, the 4" kit comes with a backing plate for the PC. Not trying to get you to spend more cash, but the kit is worth it. Personally, I would use SHR on the lights and make the lights a seperate section of the detail. As in, do the heads and the tails witha clean orange and clean white. Plus, those 4" pads come in very handy for hand polishing and seeing they are smaller allow more correction than the larger ones. It is good for trouble areas that need extra care.

 

When it comes to taping, you get what you put in. If you don't tape, I can almost bet you will get stuff in the cracks. Not a big deal, but if you just washed, clayed, polished with SHR and FMP and then SMW topped with paste wax do you really feel like going back to remove all that crud that has dried and now is a pain? No for me. I tape everything I do not intend to get polish or wax on. Great habit of getting into IMHO. Nobody, and I mean nobody is good enough to polish/wax w/o taping and get nothing on areas that were not intended to be polished/waxed. Each there own. Taping is very easy. Getting wax out with a toothpick is not.

 

When you mention polishing the edges, this is where I mentioned doing the tight stuff by hand. Edges, around emblems etc etc. Didn't mean to confuse you with my earlier post. So let me try to explain a tad better. So you have your fender panel, front door panel,rear fender panel. Between the fender panel and the door panel is a space. Thus 2 edges. Say the tape is 1 inch wide. When I am doing the fender panel, I only tape a very small section of that fender panel where the bulk of that 1 inch tape is over the space between the two panels and the rest is attached to the door panel. You are not polishing the door panel as of right now. So it doesn't matter if you have 1" or 1 foot on the door. The important thing is you cover up say 1/8"-1/4" of the edge of the fender panel. Unless your paint is trashed, I highly doubt you will see a difference in that 1/4" that you hand polish and the rest of the panel you machine polish.

 

When I say hand polish, I mean using either SHR or FMP with a foam pad or mf towel.

I do all my edges by hand. Everywhere. I have a Tacoma, so around the emblem I do by hand. Then, I tape up the panel I am working on. I tape all the edges. Kinda like tracing around the panel. Do my thing, remove my tape and move on.

 

When I mentioned the scoops, you had said they come out. IF they came out easy, I would take them off and use a mf towel to polish them up. If they do not come out, I would still hand polish seeing it is so new. Plastic peices require a little love. Unless they are messed up, I would try to polish by hand all plastic pieces. I doubt FMP on a white pad would do any damage, but I play it safe.

 

As for the PC, don't worry I doubt you will burn through any paint. Especially if you just use the orange/white/black pads from Adam. Not too mention that SHR is aggressive, but there are more aggressive stuff out there. Adam really makes great products that are simple yet effective.

 

As for emblems, I do it by hand since I feel if the pads get on the emblems edges, I could damage my pad. Like I said, I use a baby q-tip and mf towels. When I say delicate yet forceful I am only talking about going around emblems with the q-tip. I feel if I push too hard the plastic could come away from the tip and possibly scratch the paint. Unlikely, but possible I guess.

 

The videos on the site are top notch. Between theones that Adam has on here and the ones Junkman did, the amount of info is unbelievable.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to hit ya with another long winded post. Kinda got away from me.

 

Hope that clears up what I tried saying before.

 

When I first got my PC, I just worked on my hood to kinda hone my technique. I did a 12x122 spot and tried different combos. FMP on orange, SHR on white etc to see what each did and how the PC works. Once I got that down, I started to do the whole hood. Happy with my work, I started going around the truck.

[GXPaycheck]

Lots of good info there, Kevin. I was gonna practice on my truck first but got impatient and jumped right in on the G8. It turned out fine. I have the 4' pads if you want to try them. The videos have all the info you need. If you need a hand, let me know! I'm just around the corner in Clayton.

[jjwvette]

I agree with Bill watch some of the video's, the PC is one of the best tools for us back yard detailers

 

Happy detailing:cheers:

[Eidolon]

You can hit the lights with the bigger pads. The 4" pads just make life a little easier. FWIW, the 4" kit comes with a backing plate for the PC. Not trying to get you to spend more cash, but the kit is worth it. Personally, I would use SHR on the lights and make the lights a seperate section of the detail. As in, do the heads and the tails witha clean orange and clean white. Plus, those 4" pads come in very handy for hand polishing and seeing they are smaller allow more correction than the larger ones. It is good for trouble areas that need extra care.

I think they do come with a backing pad... Might be worth the investment, especially for hitting headlights and the like as you're suggesting. I'd like to help my dad with his car, for instance, because his headlights are getting hazy. In the meantime, your idea of making sure to use clean pads on the lights sounds like a darn good idea.

 

When it comes to taping, you get what you put in. If you don't tape, I can almost bet you will get stuff in the cracks. Not a big deal, but if you just washed, clayed, polished with SHR and FMP and then SMW topped with paste wax do you really feel like going back to remove all that crud that has dried and now is a pain? No for me. I tape everything I do not intend to get polish or wax on. Great habit of getting into IMHO. Nobody, and I mean nobody is good enough to polish/wax w/o taping and get nothing on areas that were not intended to be polished/waxed. Each there own. Taping is very easy. Getting wax out with a toothpick is not.

Good point, too. I'll definitely tape off the trim. On the mirrors, there's black plastic next to the painted surface, and I'll definitely be taping that off. I went ahead and bought two of the microfiber sponge applicators this time around, as well. Those ought to serve for hitting areas by hand.

 

When you mention polishing the edges, this is where I mentioned doing the tight stuff by hand. Edges, around emblems etc etc. Didn't mean to confuse you with my earlier post. So let me try to explain a tad better. So you have your fender panel, front door panel,rear fender panel. Between the fender panel and the door panel is a space. Thus 2 edges. Say the tape is 1 inch wide. When I am doing the fender panel, I only tape a very small section of that fender panel where the bulk of that 1 inch tape is over the space between the two panels and the rest is attached to the door panel. You are not polishing the door panel as of right now. So it doesn't matter if you have 1" or 1 foot on the door. The important thing is you cover up say 1/8"-1/4" of the edge of the fender panel. Unless your paint is trashed, I highly doubt you will see a difference in that 1/4" that you hand polish and the rest of the panel you machine polish.

Nah, the paint's not trashed, thankfully. It does have a fair amount of swirl marks, though they don't appear to be very deep, thankfully. The clear coat on this car is soft.

 

I'm not sure if I should start off with the SHR or the FMP. I figure I'll do a test section on the hood using the FMP and, if the swirls aren't dying or if it takes forever, switch to the orange pad and the SHR.

 

When I say hand polish, I mean using either SHR or FMP with a foam pad or mf towel.

I do all my edges by hand. Everywhere. I have a Tacoma, so around the emblem I do by hand. Then, I tape up the panel I am working on. I tape all the edges. Kinda like tracing around the panel. Do my thing, remove my tape and move on.

I've got the microfiber applicator pads that ought to work perfectly for this. I bought them originally to use with the metal polish so I could polish my car's tailpipes, but I can set one aside for the paint and one aside for metal. Just got to make sure not to mix them up!

 

When I mentioned the scoops, you had said they come out. IF they came out easy, I would take them off and use a mf towel to polish them up. If they do not come out, I would still hand polish seeing it is so new. Plastic peices require a little love. Unless they are messed up, I would try to polish by hand all plastic pieces. I doubt FMP on a white pad would do any damage, but I play it safe.

Yeah, I'll have to see how easily they come out. They've got some sort of odd rubber backing under the hood. But then again, there's posts on other forums about people taking these things out left and right. So I at least know it's doable.

 

As for the PC, don't worry I doubt you will burn through any paint. Especially if you just use the orange/white/black pads from Adam. Not too mention that SHR is aggressive, but there are more aggressive stuff out there. Adam really makes great products that are simple yet effective.

I've noticed! I've got a lot of the car washing supplies already. The fact that I'm seeing so many swirls, though, worries me. I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong in my washing and correct it. I'll have to read up and ask questions.

 

The videos on the site are top notch. Between theones that Adam has on here and the ones Junkman did, the amount of info is unbelievable.

Yeah, I just watched the new video about the Gen2 pads. Glad those are there! Lots of good small tips that I dunno I would ever figure out on my own. Like using the water hose with no attachment to sheet the water off the vehicle to lessen the amount of water spots on the paint.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to hit ya with another long winded post. Kinda got away from me.

 

Hope that clears up what I tried saying before.

Hey, I'm new to this, so I appreciate all the advice! Thanks for taking the time to write up a long-winded post.

 

When I first got my PC, I just worked on my hood to kinda hone my technique. I did a 12x122 spot and tried different combos. FMP on orange, SHR on white etc to see what each did and how the PC works. Once I got that down, I started to do the whole hood. Happy with my work, I started going around the truck.

I think that's probably exactly what I'll do. I made the mistake a while back of trying to rub hard at some grime that had seeped into the pores of the clear coat and I left a good few scratches. That'll be a good place to start. If I can get those out, then I can definitely get out the swirls and anything else I encounter.

 

Now in the meantime I just need to fix the rock chip on my door panel that cut clear through to the metal. -.-

[Eidolon]

Lots of good info there, Kevin. I was gonna practice on my truck first but got impatient and jumped right in on the G8. It turned out fine. I have the 4' pads if you want to try them. The videos have all the info you need. If you need a hand, let me know! I'm just around the corner in Clayton.

Good to hear that you met with success! The hardiness of the clear coat on this car worries me. And I just might need a hand! Seems a lot of people get frustrated with the PC on their first go, until they get the hang of it. If I find myself about to throw the thing around the room, perhaps we can schedule a dual-G8 polishing session!

 

Happy detailing:cheers:

Thanks!

[Eidolon]

Hi Kevin

 

Have you watched all of the video's yet ? I think they will answer most of your questions :2thumbs:

 

Bill

 

http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

Haven't watched all of them, but I'm working on it.

[Opeth]

I just did my G8, for the first time, last week. It really wasn't that hard or scary. I was obviously worried to start, but I just taped up anything i felt would catch excess product, i.e cracks, slits, seams, vents, black plastic, etc.

As for the hood vents, I taped around the seams, but i did polish the top of them. They did just fine. The hardest places will be the front wheel flares. It is tough to get that sharp swooping angle. Make sure to tape up the sidemarkers and GXP badges. I know the clear coat is soft, but dont be too worried about it. Just ease off on the pressure on sharp edges or the peaks of curves (like on the hood or rear fenders)

The GXP front fascia is different than my GT so I dont know if there is enough paint to warrant using the PC if by hand. I have too much plastic on my mine to risk use the PC.

One more thing tape off the roofrack rails. They SUCK to get wax or polish off.

I dont' know the color of your GXP, but if it is black, one thing i found is not to use too much MSW. It will take forever to get off, i.e. it will leave dark blotches which require a lot of elbow grease to remove. But it you do get them, dont worry. Just make sure to use very little product and put it on evenly and very thin.

That's about it!

[Eidolon]

I just did my G8, for the first time, last week. It really wasn't that hard or scary. I was obviously worried to start, but I just taped up anything i felt would catch excess product, i.e cracks, slits, seams, vents, black plastic, etc.

As for the hood vents, I taped around the seams, but i did polish the top of them. They did just fine.

Good to hear! I'll probably follow your lead on this, then. I'm going to Lowes to get some extension cords and halogen work lights, anyway. I already have some 1.5" painters tape, but it sounds like I ought to pick up some 1" (or narrower) painters tape as well.

 

The hardest places will be the front wheel flares. It is tough to get that sharp swooping angle. Make sure to tape up the sidemarkers and GXP badges. I know the clear coat is soft, but dont be too worried about it. Just ease off on the pressure on sharp edges or the peaks of curves (like on the hood or rear fenders)

For the sidemarkers I'd actually intended to simply remove them. Pull them toward the front of the car and there's a hook at the rear of the marker that releases. Then they just rotate out. Probably don't want to do that too frequently because the tensioner to keep them in place is nothing but a white plastic clip. Oddly enough, I found out how to remove them after walking by and catching my shorts on one... Yanked it right out.

 

Thanks for the tip on the curves, by the way.

 

The GXP front fascia is different than my GT so I dont know if there is enough paint to warrant using the PC if by hand. I have too much plastic on my mine to risk use the PC.

Y'know, the front fascia may actually be a darn good argument for the 4" pads...

 

One more thing tape off the roofrack rails. They SUCK to get wax or polish off.

Oh yeah. Believe me, those I was going to tape up without fail. My Mazda6 had some of the same things on the roof. A PAIN.

 

I dont' know the color of your GXP, but if it is black, one thing i found is not to use too much MSW. It will take forever to get off, i.e. it will leave dark blotches which require a lot of elbow grease to remove. But it you do get them, dont worry. Just make sure to use very little product and put it on evenly and very thin.

That's about it!

Roger that. Does detail spray help if I get it on too thick? Spray it down, then wipe it?

 

Thanks for the tips!

[Team Adam's]

Alright, so I have the Porter-Cable 7424XP, newly purchased. I'm going to get a halogen work light and extension cables. And then I'm going to tackle my G8 GXP with it after giving said car a full wash and clay.

 

But this is my first time use. So I have many, many questions.

 

First off, what should I polish? Originally, I'd intended to tape off all the lights and trim. But I noticed that even the taillights have some swirl marks on them. Would the FMP make short work of those without scarring up the lights? And should I wax the lights, even, with the SMW? I intended to follow up the SMW with the Americana wax. What's the rule for the Americana wax on the lights?

 

Tape off the paint first and do your plastics, at least thats what I do. Tape around the lights and buff them out before moving onto the paint. Peel the tape off then tape off the lights and start on the paint. Americana works just fine on headlights/taillights, just make sure you don't get any in the raised "DOT" stampings b/c it'll haze white and is kind of hard to get out.

 

What about rubber trim around, say, the doors? I bought painters tape so I could tape things up.

 

Either tape it off or treat it to a coat of VRT before beginning your polishing. The waxes and polishes won't stain the trim, but you will have to wipe it off. The VRT will help make that job easier. Don't worry if you get some VRT on the paint... its water based and won't hurt anything.

 

Also, the hood scoops on my GXP, I believe, are plastic. Can those be safely polished and waxed with the FMP and SMW? Or should I pop those out of the hood so I don't have to get polish and wax out of the cracks?

Just tape them off and you should be fine.

 

Any advice on how to polish around the lettered logos? Q-tips and toothpicks?

 

Tape the badges off and polish with the machine around them, come back later and polish closer to the edges by hand.

 

Should I make sure the polisher itself stays away from the logos?

 

Yes... the pad can be damaged or do damage to badges if it impacts at the wrong angles.

 

Sorry, this is my first time using the PC Kit! Lots of questions!

Keep my email handy: Dylan@Adamspolishes.com

 

Feel free to shoot me any questions you have.

Practice on another car first. Very important !!

 

 

Not at all necessary. Even if you "mess up" theres nothing you'll be able to do that won't be easily fixed by changing your technique.

[Opeth]

 

Roger that. Does detail spray help if I get it on too thick? Spray it down, then wipe it?

 

Thanks for the tips!

 

I dont know if you are supposed to put anything on after MSW for 12 hours while it cures. You'll have to let someone else answer that one. After that though DS would work fine.