Duper Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Just wanted to jump in and say, 'Hey!' Cheers to all you OCD car buffs (like myself) and the real professionals out there. I hope to learn a lot in here. I'm just getting started and knew I eventually wanted to get one of those Porter Cable contraptions to help me polish my car whenever I get around to that. Well today I was browsing the net looking for one and I found one in decent shape online here, so I impulsively bought it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120603894103&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT I sure hope I'm not turning this thing around to sell it right away but what I'd like to know is (assuming this will work for polishing my family's cars), what else do I need to buy to get started with respect to polishing pads, back plate, etc?!? We have 4 cars ranging from a month old 2011 black Camaro to a 7 yr old Expedition that has seen better days. We also have a 4yr old Honda Accord and a Rav4 mixed in there as well, so I figure I'll be getting plenty of exercise of the next several weekends!! Anyway, like I said a couple paragraphs above... What do you recommend I get with my new toy to make it ready for prime time use on my rides? (Please be specific - part #s - links - etc) Pretend I'm brand new to this an a little too anxious to get started and need this spelled out for me so I don't risk spending more than I should. Thanks in advance, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Hello Chris, welcome to the forum. Let's address first the PC that you bought. That is the older version of the one that is presently being sold today. That is fine but the newer one is a tad bit more powerful and has a new design. From the link that you provided, I don't know what the seller meant by "very minor issue is tape on the strain relief." I don't know what they are calling the strain relief but I hope that it is not an issue.. Secondly, here is the website where you purchase any of the Adam's products. Make sure that you check out the detail kits after you familiarize yourself with the products. Now a suggestion from someone who knows. Never ask folks what you should buy as that is a decision that you should make AFTER you fully understand the product line. It makes no sense to buy anything until you know exactly what you are buying and why you should buy it. This ensures that you get exactly what you need for the situation that your vehicles are in. Let's get you educated on the basics of paint restoration. Start with this video series which explains in detail exactly how the Adam's paint correction system works. After that, continue with this videos series so that you can obtain an understanding as to what has damaged your paint in the first place. You need to understand what causes the damage so that you are not having to repeatedly repair your paint. Make sure that you read the text associated with each video and not just watch the videos. This is very important! That will get you started. After you have watched those videos, stop back in and we'll take it from there. I don't want you to spend money buying the wrong thing until you fully understand what you need, why you need it and what you are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordgrey Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Chris AJ covered the questions, but just to let AJ know, the strain relief is the rubber grommet that comes out of the PC around the power cord for the first couple inches. It prevents the cord from being constantly bent to 90 degrees or more in some case at its most vunerable point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Chris AJ covered the questions, but just to let AJ know, the strain relief is the rubber grommet that comes out of the PC around the power cord for the first couple inches. It prevents the cord from being constantly bent to 90 degrees or more in some case at its most vunerable point. Thanks Jim. That makes me wonder if the seller has opened up the unit for some reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kustom_FX Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Greetings and Welcome! As you have noticed plenty of tech help around here! Enjoy your new Adams products! Happy Detailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70'sChevyGirl Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Wow, impressed with the quick and thorough replies! I'll check all that out, thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Chris! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolth Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Chris, you came to the right place for all the help you need to get you on the right track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormChaser Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natch02 Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Welcome Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_pappy Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Welcome Chris! Let me know if I can help, I get through Pasadena once a month or so, plus the Valley isn't that far from you. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ryan Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Wo0t on the more camaros! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hey all, Just wanted to chime back in and give a quick update... I got my PC and adams SHR & FMP and some Lake Country Pads and finally had a good opportunity to try them out this weekend. I didn't take any before and after pics (sorry about that) but our 2006 gray Honda Accord had a scratch all the way down the passenger side that has been an eye sore for about a year. It looked like someone keyed it. Why would someone key a Honda Accord?!? Anyway, I could feel it with my finger nail but I didn't get the sense that it was too deep. Long story short, on Saturday I was able to take the scratch out with 2 passes of the SHR & a pass with the FMP. I'm thoroughly impressed with how it came out... you can't tell it was ever there and that part of the car looks amazing. I did some other blemishes on the car too while I was at it, but where I was keyed was the true success story. On Sunday, I tried my luck on my red 2003 Ford Expedition. It's a big car so I decided to tackle the hood first. There are some swirls and scratches all over the thing so I thought I would just perfect my technique on the hood and then continue with the rest of the car. I didn't anticipate how much work it would be just to do the hood, esp on a tall car. Maybe I should have started on a door panel. After doing the same thing on the Ford as the Honda, I wasn't nearly as impressed with the results unfortunately. Washed, Clayed, 2 passes with the SHR & 1 pass with the FMP. I didn't really see much of a difference with how the rest of the car looked after I was done. I was expecting the hood to 'pop' or shine a little more even if it didn't get all the swirls and scratches out. I had high expectation that the hood would look almost like new just by giving it several rounds of polish like I did. Is that too much to expect, should I go after it again this weekend and do more passes? What would you recommend? Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mato Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 How many sets of pads did you buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 For now, I just have 1 set of pads. One of each of the following colored pads: Orange, White, Gray, & Blue I used the Orange pad with the SHR and the White pad with the FMP (cleaned and dried after each day's use). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osok Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Just stopping by to say "welcome". I'll leave the technical stuff to the gurus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc2hill Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Is that too much to expect, should I go after it again this weekend and do more passes? What would you recommend? You may need more passes. Like you said, try a door first, and get it how you want it. I know you just bought pads, but I definitely recommend the Adam's pads when you re-up. I worked on a black Mazda 3 recently and it took a lot of work to make an improvement. After a going over the hood twice (6 passes each time) of SHR, I didn't get the correction I wanted. I don't have an Adam's yellow pad, so I switched to a more aggressive polish (non-Adams) on the Adam's orange pad. After doing a section 4 times (6 passes each time) I got the correction I wanted. To make it go quicker, I tried different combinations of Lake Country yellow pad followed by a LC orange. I could not get the same results with the LC pads (supposedly more aggressive) that I did with the Adam's pads, so I used the Adam's orange pads for the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 Wow, that's some serious patience and diligence. If I'm reading that right, 4x 6 passes = 24 total passes on one area?!? My hat goes off to you, sir. I don't think I could dedicate that much time... especially if that's what's required for the entire car. That seems like it would take months to do. However, I am willing to throw down some more polish this weekend on it. I'm really just practicing for my new Camaro though. I want to try and get some technique before I put my PC anywhere near it. It has some very light swirl marks after the dealer wash and by me using a California duster incorrectly once or twice on it. Do you think the FMP alone would get those out or should I just start with a pass of the SHR? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc2hill Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Wow, that's some serious patience and diligence. If I'm reading that right, 4x 6 passes = 24 total passes on one area?!? My hat goes off to you, sir. Yes 24 is correct answer . It took a long time, but I only did that on the hood, the trunk and roof only got 2 x 6 passes. Do you think the FMP alone would get those out or should I just start with a pass of the SHR? Always start with the least aggressive method - FMP on a white pad. For a little more correction, try SHR on the white pad, then FMP on the orange pad, then finally SHR on the orange pad (I may have those middle two mixed up, Junkman can correct me though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug123 Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Were you seeing any dusting while using the orange pad? (Was it all filled up with product?) One error I made initially was to use too much product, which is counter productive and makes it take longer to get the results. The other thing I did was to move the PC too quickly across the surface. One thing/feature with the Adams pads is that if you are using too much product, you can see it caking up in the grooves on the pad surface. If it is caking up, give it a spray with DS, and then use it as is - it will help unload some of the buildup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 Can you explain what 'dusting' is? I was seeing some tiny specs of dry product appearing around the area I was polishing. Is that what you mean? That means I was using too much product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordgrey Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Yepper, that can mean too much product. It can also happen when the surface is too hot and the polish drys up pretty fast. I managed both effects the first time I tried my PC.......LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 It has been HOT here in so cal these past couple weeks. Mid-90s when I'm working on my car. I own the mother of all EZ-Ups so I'm parked under that when I detail it, but it's still hot as heck outside. Plus I needed to start my Ford up and back it into the sun to really see the difference from time to time. After just a couple mins of the hood in the sun while I inspected it heated it up more as well. It should cool down to upper 70s this weekend though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duper Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 And I actually thought that dusting meant I was out of product on the pad, it had started breaking down, and was ready for another application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.