I just got a Porter-cable 7424 and am wondering if I can polish my car with-out taking the wax off first ( Washing it with dawn ). I live in Vermont and am unable to wash it @ this time. I just clayed the car and hand polished ( didn't do much ) and put two coats of wax on it about 6 weeks ago. I'm wondering if I can just use some quick detailer on it to get rid of the fine dust that has settled on it, then start polishing it. This is my first attempt at detailing with a polisher so and insight would be great.

Thanks in advance ,
Rob

( if in wrong section please move to correct section )

Just was watching a video online about it and realized I can use a paint cleaner to take the wax down.

Thanks for looking

I urge you to look at the ingredients on the container of paint cleaner, get
an MSDS sheet from the vendor and perhaps do a cursory search on-line.

If safety precautions such as ventilation and protective gear are recommended,
it is in your best interests (and those of your loved ones) to follow the
recommendations.

.

Thanks for the heads up and concern. I'm going to use this stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Deep-C ... int-Cleaner/dp/B00085F4D0

I think its same and user friendly

PatsFan

I spent a lot of summers while in school working at my uncle's body shop and learning from those guys, so I feel I can talk on this subject probably better than most others here.

I wouldn't waste my time with a paint cleaner if you are going to use your polisher next.

I would blow the car off to get the dust off, then wipe it down with a California Duster or Micro-fiber towel. Follow this with a detailer spray to clean the remainder of dust off the surface. Wipe it down nice and clean.

You need to determine how bad the surface is and what you need to do to accomplish your desired results. I had some bad swirls in mine and did a full three part polish before even thinking about waxing.

I don't know what products you plan to use to polish with, but I use commercial 3M products available through body shop supply houses. Polishing with coarse, then medium and then fine polishes take some time but are worth it. If you want to speed the process and you don't have a lot of swirls you can just use a medium polish then go to a glaze before waxing. Also remember that your pads come in different grades as well. I like the orange or yellow pads which are a little more coarse and offer a bit more action than the grey and white pads.
Here are the 3M products I use for polishing.
[web]http://www.biggrizzly.com/detailing/polishes.jpg[/web]

You can then follow up your polishing with a good wax of your choice. Adams has some great waxes as do Maguire's. I have become a great fan of the Adam's line of products, just haven't tried them all.

I have used Detailer's Paradise as a source of good products as well.
http://www.detailersparadise.com/_sys ... ancedstore/qryDefault.asp

try www.autopia.org

Quote:

That's a good one too! They send you a $10 gift certificate each year on your birthday!

Thanks for the help and insight guys. I went to the auto place and got some Mequiars #2 Fine-cut cleaner, #9 Swirl Remover and #7 Show car glaze. I already have some #26 wax so i'll finish up with that.


Thanks angains for all the tips and not using the paint claener will save me some time .


Patsfan

Regarding use of the 7424.

Have you considered practicing on your daily driver or perhaps on scrap
panels sourced from a friendly neighborhood bodyshop or bought
cheaply at Pick-a-part?

My first project with the dual action P-C was refinishing a bedroom set.
The project gave me an extended opppoortunity to become familiar with
the traits of the machine on material that was very forgiving and where
the risks were low.

.

I got my trusty 7424 out today - I just got some Stainless Works headers yesterday, so I thought I'd polish them up a bit before I install them (using some Mother's metal polish). Seems to be working great so far, though I'm gonna go get one of those mini-ball things to get into the tight spots.

Pianoguy, unless you are only going to show the car and not run it, I
respectfully suggest that you save your energy for other projects.

The StainlessWorks headers will develop a bit of patina in time. I expect
this will happen regardless whether they've been left with their mill finish
appearance or polished.

What you won't have to worry about for a while is rust.

.

I'm not going to invest a whole bunch of time into it - here's a couple pics with one polished (maybe an hour's worth of work) and the other one not. Good enough for gubbermint work:

http://bradprestonmusic.com/Photos/96Vette/images/Headers1.jpg
http://bradprestonmusic.com/Photos/96Vette/images/Headers2.jpg

Looks very nice. (Despite what I wrote above, periodic
touch-ups with a Mothers PowerBall Mini MD or equivalent
ought to keep those pipes gleaming, judging from your
results so far.)

BTW - the flange is different than SW supplied on my L98
pipes a few years ago. The badges are new, too.

If you have the time, I'd be grateful if you PM'd/posted
approximations of the lengths of the primaries. These
measurments would be most meaningful to me if they were
roughly along the centerlines of the tubes and ran from
the port face of the flange to the welded joint at the
collector.

Regards,

.

These measurements are rougher than a stucco bathtub - I used a string to follow the pipes, then measured the string. I measured from the flange, starting at the top of each pipe and following it down the middle to the weld at the collector. The flange is 3/8" thick, not included in the measurements.

Driver's side, front to back:

26.75
22.25
19.25
16.25

Passenger side, front to back:

29.25
25.75
23
16.25

These are the LT1/LT4 headers.