JimmyLee

Wow, what a difference. I've been an old school hand-polish type, but recently purchased my first Porter-Cable electric polisher and I'm thrilled with the results. Just applied a coat of Rejex (there's a recent thread by another member about Rejex, BTW). Oh, the woes of owning a black car, but the polisher helped bring her back to new.

peter pan

Nicely done and Black is a bitch to keep nice and shinny

l8-apex

Okay, you're the perfect person to chat with about this. I've been very tempted over a few years to get a Porter-Cable, but when I survey the 'detailers' forums and discussions I'm overwhelmed by the comments about various colors and densities of pads, which polishes to use in what order, etc, etc.

I also have a black C6 coupe and I keep it pretty well immaculate by hand, but it does have some imperfections when the light hits it right (and the hand polishing/waxing is tiresome).

What did you use, the pad that comes with the Porter-Cable? Did you use multiple steps of cleaner, polish, sealer, wax, etc...., or did you just use it to buff off the rejex?

need-for-speed

Best thing to do is go to the car care section here. Spend a month reading, posting, educating yourself.

Learning how to use a porter cable and menzerna polish was the best thing I ever did. If you are a DIY / hands on type of person you can do it. But you need an old car to practice on first. I lived with swirl marks on the hood of my black C5 for 4 years. I was afraid to let anyone go near it with a polisher. When I got my '79 Camaro painted, they left it full of swirls. I had no choice. I was not about to take it back to the painter. I had to learn. I studied in the car care section here for about a month and educated myself (with the help of the experts in that section). I practiced on my old truck first.



Then I removed the swirls from my Camaro.

spoiler before (note hazed / swirl area)



after





After I did the truck and the Camaro, I was brave enough to work on the vette. The swirls were GONE after I finished (they were not very deep)

Makes me wish I had done it 4 years sooner !

p.s. I did try removing some scuffs from a few spots on my black C5 (not on the hood) with 3M perfect it swirl remover - by hand. It always improved the area but there were still fine swirl marks and I lived with that for 3 or 4 years. After I got my confidence using the PC, I hit those areas with the PC and the places where I had hand rubbed were gone. IMHO, once you learn to use a random orbital, it provides a superior finish to hand rubbing.

Note - even with random orbital you can get into trouble if you don't keep the pad flat (don't let the edge dig in) or if you press too hard while on top of a body crease - like the edge of the rear facia or the top of the fender on a car that is less rounded than a C6.

speedraider

These polishers are awesome. I just went from a porter cable to the flex polisher. OMG , the flex takes it to the next level, twice as fast and a better polish.

pahlbfishn

Go to the Chemical Guys site and you will find all the information/products for polishing. Oh, by the way, China(Harbor) Freight has a polisher that is an exact copy of Porter Cable which I purchased for $39. Does an EXCELLENT job.

spdkilz911

Great job! The PC is very user friendly and will last you a lifetime. I bought one years ago and have never looked back.

China(Harbor) Freight has a polisher that is an exact copy of Porter Cable which I purchased for $39.

^^I'd like to see that^^ Find that hard to believe. Not doubting you, just would like to see it.

1bdvet

Trust me I know all about black cars, nice job!

pahlbfishn

^^I'd like to see that^^ Find that hard to believe. Not doubting you, just would like to see it.[/QUOTE]

I own one and it works EXACTLY like the Portor-Cable. Used a 20% off coupon and got it for $39.

hawkgfr

Get the orange pads and you can do 90 percent of everything you will ever need unless the surface is really really bad...

RoadkingC6

I own one and it works EXACTLY like the Portor-Cable. Used a 20% off coupon and got it for $39.[/QUOTE]

I believe it, i have some tools and electric tools from Harbour freight and they work good, if i was in the business of detailing cars i would buy the Porter Cable but for an occasional use tool sometimes Harbour Freight is fine, curious what model polisher from Harbour Freight is it.

crusher1

Porter is awesome....I have one myself

does an amazing job

speedraider

I just noticed OP was using the white pad. Get a few orange pads , they make a big difference

steve8

Everyone should have a polisher. I had a PC and upgraded to the flex.
Fantastic!
Get some orange and white pads, as well as some polish from the geek and you are all set.

Geof180

yes, the PC machine is incredible!

it keeps my lowly 4th gen car looking almost as good as your newer ones...

JimmyLee

As a novice, I simply used the white pad (which comes with the PC) to apply the Rejex. Afterwards, I removed extra residue by hand with a microfiber towel. Before I even got started, I watched a few Porter Cable videos on YouTube.com, which show you how to do it. I'll graduate to other pads , such as the orange, but I wanted to get the hang of using the machine first.

C5kid

I got a PC for Xmas. I did my wife's TBSS and WOW!!! The truck was a 6 when we bought it, I washed it w/ Dawn to strip all the old wax and crap. Then compouneded, polished 2x, sealed, and waxed.

Even w/ the crappy weather we have been having, the truck stays clean. It should really shine this summer, I may have to go over it again w/ polish and wax after driving on these salty NE roads

bladex10

I highly recommend those who havent used a DA Polisher to try one.. Youll find yourself trying to find reasons to use it because its so fun. lol. Best thing i've ever bought.

ptaylor_9849

I've been detailing for many years, random orbital polishers are good, just don't expect to do much paint correction on finicky corvette clear coat with one.

debo

I'm also a big fan of the PC polisher and it works great. I've never heard of the flex, where can that be purchased at?