Porter-Cable 7424 Polisher

[Lux]

Don,

Your car looks to be in fantastic shape. I think my '04 had more swirls than yours does.

For compounds I would get Poorboy's SSR2.5 and SSR1. 2.5 is a mild cutter and 1 is a final polish. Both are available on detailing sites on the net. This is what I use and I'm happy with the results. If you plan on using different compounds, consult autopia for suggestions.

For the subie:
1. Medium cutting pad with SSR2.5. Work in a 2'x2' area. Work the SSR2.5 until it breaks down and starts to dust. I put 4 dime sized dots on the pad and spread it on speed 1 and then crank it up to speed 5. You'll use this technique on pretty much all the compounds.

2. Light cutting pad with SSR2.5.

3. Finishing pad with SSR1.

4. Your favorite wax.


For the Boxster:
1. Light cutting pad with SSR2.5

2. Finishing pad with SSR1

3. Your favorite wax.


Here's some things to keep in mind:
1. Try and use the least aggressive pad/compound that you think you'll need.
2. Sometimes you'll have to go over an area 2 or 3 times to get the result you want.
3. It's ok to apply a little pressure to the PC. But just letting the weight of the machine apply the pressure is usually adequate. Again, move the PC ~3" per second. Let the speed of the PC do it's job.
4. Make sure whatever you use to remove the compound (I use MF towels) does not contribute to swirls/scratches.

Post the results when you're done. I think you'll be happy. BTW, it gets addictive really fast.


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[donv]

Thanks for the detailed info! I'll be ordering the supplies this week to give it a try, and will definitely post the results.

[donv]

Well I finally made some time to try out the equipment and supplies. I did go with the Poor Boy's polishes and used Lake Country yellow and white pads.

The photo montage below shows the effect on my Subaru daily driver. Top set are taken with flash in the garage, bottom are in filtered (through the trees) sunlight. Left is after polishing and right is in the original "with swirls" state.

I will follow with a second photo posting showing on-car direct comparison in sunlight. I did a half-done, half-not to show the difference more clearly.

I'll be practicing on the rest of this car and our other daily driver before moving on to the Boxster. The Boxster should require a lot less work I expect. I've been really pleased with the results so far and it is way easier than doing similar work by hand!

[donv]

The all-in-one-view comparison...