big mike 13

my body shop washed my car and it's getting irritating looking at the car.
i plan on purchasing a PC pretty soon.
anyone have any experiences with Edge 2000 pads? http://store.premiumautocare.net/ed20dafopafo.html

i will purchase a Medium Cutting pad, a Polishing Pad and a Finishing pad, how am i doing so far (the place is sold out of Light cuttings)?

i also plan on picking up Poorboys SMR 2.5 and 1.0, what happens if the 2.5 is too aggressive for my swirling? im not sure if its light or medium swirls on my car.

should i use 2.5 on Medium Cutting pad on low speed, then finish with 1.0 on a Polishing Pad, and then go over with a Finishing Pad??

i also plan on applying Zaino after, will i have to wash my car? or can i apply zaino straight on...

can anyone help me out here?

exceldetail

All depends on what your trying to accomplish Mike....Finishing is for your last stage protectant....Polishing is generally for glazes and light wax/cleaners.....Light cut is SMR's....Med cut is good for megs 80/83 ish type polishes....heavy cut (usually orange) is good with those last products and will assist in cutting......

With PB's I'd have 2.0 on hand, with a Light cut pad....That should accomodate most needs....You can always step it up to the yellow pad and/or 2.5 with green....Theres many combos you can try, it all depends on your particular surface, products, expectations.....

A Perfect Shine

I've found that nothing that you can use with a PC is going to be too aggressive. The PC is not designed to take off much paint. If you were to use a paint thickness meter before you polish the paint the reading would be the same after you polish as well.

Basically your not going to hurt anything with the PC as long as you are careful while using it and don't actually throw it through the window of the car. Using SSR 2.5 and a cutting pad on speed 6 would work fine so go for it. Following up with 1.0 and a polishing pad on speed 4-5 would finish it up nicely and leave your paint looking awesome.

According to Zaino's instructions you will have to wash your car with dawn after you polish.

big mike 13

so using a PC is pretty straight foward? i have no experiences whatsoever using one... i heard of someone "burning" the paint, is that possible?
and also, can you explain to me what marring is?
and would one cutting pad/polishing pad be enough for one car?
and the finishing pad, i just go over the whole car with it, with no product?
my headlights have some scratches and nicks, do you think i can put the Poorboys formula onto them with the PC? or will i cut into the plastic?

thanks a lot guys!

exceldetail

Very straightforward. The beauty of it is you can start at a very slow speed, and progress at your own learning speed. Burning is usually associated with rotary polisher, althoug it could be done if you left in one place for a long period of time using very agressive products and pads. Marring is also known as microscratching. Its the results of cutting products and pads. Lets use woodworking for example. You have some rough wood which you wish to smooth out. You first go with a very agressive sandpaper, to cut in and even the surface out, and this is all by design. You would next take a lesser abrasive sandpaper, to remove the harshness the course (cutting) paper left. You keep stepping down until your at the desired level of smoothness (gloss). Its also referred to with improper methods of maintenance, such as surface scratches after washing or dring with course products (a bad thing).
Now with surface care, you should always start with the least abrasive, and work towards your desired results with increasing abrasiveness as dictated. Your limited with clear coat on car surfaces.
Its always nice to have a couple of everything on hand, be it light cutting pads, to light polishing pads, as well as more difficult situations may present a need for medium cutting power. I would hate to recommend a product not knowing or seeing a picture of what lays ahead for you, but SSR2.0 should be a good start with a light cutting pad.
As for using PB on a plastic headlight, thats your call. I used Speed Glaze on a G-35 headlight(s) last wknd with no ill effects. Be careful of the rubber weatherstripping between lens and paint, SSR 2.0 stains.....
The finishing pad is used for applying your last stage protectant, its a very soft, pliable pad. Use in the same fashion as other pads. Its a softer foam so be easy with it.....