Did I make a mistake buying the PC 7424XP?

Thanks Mark! Your advice is invaluable and very much appreciated. Are 4" pads also essential? Or can I get away 5.5" pads overlapping onto tape? And by pink, you mean red, correct? I don't see a pink pad in the selection.
 
Thanks Mark! Your advice is invaluable and very much appreciated. Are 4" pads also essential? Or can I get away 5.5" pads overlapping onto tape? And by pink, you mean red, correct? I don't see a pink pad in the selection.

CCS foam buffing pads,foam polishing pads,lake country foam pads,foam polisher pads,buffer pads,lake county pads,porter cable pads,pads for air sander

Here, AG shows a Pink Pad in 5.5".

Honestly, I don't even know if I have any of the CCS Pads on hand? I bought so many Pads in Oct 2012, I got a box that a 19" old style TV could fit into full of Polishing Pads for the PC DA. LOL Went nuts I guess, but bought them on sale, a good deal. Figuring nothing ever seems to "go down in price", does it?

When I bought my PC DA from AutoGeek, I did order both 5" and 3.5" LC Backing Plates.

And I bought a small selection of 4" Hydrotech Pads. I was later able to get some 4" Meggys Pads locally that work well also.

The 4" Pads work nice on smaller areas, Roof Pillars, Bumpers, Spoilers, Rocker Panels, Sill Steps, etc. The machine is a bit easier to handle, the Pads are then able to be better controlled within a smaller area. So many new cars-trucks-suvs today have painted bumpers. The days of chrome are almost gone, plastics have taken over.
 
In time, you can always add, and compliment your set-up.

Trust, that it is often hard to decide what to get, you feel like a contestant on "The price is right" sometimes! :-)

Myself, I have made mistakes, like I'm gong to detail every vehicle in the neighborhood, when I actually never will. Some imaginary scenario, where I'm going to go back to the old days, detailing cars, and need to have all the bases covered just in case.

This was a slight $$$$ mistake on my part that I do have without a doubt, more product on hand, than any detail shop within a 100 mile radius of this town I live in.

But I've always been this way with car care products, it is definitely an affliction, and addiction of mine I guess. A man has to have some hobbies!

The detail shops here, I wouldn't trust to detail a ride going to the junkyard. Whereas myself, I would not back down or be afraid of the challenge to detail a Bentley.

The one problem is time constraints. As they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day", and I wouldn't expect to try to run through such a 6 figure vehicle in a matter of a few hour's time. More like days and weeks to perfect a vehicle that has been sadly neglected by its owner. One thing always seems to lead to another, where something needs some attention paid.

There's of course a whole realm of vehicles, which there are show, and then onto concours. Working on concours type vehicles is surely an art form.

Probably such, that even Mike Phillips has to step back, take many long breathers, and seriously consider, and assess what needs to precisely be done, and in what order?
Mark
 
On my once owned 1968 Lemans Blue SS396 Camaro, I spent an entire month just detailing the engine compartment, swapping out two new Calipers, and Rotors in the front, new Front Brake Hoses, and Painting all 4 Ralley Wheels in Argent Silver.

Hoses, Belts, Cap Rotor, Points, Condenser, Wires, new Radiator (repro 4 core) Valve Covers, Gaskets, it seemed to never end. When I got through though, it was truly a "Kodak moment".

I doubled the sale price of that vehicle in 17 month's time.
I'm also sick in a way that I sold it so soon. It was a very clean ride.
 
On my once owned 1968 Lemans Blue SS396 Camaro, I spent an entire month just detailing the engine compartment, swapping out two new Calipers, and Rotors in the front, new Front Brake Hoses, and Painting all 4 Ralley Wheels in Argent Silver.

Hoses, Belts, Cap Rotor, Points, Condenser, Wires, new Radiator (repro 4 core) Valve Covers, Gaskets, it seemed to never end. When I got through though, it was truly a "Kodak moment".

I doubled the sale price of that vehicle in 17 month's time.
I'm also sick in a way that I sold it so soon. It was a very clean ride.

Nice! You, Mike, and many of the forum members here are a special breed who value high quality work and attention to detail. I love it too and already feel at home here. I can relate to having a hard time trusting the local shops. I know if I want a task done with TLC, I should do it myself. But like you mention, I can see how it can easily become a never ending job of aiming toward perfection. So, I must remember to take a step back and enjoy the small victories along the journey.
 
Nice! You, Mike, and many of the forum members here are a special breed who value high quality work and attention to detail. I love it too and already feel at home here. I can relate to having a hard time trusting the local shops. I know if I want a task done with TLC, I should do it myself. But like you mention, I can see how it can easily become a never ending job of aiming toward perfection. So, I must remember to take a step back and enjoy the small victories along the journey.

This is truly a great forum. With the best people on the INet that I have ever met.

I reckon the most important thing with any vehicle, is that it gets you from point A to point B, hopefully in a safe, and an enjoyable manner. That's one reason why I like, and enjoy doing the maintainence and upkeep on my own vehicles.

I've had it happen in the past, with brand new vehicles, and an oil change, and I'm leaking oil all over the place, and wondering why? Why, was because the idiot mechanic never took the two seconds to insure the oil pan drain plug was snugged tight.

That was 1976 with a brand new silver Camaro, and never again did I let a person change my oil.
 
Well my fairly new GG6 died already, my PCXP is close to two years old and not one issues, for now back to the PC.
That should tell you something of the two.
 
Still... I like the PC, I like how it fits my hand and when I use the 5.5" thin pads it does a great job for whatever project I've selected to use it on. If I need more power, I know where to get it but sometimes the PC is all I need.
Just one guy's opinion...
:)
No doubt it can do the job and do it well but tell me. Don't you think you could use the flex and be sipping on a cool one before you could using the PC?

I guess if I liked detailing as much as sex I wouldn't mind it taking a long time. Unfortunately my wife thinks I have a premature polisher.
 
If everyone spent as much time perfecting their technique as trying to decide which da ( or rotary ) is best we would all be as good as Mike Phillips , Todd Helme or Paul Dalton. I'm willing to bet most pro's could do a blind test with any of todays machines and you couldn't tell which one was used to correct the paint to perfection. We all have reasons for selecting the cars we drive and selecting a machine is no different. I'm a tool junkie and have a cabinet full of da's and rotaries. Every one of them will polish a painted surface and some I use and enjoy more then others but all of them have a purpose in my operation. Same as the cars and trucks I own. As for reliability , I have yet to see a man made machine that's indestructible. You can get a lemon when purchasing a Rolls Royce. As long as you purchase from a reputable vendor ( AG etc ) that will stand behind what they sell I see no problem. So get out there and buff , polish and shine something.
 
No doubt it can do the job and do it well but tell me.

Don't you think you could use the flex and be sipping on a cool one before you could using the PC?


Yes.

I do think because the pad will not stop rotating or oscillating, (that's two things), that the Flex 3401 can do the correction and polishing steps faster when doing a multi-step process or when using a one-step cleaner/wax you can do a one-step faster, (production detailing).


That is one of the key benefits to the Flex 3401 and one of the key benefits I'll be pointing out tomorrow in my Flex 3401 Class.


Mobile Tech Expo 2014 - Class Schedule



Class 1 - How to Use The Flex 3401
9:00-9:45am
Room: Curacao 3

For both production detailing as well as, and show car detailing. There are a lot of tool options available for making money detailing cars. Each type or category of tool has its strong points and its short coming.

In this class you will learn how to turn the Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher into your own money making machine for doing both production detailing and show car detailing.

Buffing out the fender skirts of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air with the Flex 3401
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But I'll also be sharing how to use the Porter Cable a few hours later...




Class 4 - How to use the Porter Cable For both production detailing and show car detailing
2:00-2:45pm
Room Curacao 3 & 4

The Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher is the tool that changed the way cars are buffed and waxed starting back in the early 1990s. Since then millions of cars have been taken from a swirled out eye sore to a show car finish using this simple and easy to use tool.

It’s one of the most versatile tools you can own since you can,

  • Machine wetsand with it.
  • Do heavy correction with compounds.
  • Polish the paint to a super high gloss.
  • Machine apply car waxes and paint sealants.
  • Mechanically decontaminate paint using the Nanoskin. Autoscrub Pads.
  • Remove Orange Peel using the CarPro Denim Pads.
  • You can even remove the wax with this tool.
So as you can see it's a VERY versatile tool that should be in everyone's tool arsenal.

It’s also lightweight, easy to hold and Porter Cable quality means it will never let you down. Plus there are more pads, compounds, polishes and waxes made for use with this tool than probably any other tool.

It’s also the easiest tool to learn how to use and master making it the perfect tool for anyone new to machine polishing. Because it oscillates the buffing pads instead of only rotating the pads you can’t burn through the paint or instill swirls.

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