bought the porter last year. have done 3 cars. after the 3rd, seems like the porter doesnt have enough power or torque. results were good, but didnt seem to get all the swirls out with orange pad lake country 5's and wg swirl remover. was pleased, but a lot of effort to still see those swirls when the sun is just right. cant seem to apply enough pressure when doing passes to keep the porter from bogging down. any suggestions?
porter cable vs flex
- Thread starter molarman
- Start date
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
Add the Flex 3401 and/or a rotary buffer to your arsenal.
Use one of the above for the heavy lifting and finish out with the PC
Time proven successful system...
The lightweight of the PC and ease of use make it great for machine applying your LSP
Use one of the above for the heavy lifting and finish out with the PC
Time proven successful system...
The lightweight of the PC and ease of use make it great for machine applying your LSP
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
The WG may not be strong enough for what you are doing. The PC shouldn't have any problems removing swirls
That's a good point, if you don't have an aggressive compound then definitely add one to your arsenal.
I've had great luck using the new XP version with 5.5" pads and products like M105 and Ultimate Compound to remove swirls and scratches.
Actually, for the most part, anything that the XP, 5.5" pads and M105 or UC won't remove is probably deeper, like a RIDS and if the car in question is a daily driver then you should consider living with the deeper defects versus trying to remove them all because removing them means removing more clear coat and all the UV protection for the basecoat is in the clear layer.
If you're after SPEED then definitely, then a forced rotation Flex 3401 or a direct drive rotary buffer is going to be faster at removing paint when all other factors are kept the same.
The new Meguiar's Microfiber DA System is no slouch either... the compound works exceedingly well...
Before
After
All done using a PC 7424XP
Mark my words... thin is in and more and more "technology" is going to be introduced for tools like the Porter Cable DA Polisher and all the versions introduced and being introduced.
That said, when it comes to raw power to remove a lot of paint quickly, there's no substitute for a rotary buffer.
DARK HORSE
Active member
- Sep 14, 2009
- 2,537
- 0
The PCxp is quite capable of removing swirls. If you feel you are spending too much time and effort, and are still not happy with your results (using WG TSR/orange), then you may want to consider m105 and a cyan HT pad. I found this combination to be very effective at removing swirls out of hard clears with the PCxp. Some may try to convince you that m105 is hard to work with or that you need to spend more money on a Flex, but I can assure that m105 it is VERY easy to work with, and a PCxp has more than enough power to remove swirls when used with the correct pad/product combo. If you would like; PM me your shipping info and I will send you a sample of m105, a HT pad and explain a good technique to use with it.
I had a similar thing happen to me after 4 cars...
The WG may not be strong enough for what you are doing. The PC shouldn't have any problems removing swirls
...using Meg's M105. So I'm not going to place the blame on the WG TSR, but place the blame on the machine. After replacing my machine with a new one, all is well. I plan to buy a rotary for heavy duty use and keep the PC XP for light duty use.
DARK HORSE
Active member
- Sep 14, 2009
- 2,537
- 0
I would definitely evaluate your needs and ask some questions first; like are you doing this for a living? Is it worth the extra coin to you to speed up the process slightly (and yes I do say slightly, if using the correct pad/product)? Before I would recommend a Flex as a knee jerk reaction. Just a thought...
DARK HORSE
Active member
- Sep 14, 2009
- 2,537
- 0
What machine did you replace it with Richard? I thought for sure that you had a deffective PC, and had it replaced with another (non-deffective) PC, and all is well?
this leading to this...
:xyxthumbs:
After replacing it I haven't had any issues, but then again I have only corrected one car since then
. I'm stuck between the new Flex rotary, the updated DeWalt 849, or just holding off until the new DA system is released.
Dubbin1
Active member
- May 28, 2009
- 3,845
- 0
:iagree: excellent point
DARK HORSE
Active member
- Sep 14, 2009
- 2,537
- 0
this leading to this...
:xyxthumbs:
After replacing it I haven't had any issues, but then again I have only corrected one car since then
I'm eyeing the new Flex rotary pretty hard. Rainny is taking pre orders now and offering a pretty sweet deal, throwing in some stuff
rops:
DARK HORSE
Active member
- Sep 14, 2009
- 2,537
- 0
We will have the Flex up for a presale very soon, we have a little bit of a special offer that is going with them, not to mention some special serial numbers!
WOW, sounds great Meghan! I can't wait to see what you've got in store for us, as you always take such VERY good care of us
rops:
Meghan
Super Moderator
- Mar 3, 2006
- 15,033
- 0
WOW, sounds great Meghan! I can't wait to see what you've got in store for us, as you always take such VERY good care of us
Well we wont let you done I promise! :dblthumb2:
Dark Horse says 105 is esy to work with...he assures you! I'm sorry but I recently spoke with at least twenty different detailers who all agreed that 105 is not easy to use. Gloss It even came out with a product they claim makes the 105 useable, based on some form of an oil. The problem with 105 is its short working time. Usually it dries so quickly you can barely get two passes and then you need a detail spray to remove it. It does work if humidity and temps are perfect. No doubt the end results are good, but easy is not my description of that product!!
I am envious of Dark Horse for sure. I even spoke to the Meg's team at SEMA and they really had nothing to offer me.
I am envious of Dark Horse for sure. I even spoke to the Meg's team at SEMA and they really had nothing to offer me.
No offense but I'm certain that I can find 20 detailers that know how to use the product and they will disagree.
M105 really isn't that difficult to work with. Is it a little tougher than Ultimate Compound? Sure. Does it have the working time as Menzerna? No. One trick to this product is to prime the pad with product before starting, but don't saturate the pad. When the product starts to dry, spritz a fine mist of water on the pad and you're good to go. Somewhere out there I'm certain Kevin Brown's method is readily available. Don't be afraid to mess around with the product. It's an aggressive compound but it's not going to rip your paint off. A perfect DA combination is M105 on a 5.5" Cyan Hydro Tech pad. I personally prefer the new low profile HT pads.