I am thinking about getting a Porter Cable, but I'm not sure if it's worth it for me. I only plan to use it for waxing since I'm not dedicated enough to go through the claying, polishing, etc. With this in mind, should I purchase one just to use for waxing?
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2009 Blizzard Pearl Sienna Limited
I am thinking about getting a Porter Cable, but I'm not sure if it's worth it for me. I only plan to use it for waxing since I'm not dedicated enough to go through the claying, polishing, etc. With this in mind, should I purchase one just to use for waxing?
I've never used a machine to apply or remove wax. I'm not sure what the benefit is, although I'm sure some PC lovers will tell us shortly...
Well, I don't know. You've left me with a foggy picture.
On the one hand you say "I'm not dedicated enough to go through the claying, polishing, etc." That statement suggests that you're not much into car care, and not too fanatical about your finish, etc.
On the other hand, you're perusing this detailing forum and asking questions, which suggests a higher than average interest in detailing, and concern about your car.
Not sure what your "car care personality" is. Do you like detailing but just don't have time? Do you hate detailing and just wax it cause you don't want to let your car go to pot?
If you like working on your car and really want to keep it looking nice, but just don't have the time or can't see yourself doing all the steps, there are some good all in one polish/cleaner/sealants that can be used with the PC that will put you a step above the Nu Finish crowd You don't HAVE to be a hard core detailing fanatic in order to get some nice results from the PC.
But, if you're not really into working on your car and you're more of a once a year Nu Finish kind of guy, then you'd be better off saving your money for something else. You'd just end up aggravated that you bought an expensive tool that you're not using.
Maybe you could fill us in a little better on your car care personality and what level of car care you'd like to achieve?
Well, I don't know. You've left me with a foggy picture.
On the one hand you say "I'm not dedicated enough to go through the claying, polishing, etc." That statement suggests that you're not much into car care, and not too fanatical about your finish, etc.
On the other hand, you're perusing this detailing forum and asking questions, which suggests a higher than average interest in detailing, and concern about your car.
Not sure what your "car care personality" is. Do you like detailing but just don't have time? Do you hate detailing and just wax it cause you don't want to let your car go to pot?
If you like working on your car and really want to keep it looking nice, but just don't have the time or can't see yourself doing all the steps, there are some good all in one polish/cleaner/sealants that can be used with the PC that will put you a step above the Nu Finish crowd You don't HAVE to be a hard core detailing fanatic in order to get some nice results from the PC.
But, if you're not really into working on your car and you're more of a once a year Nu Finish kind of guy, then you'd be better off saving your money for something else. You'd just end up aggravated that you bought an expensive tool that you're not using.
Maybe you could fill us in a little better on your car care personality and what level of car care you'd like to achieve?
I guess it is sort of foggy, but only because I fall between the two categories I think.
I'm into it enough that I wax 3 to 4 times per year. And I'm into it enough to purchase higher end products from sites like Autopia for my cleaning and waxing. For example, I use mostly Pinnacle cleaning products and have about 10 microfiber towels I use for each cleaning not including the waffle weave drying towel (guzzler I think it's called). I've used Klasse AIO and Meguiars #26 (or is it 24?) Yellow Wax. The only thing I really don't do is like I said...clay and polish. This is because I'm just not ready to add that hour or 2 of detailing since it already takes me a while when I wax. Does that help at all?
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2009 Blizzard Pearl Sienna Limited
I guess it is sort of foggy, but only because I fall between the two categories I think.
I'm into it enough that I wax 3 to 4 times per year. And I'm into it enough to purchase higher end products from sites like Autopia for my cleaning and waxing. For example, I use mostly Pinnacle cleaning products and have about 10 microfiber towels I use for each cleaning not including the waffle weave drying towel (guzzler I think it's called). I've used Klasse AIO and Meguiars #26 (or is it 24?) Yellow Wax. The only thing I really don't do is like I said...clay and polish. This is because I'm just not ready to add that hour or 2 of detailing since it already takes me a while when I wax. Does that help at all?
If you do the polishing right, you shouldn't have to do it very often. It's been over a year and a half since my truck was done and it still looks near perfect.
I guess what I'm trying to say is if you make a decent investment of time up front, the 'maintenance' portion thereafter doesn't require that much time. I spend about one hour per week on my truck.
If you use poor quality products or techniques and use glaze to get a beautiful finish, it's only a matter of time before the glaze comes off and the 'truth' is revealed. I think some people get stuck in that loop; they think their vehicles are getting scratched up and really it's just their glaze (fillers) wearing off. In another forum I'm a vendor on, one guy was polishing every month. IMHO, that's excessive. Something is very much wrong if your paint needs to be polished that often.
Yes, my vehicle is garaged and YMMV!!!
Last edited by PolishAndWax; 10-25-2007 at 04:10 PM.
OK. Well, that helps a bunch. Sounds to me like you're definitely a good candidate for a PC.
If you're using Klasse AIO, then you're already polishing, you just didn't know it. AIOs like Klasse and Pinncle XMT 360 have a polishing element by definition. That's what makes them an "All In One", as opposed to a pure wax like Pinnacle's Liquid Souveran Carnauba or pure sealant like Klasse's Sealant Glaze which do NOT have any polishing or cleaning elements.
You'll get much better results from an AIO like Klasse AIO using the PC than you would by hand, and you'll be able to apply it in less time.
I think you'd be amazed at how much better your car could look using the PC with some of the products you're already familiar with.
I just got my PC a couple of months ago, and started using it on two 12yr old Camrys that I own. Now granted I'm using different products with the PC than I was using by hand, but if I had before and after pics you'd be amazed. There's no way I could have ever gotten my cars looking like this by hand with the amount of time that I have to put into it.
I haven't started claying yet either, but even if I never clay, these cars look amazingly better than they did before.
If you're already buying high end products like Klasse and Pinnacle, then you don't have to get over the sticker shock of jumping from the cheap stuff. If you stick with an AIO initially then you really only need the PC and an AIO compatible pad. You can pick the PC up on eBay for around $100 delivered or buy it directly from autogeek.com or others. 1 or 2 AIO compatible pads won't set you back much.
While I've got your attention, are the Pinnacle and Klasse products considered "Professional"? I asked this in another thread but haven't gotten any responses...
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2009 Blizzard Pearl Sienna Limited
Yeah, he does have a lot of info there, which can be overwhelming for newbies. The same can be said for ANY of the detailing forums as well. My gosh, I never knew there were so many products, etc. However he does have a really good "Detailing for Beginners" section on there that pretty much covers everything you need to start.
But, as a Reader's Digest version of some things that I've gleaned from my research/experience...............
1) Washing is probably the MOST critical step. Make sure you use good products, tools, and techniques there. That way you minimize the swirls/scratches that you introduce during washing. And, when you're going to polish/wax with the PC (or by hand) you know the car is clean and you're not going to be grinding anything into the paint. You're already washing, so just make sure you do it good.
2) There's no BEST product out there in any given category, be it polish, wax, sealant, you name it. If there was, all the detailers would be using it and you wouldn't see so many different opinions on so many different products. So, if you're already comfortable with Pinnacle and Klasse, just start there. One less thing to worry about. You really can't go wrong with them to start.
3) Start small. Do what you have time to do. Take on more gradually if you decide you want to. If it becomes a chore, you'll regret buying the PC. Meaning, don't decide to do a 4 or 5 step process on your whole car just because that's what you see people posting online, unless you're fully aware of what's involved and your committed. Don't worry about claying right away. Is it better to clay? Yes. Is it required before polishing/waxing? No. You're polishing/waxing now by hand and you've never clayed before. Based on what you've said, I would consider starting with an AIO like Klasse AIO or Pinnacle XMT 360, and just keeping the same number of steps you have now. Will your car look as good as if you did a 4 step process with separate products? No. But it will look GREAT for the amount of time you put in and compared to when you did it by hand. If you decide you want to add steps later, great!!
4) Don't neglect the finishing touches. IMO a decent finish with well dressed tires and trim will look better than an awesome finish with crappy looking tires and trim any day. I see a lot of people with nice looking cars that for some reason don't bother to dress the tires, and the only thing I notice about the car is the crappy looking tires.
Gotta go. If you want to talk any more, feel free to PM me. Don't want to bore everyone with my newbie opinions
While I've got your attention, are the Pinnacle and Klasse products considered "Professional"? I asked this in another thread but haven't gotten any responses...
Well, I don't know what defines "professional", but there are definitely professional detailers that use them.
One thing I wanted to correct on my previous posting. I lumped Klasse AIO and Pinnacle XMT 360 together as AIOs.
That was misleading. Klasse AIO has no abrasives, and as such will not do anything for swirls. It does get rid of oxidation as can be seen in the pix that OCDetails has posted where he used it.
XMT 360, on the other hand DOES have abrasives and will eliminate minor swirls in addition to cleaning, etc.
One thing I wanted to correct on my previous posting. I lumped Klasse AIO and Pinnacle XMT 360 together as AIOs.
That was misleading. Klasse AIO has no abrasives, and as such will not do anything for swirls. It does get rid of oxidation as can be seen in the pix that OCDetails has posted where he used it.
XMT 360, on the other hand DOES have abrasives and will eliminate minor swirls in addition to cleaning, etc.
So as long as I'm doing it by hand, stick with Klasse AIO, but if I switch to the PC I should probably use XMT (since it's designed to work with machines and it does have some abrasives)?
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2009 Blizzard Pearl Sienna Limited
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. Don't worry about claying right away. Is it better to clay? Yes. Is it required before polishing/waxing? No. You're polishing/waxing now by hand and you've never clayed before. Based on what you've said, I would consider starting with an AIO like Klasse AIO or Pinnacle XMT 360, and just keeping the same number of steps you have now. Will your car look as good as if you did a 4 step process with separate products? No. But it will look GREAT for the amount of time you put in and compared to when you did it by hand. If you decide you want to add steps later, great!!
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