How Safe is the PC-7424XP for Newbies?

[Junkman2008]

... well these two videos will answer that question in detail! I explain why you should or should not worry about doing so.

One thing that I did in these videos was use a super abrasive polish by Meguiar's to do this demonstration (Meguiar's Diamond Cut). I did this because I wanted to use something extremely abrasive in this demo. There are those of you who will think that this polish being more abrasive than something like Adam's Swirl & Haze Remover (SHR), will cut your work in half and want to go get a bottle (instead of staying with the much safer alternative, SHR). Let me assure you that this is not a smart route to go because of the type of damage this stuff can do to your paint. You will eliminate one issue and be staring at a totally different type of damage that will require some know-how in order to remedy. Don't make that mistake. Stick with something not to abrasive like SHR which will leave your paint much more manageable using Adam's Fine Machine Polish (FMP) or Meguiar's M105 to remedy the aftermath of SHR.

Adam's Polishes (two of a few being SHR and FMP) have been engineered to work together to achieve effortless, outstanding results. This is also true with products by Zaino or Meguiar's. Mixing them with other brands is for seriously experienced detailers, who know how to maximize a given product's potential. If that is not you, stick to products engineered to work together and are packaged to do so.

With that said, here are the videos!








The Junkman

[the rich dude]

Nice to have you on here Junkman!!!

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by the rich dude

Nice to have you on here Junkman!!!

Thanks man!

I love the look of the new Camaros and want to see quite a few of you guys show up at the GM All Nationals this year in Carlisle. I hope to meet a bunch of guys here who will be showing up. I also want to see these babies stay in their pristine, new looking shape.

[NAHURRY]

Thank's for the clip Junkman..BTW..what would you use on a Black camaro
a carnauba or a sealant? I'm currently using a sealant (Zaino Z-2,Z-5) and
I'm happy (I geuss) with the reflective look it gives but I hear alot of Pro's
saying a carnauba is the way to go for black..I'm going to do a test this
spring half sealant and half carnauba and see which one I like the best.
It seems like the rule of thumb is to use "Sealant's on light colors and "carnauba's" on darker colors....What's your thought's on this...Thanks.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by NAHURRY

Thank's for the clip Junkman..BTW..what would you use on a Black camaro
a carnauba or a sealant? I'm currently using a sealant (Zaino Z-2,Z-5) and
I'm happy (I geuss) with the reflective look it gives but I hear alot of Pro's
saying a carnauba is the way to go for black..I'm going to do a test this
spring half sealant and half carnauba and see which one I like the best.
It seems like the rule of thumb is to use "Sealant's on light colors and "carnauba's" on darker colors....What's your thought's on this...Thanks.

I think you've been given a bunch of info and most of it is bum scoop. Here's what I know from first hand experience using different products, and from talking to Sal Zaino about his products.

First, Z2 & Z5 are NOT sealants. They are polishes. A sealant cannot be used on fresh paint and when I wanted to work on a freshly painted car, I called Sal and he gave me the straight scoop on Z2 & Z5. I needed to know exactly what his products contained

With that said, here is another revelation that I seem to have to dispel a lot. Wax DOES NOT make paint shine. Your paint is going to shine the best it can once you have finished the paint correction process. Thus, to think that a wax is going to give you even more depth is incorrect because wax PROTECTS the finish, not make it shine more.

Now here's where some people get confused or mislead when it comes to wax. Both Z5 and Adam's Machine Superwax have micro-filling properties in its makeup. What this appears to do on dark colored cars is make them shine more. What they both in fact are doing is filling in the micro damage that is still in the clear coat, eliminating those fine scratches which fools your eyes into believing the shine is deeper than it is. If during the polishing process you eliminate every scratch that is in the paint, then you will get that same depth without using a drop of wax. Here's a picture of my car without a drop of wax on it. The only thing I have done is removed all the scratches with Adam's Swirl & Haze Remover and followed that with Adam's Fine Machine Polish. I did do some wet sanding where the scratches were too deep to remove with just polishing:







As you can see by the pics, I have depth because I have made the paint flawless with my swirl removing process. That is the whole key, laying a good foundation. I don't rely on the wax I use to put the final stamp on my work, I want the final stamp to be there before the wax and the ONLY thing I want my wax to do is protect the paint. That's why I use the Adam's Americana Carnuba Paste Wax. It does not have those micro-filling properties.

Now let's talk about that word "carnuba". Carnauba wax is a botanical product. It actually comes from a Brazilian tree. The reason it is so desired as a wax or "protectant" is because it has a much higher melting point than your regular "carnuba-less" waxes. This means it will protect your paint better in harsh environments against all elements thrown at it. Notice that I didn't say one word about shine because the carnuba ingredient has absolutely nothing to do with shine. You use a carnuba paste wax when you want long lasting protection, period.

Next on the list are sealants. A sealant can offer more protection than a carnuba based wax but there is one restriction. You CAN NOT use a sealant on a freshly painted car because the paint has to cure first. Here's what I mean by cure. Automotive paint as it comes in a can is too thick to be sprayed onto a car. Thus, additives must be mixed into the paint in order for it to be "sprayable" (if you will). Once the paint is on the car, everything that is NOT paint needs to be evaporated off the car. This is called "curing" and you should allow up to 90 days for it to happen in cold temperatures, 30-60 in hot temperatures. If you apply a sealant to paint that has not cured, if will keep the non-paint substances from escaping and cause the paint to blister and look like the skin of a turtle. You will end up with a nasty mess of a paint job. By the way, Adam's Machine Superwax is a very good sealant and offers a very long lasting amount of protection. It is great for those who see snow in the winter time.

As you can see, a sealant is a paint protector also. Again, I never said anything about shine because it has NOTHING to do with shine. Wax is for protecting, polishes are for correcting. The process of correcting your paint is what brings out the shine. By the time you lay your wax, your paint should be as shiny and deep as it is going to get. It has absolutely nothing to do with what color your car is, the process is the same for every color on the planet.

With all that said, let me throw this wrench into the bucket. There are all kinds of cheap, over the counter junk out there that you can put on your paint which will make it appear to be shiny. I can do the same thing with a bottle of baby oil or a jar of Vaseline. This does nothing to correct the damage in your paint, it merely masks it with fillers. I will not use that crap on my paint because after a couple of washes, your car will look like crap again. If you are not going to do it right, I am the last person you should ask for advice from. I do not fill my scratches and swirls, I remove them.

Now my level of anal is NOT for a daily driven car, or everyone out there doing this. We all have our level of acceptability and only you know yours. If you are happy with the way your car looks after hours of working on it, it doesn't matter what someone else thinks because we all have our own levels of acceptability. Always remember that. Also, there is no way to keep a daily driven car looking like my Corvette. My daily driver DOES NOT get washed. It has more dirt, rust, swirls and scratches on it than the law allows. That's because I spend all my detailing time on my Vette. That's why it looks like it does and my DD looks like crap.

It is however, very fun to drive.



Now that I have laid out War and Peace, here's what I want you to take from this. Go with one line of product and use it. Don't mix brands as they are engineered to work together. If you want to try something else. make sure you get everything withing that product line for the paint correction process. For example, if that was the Meguiar's line, you want to at least have their M105, M205 and their wax of your choice. If you wanted to go with Adam's, then you will need the Swirl & Haze Remover, the Fine Machine Polish and then the Adam's wax of your choice. Stay withing the product group! Also, if the wax you are using is making your paint shine even more, then you are either doing a lousy job at paint correction or the paint correction product you are using is lousy. Wax is a protectant!

I hope I answered all your questions with this. I didn't mean for it to be this long but you touched on a lot of stuff that people commonly have confused. I want to make sure that you are clear on how all this works so that you don't waste time and money. If you have anymore questions, just hit this thread.

[Alfieboy]

AWESOME info JunkMan

reason after watching you I ordered your COMPLETE kit from Adams
W/ the PC orbital...
The Junkmans Special

As well as some extras..
Yea its setting me back like 500-600 bux.. but I am confident it will be well worth it.
I cant wait for better weather to Dawn wash car and polish it the right way (already previously clayed it when I got it..maybe Ill clay it again too..?..)
I Think your videos are awesome and enjoy watching.. shoot...send me the links to all of em in email..LMAO
Furthermore, there was some slight issues with Adams Product during shipping, the crew there went above & beyound to correct and rectify and when I DO get to use their products, planted a seed to return to them for any thing in the future....

Thanks Again
Rick

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by Alfieboy

AWESOME info JunkMan

reason after watching you I ordered your COMPLETE kit from Adams
W/ the PC orbital...
The Junkmans Special

As well as some extras..
Yea its setting me back like 500-600 bux.. but I am confident it will be well worth it.
I cant wait for better weather to Dawn wash car and polish it the right way (already previously clayed it when I got it..maybe Ill clay it again too..?..)
I Think your videos are awesome and enjoy watching.. shoot...send me the links to all of em in email..LMAO
Furthermore, there was some slight issues with Adams Product during shipping, the crew there went above & beyound to correct and rectify and when I DO get to use their products, planted a seed to return to them for any thing in the future....

Thanks Again
Rick

Thanks Rick, you know you can call on me with any issues, questions or concerns.

Adam moved the warehouse from southern California to Colorado this month so everything is a little off kilter as they get it organized. All new employees who have to learn the system so there will be some screw ups. The good news is Adam himself is in the warehouse too so you can bet that he will ensure that you and your orders get taken care of.

I'll PM you a link to more of my threads.

[anthonybyram]

Hi Junkman, Welcome! Ive got a question that perhaps you can help me with. I used to use a product called SS Nathans,on my candy apple red (House of Kolors) 72 Z28. This product seemed to work great, but you brought up a very good point, that the shine isnt produced by a wax. Does SS Nathans also contain polish as well? Im considering useing this on my new Camaro, but would appreciate your experiance and input on this product. It worked well on the HOK paint and brought out great depth and clarity, but would it be good for my silver 2010 Camaro? Thanks!

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by anthonybyram

Hi Junkman, Welcome! Ive got a question that perhaps you can help me with. I used to use a product called SS Nathans,on my candy apple red (House of Kolors) 72 Z28. This product seemed to work great, but you brought up a very good point, that the shine isnt produced by a wax. Does SS Nathans also contain polish as well? Im considering useing this on my new Camaro, but would appreciate your experiance and input on this product. It worked well on the HOK paint and brought out great depth and clarity, but would it be good for my silver 2010 Camaro? Thanks!

Hey Anthony, I wish I could help you out with that product but I have never heard of, or used it. I will say this, any quality professional product when used as per the manufacturer's instructions, will give you a shine you can be proud of. From all the professional products that I have used, the main difference that I have seen between them is how they are applied, the cost and ease of use, and the customer support the manufacturer offers. When all that is taken into consideration, Adam's is the leader and Zaino is a close second. After that, the rest are pretty much the same.

Remember, I'm only talking about professional products, not the over the counter stuff. I hope this is helpful.

[NAHURRY]

OK...Thank's for your reply above..After spending countless hour's on
http://www.autopia.org/ I have learned one thing for sure alot of you
Pro's dissagree often..now Please..dont take that the wrong way. I think
there's alot of different techniques that work and it sounds like you have
pretty good ones.

Last year when I really started taking a interest to detailing, I was confused
about alot of thing's..like..why does Sal Zaino call everything "polishes"
I mean...how can a polish like Z-5 and Z-2 have protection? A true polish
Dont have protection. Rite?...Anyway I E-mailed them and asked what is
Z-2 and Z-5 and he said they were in fact synthetic sealant's..Z-AIO and
the fuzion is the only true polishes with correcting/cleaning abilities.
It seem's we were told two different things on the Z-2, Z-5

I know 90% is in the prep..but you really dont think that a sealant/carnauba
will give you a different look?

Again..Thank's for the informative reply...I love talking to different
detailer's, (even though most have different opinions)I Learn something off
each one of you. Great looking vette BTW!

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by NAHURRY

OK...Thank's for your reply above..After spending countless hour's on
http://www.autopia.org/ I have learned one thing for sure alot of you
Pro's dissagree often..now Please..dont take that the wrong way. I think
there's alot of different techniques that work and it sounds like you have
pretty good ones.

Last year when I really started taking a interest to detailing, I was confused
about alot of thing's..like..why does Sal Zaino call everything "polishes"
I mean...how can a polish like Z-5 and Z-2 have protection? A true polish
Dont have protection. Rite?...Anyway I E-mailed them and asked what is
Z-2 and Z-5 and he said they were in fact synthetic sealant's..Z-AIO and
the fuzion is the only true polishes with correcting/cleaning abilities.
It seem's we were told two different things on the Z-2, Z-5

I know 90% is in the prep..but you really dont think that a sealant/carnauba
will give you a different look?

Again..Thank's for the informative reply...I love talking to different
detailer's, (even though most have different opinions)I Learn something off
each one of you. Great looking vette BTW!

Dang! My Internet access was down for the last 10 hours!

You are 100% correct in saying that opinions are like butt holes in the detailing world! There are hundreds. That is exactly why I do all the videos I do. When you see it happening right before your eyes, it is kind of hard to deny that what I say is true, and what I do actually works.

Let's address the Z2 and Z5 products. Zaino could have changed the formula on those two products since I've talked to Sal so maybe he has. However, here's what is on their website right now:

Z-2: Description: Clearly, Z-2 PRO is our flagship product. The extraordinary gloss, shine, depth, clarity, and reflectivity make Z-2 PRO the highest rated and most respected product in the industry. Z-2 PRO is so easy and applies so thin that an 8 ounce bottle can yield up to 24 applications of product! Durability, looks, ease of use, and cost per application make Z-2 PRO the pure winner.

Z-5: Description: Darker colored vehicles are prone by the easily visible surface marring or fine scratches from regular maintenance. Z-5 PRO and its micro filling technology gradually reduce the appearance of these surface imperfections without using any abrasives. Without using cheap oils or cheap fillers that merely last until your next car wash, Z-5 PRO protects and lasts like no other product.

As you can see, neither of them say anything about being a sealant. Now here's a description of Adam's Machine Superwax:

MSW: If you own a Porter Cable 7424 dual-action car polisher (or other dual-action polishing machine), you're going to love Adam's Machine SuperWax. Forgetting the techno-babble, wax jargon, marketing hype, this is a car wax product that works the way you expect. It's super easy to apply with your electric car polisher, shines like crazy, and lasts through an entire season. Proudly made in America, Adam's Machine SuperWax is a paint sealant (synthetic car wax) that works without excuses.

So if Z2 and Z5 are truly sealants, Sal needs to update his website.

Now for the terminology confusion. I like you agree that a polish doesn't offer protection, at least not to any significant degree. I also believe that wax is only a protectant and has no shine capability. Last of all, a glaze to me is something that you use to mask paint imperfections and is full of fillers. I'm basing this from terminology used by multiple manufacturers so different manufacturers may disagree with me. Here's what I have found out over the years.

The terms are somewhat similar across the board but it totally depends on who's product you're talking about and what that product's chemical makeup is. If you use a product that calls itself a "polishing wax", then that "wax" will cause your paint to shine because it has elements of polish in it. It may only say wax on the bottle, but if the manufacturer calls it a polishing wax, you will see your paint become more shiny after using it. Because the manufacturers do not always let us in on what their products contain, all of the differing opinions could in fact be correct. Maybe with the product detailer A uses, what he says is correct even thought in contradicts what detailer B says. Thus, you have to do your homework and actually use the product yourself so that you can prove to yourself what is actually correct for THAT product. This is what I had to do. That can be costly. I kinda got lucky because folks were sending me stuff for free. I got to try out a lot of stuff and bought what I didn't have and there's where I base my opinion on the products I use.

So, don't get confused in all the reading you're doing (I know the feeling, I about had detailer brain lock when I started doing this), pick a product and roll with it. I show folks how to use Adam's because it doesn't take a rocket scientist. You have clay, two polishes and wax. Bam, you're done. It doesn't get any easier than that.

Don't hesitate to agree or disagree with me. I will NOT take it personal and you could be correct. I don't know it all and everyday I do this I learn something else. We are all here to help and learn from each other and when you close your mind off to learning something new, you are no longer effective or a help to the detailing community.

[NAHURRY]

Yeh...The terminalogy that so many vendors are using really confuses the
buyer...For example.."NXT tech wax" is a sealant..why dont they tell you
that? The list goes on an on..I have found though that most product's that
are pure carnauba will say so though.

http://www.autopia.org/ is a site full of guy's like you that have been
doing this for years as a full time job..And man..they get into little pissing
matches over there on who's doing it the correct way,and it is downrite
funny sometime's..But most all of them will agree that( on a properly prepped
finish) there is a difference in looks with a sealant/carnauba...not huge..
but it's there..And most all of them will prefer a good carnauba (pinnacle
souveren usually) on black and red's and other dark colors..And if it's a
silver or white vehicle, they will use a sealant because it will give a
real bright reflective look which is what these light colors need to pop.
Now some will top a sealant with a carnauba to get the durability
of a sealant along with the warmth of a carnauba..Here's a thread
on the carnauba/ sealant debate.


http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-det...le-advice.html

Remember man..I'm just trying to learn everything I can about detailing.
I love it! Last year I did'nt know squat..but that's the great thing about
good forum's, you can learn a wealth of info in a short time..Now I just
need to learn how to polish/Buff like you!...Enjoying talking
with ya man.

[Junkman2008]

I'm very familiar with Autopia and the egos over there. That's why I don't bother to visit that site. As a former Marine and LA cop, I've seen way to much action to have some noodle arm, pimple faced detailer threaten to kick my butt! I stay clear of that place, even though Adam's is a sponsor there.

One thing to note, there is no such thing as "100% pure carnuba". That would make it impossible to use, and hard as a rock. Also, this color thing that you hear about is hogwash. Cars will appear brighter and less shiny strictly due to their color. You can prove it to yourself by going to a new car dealership and looking at the brand new cars in the showroom. Notice that they never use white cars in the showroom. They always use dark colors. That's because the reds and blacks pop more under the lights in the showroom and they don't have anything but the stuff the factory put on them (if anything). You also here the same thing from red car owners about how cops notice their cars more in traffic. That's really not true either, but that's the story you always hear.

If anything, there may be ingredients in one product over another that makes your theory seem true. But you will never know until you take two of the exact same car that has been exposed to the same exact treatment and apply you theory. Until you do that, you will never know. When it comes to detailing, I use common sense. You hear me say that in my videos. If you just take the time to think about it, a lot of the things you hear can be dispelled by simply using this same common sense. If product A makes black paint pop, it should have the same pop factor on a white car. That's just common sense. And, if wax is truly wax, then it will no pop factor at all, unless it contains something else. Then, it is not "just wax".

I said this before about Meguiar's products above, but it deserves stating again. The Meguiar's products that you see with the Mirror Glaze label is their professional line. Everything else is their consumer grade junk and I would never use it. If you want to use their line, use the professional stuff. That's what I use when I use that product line.

[Icefsh]

Junkman2008, Great video on the PC7424XP! Makes me alot more confident that I can do this myself and achive great results!

Can the PC7424XP be used on a clear bra? Have some light scratches on mine. How about on strips?

Where in Colorado is the new Adams warehouse located? Can I pickup products directly from them?

Again thanks for sharing all your knowledge with us.