Porter Cable Annoyance

[Nacho98]

Is it just me or is it annoying as hell how easily the PC bogs down when on speeds 4 or lower?

Sometimes it pretty much bogs down under it's own weight when putting on glaze or sealant. It's especially annoying when you are on a vertical surface and pretty much almost have to pull it off the car a tiny bit in order for it to keep spinning. The other annoying thing is if the side of the pad so much as barely touches another angle of the body at a low speed, it bogs down. I realize the PC is designed to bog so you don't burn the paint, but there's no way you're going to burn the paint spinning some sealant on at speed 3 with no pressure.

I think it's great at high speed, but I think at low speed easy jobs like glaze and sealant you'd almost be better off using a plain old rotary.

EDIT: To make my gripe worth your time, here's a few pics from my winterization I finished up Wednesday (EZ Creme, 2 coats of Jetseal 109, and 2 coats of Pete's 53, interior got the usual treatment + Fabric Guard on all the carpet...will put stock floor mats in when the snow flies):

 

[Steve-Oh]

never had said problems. Although i don't think i've run my Porter that low.

 

[Nacho98]

 

[g36 monkey]

he's new handz lol.

car looks awesome. I don't use a Portercable, so I wouldnt know.

The buffers I run on boats are air powered and don't really have a speed adjustment.


Are pc's dual action?

 

[94 DropTop]

Ive never had a problem on setting 3. Sounds like you are pushing it down to hard. On the low settings you shouldn't really need to push at all.

 

[Steven]

I just put a 125 shot on mine to compensate. I get buffing done in half the time now.

 

[Sinned83]

Glazes or sealants dont have enough cutting ability to burn the paint unless you fall asleep while your PC stays in one spot. Rotarys are a far better machine which is why they run around $100 more.

 

[WhiteStallion94]

That car looks pristine.

 

[Nacho98]

Thanks, it takes a good bit of work to keep it that way.

I just finished day 3 of an extensive exterior only detail on my dad's '01 Eddie Bauer Expedition. It was oxidized to hell from being in the sun for ten years everyday (like laser pink but all oxidation I was able to get off with CG V36/V38) and it's a huge ass vehicle that I hope to never ever ever have to do again (standing on a ladder doing the middle of the roof sucks). So far I've done V36, V38, Glozzworkz Glaze, and one coat of Jetseal 109. Coat #2 of Jetseal tomorrow and two coats of Pete's 53 and I should be good.

But in doing this I've realized what I *REALLY* hate about the PC--The cable doesn't have a third ground plug, which means it comes unplugged all the fucking time. I can't so much as pull the cord around the garage with the PC or it disconnects if it catches on even the smallest thing--any yank of the pc unplugs it. I've tried other extension cords, and ultimately had to duct tape the PC to the extension cord to stop it from coming out. Also, the cord on the PC is the twistiest damn cord on any tool I've ever used. I straighten out the cord, then two minutes later I look at it and it's a twisted up knot. The PC is a good machine but dear god put a ground on it and use a better cable that doesn't twist so much.

 

[2v_takeover]

A little late but I realize this with the PC as well. Although I understand that they made it bog down so you don't kill anyone, I honestly think that it's more the pads that I'm using than the speed. When I did my car, I used a rather stiff foam pad and zipped through my car with no problems during the polishing. As soon as I had to do my glaze and sealant though, the other 2 pads were much to soft and then the machine bogged down because of that. Ended up just skipping the glaze because I was so pissed off, then just did sealant by hand. I was disappointed because I just paid 150$ for this machine that I thought was going to work better. Definitely getting a rotary. /rant

 

[Steve-Oh]

But in doing this I've realized what I *REALLY* hate about the PC--The cable doesn't have a third ground plug, which means it comes unplugged all the fucking time. I can't so much as pull the cord around the garage with the PC or it disconnects if it catches on even the smallest thing--any yank of the pc unplugs it. I've tried other extension cords, and ultimately had to duct tape the PC to the extension cord to stop it from coming out.

Solution:

Also, the cord on the PC is the twistiest damn cord on any tool I've ever used. I straighten out the cord, then two minutes later I look at it and it's a twisted up knot. The PC is a good machine but dear god put a ground on it and use a better cable that doesn't twist so much.

I think the cord is fairly good on mine compared to assorted DeWalt / Metabo power tools I use regularly.