# "Slow Cut Method" - via PC7424



## Dave KG

In this guide, I outline the slow-cut technique that I used on a recent detail to remove severe swirls from an Audi using the Porter Cable 7424. My technique is all based on the information L200 Steve has presented both on this forum and discussion I've had with him at the Wishaw detailing day a wee while back, possibly varying slightly from Steve's technique as we all have our own individual methods we're happy with but the idea is the same.

I present my methods which are also based on the use of the Menzerna polishes - Intensive Polish and Power Gloss Compound, which use milled aluminium as the abbrassive. This is fragile, and breaks down under applied pressure. So, by applying no pressure to the PC head you allow the abbrassives to break down naturally during the cutting process rather than shattering them with weight so yo get better cutting performance from the polish.

For this technique you will need:

> PC7424 DA Polisher (or equiv)
> 4/6" Cutting Pads
> Water or QD spray
> Plenty of patience! 

_Method_

1.
Apply a spray of water to the pad to wet it, and then apply some polish (PGC or IP depending on swirl severity) to the pad.

2.
Work on a very small area at a time - I would go for roughly 1' square, nothing more. Dab the machine around this area to apply the polish.

3.
Turn the PC on at speed 3. Support the weight of the machine - I tend to hold it with the handly on for this method, one hand underneth the back of the PC to hold it up and the other on the handle to guide direction without applying weight to the machine. Any hold is good though, so long as there is no weight over the head of the PC - try to support the machine's weight. Move the PC slowly across the area in overlapping strokes, at a speed of around 1/2" per second - very slowly. You should get around five, six passes before the polish starts to go clear and look like its drying and ready to buff off...

4.
Rather than buff off the residue, I spray the pad with some more water and repeat the above step. Speed 3, no weight, very slow passes. The polish hazes up again and you have more work time... Make more slow passes until the polish begins to go clear again.

5.
After two hits at speed 3, I then spray the pad with water and move onto speed 5, again no weight and no pressure and make slow passes by moving the PC at about 1/2" per second.

6.
Finally, spray the pad with water again, and move to speed 6 and this time apply pressure to the PC for a final single pass over the area at about 1" per second. The polish will likely be pretty clear after this stage, so buff off the residue. If you examine the pad, I found that it actually looked quite clean after this, very little white polish left there.

7.
If you've used PGC, you will induce micromarring with this method, but this can be easily removed using IP and either the fast or slow-cut technqiues.

* I am generally quite generous with the amount of product applied here, using a little more than I woud normally for the fast-cut method but being sure to work the polish in with the above method.

** This is my own personal mehtod for this technique which I find suits me well, it differs in a few ways from Steve's method I belive but the ideas are all the same. You may well feel more comfortable making more passes at speed 3, and the final pass at speed 5 for example - a little bit or trial of the method and you will find something that suits you perfectly.  I have presented my method as a general guide of the method rather than hard and fast technique.

If you have hard paint (eg VAG, BMW) then this method is key to getting the best out of Menzerna polishes for example, to get the best cutting results. Using the above, this thread shows what I achieved on the Audi: Audi A4 deswilred by Slow-Cut Technique


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## Polo_Power

Great just what i needed all vag family of cars so just gotta wait to the 26th to order some menz PG and IP! cant wait PC:thumb: arrives tommorrow!!!!

make a sticky?


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## Neil_S

Great guide Dave. Can we make this a sticky mods?


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## the_swollen_one

Well done Dave! Now if only I could find a seller for the Menzerna Products (if not then will have to wait until Rich and Ange get back from Florida)


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## Rasher

nice one Dave which do you favour more water or detailing spray???


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## Dave KG

Rasher said:


> nice one Dave which do you favour more water or detailing spray???


I use a 50/50 mix of Last Touch and Water (the way its mixed up for the clay lube).


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## JimTT

Well presented and very informative...:thumb: Thanks Dave


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## CK888

Another great writeup, Dave:thumb:

Gonna try this method on my Golf.


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## Rasher

> I use a 50/50 mix of Last Touch and Water (the way its mixed up for the clay lube).


cheers Dave


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## dino

Very good write up - gonna try this as i was beginning to lose faith after trying to de-swirl my VW.


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## Alonso225

Dave KG said:


> I use a 50/50 mix of Last Touch and Water (the way its mixed up for the clay lube).


Anyboyd knows the difference between Quick Detailer and Last Touch?


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## Dave KG

Alonso225 said:


> Anyboyd knows the difference between Quick Detailer and Last Touch?


I'm not sure of the exact differences in the make up of the product but from using them both, I would say that Last Touch is slicker than Quick Detailer and leaves a glossier finish when used as a qd spray. Litre for litre, Last Touch is also cheaper.

Also, for use as a clay lubricant, Quick Detailer should be used undiluted while Last Touch should be used as a 50/50 Last Touch and Water mix.


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## CK888

Dave, have you tried the slow method with Megs 83/80?


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## Dave KG

CK888 said:


> Dave, have you tried the slow method with Megs 83/80?


No, I haven't personally but I intend to give it a go to see if this technique work with other polishes too... I think the abbrassive in #83 are like talc, so I'm not sure how they will respond to the slow-cut method with no pressure or whether they will need the pressure to do their work... Will need to try it out, I can see another test panel from the scrap yard coming on!


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## L200 Steve

CK888 said:


> Dave, have you tried the slow method with Megs 83/80?


It works well on the rotary with Megs #83, though you don't have to do half as much spritzing as you do when using the Menz. Dave's right though, you'll need to use a bit more pressure with the #83, as Megs abrasives act differently to those of Menzerna polishes.


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## Alonso225

L200 Steve said:


> It works well on the rotary with Megs #83, though you don't have to do half as much spritzing as you do when using the Menz. Dave's right though, you'll need to use a bit more pressure with the #83, as Megs abrasives act differently to those of Menzerna polishes.


When we tried the Slow Cut Method on the Renault with the Menz. IP we did so because they dont have fillers that 'mask' swirls and/or right?

I understand that different polishes have different ways of working and react differently to pressure and type of machine (rotary or random) but would using polishes with fillers (such as #80 & #83 which ive used without much results) actually mask the effect of the scratch/swirl removal? - Question 1

Im thinking of using AutoGlym Super Resin Polish, just because I have some left in the bottle (and before I buy Menz IP), because Ive never tried it with a PC and because my random-in-depth scratches seem to be bullet proof. Do you thing AG SRP is too agressive (compared to Menz IP for example?) - Question 2


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## L200 Steve

We used the IP because it doesn't have the fillers that mask the defects like #80 & #83 can.

We also used IP because it wasn't abrading any great thickness of paint off, just slowly making the R.I.D.S. on your Megane just that little less noticeable.

If you want some Menz IP, drop Tim at Clenayourcar a PM, as he has some in stock, he's in Huddersfield too, so you could collect?


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## Alonso225

L200 Steve said:


> We used the IP because it doesn't have the fillers that mask the defects like #80 & #83 can.
> 
> We also used IP because it wasn't abrading any great thickness of paint off, just slowly making the R.I.D.S. on your Megane just that little less noticeable.
> 
> If you want some Menz IP, drop Tim at Clenayourcar a PM, as he has some in stock, he's in Huddersfield too, so you could collect?


Thank you Steve!!!

Ill get in touch with Tim.


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## Seano

Dave KG said:


> 7.If you've used PGC, you will induce micromarring with this method, but this can be easily removed using IP and either the fast or slow-cut technqiues.[/URL]


Dave sorry to be a numpty......still trying to get to grips with all these new products and their accronyms, IP i understand but what is PGC.? thanks for the patience....:thumb:

Sean.


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## veeduby

Seano said:


> Dave sorry to be a numpty......still trying to get to grips with all these new products and their accronyms, IP i understand but what is PGC.? thanks for the patience....:thumb:
> 
> Sean.


PGC = Power gloss compound :thumb:

I tried the slow cut method the other day on a section of my bonnet, it worked really well and didn't take as long as I thought it was going to, to remove the swirls/scratches.


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## Seano

veeduby said:


> PGC = Power gloss compound :thumb:
> 
> I tried the slow cut method the other day on a section of my bonnet, it worked really well and didn't take as long as I thought it was going to, to remove the swirls/scratches.


Cheers veeduby.....:thumb: :thumb:


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## mattwelcer

Dave KG said:


> No, I haven't personally but I intend to give it a go to see if this technique work with other polishes too... I think the abbrassive in #83 are like talc, so I'm not sure how they will respond to the slow-cut method with no pressure or whether they will need the pressure to do their work... Will need to try it out, I can see another test panel from the scrap yard coming on!


Thanks for a great guide!
One question though did you manage to try the Meguiars products to see if they work the same? I only ask as i have a VW Golf 3 GTI covered in swirls and only have Megs products but i have Sonus pads as well.
Any feedback or tips would be greatly appreciated!


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## Dave KG

mattwelcer said:


> Thanks for a great guide!
> One question though did you manage to try the Meguiars products to see if they work the same? I only ask as i have a VW Golf 3 GTI covered in swirls and only have Megs products but i have Sonus pads as well.
> Any feedback or tips would be greatly appreciated!


I have personally found that adding lube to the likes of #83 just makes a bit of a mess really for me, and doesn't seem to add anything to the working of the polish - if anything, I'd say it hinders it... The Megs #83 is a very well lubed polish as it is, takes a long time to break down (ten or more passes in my experience over an 18" square area), and it will stay lubed on its own for this duration without the need to add any extra lube which is what the above method is doing... I'd really only use the above technique for polishes which dry out quickly like Power Gloss, or I've also had good success with this method (or a varyation of it) with Farecla G3...


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## mattwelcer

Thanks Dave, i'll try adding more passes when i next detail the car with the PC to remove the swirls!


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## paddy328

Do you put the polish on once and then just wet the pad as you go along?

I thought that once it starts to go clear or powder, you would wipe it off and apply more ip or pgc.

Im new to this, as you can tell.


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## veeduby

paddy328 said:


> Do you put the polish on once and then just wet the pad as you go along?


Correct, after x amount of passes respray the pad with water/qd and continue with more passes.

I tried this again today, I must have been doing something wrong, I done it that same way I tried a few weeks back but this time I could only get at most 2 at a push 3 pases before the polish was going clear, I gave the bottle a good shake before I started too.
Then when I sprayed more qd onto the pad it was as if there was no polish on the pad
Hope that makes some sense?


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## conor.pharrell

Exactly what Ive been looking for!


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## spitfire

I decided to give this method a go today. I've been reasonably pleased with my results so far but with BMW clearcoat being so hard I wanted to see what results could be had. I used recently purchased 4" SFX 1 pad and IP 3.02. I don't have any PG yet so this is the most agressive combo I have available. Wow! Dave and L200 I have to take my hat off to you. I couldn't beleive the finish. It competely changed the depth and gloss of my silver paint. Like a fog had been lifted. And so wet looking. One door and a front wing had me out there for over 4 hours  but it was well worth it. I experimented with some megs step 2, some wet mirror, and some colinite 476 (the only wax I have right now) and I am more than chuffed. My car just keeps looking better and better. Thanks to all who contribute to this forum. :thumb:


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## ado

Tried this on the clio today. Solid Blue with some defects.

Worked very well. Near enough all defects gone. There are still some left on the O/S rear quarter and bonnet but they seem much deeper than the others. Well pleased overall.


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## Bulla2000

Interesting technique, I´ll try it soon. Thanks for sharing.


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## fil_b

has anyone had anymore luck with the megs #83 with this method??


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## L200 Steve

fil_b said:


> has anyone had anymore luck with the megs #83 with this method??


There is no need to slow cut or light cut using the Megs #83, as #83 is a lovely wet polish.

This was a technique developed to get the best cut from Menzerna IP PO91L, which is a polsh that seemed to dry out too quickly before a LSP ready finish was created.

There are a few vids on here of how to get the best from #83


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## Bigpikle

L200 Steve said:


> There is no need to slow cut or light cut using the Megs #83, as #83 is a lovely wet polish.
> 
> This was a technique developed to get the best cut from Menzerna IP PO91L, which is a polsh that seemed to dry out too quickly before a LSP ready finish was created.
> 
> There are a few vids on here of how to get the best from #83


agreed - I followed Steve's technique with the #83 when I was learning and it transformed my results. Slow, speed 4.5, steady firm pressure and 10 passes and it did it for me :thumb:


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## fil_b

Bigpikle said:


> agreed - I followed Steve's technique with the #83 when I was learning and it transformed my results. Slow, speed 4.5, steady firm pressure and 10 passes and it did it for me :thumb:


i was playing about with it yesterday on a 4" pad

only got half the bonnet done but looks liek it got rid of alot of the swrils, bad light so hard to see really, few of the deeper swirls/scratches still there

think i 10 passes next time i try then change the speed do a few more see how it looks

cheers


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## patbhoy

Hi Dave

The link to your results on the Audi wont open, would it be possible to post some pics.

Cheers
Pat:thumb: 

P.S. When the weather improves i am going to try your technique on my black BMW


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## Shauni

Tried this method on our new EsCos yesterday and I'm well chuffed with the result!!
Thanks Dave :thumb:


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## patbhoy

Hey Dave

Could you tell me what pad I should use on my BMW's hard paint.

Cheers
Pat


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## patbhoy

patbhoy said:


> Hey Dave
> 
> Could you tell me what pad I should use on my BMW's hard paint.
> 
> Cheers
> Pat


Gave it a go this morning, used a 4" sfx restore pad.
Happy with the result but an hour and a quarter to do an approx square foot, it'll be time to get a new car by the time i,ve got the entire car done.:lol:


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## Dave KG

Yes - for using a compound such as Power Gloss and slow cut method, I'd be looking at a cutting pad such as SFX-1 or yellow Lake Country.


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## patbhoy

patbhoy said:


> Gave it a go this morning, used a 4" sfx restore pad.
> Happy with the result but an hour and a quarter to do an approx square foot, it'll be time to get a new car by the time i,ve got the entire car done.:lol:


Sorry forgot to say, I was using IP.


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## patbhoy

Dave KG said:


> Yes - for using a compound such as Power Gloss and slow cut method, I'd be looking at a cutting pad such as SFX-1 or yellow Lake Country.


Hi Dave

Took your advice and gave it another go this time using a 6" yellow LC pad, it gave better results than the SFX-1 and the bigger pad made it not so time consuming (the wife has always said i'd be better with an extra couple of inches).
What I would like to ask is what should I follow up with after the IP.
The items i have are FF PO 85 RD and PO 106 FA, i also have G3, SSR 2, SRP, EGP, Megs 3 step system, Megs NXT tech wax and XXX hardcore wax.
Pads i have are SFX-1-2-3, LC yellow, orange, white, blue and black.
Your advice has been invaluable and given me the best results of anything i've tried,
Keep up the good work.

Cheers
Pat:thumb:


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