To ensure you don’t get any product on areas you don’t mean to you should tape off areas like the door handles, lights, trim, glass, emblems, grills, mirrors, bumpers, rubber seals, etc. We recommend taping off areas that can easily be stained and are hard to avoid. We use painter’s tape (usually 3M’s blue painters tape) that can be found at a local hardware store and it applies and removes very easy from the clear coat.

Using the Porter Cable 7424 around trim and tight spaces takes time to master and you should only do what you feel comfortable with. If you feel a buffer may be dangerous to use around certain areas you should probably avoid using the buffer there. Areas you should be careful around are: trim, emblems, door handles, side view mirrors, windows, sunroof, grills, bumpers, spoilers, joints, lights, etc. Some of these areas may need to be completed with precision hand application. I typically use the Porter Cable 7424 on any area that I can easily buff without risking harm to the surrounding paint, trim, etc. If you feel comfortable holding the buffer at odd angles you may be able to detail more challenging areas like the bumpers, around trim, side view mirrors, etc. It’s okay to hold the buffer at angles as long as you don’t put too much pressure on the part of the pad touching the clear coat. Additionally, not using the supplied side handle for the PC may help you get into some tough to reach places like under the side view mirrors. For those tough to reach areas you may need to move the buffer at a very slow pace and lower the speed to gain more control. When in doubt, side with caution and don’t risk harming the vehicle.