Car polisher/Buffer

[maserati300]

Anyone suggest a good make or machine to use to polish the car with. I HATE doing it by hand and feel a machine would do a better job....something like this in below link?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynamo-Powe...NC/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1308143473&sr=8-15

I do have a sander at home. circular one - was wondering if correct pads were bought and put on that would it suffice or do you need a specific buffer?

Thanks in advance for comments/suggestions

Marcus

 

[MAF260]

Don't use a power sander! It's not designed for the job.

Have a look at a few valeting sites for recommendations, you'll usually find something decent for around £100 - £120. DA machines are deemed best for those starting out as the variable action means you are less likely to burn through your paintwork.

 

[Marc777]

I don't have the nerve ... I know I'll end up down at primer before you know it !

 

[conaero]

I just bought the kit as per the link above and used G10 which is basically the a finer G3 compound. I did the Opel and it did take several hours, so its not quick but the results speak for themselves.

Just use lots of water and low speed, about 1800rpm, and keep it moving and dont push ******* edges and you will be fine.

My piece of advise is to do it outside and wear cloths you can throw away as the stuff goes everywhere and my roll chest is coated in dried on wax!

Heres a vid:

[video=youtube;lzO1bF4gNWg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzO1bF4gNWg[/video]

[video=youtube;7c2KxNEd-Fg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c2KxNEd-Fg[/video]

 

[Parisien]

Best to ask someone to show you how to do it properly......then supervise you as you do it the first time......its a very easy way to **** up your paintwork.

P

 

[Woody]

I bought a DAS-6 Dual Action polisher a year or so ago. Its well worth an evening of reading up on something like detailingworld.co.uk Basically, the dual action is more suited to the amateur. I've used it on my last M3 and my MINI, but only used it to polish the GS. If you're sensible, using a DA it'd be hard to mess up your paint work. If you're wanting to do it right, it takes a long time (clay bar etc etc) but is worth doing once.

 

[Palmball]

I've had a dual action machine (a DAS-6 in fact) and there are few things that stood out for me:

DA's are very safe to use - they're just not aggressive enough even with a cutting compound and harsh pad. This means that they're OK for polishing the top coat, less good if you want to remove some topcoat to get rid of swirls.

They are quite heavy (compared to rotaries) and as such it was much HARDER than doing it by hand. Don't think that using a machine makes it physically easier....it doesn't

Once I'd seen a rotary in action (whilst watching the guy who just corrected my GT-S's paintwork), I knew that was the way forward instead of a DA. Yes, you do have to be a lot more careful but just as Matt said above, don't use any pressure on the edges, keep it lubricated and moving and you won't do any damage. It's amazing just how good a rotary is at removing swirls.

 

[MAF260]

I shall be buying a polisher at some point in the near future after advice from a mate who owns a body shop - as Palmball has said, a rotary can do more but you need to take extreme care - detailers use paint depth gauges to see how far they can go when correcting paintwork. I will also be investing in a couple of scrap panels with different contours and edges to practice on well before going anywhere near my cars!

 

[conaero]

I will also be investing in a couple of scrap panels with different contours and edges to practice on well before going anywhere near my cars!

MAF, you can practice on my GT if you want, bring your polisher to the next SM meet, Ill be in the bar if you want me!

 

[MAF260]

Thanks for the offer Matt, very generous of you! Your GT should be immaculate, it's just been completely resprayed!

 

[conaero]

Being red, its swirling up fast. The paint still seems very soft and marks easily. I talked to them about this and they just said it would eventually go off, suppose I need some heat on it.

 

[MAF260]

I was told some time ago that red paint never fully sets due to the pigments in it. I have no idea if that's still true with modern paints (assume they're water based these days?) but certainly old red cars fade terribly to a chalky pink matt finish which but can be brought back to life with some serious cutting & polishing. Seems odd that your car sounds like it might need some paint correction when the respray was so recent. Maybe Jay on here could advise?

 

[BennyD]

Red paint is one of the worst colours to keep on top of. Apparently it's quite soft so it fades badly and can be badly marked by the lime in bird cr4p. So, do the right thing and stick to sensible colours!

 

[conaero]

Hum, I am starting to think so, my old Alfa 3.2 GTV was the same, stone chipped and swirled and I really cared for it.

What's black like to live with, a nightmare like red or is it harder. The best colour I have had for durability was the Grigio Alfieri on my GS, it showed nothing, chips, swirls or dirt, then again, when you polish it up, there was not much difference, oh happy days:



If I may say so my old 32 looks the muts nuts! Anyone heard from Speedy40 who bought it?









I bought the wife this when I was running round in a van, leather, Bose and it was a turbo, went like stink but felt very unmasculine driving it (if you know what I mean)

 

[Parisien]

...all look good and have a part to play Matt.............................the colour on your GS was a very smart and suited the car very well.....not heard from him....pity!


P

PS Ooooppsss...was looking at the 3200 for that comment......I do love those dark blues..............but the 4200 was always immaculate!!!!

 

[conaero]

I just pm's him over on MF we will see if he comes back to me, I know he served in the army and was in Iraq last time I heard from him, lets hope all is well.

 

[GransportFan1]

Matt you should have had one of these Beetles.




Never knew you had a 3200, that looks a beauty.

 

[conaero]

Ill pass on the Bug thanks, yes, has a 3200 for 2 years or so, loved it, robbed me of every penny I had, so it was very refreshing to find that the GS was so easy going.

 

[Palmball]

Black is horrid to keep clean - it shows up everything in the sun! I had a couple of black cars before and swore I'd never have one again but the GT-S looks so good in black. But it's hard work to keep it looking like that, especially with this Italian paint which is so soft it's a wonder it doesn't give when you touch it!

White is my favourite as it looks good and doesn't show up swirls - yes, you need to keep it clean but it's easy to wash and doesn't show water marks!

 

[Andyk]

Matt, not seen a pic odf you gtv before...very nice....do like a red Alfa.