Has anyone bought any of these kits recently autopia....not too sure which to go for

I'd go for this one. It's got all you need.

I went for the same kit but with the porter cable polisher (before they brought out their own Ultimate detailing polisher).


Bear in mind that you'll need to get a stepdown transformer as well to run it in UK.

I'll second that.... I also bought the PC 7424 before Autopia introduced their own. The PC 7424 works great so if the their UDP is even better it must be very good indeed.

I bought a Dewalt DW443 dual action sander, that is 240V and doesn't require a transformer..

just found a webpage with someone else who uses one.. http://www.matey-matey.com/auto-detailing.shtml

I did a lot of research before I bought mine... most recommendations were that it was better than the porter cable machine..

A big bonus, is that I got mine for just over £75 inc delivery... it's doubled in price now unfortunately.



John

I bought a UDM last year when I went through this car detailing phase..................

It looks very nice in the box........

I have used it a grand total of 0 times!

LOL

I bought the UDM kit from Autopia and used it once and never touched it again. I sold it on ebay recently. I think if your paintwork is that bad it requires an orbital, it's best to get a full paint correction done by a professional. If you (as I did) consider buying the UDM just to be lazy, I'd say don't bother because it's a pain in the proverbial to use and my fear always was that if just one small piece of grit got on the pad it would bugger the paintwork very quickly.

Thanks for the suggestions lads....@ wylie its needed more for the corolla i just bought for the mrs, its got some swirls, not too bad, but being black it shows more......plus my IS hasnt been cleaned in over a year so would be nice to give it a good buff up ..... i can see where your coming from though i would probably do one of the cars and then never touch it again

Well, I primarily got mine to polish up the bodywork on the 626, after some damage..

Bought the GS before I really got a chance to use it, although did give the car a good going over with some wax..

You can also use it to apply wax, and then to buff it off... save a lot of donkey work, and gives a brilliant swirl free finish...
Highly recommended to use everytime you wax it.


John

Depends on how fastidious you are...in how you look at your paint finish as well as how you use the polisher. I don't find it a pain to use and use it as and when necessary, but I have two other cars besides the two Lexus and it's a lot easier to apply polish and buff with the machine rather than by hand. In between it's just the hand application of carnauba wax at fairly regular intervals.

I'm quite clumsy with things like that though so the chances of me buggering something up are quite high! I use Dodo juice which is best applied with your bare fingers rather than a pad and I much prefer that because then I can feel any imperfections as I'm going. I just can't help thinking that one slip of the hand with a polisher and it crashes onto your paintwork and causes damage. I'm just far too cautious probably!

Ok ordered this earlier today, just want to get the rest of the bits before it comes.....apart from the 110V transformer, which of these do i need? this or this. Also is it one of these i need?

Ta

I haven't got a 110V extension lead, but it would be useful...that's all you need apart from the transformer

Either of the leads will do... the thicker one is preferable...

I think you will need an adaptor, or a 110V industrial plug to put on the end of the polisher, as I am pretty sure it will have a US style plug..


John

OK, thanks lads

Yes, it will depend on the transformer. Mine has two US style flat pin sockets for 110V outlets and a UK three pin for the 240V mains, so I didn't require a new plug on the polisher.

Ahh ok, just got a Carroll and Meynell transformer for a tenner on ebay ....result.......will get one anyway just incase its only a £1 odd

shaz did u look at the megs g220???? its 220 volt already

I didnt know of it Rob, will google it in a minute, has anyone here had any experience with it?

I read Maguires do a cordless polisher that does rather poorly in tests..

A mains powered one is much better.. like my dewalt..

Plus if I get bored, I can always sand some wood around the house..


John

the megs 220 is also very good, some people prefer it to the porter+cable

it does actually look pretty good, would have looked into it had i known about it before hand, aready ordered from autopia by then

Whats the best way to clean the pads after use then? Machine/hand, with just water or soapy water?

read u can put them in the wash machine

Ta

wash them with fairy liquid then rinse and and let them dry on the plate rack,if you want to use the pad for a different product ,then after rinsing put it back on the da polisher and spin it on the lowest setting.all the water spins off and you are ready to go again.

Thanks for that mate, might just do that rather than sticking 3 pads in the machine.......watch that carbon foot print and all that !!

yeah a friend of mine purchased a 110v polisher from autopia. then a few months after i bought the meguiars polisher.
pretty much the same polisher but mine has a longer lead on it and i dont need a transformer!! oh and i think mine was a little cheaper too.

i must admit i havent really used it. i polished the front wing on my corsa but thats about it. once the garage is built il get the cars in and give them a good going over!!