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Buying An Electric Polisher


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Hi folks.

I thought that I would treat myself to a basket full of detailing stuff.......polishes/waxes/wheel cleaner/protector etc.

I have been onto the 'detailing World' site and asked a question about buying an electric polisher and someone told me that I need to be careful what I buy as my car probably has 'soft paint'.

I always thought that paint was paint, didn't realise that there is a difference. Does anyone on here know the answer to this one please. Does anyone use such a polisher and can offer any recommendations. I was initially looking at the DAS 6 PRO but once again, someone has suggested that it might be too powerful for my car/paint.

Any thoughts anyone. Many thanks.

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I think with all the new
polishes, waxes and sealants that are around now you don’t really need a
electric polisher, they seem to go on and come off without to much effort,
compared to the polishes from years back, the only reason I would probably use
it for was removing light scratches and swirl marks.

I did once look into buying one, if its purely designed for
car polishers then I would say it should be safe and they are designed not to
damage your paint, year ago before car polishers were designed people used to
put a pad on the end of a drill and wondered why they burnt and damaged there
paint work.

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I can't recommend my g220 high enough!

Im also looking into this method. would you recommend the whole kit for a beginner getting into detailing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meguiars-G220-V2-Dual-Action-Polisher-Meguiars-M105-M205-Kit-/251448805053?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item3a8b8446bd

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It's very easy to burn any paintwork with standard polishing machines if you don't know what you doing, I would suggest looking for a Porter Cable random orbit polisher.

You may find this You Tube video interesting:

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I think that I have narrowed my choice down to 2 polishers...........

Maguiars G220 and the Kestrel DAS 6 PRO

A top job seems to be the Flex 3401 but is very very expensive and I can't see that at my level of detailing would warrant spending that sort of money.

Anyone got any further thoughts on helping make the final choice?

Thanks for all the input thus far.

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I have the das 6 pro, and im looking at giving my rx300 a light correction in certain areas, i use scholl s17+ or s30 , my honda civic type r had soft paint, and that came up fantastic. See if anyone local has a pdg ( paint depth gauge ), then get a true reading of your paints depth and quality.

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Just had a look, it is a good kit and a good price, have alook on clean your car website, they do it with menzerna kit instead of meguiars.

Thanks for your input. You obviously use the menzema stuff on your car, out of interest what are your reasons for this? I have never used anything on my cars before, other than a bit of stuff from Halfords on occasion and so am not familiar with proper car detailing.

I am getting close to making my choice of machine but, then up pops another problem, there are different types of pad to use for different processes. Any ideas on this?

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Hi, I have used both Meguiars and menzerna, it all depends what you want to achieve with your car. There are various types of cutting and correction compounds, Scholl s17+ and s30 are great also. Your first time machine polishing can be very daunting regardless of how many videos and posts you have seen or read, I ended up buying a cheap bonnet from my local scrap yard and tried different pads and compounds until I found the right combination pad and cutting compound. Feel free to ask anything you are not sure about, what I would say is a must is getting the paint depth checked, as you don't want to burn through the paint,

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Hi, I have used both meguiars and menzerna, it all depends what you want to achieve with your car. There are various types of cutting and correction compounds, Scholl s17+ and s30 are great also. Your first time machine polishing can be very daunting regardless of how many videos and posts you have seen or read, I ended up buying a cheap bonnet from my local scrap yard and tried different pads and compounds until I found the right combination pad and cutting compound. Feel free to ask anything you are not sure about, what I would say is a must is getting the paint depth checked, as you don't want to burn through the paint,

Wow! I have just checked the net for a depth gauge and they all seem to be very very very expensive, and then i spotted one for around twenty quid but I then thought that if all of the others are so expensive, can this one really give an accurate reading. Probably unlikely.

I am just looking to get a really nice evenly polished/waxed look to my car and to hopefully get rid of some of the quite small blemishes and swirls that I have at the moment

I wonder if my local dealership would do a depth test for me if i asked them nicely.

Are the pads that you need for each process, interchangeable between machines or, do they come specifically made by the manufacturer of each machine?

Thanks again for being so helpful.

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Hi, the pads are interchangeable, between machines i.e da, rotary and flex. I wouldnt bother asking your local dealer unless they are very good, not many places will have depth gauges besides detailing company's, not even valeting firms will have them because they dont do correction stages.

Where about are you based.

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Forgive the last part of my post, just saw your in devon.it wouldnt be worth purchasing a pdg if your only going to do your own car. I would be tempted to join detailing world, i am on that site and its extremely good. You could ask if there is anyone local to you that has one that would be willing to do a reading over all your panels for a few pounds.

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Thanks Paul, some really useful information there. I will investigate your recommendations further during the next couple of days. I didn't realise that there are polishes that contain fillers, that sound a really useful product.

Thanks again. Thanks also to Carl. I will hopefully get myself sorted soon and if the weather picks up I can get stuck-in.

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Obvious but often overlooked is that before getting rid of swirls or hiding them read up on correct wash technique so as to avoid inflicting them in the first place. Nothing is more sole destroying than getting a nice finish after a days work only to undo it at the next wash.

All the terms like Wax and polish tend to used wrongly except on detailing Forums. Autoglym Super Resin is a mildly abrasive AOI (all in one) in that it it has some cut to the polish when used with some pressure, contains fillers and leaves a coating of sealant protection behind so last a couple of months or so. What is recommended is to do one coat with pressure then a second using no pressure followed by a wax or sealant over the top. Wax and sealant are called the LSP (last stage product).

I use Jeffs Acrylic Jett trigger spray which takes 15min to do a whole car and lasts for months and as its water based will not remove any of the fillers in the polish its applied over.

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Obvious but often overlooked is that before getting rid of swirls or hiding them read up on correct wash technique so as to avoid inflicting them in the first place. Nothing is more sole destroying than getting a nice finish after a days work only to undo it at the next wash.

All the terms like Wax and polish tend to used wrongly except on Detailing Forums. Autoglym Super Resin is a mildly abrasive AOI (all in one) in that it it has some cut to the polish when used with some pressure, contains fillers and leaves a coating of sealant protection behind so last a couple of months or so. What is recommended is to do one coat with pressure then a second using no pressure followed by a wax or sealant over the top. Wax and sealant are called the LSP (last stage product).

I use Jeffs Acrylic Jett trigger spray which takes 15min to do a whole car and lasts for months and as its water based will not remove any of the fillers in the polish its applied over.

Brilliant Paul, you are being really helpful with this info. it is probably going to cost me a few bob to kit myself out properly but I think that it will be worth it in the end. i think that before reading your advice I would be one of those who would undo all of the good work by giving the car a 'rubbish wash' I have always been a sponge and leather man up until now. I intend to change that once I have purchased all my goodies!

I am wondering if I might venture into a bit of 'claying' too. have you ever tried this?

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