I'm after a polisher, which to pick!

[Andymacselespeed]

I've been thinking about buying a nice car polisher for a while now, I have a big old buffer that I use to polish off my car wax, but I;m thinking a nice kit a la e-bay. I've found these, what do we think?

German, lots of bits


Even more pricey

Big kit and sands too

And another kit

All are the angle grinder type models with variable speeds from about 600rpm up to 3000rpm. All have lots of covers, buffers, polishers etc. I'm not a polishing queen, just want something to help buff out some of the minor scratches and inground grime that I can't shift in a reasonable time by hand. My car came with about 2 trillion paint marks, minor scratches probably from a life of an auto car wash.
Whats good?
Cheers

Andy
Andy

 

[Andy Monty]

if you have not used a rotary before i would get some tuition......

pad quality varies a lot too

best off spending your money on something like this imo

yes its a lot more money but it will do the job nicely and is a bit safer than a rotary


http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Kestrel_DAS-6_Dual_Action_Machine_Polisher_1.html



https://www.fiatforum.com/car-care/182419-started-machine-polish-gp.html

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=105712

 

[Ninja59]

if you have not used a rotary before i would get some tuition......

pad quality varies a lot too

best off spending your money on something like this imo

yes its a lot more money but it will do the job nicely and is a bit safer than a rotary


http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Kestrel_DAS-6_Dual_Action_Machine_Polisher_1.html



https://www.fiatforum.com/car-care/182419-started-machine-polish-gp.html

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=105712

exactly what i was going to say either a Kes DAS-6 or Megs G220 esp if you have NO experience with a rotary....some people will prefer the rotary (like myself) but stepping back to the G220 oddly enough for me after using the rotary is easier...

 

[Andymacselespeed]

Those dual action ones are over£100! That's a huge lump of cash more than I was looking to spend! Are they available for a more reasonable sum of money.

 

[Tris Harris]

you can get a cheap dual action one from the likes of B&Q but generally they have too high a rpm and you are very limited with what pad size you can use...

 

[Andymacselespeed]

Right-o, so given a budget of about £50 (If it doesn't work, or I can't get to grips with it, I don;t want to waste buckets of cash) , what should I buy in the way of a polisher? I want a full kit with all the bits I'll need, not a bare unit which then needs loads of other parts and bits, and different grades of cotton wool!

I already own one of those huge bonnet machines which is a huge slow rotating fixed on head, random orbit jobbie which I was given for Christmas about 4 years ago. I use that to buff off my car wax after I've put it on by hand. The head is a big squashy duvet of a thing.

Now I am after a put-er on-er, something to help remove scratches and ingrained grime quicker than I can do by hand!

Cheers much

Andy

PS - I'll be reading any instructions I can find and going slowly. If I destroy my paintwork, then so be it! Buyer beware and all that.

 

[Andy The Gardener]

PS - I'll be reading any instructions I can find and going slowly. If I destroy my paintwork, then so be it! Buyer beware and all that.

Why not get a cheap (or even free) body panel from a scrap yard. That way you can purposely scratch/swirl it to test out products before moving onto your more valuable car?

As Tris has said, you can get the cheaper DAs at B&Q, for around £30-£40, but they won't come with the backing plates, pads, polishes etc. So, by the time you've bought the pads etc to go with it, it will cost you more anyway.

Why not save abit more, and invest in a kit? I've just treated myself to a Kestrel DAS-6 kit from Clean Your Car for a little over £100 : http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-dual-action-polisher/cat_71.html

And, if it doesn't work or you can't get to grips of it, sell it on Ebay?

 

[Andy Monty]

different grades of cotton wool!

you really do need to do some serious reading up if your planning on using wool mops they get far too hot for modern acrylic paint finishes and are way too aggressive for general correction work

and stupidly soft pads will not break down the diminishable abrasive in modern polishing compounds cheap ones have a tendency to de-bond from the backing Velcro or the mandral on a cheap backing pad detaches leading rise to the risk of catastrophic paint damage .

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=66024

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859


think of it another way if you get a cheap rotary and you make a mess of the paintwork it wont work out cheap should you have to have a respray or have a pro detailer remove buffer trails and the like ....

at the end of the day its your money Buy cheap pay twice


oh and it will also be essential to clay bar the car first.....

 

[Ninja59]

you really do need to do some serious reading up if your planning on using wool mops they get far too hot for modern acrylic paint finishes and are way too aggressive for general correction work

and stupidly soft pads will not break down the diminishable abrasive in modern polishing compounds cheap ones have a tendency to de-bond from the backing Velcro or the mandral on a cheap backing pad detaches leading rise to the risk of catastrophic paint damage .

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=66024

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859


think of it another way if you get a cheap rotary and you make a mess of the paintwork it wont work out cheap should you have to have a respray or have a pro detailer remove buffer trails and the like ....

at the end of the day its your money Buy cheap pay twice


oh and it will also be essential to clay bar the car first.....

i need not say anything AM has said most of it....but my thoughts...

50 quid will go no where when it comes to MP'ing and i can tell you from my own experience i would not go straight to a rotary first....even if i dislike the DA as much as i do but it gave me the experience to use the rotary being aware that it works so much quicker than the DA...but without that experience i would have nothing....
AM has highlighted that it is a serioues investment and should not be taken lightly...proper polishes alone can go from 20-35 and then there is the different cut levels even excluding the pads....so your 50 pounds goes no where near getting all of the kit necessary to get it done properly save up and get the proper equipment...

roughly i have spent 150 on the DA (the kes is far better and at 90 is alot cheaper than the G220), my rotary was only 80 (but the above should make you aware), the other option is to go to a session where you can use both machines and go from there...like i did the DA is not so bad but with the rotary yes it is....the technique of use is totally different....

polishesrobably about 100-150

Pads: - probably about 100....i love the 3M ones

on another note i would not even consider a wool mop without serious consideration they are most aggressive....

Mp'ing requires skill, practice and time as well as reading to get correct

but if im being honest it aint paintwork...ive given the advice if you choose not to follow what people have suggested then so be it...

edit: nice one AM for giving the DaveKG links these are well worth a read to...

 

[Andymacselespeed]

Cheers for all the input, It just isn't worth the money to buy in all the equipment it would seem. If it is going to cost so much for the polisher, then another load of money for polishes in a whole range of grades, and then heads and the list of bits an pieces that posters have suggested, it would probably turn out cheaper to get a professional to give it a really good once over once or twice a year and stick to a quick once over with a bit of polish.

Would that seem about right? I assume a good car clean, cut and polish by a professional may cost £100 for a good few hours labour, against what looks like easily into hundreds of pounds on the kits listed here, or am I missing something?

Cheers

Andy

 

[Andy The Gardener]

Would that seem about right? I assume a good car clean, cut and polish by a professional may cost £100 for a good few hours labour, against what looks like easily into hundreds of pounds on the kits listed here, or am I missing something?

Just to add more confusion and prices to the topic - prices for professionals will all depend on the level they do/you want them to do. Could range from anything to a good clean & protection to complete paint correction and protection. And, unfortunatly, I wouldnt have a clue as to the prices - but I can't imagine a full correction is cheap.

As the others have posted, look on Detailing World under the Showroom & Studio sections. This will give you an idea as to the extend professionals can go to, and what you would like to have done to your car and you can go from there.

To look at, the DA kits arn't cheap but they are well worth the money and in the great scheme of things are a worthwhile investment if you are serious about detailing/correcting and protecting your paintwork. Plus, it becomes somewhat of a hobby too and you can take pride in your car more knowing you've got it just the way you want it.

Have you not got a friend who is also into cars - perhaps you could split the price and share the kit between you?

 

[Ninja59]

well most pros are about 250 for winter protection alone....thats barely any correction maybe only once it all depends on how much correction you want really....once over with a reasonable one will get rid of most swirls heavy stuff and RDS is different matter entirely....ur probably talking about 300-450 easily...

 

[Andymacselespeed]

I'm definately in the wrong job!
£450 for a days work or is it less time?!
That's not bad at all.

 

[Andy Monty]

I'm definately in the wrong job!
£450 for a days work or is it less time?!
That's not bad at all.

well a full correction can take anything up to 3 or more days.....

took me nearly 2 full days to do my punto and that wasn't in a bad state.

you have to factor in the cost of the products used a persons time the cost of their electric/water/heating/ rent and insurance

it could take the best part of a day just to get the car to the point where you can start to machine polish it.....