Machine buffing?

Author
Discussion

Andehh

Original Poster:

7,107 posts

205 months

Monday 6th October 2014
quotequote all
I'm not meticulous when I wash the car, but I do the standard rinse off, 2 buckets wash, rinse, blade off water, dry then wax routine each week/every other week but the waxing I find a huge PIA. As the BMW 5 series is a big car so it takes forever to buff out the wax and inevitably it still ends up looking 'shadowed' on the surface.

With limited time & even less patience, would a £50 Amazon machine polish with a soft pad be ok to do this final step with?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-Silverstorm%C2%...

cheers

Buff Mchugelarge

3,316 posts

149 months

Monday 6th October 2014
quotequote all
That'd would do the trick, it more to do with the pads, chemicals and speed you use it at.
Practice is the key. There's loads of how to's on the net to get you going too

Andehh

Original Poster:

7,107 posts

205 months

Monday 6th October 2014
quotequote all
Many thanks mate, is there any danger of scorching the paint? Obviously leaving it on the same spot for too long wouldn't do it any good but for casual use is there a real danger?

ch427

8,857 posts

232 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
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A good wax product should not need to be applied every week/other week so that step could be skipped.
As long as you stick to a decent manufacturers shampoo that does not strip the wax you will be fine.
The autoglym aqua dry cloth is a great addition to the home valeters collection, i use mine after the blade and the finish is always streak free.
The machine in the wrong hands can be dangerous!

Squiggs

1,520 posts

154 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
quotequote all
That's the sort of thing you need to start with - but what you need to do is get a panel from the scrappies and push it to its limits on that so you know how it can cause damage.

Tim662

69 posts

134 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
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With that kind of rotary machine there is a real risk of damaging the paint yes.

Dual action polishers are much better suited for first timers. This is a great place to start:

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/d...

The clutch inside the unit will stop the spinning should you press too hard on a corner. Press too hard with a normal rotary and it'll just plough on.

Even on a black car though you shouldn't need to do this more than once or twice a year if you're careful when washing and use a good sealant and wax. What are you using at the moment? Waxing once a week is far too much. My last sealant has lasted 6 months so far, and it was only meguiars ultimate paste wax.

The drying blades are a bad idea, and will lead to the car needing a machine polish pretty quickly. A high quality microfibre towel like the wooly mammoth is a great investment. Just lay it on, pat it down a bit and it dries without even moving over the surface.

If you've got time this is a great watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgSLEVi_SPg

Andehh

Original Poster:

7,107 posts

205 months

Tuesday 7th October 2014
quotequote all
I use autoglym shampoo then turtle wax. After a couple of weeks the water doesn't seem to bead quite at much hence me re-waxing after the wash.

Blade saved me having to use 2-3 microfiber towels and made the job a lot quicker, but if it could damage the paint ill give it a miss. It's a good quality one if that helps? 5 series has a lot of big panels! frown

Will definitely go for dual action one then, having the clutch seems like a very good idea.

Many thanks for the help

Tim662

69 posts

134 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
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Something better than turtle wax will definitely make life easier. Lots of people highly rating FK1000P for lasting a long time with mega beading

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/finishkare-...

Maintained with a good wash and wax shampoo I guess it could last up to around 6-9 months

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/c...




Encantada

3,961 posts

252 months

Friday 10th October 2014
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FKP1000 is good, better than Zymol imho, but not as good as the gtechniq range. My FKP is now resigned to the home furniture....

Kevin.

RichB

51,431 posts

283 months

Friday 10th October 2014
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Andehh said:
...Blade saved me having to use 2-3 microfiber towels and made the job a lot quicker, but if it could damage the paint ill give it a miss.
I've got an Autoglym blade but I only use it on the daily car. There's too much risk of a tiny particle of dust gett8ing under the blade and leaving a long line fine on the car.

Crafty_

13,248 posts

199 months

Friday 10th October 2014
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As Tim says, get a DA like that DAS-6 (also called a Kestrel I believe), they were around for £100 or so not long ago (+ backing plate & pad etc).

I like using 3M Ultrafina on a relatively fine pad, doesn't really correct the paint but gets rid of holograms/smears and fills some of the swirls.