Convince Me I Can Polish
Discussion
I've got to get my 996 cab some loving on the paint front but I keep shying away from finishing the apparently excessive, (according to the OH), washing process with a nice paint cut & polish. Every time I try to work it up I end up bottling it and just giving it a once over with Auto Glym rub on wipe off polish despite having a Maguiars DA polisher and various compounds. I'm just scared of f
king it up :-(
I'm too tight to pay someone else to do it and genuinely want to have a go but for each DIY video I find, i find a post about a polishing nightmare
Any one have any advice, particularly pork related?
king it up :-(I'm too tight to pay someone else to do it and genuinely want to have a go but for each DIY video I find, i find a post about a polishing nightmare
Any one have any advice, particularly pork related?
Fireblade69 said:
I've got to get my 996 cab some loving on the paint front but I keep shying away from finishing the apparently excessive, (according to the OH), washing process with a nice paint cut & polish. Every time I try to work it up I end up bottling it and just giving it a once over with Auto Glym rub on wipe off polish despite having a Maguiars DA polisher and various compounds. I'm just scared of fking it up :-(
I'm too tight to pay someone else to do it and genuinely want to have a go but for each DIY video I find, i find a post about a polishing nightmare
Any one have any advice, particularly pork related?
Pay a bona-fide detailer to come round and do it and ask them if you can watch or even ask them to teach you.king it up :-(I'm too tight to pay someone else to do it and genuinely want to have a go but for each DIY video I find, i find a post about a polishing nightmare
Any one have any advice, particularly pork related?
I am sure you could find some lessons on youtoob.
It's easy with a DA. I'm an amateur and get fantastic results. You can almost "not go wrong".
I use 3m polishes. Green pad and green polish at a speed of 4 or 5 on the DA, to remove defects. Followed by a yellow pad and yellow polish (speed 4). That in itself will give you a great result. If you want an even better result, finish with a blue pad and blue polish (speed 2).
Before and after on my NSX
http://imageshack.us/a/img203/7708/imageajm.jpg
After
http://imageshack.us/a/img109/581/imageftse.jpg
I use 3m polishes. Green pad and green polish at a speed of 4 or 5 on the DA, to remove defects. Followed by a yellow pad and yellow polish (speed 4). That in itself will give you a great result. If you want an even better result, finish with a blue pad and blue polish (speed 2).
Before and after on my NSX
http://imageshack.us/a/img203/7708/imageajm.jpg
After
http://imageshack.us/a/img109/581/imageftse.jpg
I have a Meguiars G220 DA polisher.
Its easy to use
First time around just use a normal polish such as Autoglym Super resin polish and not a cutting compound polish. Use the yellow finishing pad to apply polish and then rub off by hand using a microfibre cloth
Finish off by applying a wax by hand
Its easy to use
First time around just use a normal polish such as Autoglym Super resin polish and not a cutting compound polish. Use the yellow finishing pad to apply polish and then rub off by hand using a microfibre cloth
Finish off by applying a wax by hand
You can't damage anything with a DA. If anything they aren't powerful enough. On some of my more battered cars (daily drivers etc) I can't get full correction even with a coarse pad and compound. They just aren't that tough.
You have to go onto wet sanding for the deeper scratches but that is scary first time you do it.
Don't use too much product and keep the pad flat. It's dead easy. It's rotary machines that can cause the damage.
The detailer I buy my gear from up here, said to me he charges £300 per day for detailing or tuition. He said if I wanted to take my car and DA along he'd show me the ropes and tricks of the trade and at the end of the day I'd also have a nicely detailed car to drive home in. This is a good option if you really are that worried.
Good luck.
You have to go onto wet sanding for the deeper scratches but that is scary first time you do it.
Don't use too much product and keep the pad flat. It's dead easy. It's rotary machines that can cause the damage.
The detailer I buy my gear from up here, said to me he charges £300 per day for detailing or tuition. He said if I wanted to take my car and DA along he'd show me the ropes and tricks of the trade and at the end of the day I'd also have a nicely detailed car to drive home in. This is a good option if you really are that worried.
Good luck.
marky911 said:
You can't damage anything with a DA. If anything they aren't powerful enough. On some of my more battered cars (daily drivers etc) I can't get full correction even with a coarse pad and compound. They just aren't that tough.
You have to go onto wet sanding for the deeper scratches but that is scary first time you do it.
Don't use too much product and keep the pad flat. It's dead easy. It's rotary machines that can cause the damage.
The detailer I buy my gear from up here, said to me he charges £300 per day for detailing or tuition. He said if I wanted to take my car and DA along he'd show me the ropes and tricks of the trade and at the end of the day I'd also have a nicely detailed car to drive home in. This is a good option if you really are that worried.
Good luck.
Morning Mark You have to go onto wet sanding for the deeper scratches but that is scary first time you do it.
Don't use too much product and keep the pad flat. It's dead easy. It's rotary machines that can cause the damage.
The detailer I buy my gear from up here, said to me he charges £300 per day for detailing or tuition. He said if I wanted to take my car and DA along he'd show me the ropes and tricks of the trade and at the end of the day I'd also have a nicely detailed car to drive home in. This is a good option if you really are that worried.
Good luck.
Quick question. I have no idea what a DA is, but my 993 has some pretty awful swirl marks and what looks like a 20 year build up of car wax on the paint. (It could be that or a sign of a bad paint job though).
Would this DA thingy polish this/these out?
Mornin' mate,
basically there are two types of machine polisher, a DA (Dual action) and a rotary. The head on a DA spins and orbits around, so it's never spinning on the same spot for long. A rotary just spins in a fixed position meaning more chance of burning the paint in the hands of a novice, especially the edges of panels etc.
Most people start with a DA as they're idiot proof (trust me I've tested that theory
) and give great results if you've only ever hand polished. Trouble is that due to there safe nature they don't remove some of the deeper defects in paintwork. They can do but you'd be on for hours and hours. That's where a rotary comes in as they are quicker at cutting the paint, hence removing the defects.
I've had my DA for a couple of years but still get frustrated when I spend a whole weekend on a car only to still have some defects left. I'll be moving onto a rotary next year I would think.
Without seeing your car it's hard to say what would polish out but nearly everything is doable if it isn't through the topcoat, even if wet-sanding is required. You then just machine polish the sanding marks out.
They are great tools to have but beware it's a slippery slope once you start. The only gripe I have is the number of products on the market. Far too many. I'm still experimenting with a few as I aim to have 3 or 4 products that do most cars in most colours.
ETA - DA'ing is the middle step of a detail. If your car has old wax etc on it, you wash the car then claybar it and wipe down with IPA if you like. You then use your DA to correct the swirls, then once you're happy you apply your chosen protection like a wax or sealant.
There are loads of more knowledgeable peeps on here than me though. ClarkPB does it for a living so he may pop on soon and give some pointers.
basically there are two types of machine polisher, a DA (Dual action) and a rotary. The head on a DA spins and orbits around, so it's never spinning on the same spot for long. A rotary just spins in a fixed position meaning more chance of burning the paint in the hands of a novice, especially the edges of panels etc.
Most people start with a DA as they're idiot proof (trust me I've tested that theory
) and give great results if you've only ever hand polished. Trouble is that due to there safe nature they don't remove some of the deeper defects in paintwork. They can do but you'd be on for hours and hours. That's where a rotary comes in as they are quicker at cutting the paint, hence removing the defects.I've had my DA for a couple of years but still get frustrated when I spend a whole weekend on a car only to still have some defects left. I'll be moving onto a rotary next year I would think.
Without seeing your car it's hard to say what would polish out but nearly everything is doable if it isn't through the topcoat, even if wet-sanding is required. You then just machine polish the sanding marks out.
They are great tools to have but beware it's a slippery slope once you start. The only gripe I have is the number of products on the market. Far too many. I'm still experimenting with a few as I aim to have 3 or 4 products that do most cars in most colours.
ETA - DA'ing is the middle step of a detail. If your car has old wax etc on it, you wash the car then claybar it and wipe down with IPA if you like. You then use your DA to correct the swirls, then once you're happy you apply your chosen protection like a wax or sealant.
There are loads of more knowledgeable peeps on here than me though. ClarkPB does it for a living so he may pop on soon and give some pointers.
Edited by marky911 on Thursday 13th June 10:09
Alpinestars said:
That looks like a great compromise, a fixed drive DA. Will look into those. Thanks for posting.I spent a a couple of hundred quid on a DA variable speed polishing kit, have polished all my cars with them, and it brings up the paintwork like new, probably better actually, and feels glass smooth.
Actually went one step further at the weekend and used it to remove all the scratches from the Windscreen from wipers and grit, it was annoying me and I didn't want the windscreen removing and refitting, had some Cerium Oxide in the garage.. Like yer do! And spent two hours polishing the windscreen. Now has no scratches and looks like new, it's amazing how clear it now is, basically 5 years of scratches gone in two hours. Fantastic result and not that difficult.
Go for it!
Actually went one step further at the weekend and used it to remove all the scratches from the Windscreen from wipers and grit, it was annoying me and I didn't want the windscreen removing and refitting, had some Cerium Oxide in the garage.. Like yer do! And spent two hours polishing the windscreen. Now has no scratches and looks like new, it's amazing how clear it now is, basically 5 years of scratches gone in two hours. Fantastic result and not that difficult.
Go for it!
Wow! Thanks for all the posts, amazing stuff there and great resources. I did bite the bullet on a lens renovation kit for one of the headlights, it was either £20 of £400 so didn't have much to lose and was a great result which is why I'm thinking about the polishing. If sunday is nice, (not sunny apparently - I don't have a garage I can use), then I'll have a go on the bonnet and see what the results are like. Should I be masking off adjacent areas that I'm not polishing or is that unnecessary?
The main problem with polishing is taking off too much clearcoat or burning the paint. You are very, very unlikely to do either of these with a DA so from that perspective I would encourage you to have a go.
However, it takes an experienced, pro detailer 15 hours+ to do a good correction job with around 3 hours of that being paint prep. If you dont do the prep you will create more scratches than you remove. Ive seen a number of paintjobs ruined by unskilled, pro valeters (I'm thinking these side of the road car washes) who use a DA on unprepped paint. Bear this in mind if you think you will be able to make your car look mint with your first attempt and a few hours on a Sunday morning.
Maybe best to get some training (not expensive), or at least get someone local with experience to oversee your first attempt.
However, it takes an experienced, pro detailer 15 hours+ to do a good correction job with around 3 hours of that being paint prep. If you dont do the prep you will create more scratches than you remove. Ive seen a number of paintjobs ruined by unskilled, pro valeters (I'm thinking these side of the road car washes) who use a DA on unprepped paint. Bear this in mind if you think you will be able to make your car look mint with your first attempt and a few hours on a Sunday morning.
Maybe best to get some training (not expensive), or at least get someone local with experience to oversee your first attempt.
marky911 said:
That looks like a great compromise, a fixed drive DA. Will look into those. Thanks for posting.
No worries.This is the best price I can find for one
http://www.waxattack.co.uk/?page_id=12&session...
I was impatient, so my first practice was on my beloved 996 turbo. I got the DAS 6 with menzerna kit. Start with the softer pads and finest polish and upgrade one at a time until you get the level of cut needed. It is not a quick process though. It took me 20 hours (not including the cleaning and prep before).
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