Is this a silly idea?
Discussion
I was at a car show today and ended up parked next to a car that was almost identical to mine. Except his was very shiny and mine has swirls, so we got talking about polishing, clay bars etc.
Proper car polishers have a random orbital motion, but I have several Bosch 18V tools and the range has a random orbital sander: https://www.mytoolshed.co.uk/bosch-easyorbit-18v-1...
Obviously I'm not going to use sandpaper, but I see there are 125mm polishing pads available with hook/loop fixing.
Would that work or is there some glaring problem I haven't spotted?
Proper car polishers have a random orbital motion, but I have several Bosch 18V tools and the range has a random orbital sander: https://www.mytoolshed.co.uk/bosch-easyorbit-18v-1...
Obviously I'm not going to use sandpaper, but I see there are 125mm polishing pads available with hook/loop fixing.
Would that work or is there some glaring problem I haven't spotted?
Bluevanman said:
As a guide,polishing is done under 2000rpm,well under in some cases,sanding is done around the 10,000rpm mark .
Do not use a sander for polishing
Perfect answer, thanks Do not use a sander for polishing
anyoldcardave said:
Here is some expert advice, get an expert to do the job.
You're right of course, but I'd like to try to save £600 if I can. I'm happy to have a go by hand, but not sure what's the best stuff to use. I'm of the T-Cut era but understand there may be better alternatives now. Simpo Two said:
Bluevanman said:
As a guide,polishing is done under 2000rpm,well under in some cases,sanding is done around the 10,000rpm mark .
Do not use a sander for polishing
Perfect answer, thanks Do not use a sander for polishing
anyoldcardave said:
Here is some expert advice, get an expert to do the job.
You're right of course, but I'd like to try to save £600 if I can. I'm happy to have a go by hand, but not sure what's the best stuff to use. I'm of the T-Cut era but understand there may be better alternatives now. I do custom paint work for a living. There is a reason we use a proper tool to do the job and not just our DA sanders!!
So, firstly, there are rotary polishers and DA polishers. Rotary are very aggressive, but cut through scratches etc much quicker than DA polishers, Please don't use any kind of rotary attachment on you car unless you really know what you are doing as you can burn through your lacquer so easily!!!!
Moving onto DA or orbital as per the question, a DA polisher is a lot more forgiving, there are a couple of factors, its the 'throw' of the DA and also the torque at the low end that's important, so you can get DA polishers that have an orbit of 5mm up to 22mm sort of range, I think your sander in the link only has a throw of 2mm, so isn't really moving much and its this that helps you with the swirls you are talking about. The second point is the speed, absolutely it needs to have a slow speed on the heavier compounds as this prevents heat build up which is the enemy. Once you get onto the finer final polishing you want a faster speed, but you're using a finer compound and pad at this point, so less likely to cause damage to your paintwork.
The torque and ability to control it at those low speeds is what a dedicated polisher does, the shape of the polisher with the longer handle means you can control the machine and it doesn't control you, the example you link to is basically going around really quickly but it isn't creating any kind of orbit with only a 2mm throw, and its not got the speed control, and you cant move and control it across the panel with the stumpy design of it.
Why do you want it to be cordless? I do this for a living and proper polishers have cables that are at least 10m long, a battery one just won't have the grunt to provide the torque you need without whizzing though batteries, polishers are all heavy duty 900w plus motors, you just can't run a decent polisher on batteries for more than 5 minutes on average, battery powered ones are ok for a 75mm pad and polishing some of the smaller areas at a push. Just get a decent DIY wired DA polisher and an extension lead, they are a couple of hundred quid max for a DIY one usually with a full kit of pads. They are all over the internet and will be a decent job for you to learn with. The £600 ones are aimed at those of us that use them every day and need the reliability rather than any magic powers they provide.
I do however use a battery 12v Milwaukee sander/polisher if I just want to buff out some dirt nibs after a small SMART repair such as a bumper scuff etc, it does do a brilliant job, but note it is rotary, so be careful, and its only small 75mm pads which are brilliant for small areas, but you wouldn't want to do a whole car with it!
https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m12-bps-0-50m...
In theory, yes you could use the sander you have described but it just wouldn't do the job you want it to, but stick some sandpaper on it and it will sand your fence lovely until the battery runs out!
So, firstly, there are rotary polishers and DA polishers. Rotary are very aggressive, but cut through scratches etc much quicker than DA polishers, Please don't use any kind of rotary attachment on you car unless you really know what you are doing as you can burn through your lacquer so easily!!!!
Moving onto DA or orbital as per the question, a DA polisher is a lot more forgiving, there are a couple of factors, its the 'throw' of the DA and also the torque at the low end that's important, so you can get DA polishers that have an orbit of 5mm up to 22mm sort of range, I think your sander in the link only has a throw of 2mm, so isn't really moving much and its this that helps you with the swirls you are talking about. The second point is the speed, absolutely it needs to have a slow speed on the heavier compounds as this prevents heat build up which is the enemy. Once you get onto the finer final polishing you want a faster speed, but you're using a finer compound and pad at this point, so less likely to cause damage to your paintwork.
The torque and ability to control it at those low speeds is what a dedicated polisher does, the shape of the polisher with the longer handle means you can control the machine and it doesn't control you, the example you link to is basically going around really quickly but it isn't creating any kind of orbit with only a 2mm throw, and its not got the speed control, and you cant move and control it across the panel with the stumpy design of it.
Why do you want it to be cordless? I do this for a living and proper polishers have cables that are at least 10m long, a battery one just won't have the grunt to provide the torque you need without whizzing though batteries, polishers are all heavy duty 900w plus motors, you just can't run a decent polisher on batteries for more than 5 minutes on average, battery powered ones are ok for a 75mm pad and polishing some of the smaller areas at a push. Just get a decent DIY wired DA polisher and an extension lead, they are a couple of hundred quid max for a DIY one usually with a full kit of pads. They are all over the internet and will be a decent job for you to learn with. The £600 ones are aimed at those of us that use them every day and need the reliability rather than any magic powers they provide.
I do however use a battery 12v Milwaukee sander/polisher if I just want to buff out some dirt nibs after a small SMART repair such as a bumper scuff etc, it does do a brilliant job, but note it is rotary, so be careful, and its only small 75mm pads which are brilliant for small areas, but you wouldn't want to do a whole car with it!
https://www.screwfix.com/p/milwaukee-m12-bps-0-50m...
In theory, yes you could use the sander you have described but it just wouldn't do the job you want it to, but stick some sandpaper on it and it will sand your fence lovely until the battery runs out!
Edited by DaveF-SkinnysAutos on Sunday 31st August 15:37
Belle427 said:
I would probably take a punt on one of the cheap da polishers on amazon.
The das6 which is a popular quality model isn't that expensive though.
Thanks for the advice - £99 at Halfords I see. Spec says:The das6 which is a popular quality model isn't that expensive though.
Orbit Size: 9mm
Powerful 650w Motor
Backing Plate Thread Size: 5/16" (same as Porter Cable, G220 and UDM's)
Variable 6 Speed Dial: 2,000 to 6,500rpm
Weight - 1.75 kg (approx)
Fits 5", 6" and 6.5" polishing pads
DaveF-SkinnysAutos said:
So, firstly, there are rotary polishers and DA polishers. Rotary are very aggressive, but cut through scratches etc much quicker than DA polishers, Please don't use any kind of rotary attachment on you car unless you really know what you are doing as you can burn through your lacquer so easily!!!!
Moving onto DA or orbital as per the question, a DA polisher is a lot more forgiving, there are a couple of factors, its the 'throw' of the DA and also the torque at the low end that's important, so you can get DA polishers that have an orbit of 5mm up to 22mm sort of range, I think your sander in the link only has a throw of 2mm, so isn't really moving much and its this that helps you with the swirls you are talking about. The second point is the speed, absolutely it needs to have a slow speed on the heavier compounds as this prevents heat build up which is the enemy. Once you get onto the finer final polishing you want a faster speed, but you're using a finer compound and pad at this point, so less likely to cause damage to your paintwork.
The torque and ability to control it at those low speeds is what a dedicated polisher does, the shape of the polisher with the longer handle means you can control the machine and it doesn't control you, the example you link to is basically going around really quickly but it isn't creating any kind of orbit with only a 2mm throw, and its not got the speed control, and you cant move and control it across the panel with the stumpy design of it.
Why do you want it to be cordless? I do this for a living and proper polishers have cables that are at least 10m long, a battery one just won't have the grunt to provide the torque you need without whizzing though batteries, polishers are all heavy duty 900w plus motors, you just can't run a decent polisher on batteries for more than 5 minutes on average, battery powered ones are ok for a 75mm pad and polishing some of the smaller areas at a push. Just get a decent DIY wired DA polisher and an extension lead, they are a couple of hundred quid max for a DIY one usually with a full kit of pads. They are all over the internet and will be a decent job for you to learn with. The £600 ones are aimed at those of us that use them every day and need the reliability rather than any magic powers they provide.
That's a great reply, just what I was looking for Moving onto DA or orbital as per the question, a DA polisher is a lot more forgiving, there are a couple of factors, its the 'throw' of the DA and also the torque at the low end that's important, so you can get DA polishers that have an orbit of 5mm up to 22mm sort of range, I think your sander in the link only has a throw of 2mm, so isn't really moving much and its this that helps you with the swirls you are talking about. The second point is the speed, absolutely it needs to have a slow speed on the heavier compounds as this prevents heat build up which is the enemy. Once you get onto the finer final polishing you want a faster speed, but you're using a finer compound and pad at this point, so less likely to cause damage to your paintwork.
The torque and ability to control it at those low speeds is what a dedicated polisher does, the shape of the polisher with the longer handle means you can control the machine and it doesn't control you, the example you link to is basically going around really quickly but it isn't creating any kind of orbit with only a 2mm throw, and its not got the speed control, and you cant move and control it across the panel with the stumpy design of it.
Why do you want it to be cordless? I do this for a living and proper polishers have cables that are at least 10m long, a battery one just won't have the grunt to provide the torque you need without whizzing though batteries, polishers are all heavy duty 900w plus motors, you just can't run a decent polisher on batteries for more than 5 minutes on average, battery powered ones are ok for a 75mm pad and polishing some of the smaller areas at a push. Just get a decent DIY wired DA polisher and an extension lead, they are a couple of hundred quid max for a DIY one usually with a full kit of pads. They are all over the internet and will be a decent job for you to learn with. The £600 ones are aimed at those of us that use them every day and need the reliability rather than any magic powers they provide.
There's no need for cordless, it was just that most I saw were cordless and as I have the Bosch 18V range it seemed sensible to go that way. However it now seems a bad idea so I'll bin that.
I have to decide whether it's worth buying a DA polisher + all the bits for a one-off job, or do it by hand the old way. £99 isn't much but it's not going to get used much as I don't see this as a regular way to make the car shiny!
Is 2,000rpm slow enough?
Get a DAS 6 DA then whatever pads and polish you need.
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/das-6-v2-dual-actio...
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/das-6-v2-dual-actio...
You want the slow speeds for heavy cutting compounds which are used for light scratches, but as you get into polishing rather than scratch removal you are using a much faster speed, but a finer compound and a softer pad, so 2000 rpm at the low end is fine for the heavy stuff, then you move it up into the 6000's for polishing. So anything that is variable really.
You will get much, much better results than you ever will by hand, so it is a worthwhile investment if that's what you are after, but as everything you get what you pay for, the cheaper Chinese ones have cheaper parts in the motor and will pack up quicker, but if your only using it now and again that's probably fine.
You can get lost in the world of detailing, its designed to take money off people, but the concept is simple, you are taking the finest of marks out of the top lacquer layer, that makes it smoother and therefore reflect light better and makes it look more shiny. The heavier compounds are cutting more of your lacquer back, the finer are removing the marks left from the coarser compounds, they all do the same thing, don't get sold on which is best, its subjective they are basically all the same ingredients to a degree.
I like Slims detailing but only because its local to me and you can ask questions, its twice the price of the Halfords one, but this is the kind of all round starter kit:
https://www.slimsdetailing.co.uk/products/slim-s-d...
Watch the edges when using anything coarse, you can burn through still if your not concentrating!
You will get much, much better results than you ever will by hand, so it is a worthwhile investment if that's what you are after, but as everything you get what you pay for, the cheaper Chinese ones have cheaper parts in the motor and will pack up quicker, but if your only using it now and again that's probably fine.
You can get lost in the world of detailing, its designed to take money off people, but the concept is simple, you are taking the finest of marks out of the top lacquer layer, that makes it smoother and therefore reflect light better and makes it look more shiny. The heavier compounds are cutting more of your lacquer back, the finer are removing the marks left from the coarser compounds, they all do the same thing, don't get sold on which is best, its subjective they are basically all the same ingredients to a degree.
I like Slims detailing but only because its local to me and you can ask questions, its twice the price of the Halfords one, but this is the kind of all round starter kit:
https://www.slimsdetailing.co.uk/products/slim-s-d...
Watch the edges when using anything coarse, you can burn through still if your not concentrating!
Edited by DaveF-SkinnysAutos on Monday 1st September 19:07
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