Kestrel DA polisher - help needed for a n00b

[sramdeen]

I just took delivery of this:

http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Kestrel_DAS-...

Softbuff™ 6.5" Cutting Pad
Softbuff™ 6.5" Polishing Pad
Softbuff™ 6.5" Finishing Pad
Dual Action Cleaner Polish #83
Dual Speed Glaze #80

and a roll of masking tape

I plan on using it on my Elise tomorrow (weather permitting!) and wondered if anyone had any pointers to a good tutorial?

Here's my plan:

Wash the car (two buckets as normal) probably a couple of times as it's filthy due to the weather
Clay entire car
Quick wash of car again
Start with the cutting pad and the cleaner polish to try to remove as much light swirling as I can. I also have some Scratch-X, which I can try if the swirls don't seem to be going
Switch to the polishing pad with the speed glaze
Buff it all up
Apply meguiars nxt wax

Sod about with other things such as hoover interior and clean wheels.

I'm not expecting pro-level mirror-like finishes. I understand that a RO machine is not as good as a portacable etc, but hopefully it will leave the car looking better than it does at the moment (nothing major, just slight marks from washing).

I might have someone coming to look at the car on Sunday, so I want to make it presentable!

Appreciative of any advice.

Cheers

Stu

[sramdeen]

after reading

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

I will start light and then progress to a heavier cut/pad/polish if necessary. Wish me luck.

[TUS 373]

Good luck with it.

I bought a Kestrel with Sonus pads and compounds but only got to use it once so far. Seems to be a good bit of kit with the exception of the short flex which I may extend in the future.

Can't really offer any advice other than don't put too much compound on the pads otherwise it goes everywhere. Put some on the pads, then touch the pads on the paint to spread it around a bit, then switch machine on. Have fun!

[Magic919]

I'd expect you'd need to hit the Elise fairly hard to make any difference to the finish. Have a look at the write-ups on Detailing World. Some of the guys are using wool pads, for example. Don't Scratch X with the machine though.

[gleammachine]

There is no reason why you can't achieve good results with a DA, to be honest you haven't picked the easiest car to learn machining on, generally the paint is fairly hard but can also be thin on the edges and as you know they are a fair amount of curving panels and awkward areas.

My advice would be to use the Megs polishing pad (yellow) and #83 and fully break down the polish, this will give a decent amount of correction and if worked properly can lead to being LSP (Last step) ready, if you still require more from the finish follow up with the #80 on a finishing pad, I would personally leave the cutting pad in the bag for the time being until you have honed your technique.

[sramdeen]

thanks for the comments, guys.

I managed to do the roof and most of the rear today. It was FREEZING cold so I gave up when the sun started to disappear (about 4:30). I was at it for a solid 5 hours and I'm exhausted. I managed to make a marked improvement to the panels I did, but there are still swirls and light scratches in places. I used the yellow polishing pad and the speed glaze. If I now want to achieve a slightly coarser cut, would you recommend going with the cutting pad and the speed glaze or sticking with the polishing pad but with the dual action cleaner polish?

I won't go over the bits I have already done, as the finish is good enough for me, for now. At least in this weather! But it would be nice to do a better job on the front and the doors.

It's quite addictive!

Cheers

Stu

[gleammachine]

As said above would go with the #83 on a polishing pad to remove the majority of defects, the #80 speed glaze is fairly mild and whilst bringing out the gloss will have little effect on the defects on harder paint, it is possible to finish down with #83 if worked long enough.

[sramdeen]

cheers for that. I will remember that for next time. I had almost finished the front of the car and the doors when the heavens opened :-(

I started to buff off and the bloody meguiars buffing pad separated from its velcro backing and shot across the car park! Is this normal? I only used it once yesterday for a few hours, I'm sure they're supposed to last longer than that before falling apart?

I buffed off the rest by hand and then quickly applied the meguiars wax to avoid undoing all my hard work. Not the best scenario, but it looks pretty good. I parked up under the petrol station lighting this evening and there are still swirls, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was. Next time I will try #83 on the polishing pad and see what happens.

This result will do me until it bloody warms up!

Thanks for the advice

Stu

[domster]

Do you mean the polishing pad detached from the plastic adaptor/connector plate (velcro backed)... or that the velcro patch on the back of the polishing pad detached from the foam? Neither is normal and Megs pads are usually OK, but if the former, just make sure it is carefully attached in the centre of the adaptor/connector plate and well stuck on. When removing pads, do so carefully, getting a finger between the velcro faces before peeling.

If the latter, I'd suggest you ask for a refund from your supplier as they shouldn't separate like that and it may be a dodgy one.

[sramdeen]

Yes, the velcro detached from the foam
I was very careful when removing the pads and followed the instructions to 'roll' them off. The other two pads are fine and show no signs of detachment. I will email the company and see what they say.

[TonyHetherington]

Excellent stuff, Stu

I remember when we PCd that car, we had great trouble getting the swirls out - it was like the lacquer was rock hard (very strange indeed!)

Get some pictures up when you can

Tony

[sramdeen]

The paint is reputedly quite hard. I was most surprised! The rest of a Lotus is made of cheese (minus the chassis, perhaps), so I'm surprised the paint is so solid!

I am dying to get some bloody pictures! It's now dropping it down and the car is probably covered in crud now

Can you believe it, I have had the car for 16 months and still haven't taken anything more than a camera phone pic. Shame on me.

THAT Monday:




Dammit!:


Shiny shiny after HGF:

[TonyHetherington]

Ah wow, that brings back some memories

[sramdeen]

K&N Goes back on today. Cleaned and reoiled it over the weekend. More noise!!!

Discovered a cracked driving light during the cleaning Got the EP covers and a new light on the way.