Black gti in need of machine polish - help pls

[Drapoon]

Hi fellas

I'd love some advice for machine polishing my ride pls

Why oh why did I buy a black golf after many happy years with a silver car.....I guess cos they look great at dusk

I've really cared for the car in the past year of ownership & used AG deep shine, followed by AG gloss Sealant & Poor boys Natty blue wax which has given great results...from a 5 foot distance. However the scratches that my car came with my polish will not touch by hand polishing!

(I've also clayed with sonus green every 6 months btw)

They are quite bad when viewing close up - I will get some pics up when I get home. There are a lot of random scratches like the car has been cleaned with a gritty sponge for the 1st two years of it's life! I've managed to get rid of a lot of the swirls but the linear scratches remain. They can't be felt with your finger nail so I think they will cut out?

So....after giving the car a good polish & wax yesterday & still being disapointed with the results I've decided I would like to machine polish the ol' gal.

The rear quarter & roof where treated to paint last month - car park ding by a yoof who stumped up & done under insurance & I took the opportunity to have the roof done at the same time - bird poop resulting in laquer fail (again prev owner lack of care). This was all done by Steve Denton at stylehaus. Will I have to pay particular care as some respraying has been undertaken?

so....

1. Whats the best polish combo to use on black?

2. What polishing machine would you reccomend?

3. Anybody in the Northants area with machine polishing experience willing to show me the ropes one wkend? free tea / beer available ;-)


many thanks

Martin

[stealthwolf]

I honesty would say get it detailed professionally. It costs £££ to correct the paintwork but it's worth the money.

For beginners, dual-action machine polishers are what you want. Far more effective than hand polishing though not as effective as rotary polishers. Both meguiars g200 and kestrel das or whatever it's called are fine for beginners. There are various pads and many polishes to choose but there are those combinations that work best. I went for meguiar pads and menzerna polishes.

There's a fantastic guide on detailingworld in the how-to section on how to polish.

[Rob GTI]

SW, what sort of price is this kit as it may be worth investing in this at some point rather then keep paying out and relying on others.

[stealthwolf]

I paid £200 for the g220 + three polishing pads + three "sample" sized menzerna polishes. The sample sizes are enough to last 4/5 polishes IMO and given you should polish 1-2 times per year max, is more than enough.

A professional detailer has equipment like paint depth guages, an appropriate area for polishing and a good set up eg lighting to spot the flaws in the paintwork. I tend to stick to light polishing to get rid of the majority of swirls. 

[stealthwolf]

I see elitecarcare (where i bought mine from) have kits for under £150 which is a bargain compared to the £200 I paid a year ago.

A few people have had problems with the G220 breaking down, especially the earlier models. Go for the kestrel but ask if you can gt the megs pads with the menzerna sample polishes, or the sample polishes instead of the megs polishes.

clicky for the polishing guide.

I'm sure a pro detailer will have something to add.

[Drapoon]

Thanks fro the advice SW

I've looked into handing my car over to a pro detailer & tbh I really fancy having a crack at it myself so I can undertake the work myself in the future.

I would really like a tutorial on polishing with my car from somebody with experience - how much pressure etc.  A bit worried I'll create some horrific buffer trails I wont be able to get out!

I'll read up on that guide thanks very much dude ;-)

Kestrel here I come !

Martin

[Rob GTI]

Damm I've got about 200 notes set aside, was going to spend it on VAGCOM, don't know what to do do now????

[CarrG]

You see loads of second hand da's on DW for sale. Maybe worth investigating, had my machines for 4-5yrs now.

[stealthwolf]

I would really like a tutorial on polishing with my car from somebody with experience - how much pressure etc.

Read that guide. Dave KG is highly experienced in detailing.

The guide tells you everything you need to know, including pressure (approx 10lbs pressure). TBH you adjust to it within the first few seconds of operating and definitely once you've done a panel, such as the bonnet, you'll know exactly how much is enough.

VAG paint is quite hard and if all you do is using a finishing pad and say Menzerna final finish polish (that has say 2/10 cutting ability), you won't get buffer trails. Well I didn't and I'm cack-handed.