This is what we'd recommend for people just starting out:
For the actual machine, we'd recommend either the Kestral Sim 180 if you wanted to go for a rotary or the Kestral DAS-6 if you wanted an orbital. Not sure if we’re going over what people already know (sorry if we are!) but basically the difference between the two is this... a rotary spins, which gets results quicker but can be trickier to use. An orbital oscillates so is a lot safer on the paint but because of the action, doesn’t get results as quickly as a rotary would.
http://www.autoperfection.com/shop/Kestrel-Sim-180-Machine-Polisher.htmlhttp://www.autoperfection.com/shop/Kestrel-Das-6-Orbital-Polisher.htmlThe DAS-6 comes with a 150mm backing pad anyway, but for the Sim 180 we’d recommend the 3M Rotary Backing Pad
http://www.autoperfection.com/shop/3M-Rotary-Backing-Pad-M14-Fitting-09552-125mm.htmlWith regards to polishing pads, our recommendation is always 3M, simply because for us personally, we find them the best ones available. There are a number of others that are good, but whenever we’ve tested new ones, we always end up going back to 3M. We do all three 150mm and all three 75mm pads that make up the 3M colour code system, which is a range of 3M products that enable virtually all paint defect rectification work to be carried out with ease and confidence
http://www.autoperfection.com/shop/3M-All-3-Polishing-Pads-Kit-150mm.htmlhttp://www.autoperfection.com/shop/3M-All-3-Polishing-Pads-Kit-75mm.htmlIf you’re buying all three polishes it can quite expensive, and whilst the products are well worth it, if you’re only doing one or two cars once or twice a year, it can maybe be a bit too much for what you need, so we do all three polishes in a sample kit (either 100ml or 250ml) which allows you to try out different combinations without investing in the big bottles straight away
http://www.autoperfection.com/shop/3M-All-3-Sample-Kit-100ml.htmlhttp://www.autoperfection.com/shop/3M-All-3-Sample-Kit-250ml.htmlThat should just about do you! If you go for the above, you’ll have everything you need to get started with machine polishing and you can then simply add to your collection as you get more into and need a wider range of products!
Hope this helps
Taryn and Jim