Help deciding which machine polisher to buy

[Saint Steve]

Guys

Have decided to take the plunge and purchase a machine polisher to polish my car.

I know a dual action machine is recommended, can anyone recommend a good all round, value for money unit, without spending silly money for a novice user.

cheers

Steve

[Hedge]

 

[RedRobin]

.
Crikey! Sorry Steve but could your car actually get any shinier?

Funnily enough I've just given your car as very fine example of shininess in another thread asking about waxing Tornado Reds.

[keith]

for ease of use Megs G220 Version2 is just out, or Das-6
I have just got the das-6 and having used both i think the das is a step up. Jay and some more on here will know better though when it comes to m/polishers.

[mjt]

I've got  DAS-6 ,you could always try and get a scrap panel to practice on using different polish and pad combinations ,i found menzerna polish good on my last golf

[stealthwolf]

Dodo juice have their spindoctor or whatever it's called. Greeners has one.
The kestrel is the current fave. I have the megs g220 and it's been fine.

The important thing is to get your technique sorted. I've put links in a thread and they are links to DW. If you're not a member, I'd suggest signing up. Either way, have a read in the how to guides section.

[Saint Steve]

It seems very easy to do, having watched stack loads of video's , and unless your a total clux, it would be hard to damage the paintwork.

Mine has never had a machine polish done to it, just endless hand polishing,which will never get it 100%.

Main issue is, i dont get the opertunity to leave the car with a professional for a day or so, as its a working car, and is needed by the family, so if i buy the equipment, i can do it gradually .

Going by costs for a decent polisher, around £100 buys a Dodo juice spindoctor. Thats a tad different to the Halfords own 110W cigerette lighter powered unit for £24  

[stealthwolf]

I'd stay away from halfrauds jobbies.

Steve, it will take all day to do the car properly. You need to prep the car - wash, clay, rinse, dry, which can take an hour or two. To polish properly took me in the region of four hours - go slowly, work the polish, make sure the pad doesn't dry out or overheat, etc. Not to mention the taping up. Once you've polished, IPA wipedown and apply glaze, then wax or sealant. To do my car properly took me 12 hrs the first time I did a full detail. That includes brakes/wheels/rubber trim/windows.

You can always break things up and do things like wheels/exhaust/trim/etc on a separate day but given your car is outside, I'd hit the paintwork all in one go. You could always do a light pass with a finishing pad and something very mildly abrasive light lime prime - would be enough, plus it already contains a glaze/cleanser, so you could skip to waxing.

[johnhol78]

Even though I;ve got a rotary polisher, I would say stick to a DA.

With the rotary it's easier to burn through which you definitely don't want to happen.

Though with a rotary you can get very impressive correction, you kust have a spray bottle with water in to spritz the pad now and again to make sure it doesn;t dry out.

The DAS 6 looks very good and gets good reviews and feeback on Detailing World.

All seem very good and will be around the £90-£110 mark (DW have a group buy for the DAS6  )

As long as you breakdown the polish enough then you should find they all do the job you need.

It's all about the polishes and pads combo really as this is what determines the correction level and also the finish you end up with.

I bought the Poorboys SSR1, 2 and 2.5 so I have all the grades except 3 and then a polishing pad and a finishing pad. This should give you enough combo to get the level needed.

Tried the Meg pads and thought they weren;t that great though just order the Sonus polishing pad as this can go through the whole spectrum of light cut to finishing shine. depending on the polish obviously.

There is a whole section on machine polishing on DW which should give you everything you need.

[uk_stu]

FYI i'm pretty sure the dodo spin doctor is a rebranded Kestrel DAS-6

Clean your car also do a rebranded DAS-6

[uk_stu]

The spindoctor is a Rotary polisher. The Buff Daddy is the DA

[stealthwolf]

The spindoctor is a Rotary polisher. The Buff Daddy is the DA

Ah! Didn't know that. Just heard that the spin doctor was out and was good for beginners. Evidently, misinformed.

Stick with a DA.

[Saint Steve]

Come someone tell me what  DA means please

[rich83]

Come someone tell me what  DA means please

Im presuming Dual Action steve.

[B3n]