Any Machine Polishing Starter Kits ??

[spikeydoo]

Anyone have some recommendations for a polisher plus all the bits??  What are people using?  Is it difficult to do?  Can I cause any serious damage to the paintwork?

Noticed a couple swirl marks that I would like to have a go at getting rid of, & lots on the wife’s car, so I have a test bunny, so to speak....  trouble is I don't know where to start, wouldn't mind a box with everything in & set of good instructions...  

Budget isn't huge, thinking about £200ish for the lot - any advice would be gladly welcomed

[TomB]

I have AutoPerfection working on my car at the minute, I've just asked them for you and Jim said he'll be in touch later 

[veedub18]

Hi Spikeydoo,
Are you looking at getting a DA (Dual action), or a rotary polisher? You can get great results with a rotary, but it can burn through paint if you are not used to it. A dual action is a lot safer for a beginner, but it can take a while longer.

[v2brett]

id be interested to know about a starter kit too, i also have a couple of test mules 

[veedub18]

Ok then. And before anyone flames me with "this product is better than that etc etc", this is just the benefit of my experience as a keen amateur valeter. Friends and family are happy and people come to me asking for their decent cars to be done so I guess I'm doing something right 

I started off with a Porter Cable 7427, (known as a PC on some detailing sites) it was ok but as it was 110V I needed a transformer which was heavy to lug about. It gave a fairly good finish, but as its a dual action I found it hard going on tough paint finishes like VW & BMW's. I then went to a rotary, Milwaukee AP12QE, after testing it on a lot of scrap panels before using it on my own car. Great results in a short time, but be aware its very powerful and can burn through paint if you dont know how to use it! 

As for good starter kits, these  like from Tim at "Clean Your Car"  would be a good place to start off.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/meguiars-g220-complete-meguiars-kit/prod_416.html

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polishing-machine/das-6-dual-action-polisher-meguiars-kit/prod_521.html

Meguiars polishes are reasonably priced, and give consistant results IMO making them a good place to start from. you will need some masking tape, 3M 3434 will do the do without leaving any sticky on the paintwork. Make sure you use this to mask off trim and lights etc  otherwise you may drag some grit out from a piece of trim and ruin a panel while polishing. Not good!

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/accessories/3m-3434-masking-tape/prod_79.html

If you can, get hold of a scrap wing or bonnet, and test on this before you go anywhere near your car. Always polish cool panels wherever possible out of the sun, and read up and watch the videos before you get started.

A good guide to get you an understanding about the DA polisher (they use the PC 7424 but you will get the idea!)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4717

Dave KG on Detailing World has some great guides, read up and get stuck in guys.

Hope this helps. 

[Phil Mcavity]

^^^quality reply and very helpful Veedub  

[veedub18]

^^^quality reply and very helpful Veedub  

Cheers bud 

I'm having a garage built at the moment so expect a write up soon 

[spikeydoo]

Big thank-you veedub    nice write up, just the sort of detail I was after.   esp like the tester panel idea.

Think the DAS-6 Dual Action Polisher would be more than ample for my needs, had a glance at detailing world - but looks like I'll have to spend some quality time on there -

Off to my local scrappy this weekend  Thanks again.

[stealthwolf]

clicky

I bought a kit from elitecarcare. Had fantastic service from them.
G220 + megs polishing pads + Menzerna sample polishes.

Love it.
A few peeps rate the menzerna polishes over some of the other (not sure how they compare against megs).

In the link above, they have the kestrel which includes the 3m masking tape. I'd advise you to buy more than one rolls as they are easy to go through quite quickly.

There is a DW guide about DA polishers - clicky

[NB07]

im kinda in the same boat and thinking about what polish's to buy but im reading as much as i can and then i will ask alex@ elite his opinion because hes very good with this stuff. im pretty sure im going for the das 6 sounds a pretty good DA from peoples opinions on detailing world. personally i will buy the machine seperately as the kits dont always have things you need and have some stuff i might not really need being an amateur, im thinking auto paint pro is the way to go with the machine for price of the machine then polishes i'll buy as i go and can afford  linky...  http://www.autopaint-pro.co.uk/kestral-das-6-dual-action-sanderpolisher-655-p.asp 

[keith]

I use the PC the 110v saga is a pain but from my contracting days I had one so have it hooked up in the garage to an extension so works well for me.pads are plentifull( got some from AG to try out) I bought it when the dollar pound was very fav.
But as someone said the right products are also a big help to the polisher and the way you use them.

[pitch3110]

Another very happy Megs G220 owner here. Super bit of kit and top results

[autoperfection.com]

Hi,

We would recomend the Das-6 Dual Action Polisher as a great machine for starting out machine correcting..
We would suggest trying different polishes and compounds to see what would be best suited to your own technique.
On the VW paint which tends to be a hard paint I would recomend using 3M polishes and or Menzerna. Both these products will give you those pro results with a bit of practice.  I would also recomend a scrap panel to test on first.
The choice of pad and polish combo will be crucial to your final result and to be honest you cant go wrong with the 3M colour code system.
This consists of -  Green compound pad with Fast Cut plus Compound - This is quite aggresive and will remove the deep swirls and scratches but will leave behind its own marks.(which can by refined with the next stage.)
    Yellow Polish pad and Extra Fine Polish - This is a swirl and defect removing polish that will leave behind a great finish. This would be our recomendation for a great place to start the correction on the car.
   Blue Pad and Ultrafina polish - This is a final step polish used for final swirl removal and hologram removal. This will leave your paint swirl free and with a fantastic finsh.
After this would be to pre-wax cleanse and then wax or seal.

We can supply the above including the machine and we can also do the polishes in a sample form to try and test.

Hope this Helps

Taryn and Jim