Best Polish for a hand job

[pudding]

So, long story short.....weekend just gone was my first venture into 'detailing' land, but I need to give the roof and bonnet a good seeing to.

I acquired a polishing machine some years ago but I'm too afraid to use it, with all the horror stories of melting bumpers and taking paint off etc, but I do have a tub of G3 polish.  Is that OK to use by hand? Or is there something better out there for a lovely smooth hand job?

[Rossimac]

[Paradox1]

 

[RetroRaz]

pun intended?

[pudding]

Of course it was 

OK, to reword it to a more sensible forum friendly format - what is a good polish to use with a cloth, by hand?  I need to buff out some water marks from the roof and bonnet.  The rest of the car is fine, so not worth the effort and expense of a machine polish.

Is that better? 

[Andy]

ooh err  misses

[AJP]

You can't go wrong with Autoglym SRP. It's mildly abrasive so will deal with the water marks nicely, and also contains fillers, so it's good for swirls and small scratches.

Just don't over apply it, try and do it out of direct sunlight too. Microfibres help to stop it getting 'chalky'. Finish it off with a decent wax/sealant if you can be arsed. :)

[willni]

What polisher do you have? it's pretty much impossible to burn through the paint with a Dual Action.  Rotaries are the ones that will burn through the paint but mainly on edges.

To be honest for the amount of effort it is polishing by hand the reward in very very low. What i'd recommend is the following;

A all in one polish (it's more designed for hand loving  )
Then a coat of poorboy's blackhole  (these innuendos are getting out of hand now)
Then your choice of wax x 2 coats and the next step or 3 coats and finish.
To finish I recommend some Waxaddict's Fo'show spray wax and then reapply every 2-3 weeks

[pudding]

Cheers guys, gotta love some innuendos to brighten up a cloudy summers day 

I've got a rotary polisher which I borrowed off a mate about 10 years ago, but conveniently forgot to return.  I can't remember the make but he got good results with it on his car.  My car has some iffy paint in areas from previous owner cover ups, so I don't want to risk rubbing that off with the machine!

OK so bash some Super Resin on by hand, wipe it off, bung some blackhole on, wipe that off and then wax.  Cool, I think I can cope with that   

2-3 coats of wax     I normally put 1 coat on, but I could give 2 or 3 coats a bash.  I normally use Collinite 476 because I'm lazy and only give the car a thorough scrub once a year, but I missed last year's scrub up.......so it was more work this time around 

Oh, is there a chemical you can recommend to stop the rubber strips in the window runners and the sunroof seal from going green with moss/algae?

[willni]

Cheers guys, gotta love some innuendos to brighten up a cloudy summers day 

I've got a rotary polisher which I borrowed off a mate about 10 years ago, but conveniently forgot to return.  I can't remember the make but he got good results with it on his car.  My car has some iffy paint in areas from previous owner cover ups, so I don't want to risk rubbing that off with the machine!

OK so bash some Super Resin on by hand, wipe it off, bung some blackhole on, wipe that off and then wax.  Cool, I think I can cope with that   

2-3 coats of wax     I normally put 1 coat on, but I could give 2 or 3 coats a bash.  I normally use Collinite 476 because I'm lazy and only give the car a thorough scrub once a year, but I missed last year's scrub up.......so it was more work this time around 

Oh, is there a chemical you can recommend to stop the rubber strips in the window runners and the sunroof seal from going green with moss/algae?

Personally for hand polishing I'd recommend Kleenfreaks all in one, you'll save your arm/elbow and shoulder since it's a half polish so works easier.

2-3 coats of wax offers maximum protection and longevity  , and yeah rotary actually puts more swirls in it for finishing so I wouldn't worry about using it.

For green moss and Algae some all purpose cleaner with a stiff brush (I use an old tooth brush for around sunroofs) do this for 3-5 washes and it will die permanently as well as point the powerhose down into the window and across to help blow out all dirt from the window.

[pudding]

Thanks mate, I'll get an order in.  Not cheap keeping these cars looking fresh!  Black does come up super lovely when it's shiny and clean though.

[white91]

I did mine with a DAS6 Pro, first time machine polishing and it worked really well, you will never get a good finish by hand. I'd recommend checking out the detailing world forum to start with


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[Scottymon]

HAHAHHAHAHA! What a great thread title! :D
But to concur, the DAS Pro is an awesome machine and far better than rotary for lack of "burn!" in amateur hands...

A good hand job to finish can never be overlooked however ;)

[MIJ_JAGGER]

Try using both hands, I'm sure it'll be a happy ending

[pudding]

Oooh now you're talking.  Will I benefit from some lube?

I'm hearing you guys on the FM about the Das 6 Pro.  Maybe I'll order one when I get paid.  Just looked online and they're not as pricey as I thought.  Is the starter pack cleanyourcar.com any good?  Comes with the machine, some pads and some polishes.  I really wouldn't know a good product from a bad one tbh.  There's a billion different detailing products to choose from!