car polishing advice

[geordie jay]

need some advice on car polishing fellas..was gunna get me car detailed this year but im to tight to warrant a £400/£500 bill..was talking to a lad at work last week and he been detailing cars for 15yrs as a fiddle job and was going threw all the professional products he uses but wanted £120 for inside and out,which I thought wasn't a bad price...but then I thought..bolloks im doing it myself how hard can it be,as long as im careful I wont make a crap job and knack me paint work up....question is to you lads is you can have deep pockets when buying polishing machines but all im after is something decent not summit that makes me tea aswell lol(if you know what I mean)so a recommended polisher would be grateful..also what products to use.theres a canny few out there so some recommendations would be grateful as well..was reading a post on here about poorboys aswell,so I assume pretty good for me car as a dark colour???

cheers jay

[John Johnson]

If in doubt pay some one else to do it , I've got the gear and no idea tbh
You can contrary to what many say burn through with a da too so be careful

[Ozzyz]

The DAS-6 DA polisher is one of the best, especially if you are not that confident with using a polishing machine.
I am also looking to do a detailing job on mine and from what I've reasearched that is a good option.

This review below is also worth a look, the guy has made his RS gleam beautifully using the products described.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... ?p=4163826

Good luck!

[John Johnson]

I've got one of them and you can still do a lot of damage if you are too enthusiastic with your compound / pad combo .

[jaysrs4]

You need to practice first without a doubt. Get an old wing or bonnet and have a go, that way you won't make any expensive mistakes and you'll learn how to use the pads and compounds correctly and achieve the best finish.

I've been doing mine on an amature level for 7 or so years and it was only two years ago I invested in a rotary from a DA.

In my opinion a DA just doesn't cut the mustard on VAG clear coat. Combine the right pads with the right compound on a DA it'll speed things up a bit, but nothing like a rotary.

A deep and floorless wet look takes a long time to perfect and its all in the prep - the final sealing and waxing stages just enhance and protect. As the saying goes 'You can't polish a turd!'

[andyg72]

Jays took the words out my mouth agree 100% and he knows his stuff ive seen first hand how tidy his OCD waxed cars are

[Audi Pardner]

Jay's advice is spot on. Search for his thread on here and pics - he did a really great job on his

I've got a DAS-6 polisher and have used it on my old 3-Series estate as a test bed with good results, but haven't had the balls to use it on the RS4 yet. Got mine detailed inside and out last year by Glynn at Swissvax in Knaresborough and the results were bloody stunning. The guy's left them now and is out on his own so I'll probably use him again (elite detailer.co.uk)

[Covkiller]

I'd say do it yourself, I had my car detailed and yes it was a good job. BUT, I have noticed afterwards some panels and areas are not as good as they should be. I bought a Rupes polisher LHR75E/DLX for £260 from the Performance Car show for a great price and can't wait until the weather picks up to use it. It came with a kit:

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/rupe ... tAodACgAGw

I',m going to do the wife's Golf Edition 30 which needs a good buffing.

[Divine]

As said, do it yourself if you have the time? Plenty of guides/tutorials on polishing techniques online and detailing world. Defiantly start up with a DA rather than a rotary machine.

[geordie jay]

cheers lads lots of good advice taken on board

[Spectre]

The DAS-6 DA polisher is one of the best, especially if you are not that confident with using a polishing machine.
I am also looking to do a detailing job on mine and from what I've reasearched that is a good option.

This review below is also worth a look, the guy has made his RS gleam beautifully using the products described.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... ?p=4163826

Good luck!

This...

I followed this to the letter and got amazing results. Sonax Perfect Finish is amazing - enough to remove surface scratches but gentle enough to not do damage in the hands of a noob. I have spent £000's on top drawer car products and on my phantom black, the combination of black hole sealed with either Autofinesse Illusion or Fusso99 gets me the perfect level of gloss without looking too 'wet'. Illusion makes the metal flake pop really well but doesn't last as long as Fusso99 which I have found lasts for ages with very little fall off in beading or shine. I'm just waiting for a shipment in from Japan of a new sealant product called Kamikaze Coat (google / youtube it and be amazed) which I cant wait to try out. This would go over the black hole polish and under the wax.... don't really need the wax but I love waxing....

Oh - I also used a DAS 6Pro random orbital polisher with hex pads for both the refinement stages (Sonax and Black Hole) - its a great machine.