Machine polish. DIY or job for the pro's?

[Sonnyjim]

Ok, stupidly I entrusted my car to a local valet company (who admittedly have a good rep) to have a good clean before I had to go back to work for a long while. Last day before I go is usually very busy so did not have time to do it myself. Long story short, it was raining when I picked it up and all looked good, fast forward 6 weeks and a nice sunny day to clean it myself and find it's covered in surface scratches that I'm pretty sure we're not there before.

I would like these gone completely, a friend has a machine polish kit bought from Polished Bliss and would lend it to me but I would kick myself if I made a cock up off it. How easy is it to make a mess of this? Being a dark metallic colour it would be pretty evident if I made a crap job.

BTW this would be done out doors which worries me more.

Cheers

Sonnyjim

[DavidRS4]

Is the polisher a dual action polisher (less likely to do damage) or a rotary polisher (more likely to do damage)?

There's loads of videos on YouTube by a guy called Junkman2000 that are very good. You need to watch the videos about clay barring etc to prep the pain before you think about machine polishing. Pad selection and the type of paste you use will have an effect too. I have a paint depth gauge to measure the paint. They are expensive but well worth knowing where your paint is at before you start.

I am lucky as i have an old van of which I practised on to get the idea. I then let lose on the RS4 when I was confident.

Don't do it in bright sun light though.

[andre3k]

I dont reckon it's that hard mate to do your own polishing, that said I just give my cars to my detailer because I cant be arsed to do it myself. Just dont expect the results to match those of the pros but it doesnt sound as if your problems are major.

Either way, Id send a PM to Reflect Russ on here or have a chat with a pro as its important to get the right polishes and tools in general, or you may end up doing the job twice.

[Sonnyjim]

Cheers guys, will have a look on YT. Plan was to probably visit Polished Bliss to get a recommended polish/pad from them. I do believe its a dual action machine, would give to a detailer but locally the above is the only reputable one and at 600 quid for something I can do myself and enjoy it seems a bit expensive. Clay bar etc I've done on previous cars so I'm confident on that. Three previous audis have been silver which seems like a breeze to keep compared to a dark colour.
Noted on the direct sunlight, I'm in NE Scotland anyway, sunny days are rare here we don't tend to leave the house in fear of the big firey ball in the sky!

Cheers

[Sonnyjim]

The practice bit sounds good as well, I've got an old S3 I run about in but it's silver maybe won't have the same effect. Maybe a cheep black A4 wing from eBay might be the answer. Hmm.

Cheers

[Spectre]

Have a look at this...

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

Love this thread...

Mak.

[Rs4spark]

Hi sonny jim, I purchased a Meguiars G220 dual action polisher with the 105 & 205 cutting and polishing paste ' works great and really pleased with results,
I didn't have the guts to buy a rotary I case I did any damage

Well worth the purchase of a G220 from Ultimate Finish.com

all the best rs4spark

[gilford]

I've got a G220 and have done quite a few cars with excellent results!

You can't really cock it up with a DA, but do it inside if you can as hot paint work dries the polish too quickly and it won't do its work properly.

As you can borrow one also you don't have anything to lose!

[Sonnyjim]

Have a look at this...

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

Love this thread...

Mak.

Wow, don't feel so bad about my paint after seeing that! Off to look at the G220. Out of interest RS4spark is your car a dark colour?

Cheers

[RossDagley]

That's with a DA (G220) and a single pass. DA's can get good results - just not as fast as a rotary.

[Sonnyjim]

That looks good. Looks like I will be doing a bit of shopping then.

To save staring another thread what's the best way of dealing with tiny stone chips, hate the white speckled bonnet and wings and want them done before polishing.

Cheers

[Woly64]

In my view just touch them in generously, let them dry properly (24 hrs), rub down with fine grade 'wet & dry' paper and then polish them with some cutting paste and then proceed as normal polishing with the DA polisher.

[Sonnyjim]

Cheers Woly, seen that on YouTube but it scares me. Think I'll get a practice panel from the bay to try that one!

Cheers

[Spectre]

That looks good. Looks like I will be doing a bit of shopping then.

To save staring another thread what's the best way of dealing with tiny stone chips, hate the white speckled bonnet and wings and want them done before polishing.

Cheers

Its not as scary in real life as you might think - just make sure you get decent paint and use a cocktail stick to drop a small drip of the paint into the chip. once its dry, if it is concave (lower than the surface level of the paint) rinse and repeat until the dry surface is ever so slightly higher than the panel surface. Then either wet sand it down flat (use a slightly pliable block to help stay flat) and finish of increasingly fine polishing compounds. Job done, chips gone...

Mak.

[CellDamage]

I personally wouldn't trust myself with a machine polisher in fear of doing some irreversible damage.

It's all very well machine polishing your car but to prevent future swirl mark damage you also need to wash it properly. 2 bucket method with grit guards and a good mitt will help if you're not already doing so.

Always cringe when I see someone washing a car with a little floor mop bucket and a crappy old sponge.