Lost at using Kestrel DAS-6 polisher - Tips needed!

Carstuck

Hi all,

Finally bought the Kestrel DAS-6 DA polisher. But now just wondering when using it, how do I know which pad to use and which polish to use?

Thanks, I'm a novice at this!

sean1141

what pads and polish have you?

Carstuck

sean1141 wrote: »

what pads and polish have you?

I have the complete kit from here:

http://www.cleancar.ie/kestreldas-6completekit.html

sean1141

ok, what condition is the cars paintwork in? do you regulary polish it by hand, clay it wax it etc?

to get the best finish you need the paint as clean as possible. just washing it wont do this. you will need to wash the car. get a good tar remover and remove all the tar spots. then clay the car and wash it again. now you should have nice smooth paint to start polishing.

start off with the finishing pad with the lowest cut polish you have. think its call final finish! do a pannel with this and see are you happy with the results. if you are do the whole car with it if not move to the green pad and middle cut polish, power gloss iirc.

the orange pad and high cut is for very bad marks and places where you may have wet sanded marks/filled in paint chips and sanded them smooth etc. it gives a very high cut and is bet avoided untill you know what you are doing!

there are loads of guides on detailing world and youtube

Carstuck

sean1141 wrote: »

ok, what condition is the cars paintwork in? do you regulary polish it by hand, clay it wax it etc?

to get the best finish you need the paint as clean as possible. just washing it wont do this. you will need to wash the car. get a good tar remover and remove all the tar spots. then clay the car and wash it again. now you should have nice smooth paint to start polishing.

start off with the finishing pad with the lowest cut polish you have. think its call final finish! do a pannel with this and see are you happy with the results. if you are do the whole car with it if not move to the green pad and middle cut polish, power gloss iirc.

the orange pad and high cut is for very bad marks and places where you may have wet sanded marks/filled in paint chips and sanded them smooth etc. it gives a very high cut and is bet avoided untill you know what you are doing!

there are loads of guides on detailing world and youtube

The car was last polished and waxed about a year ago by hand and it only received its first wash since last October yesterday. It is covered all over from swirl marks from years of getting a sponge so it looks pretty bad in the sun!

If feels pretty smooth now, but should I clay it anyway? I never clayed a car either before and heard it could damage the paint if used incorrectly. Also after the polish is it just a wax it needs after that?

Thanks very much for the advice, highly appreciated.

sean1141

if it has not been washed in that long it will need a claying. you dont have to but it will give a smoother surface for the polish to work on. there is differeng grades of clay. get the meg clay bar from halfords. dont bother with the kit. just get the clay. get an old spray bottle or one from the pound shop and 3/4 fill it with water and 1/4 either fairy liquid or car shampoo. use loads of this for a lube and you wont do damage. its very easy do it. wash the car after claying. it will be very easy wash as the surface will be smooth. dry it and start polishing.

Carstuck

Thanks a million Sean will try that out. Looks like it'll be the next weekend before I get polishing!

Hal1

It really is worth the effort doing the claying, you won't believe the finish after use. It really is that good. Just take your time and use lots of lube.

MetzgerMeister

The better the preparation, the better the finish.

DubDetailer

Technically you need to clay before polishing or the paint is not clean and prepped, like anything, the finish is in the prep

voxpop

Pads and polish also depends on how hard the paint is - german cars generally have hard paint so using a light pad and polish will get you nowhere.

Id advise starting with the lightest pad and polish and then work up until you are getting some decent results and stick with that for the whole car. Last time I did the 5er, it took a full day until about 9 at night, starting with wash,clay, tape up and polish - so factor in plenty of time.

MetzgerMeister

On my car (Mazda), I had to use the heavy cut orange pad and CG's V36. The light cut was doing nothing and even with the orange pad, it didn't work that fast. Not all Japanese paint is as soft as marshmallows!