cost of machine polish?

imurdaddy

Hi folks,

I picked up a mercedes slk and the paint work has swirl marks and kight scratching from bushes and the likes, now its not bad at all but would need a proper machine polish to put right.

so what should I be expecting to pay roughly?

Thanks...

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

A) around €250 per day.

find someone to 'lash' a rotary over it for less than a hundred euro.

Don't go for method B because you'll have to resort to method A to fix the damage caused by Ronnie and his rotary.

You'll probably need to spend nearly €500 for a good job. It will take years off the car though.

dodzy

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

A) around €250 per day.

find someone to 'lash' a rotary over it for less than a hundred euro.

Don't go for method B because you'll have to resort to method A to fix the damage caused by Ronnie and his rotary.

You'll probably need to spend nearly €500 for a good job. It will take years off the car though.

A few of the regulars in the detailing forum have their own professional setups and constantly receive great feedback from members. €500 for external detailing would be way off the mark though. I'd say less than half that for a top job. Obviously, that's external only.

mik_da_man

dodzy wrote: »

A few of the regulars in the detailing forum have their own professional setups and constantly receive great feedback from members. €500 for external detailing would be way off the mark though. I'd say less than half that for a top job. Obviously, that's external only.

A proper paint correction would come to 500 easily enough.

keano25

And do a bit of background on who you get.

I see a fella here in Cork on his Facebook page putting up pictures of cars he has done, and clowns saying great work.

I was tempted to comment on some of the pictures asking how much he paid the owner to let him practice on their car. The work was truly awful. Buffer marks, swirls etc.

Curran

A one day job will do wonders for the appearance; which would consist of a prep for polishing, one stage polish/enhancement and protection by a reputable detailer will cost in the region of 225-275.
It wont be 100% corrected bit will look 10 times better and anything that remains, you'd have to be inspecting closely or under strong light.

You are paying for time, skill and products used also.

MuppetCheck

I paid about €400 not too long ago for a 2 day correction.

Curran

MuppetCheck wrote: »

I paid about €400 not too long ago for a 2 day correction.

That's spot on. Probably wasnt as intense for the detailer, as getting a one stage correction done, in a day....so probably could have been say 2* 8 hour days, versus a 10 hour day for a one day job.
Often detailers wont charge as much for every day after the first too.

vectra

Whereabouts are you OP?

imurdaddy

Thanks for the info lads, I knew it would be costly but the car would really benefit from it. Id like to learn how to machine polish and do a basic detail at some stage! I allready like cleaning the cars get a bit of peac and quite from herself haha...

vectra

imurdaddy wrote: »

Thanks for the info lads, I knew it would be costly but the car would really benefit from it. Id like to learn how to machine polish and do a basic detail at some stage! I allready like cleaning the cars get a bit of peac and quite from herself haha...

Would you not consider getting a Dual action polisher and kit yourself?
It would probably work out at close on half the price of getting it done and 4 times the satisfaction when you stand back and say " I actually did that" :cool:

If you do look at the DIY route, my advice is to skip the dual action route altogether and go straight for a rotary. I find my DA to be torrentially tedious.

vectra

Deleted User wrote: »

If you do look at the DIY route, my advice is to skip the dual action route altogether and go straight for a rotary. I find my DA to be torrentially tedious.

That is only because you have got used to it.
Those new Da 21's are getting great reviews at the moment.

I would be wary of giving someone a rotary if they never held a polisher before.

I recently stepped up from a DAS6 to and ep801 rotary and realised I should have moved ages ago.
Those da's are excellent for refining though.

JAMES VTI S

DA and rotary both have there places and rotarys are not good on certain paint types, a rotary in an inexperienced beginners hands .... don't do that .... A DA no matter what people tell you can and will damage paint.

One day gloss enhancement detail: £170+
Two day swirl removal: €250+
Full paint correction: €450+

Then you have a choice of waxes, sealants, and coatings.

Everyone is different and prices vary.
Pay professional prices you get a professional job ECT.

keano25

Handing some novice a rotary and saying work away is asking for trouble.

vectra

JAMES VTI S wrote: »

DA and rotary both have there places and rotarys are not good on certain paint types, a rotary in an inexperienced beginners hands .... don't do that .... A DA no matter what people tell you can and will damage paint.

One day gloss enhancement detail: £170+
Two day swirl removal: €250+
Full paint correction: €450+

Then you have a choice of waxes, sealants, and coatings.

Everyone is different and prices vary.
Pay professional prices you get a professional job ECT.

I agree James.
A DA can and will damage paint.
But realistically only if you act the muppet with one, like turn it over and whact the paint with the back of it.

Those prices seem keen James with you.

Well I can only speak for myself, but my experience with the DAS Pro 6 is that you'd have to turn it on full whack, and put a brillo pad on it, before it'd do any damage. I do have a pain in my hole polishing the same areas over, and over, and over, and over...

But again, could be just me.. so..

JAMES VTI S

Thanks :-)

imurdaddy

No question id like to get a machine and be able to do it myself, I wouldn't be expecting a pro quality finish but just to keep it in good condition!

Curran

Even with no previous experience, you'd do a good job yourself, and you'll be very pleased especially if you know you wont quite get a pro finish the first time. You'll be able to keep it in better than, just good condition.

vectra

As Curran said.
Don't expect perfect results after your first coupe of tries with it but you will be amazed with the improvement.

When I first used one I was thrilled,
I progressively got more determined and after my 4th or 5th go with the DA I can honestly say I was getting results that would compare with a professional job.

Get one and take your time.
Start with polishing pad and light cut polish. You cannot go wrong, Then work your way up to more cut etc.

The satisfaction of doing it yourself supersedes the time it takes.

vectra

vectra wrote: »

The satisfaction of doing it yourself supersedes the time it takes.

That is one thing I would definitely agree with. You feel great when you're finished doing the car.

imurdaddy

Thanks for the info folks, ill make an investment in a DA after Christmas, any recommendations on which one to get?

Curran

If you are going for a DA, make sure it has a power output of 750w+, as the lesser 500w will bog down more and correction will be slower. For the extra few quid, it will make a big difference.

imurdaddy

Curran wrote: »

If you are going for a DA, make sure it has a power output of 750w+, as the lesser 500w will bog down more and correction will be slower. For the extra few quid, it will make a big difference.

Any brands or model you recommend?

Curran

If you are going for the run of the mill machine; they are all essentially the same, just re-branded.

imurdaddy

Curran wrote: »

If you are going for the run of the mill machine; they are all essentially the same, just re-branded.

Cheers thanks for the help, you never know santa might get my letter! !

vectra

Das 21 is on good pricing at the moment in the UK