Basic machine polish

Hi,

just bought a car, it's a 2018. The paint is fine but I would like to get it better, covered in swirl marks etc.

I priced up getting a stage 1 polish but the prices are ridiculous lads are quoting. Was thinking of just buying a cheap D/A polisher and some compound. If I wanted to just do a quick job and not go to town trying to get it perfect would it be possible to just use one polish instead of multiple different products? Is it an easy enough job..

Wondering if anyone has any experience..

I think there used to be a detailing forum but that seems to be gone

Thanks

PsychoPete

Quick job and machine polishing don't go together. The major factor when detailing is experience. A gloss enhancement detail would probably cost around 300 to 400 which will remove around 60% of swirl marks.

Prep work is important like washing,de-tar, fallout remover, clay and an ipa wipe down. You can buy a polisher like a das6 pro and using something like Koch chemie one cut and finish with their pads to go with that all in one polish, it will give you decent results if you spend the time on it. It's not a difficult job but it's time consuming. I'd probably pay someone to do it unless you planned on keeping the detailing up in the future

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120761225#Comment_120761225

Thanks, I don't mean quick job but I mean If I clean the car and use a clay bar etc it their a polish available that would just remove swirl marks without me using multiple different polishes.

I don't mind spending money but I don't want to be using 3 different polishes and spending 3 days at it. Just wondering is there a brand of polish that's gentle enough but strong enough that it could be used on its own as a 1 job application.

I have fully re sprayed bikes so I know what I'm doing to an extent but I always just wet sanded them out and used rubbing compound to get them good and I don't want to do that to an expensive car even though the bikes turned out well.

BlakeS94

There's no such thing as gentle and strong in the detailing world, the more you need to remove, the more aggressive pad/compound you need. And the more aggressive you go, the more steps are needed.

i.e a very abrasive compound will remove deep scratches, but tends to leave a haze which needs to be polished off with a polish, and maybe even a lighter 3rd step depending on how hard you went at it.

What you're looking for is an all in one polish/compound which is basically designed for a 1 step polish.

Meguiars ultimate compound yields good results, or ultimate polish for a lighter version and both can be used as a one step routine and will leave a nice gloss finish, just make sure to always apply wax afterwards. Use the hardest pad you can find, small sections at a time, light pressure and move slowly.

Swirl marks aren't as easy to remove as the front of polishing bottles will tell you, I've made multiple attempts over the years and has only improved the paint slightly, my car is black though.

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120761535#Comment_120761535

If it was me I'd buy some Koch Chemie one cut and finish P6, it gives a good cut and really nice finish. Koch chemie do a pad that goes with that polish. Maybe put a wax or sealant over it just to protect the paint

XsApollo

I think you will find after doing your one stage Polish that the prices people are quoting aren’t ridiculous. :-D

what car is it? Not all car paints are the same , or used not to be anyway.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120762294#Comment_120762294

2018 5 series

XsApollo

last time I did an A6 I owned. Took me 2-3 days and I didn’t do the roof or any of the bumpers or intricate parts.

that was with proper decontamination of the paint, ( detar, iron x, clay bar , ect).

Thanks Physco Pete, I'm going to go with that stuff you recommend

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120762683#Comment_120762683

That's ridiculously OTT, if you went to a body shop and asked for a polish do you think the would be de ironing a car. Detailers are an absolute laugh.

What took you 3 days to do half a car essentially with OTT work is a Saturday job max to get a car in decent shape.

I couldn't give a crap about de ironing or iron X the car, I just want to wash it, clay bar it and polish it to get it looking good as any normal shop would.

I am looking for an improvement not a concours car as 99% of people would think looks good.

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120765617#Comment_120765617

The problem is, if you don't de iron it and it has contamination then the end result is going to be pretty crap. If you just want it shiny then slap on a nice filling polish like autoglym srp, it will hide all the swirls and give a good shine. Machine polishing is all about the prep before the polishing bit, all iron, tar etc must be removed from every square inch and it takes time

XsApollo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120765617#Comment_120765617

Ok

Im sure one of you neighbours will be looking out the window having a laugh Alonzo Chubby Telecommunications spending 400euro, all day washing and polishing the car , when a circle K car wash can do the same job :-D

each to their own I suppose.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120765617#Comment_120765617

Who are you to say it’s ridiculously over the top? They obviously wanted their car to look the best it could. Not just ‘make it shiny’

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120766133#Comment_120766133

How is a circle K car wash the same as someone cleaning their car , using a clay bar to decontaminate and using compound/polish to try and take out orange peel and haze? Please explain

If I was going to de iron the car I would just use petrol on a rag.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120766280#Comment_120766280

I'm saying detailers in general, it's a 35 grand car not a Ferrari. I'm not going to spend 3 days or pay someone 600 quid to get the paint looking better.

I would have a good guess most normal car enthusiasts would have the same opinion I have.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770044#Comment_120770044

Clay bar does not remove decontamination on its own. You keep posting it as if it’s the holy grail.

You need to remove iron particles before you machine polish, you need to remove fall out before machine polishing.

Nothing wrong with what you want to do it yourself but don’t be dismissing people giving genuine advice on a topic you know nothing about and are trying to learn the basics.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770070#Comment_120770070

That's a fair point, apologies to anyone I offended.

My point was more how much of what is being spoken about is necessary, as in if you took half the side of your car off and a body shop resprayed it and did a good job and then polished the whole side to make the new paint blend in better with any old paint to try and make the repair seamless, I'm 99% sure they would not be spending hours de ironing a car and doing much more than using a clay bar and a DA polisher.

I want to make the car better than it is but I don't want to go absolutely nuts either, I'm sure alot of people are in the same boat.

PhyscoPete recommendation of the Koch Chemie seems a good one in this case and I would guess after it's done the car will look alot better and I most definitely think it would look alot better than a circle K car wash like the other condescending poster referenced.

XsApollo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770044#Comment_120770044

My point was you are saying someone else doing something is OTT , when the guy going to circle K is looking at you and thinking your OTT.

but yea whatever, you asked for advice, you were looking for the detailing forum and you’re saying detailers are OTT, that’s why it’s called detailing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770133#Comment_120770133

I get you, I misunderstood - I didn't mean it like that at all. Fair play to the job you did on your car, sounds like you spent alot of time on it, I wouldn't have the patience but I bet it looks very good.

Thanks for your advice and help.

User1998

If you want the car to look marginally better just use Meguiars cutting compound and then go over it with Autoglym super resin polish. You can do it by hand with two different microfiber clothes and it will only take a couple of hours and will cost less than €30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770172#Comment_120770172

Thanks, do you think it would be worth buying a cheap DA and using the Koch Chemie over doing this? Would there be much difference

My previous experience of doing anything like this was on bikes and I wet sanded them back using 2k grit wet and dry, but obviously not going to take sandpaper to a new to me car

XsApollo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770158#Comment_120770158

Cool , yea that car was a couple of cars ago, i don’t have the patience now either tbh.

it’s a slippery slope, when you get the paint shining you’ll be looking at the wheels thinking they could be shinier and then the blacks won’t be black enough and so on.

good luck with the Polish.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770197#Comment_120770197

I’d imagine you’ll just burn through the paint if you try use a polisher if your inexperienced. Happened to me when I tried using one for the first time.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770101#Comment_120770101

A body shop wouldn’t be detailing it. You have to let paint set for a period of time before you can machine polish it. That time is measured in weeks and months. Not hours.

A body shop would have no reason to use a clay bar either as they would have recently just painted the car or should not have been on the road so no red for fall out or to de-iron the car

But you should also be de-tarring the car. There’s multiple steps unfortunately.

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120770223#Comment_120770223

You would with a rotary polisher as they'll do more damage in the wrong hands but da polishers are pretty safe