Machine polisher

[gimme5]

Answer to your question Danboi2
I use a sealy machine polisher.
Ideally you want one with different
Speed settings this is best for compound,
Fine polishers and waxes as they go on a lot
Better at different speeds and gives you a lot
Of control.you need a good quality backing pad
I use a 3M one which is a firm sponge with a Velcro
Backing pad for various polishing heads.They are loads
Of different types of polish you can use I prefer 3M this is
Only because its what I used when I was a paint sprayer, it is user friendly
And what ever colour top the polish bottle is you use the same colour pad
And you get brilliant results, just wash them when finished and re-use.
Green does deep scratches faded paint etc blue does fine scratches and gets
Rid of swirl marks a must for black paint! And the yellow pad for putting on a machine
Wax this gives excellent results. Like I said they are different polish and machine polishers
I'm sure someone will give you there take on it

[Danboi2]

That's great thanks so is the polisher you use a da or a rotary?

[Trevhib]

Cool. How easy is it to get the right technique with this type of polisher Gimmie? And how easy is it to damage the paintwork using either too much pressure or leaving the polished in the same place for too long?

[gimme5]

That's great thanks so is the polisher you use a da or a rotary?

Rotary

[gimme5]

Cool. How easy is it to get the right technique with this type of polisher Gimmie? And how easy is it to damage the paintwork using either too much pressure or leaving the polished in the same place for too long?

Ok I've being machine polishing years so its second nature.
This machine polisher is good to hold and very controlable.
You won't damage paint even with some pressure just keep it moving steady away and always using a spray bottle with water on the panels with just the right amount of polish,you don't want it splattering everywhere

[Trevhib]

[rs250nut]

Only thing I would add to that is for polishing newbies, be carefull on panel edges and sharp swage lines, with the cutting compound these areas will burn through quicker that you could believe.

Agree on the 3m stuff, it's by far the best stuff available if used correctly. Tryed most of the other brands and never really felt they offered better results. The black 3m waffle pads with the blue top polish are the absolute jam!!!!!

[gimme5]

[robw]

The 3M stuff is good, used it for years in the boat trade. More recently I've been using Farecla compounds and buffer heads which are pretty good too.

[scratcher]

3M's yellow pad is a polishing pad, and the blue a finishing pad.

I tend to stick to Menzerna or Meguiar's polishes with Hexligic or Lake Country pads these days. I've been through dozens and these are the only ones I've bought again.
It's all down to preference. Same with machine choice.

You can do damage with them but as long as you take your time it'll work out well. I think a paint depth gauge is a must!

Here's a car that was brought to me to save the other week after someone else had a go with a rotary



Taped up a patch and done a test section. I couldn't remove every swirl this time as the paint was down to ~80μ on some panels.

[gimme5]

Sorry for the confusion blue pad is a finish pad as is the blue top polish,but I like to go abit further
By adding a machine wax and the yellow pad is softer and finer than the blue
Nice pics, seen that so many times before the good old haze and swirl marks

[scratcher]

Oh, I've never actually tried waxing by machine. Cheers for the tip

I always take time on the wax stage by hand, I get really into it. I had a nice Zephyr to do today. Dam, does that take a while to wax!

[rs250nut]

The 3M stuff is good, used it for years in the boat trade. More recently I've been using Farecla compounds and buffer heads which are pretty good too.

I used to work on boats for years, talking of painting and polishing heres one I prepared earlier.

[scratcher]

Wow, that's amazing! ^^^^

Nice pics, seen that so many times before the good old haze and swirl marks

I was skim reading last night and missed that.
Cheers dude. Holograms and buffer trails are my biggest hate. Haha. Swirls are inevitable but bad machine work is just carelessness. I was brought a fiesta show car to do fresh from the body shop earlier this year... sanding marks and pig tails galore

Your car looks absolutely perfect by the way it impresses me every time I see it. I wish my 5 was that good.

[djinuk]

I think the killer thing with machine polishing , is when u buff it to death.. remove all swirls , looks great, then under a certain light you see a million more.. my advice is to get it as good as your happy with and not stress over it to much

Also i used 2 megs polish's , they work great together , 105/107 or somthing id have to check though

[scratcher]

Also i used 2 megs polish's , they work great together , 105/107 or somthing id have to check though

105 & 205? They are great polishes. That E30 was mostly done with 205 and a polishing pad.
The key thing is definitely refining your work. With compounding, you'll be leaving a slight 'haze' behind but that will get taken care of when it's refined. But you're right, it's often not worth going too far. Like that ca r where it had been polished to death with burns and strike through all over the place

[djinuk]

they will be the ones, i love them because there just simple.. but yea, i learnt to just get it about right, then live with it.. fact is 95% of people dont see paint as close as us ocd folks do

[robw]

I used to work on boats for years, talking of painting and polishing heres one I prepared earlier.

Nice job. I've not seen many boats that colour.
This is a boat I've just finished restoring. I used Faircla compound 300,500 and finished with autoglym polish. Looks loads better now.

[newbstar*]

3m too dusty and hides swirls/hazing. Menzerna with hex logic pad festool rotary.

[gimme5]

3m too dusty and hides swirls/hazing. Menzerna with hex logic pad festool rotary.

Never had that problem if you use right amount with
A clean pad and water, the blue fine polish does get
Rid of swirls and haze its on the bottle saying that's what it's for.
My black car will testify this.
Just sticking up for 3m I think it's a good product, mainly sold to professional body shops
Just my 10 pence worth

[gimme5]

Wow, that's amazing! ^^^^



I was skim reading last night and missed that.
Cheers dude. Holograms and buffer trails are my biggest hate. Haha. Swirls are inevitable but bad machine work is just carelessness. I was brought a fiesta show car to do fresh from the body shop earlier this year... sanding marks and pig tails galore

Your car looks absolutely perfect by the way it impresses me every time I see it. I wish my 5 was that good.

Thank you, it's down to the 3m stuff, does a good job on black paint the 3m
machine wax is just awesome. I should be a 3M rep

[rs250nut]

Nice job. I've not seen many boats that colour.
This is a boat I've just finished restoring. I used Faircla compound 300,500 and finished with autoglym polish. Looks loads better now.

Nice work, I always prefered sailing yachts to motor but never really had the chance to work on many.

[newbstar*]

Never had that problem if you use right amount with
A clean pad and water, the blue fine polish does get
Rid of swirls and haze its on the bottle saying that's what it's for.
My black car will testify this.
Just sticking up for 3m I think it's a good product, mainly sold to professional body shops
Just my 10 pence worth

No need for water on 3m products?? That's what the oils are for pal, to allow work time of the product. Menzerna shows a more true finish after polishing.

[gimme5]

You defo use water,I've just looked at the instructions on the bottle. It helps it cut in and allows you to manage it better, if you don't it drys out abit, that's when you get the haze effect, may be thats why you say its dusty. I've work at a few body shops which use water and I remember when these products came out and a 3M rep used water. Not having a go or anything, but like I said from the beginning of this post everyone will have different preferences on polish and machine polisher.
Liking this post, liking the boats, liking the conversation and people's take on things.

Any way just take a look at my car. link in classifieds (standard renault 5 gt for sale)
And look how shiny she is .

[newbstar*]

I was making the point it fillers things too much from my point of view but is a good product, there's better on the market though! It's the end result that counts anyway but how long it lasts is proof in the pudding. Body shops polishing of paint sucks as they don't refine it that much, the cost of the spray job would go through the roof- in and out is there method!

[robw]

I've tried many and all of them more or less the same. Down to personal preference.

[rs250nut]

Body shops polishing of paint sucks as they don't refine it that much, the cost of the spray job would go through the roof- in and out is there method![/QUOTE]

Too true that's why me and my old boss used to get so much work, everything was flat and polished properly, that house of kolor paint job on that yacht above came out at £595,000 and the owner did not bat an eyelid, you could probably put a third of that down to flat and polishing every square inch, then blue topping the whole boat and then machine glazing.