# Machine polishing cars



## USER1999 (Sep 27, 2017)

I have never really got into car cleaning, and certainly not polishing or waxing and such. Both of my cars could do with some tlc, and so i have started to do a bit of remedial work by hand, just a very basic go with autoglym scratch remover and some autoglym polish. Its flipping hard work though, so was thinking about buying a machine. So, some questions then:

What is involved, what damage can i do, what do i need, pitfalls i can avoid? Etc. 

I am not after a show car finish, just something that is a uniform colour, vaguely shiny, and without loads of swirly marks.

Any help out there? Thanks.


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## Hobbit (Sep 27, 2017)

*weeps uncontrollably* My last car got a valeting by a guy who had his apprentice with him. Apprentice places buffing machine down on the drive, pad down. Picks up and proceeds to put some cracking scratches on the bonnet.


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## Twire (Sep 27, 2017)

Have a look on here Murph. I get all my car cleaning kit from them, they also sell machine polishers. If you click onto the polishing section they give good tips on polishers and polishing.

http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/


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## OnTour (Sep 27, 2017)

Takes forever &#128533; taping rubber seals as the machine gets polish everywhere   keeping the pad wet enough to not burn the paint etc. Best watch YouTube for some tips. 

Enjoy your free time while you can its addictive


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## Rooter (Sep 27, 2017)

Chris, make sure you get a DA (Dual Action) polisher, a rotary in untrained hands will ruin the finish. The DA spins and oscillates. 

I would recommend you do this:

Wash and dry car
Clay bar the entire car (this cleans the paint, you will be amazed how much crap comes off! if you dont, you are polishing this crud into the paintwork)
Example: https://www.pure-definition.co.uk/c...qmqWqiOKRAlpL58kkjFBbDAzFL2nmPGxoC6v8QAvD_BwE 

Then do your polishing, most important part after is the sealing of the polished paint work. you can use a decent carnuba wax to do this.

To do this properly, you are looking at 8-12 hours work minimum though!! and expect your arms to kill even with a polisher!

Or pay a detailing company to do it for you!


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## Deleted member 18588 (Sep 27, 2017)

It's a car for God's sake 

It will depreciate in value in any event. 

Use the time for playing golf.


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## Reemul (Sep 27, 2017)

MetalMickie said:



			It's a car for God's sake 

It will depreciate in value in any event. 

Use the time for playing golf.
		
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Totally agree. I see my neighbours out polishing these things for hours on end just to have there cars sit outside their houses or work places for hours on end and I keep wanting to go and say go and enjoy life do something fun but nope they are there every week.


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## USER1999 (Sep 27, 2017)

MetalMickie said:



			It's a car for God's sake 

It will depreciate in value in any event. 

Use the time for playing golf.
		
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I dont think either of my cars can depreciate any more than they have! That is part of the problem. 11 years of neglect has its effects.


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## Tashyboy (Sep 27, 2017)

MetalMickie said:



			It's a car for God's sake 

It will depreciate in value in any event. 

Use the time for playing golf.
		
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Such blaspemy deserves a yellow card


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## Piece (Sep 27, 2017)

There are many, both cheap and expensive, to do what you want. <nerd alert!>

Firstly, wash the car properly! Get a decent degreaser and spray across the car. Leave for a few minutes. If you have a power washer, please use it! Make sure you don't use the patio tornado nozzle though, only a nozzle safe for cars. Use the power washer to remove most of the top dirt. Get two buckets and fill one with a hot water and decent car shampoo. The other bucket should be luke warm water. Use a good car mitt (NOT a sponge) and immerse in hot bucket. Wash panel at a time, roof downwards, rinsing off the mitt in the other bucket. Before dipping back into hot, ensure mitt is free of dirt (you can use grid guards to help). Idea is not to grind fine dirt back into the paintwork - scratches and swirls!!!. Next level of nerdiness in washing, is to wash in lines, not circular, as this introduces swirls. Rinse off with low setting power wash or a FRESH bucket(s) of clean water. Top tip here for easy drying is to use a water hose at normal tap pressure to wash off water to leave as little water to dry off - called water drying. Dry car thoroughly using car towels, using a patting motion - chamois I wouldn't recommend at all.

Once dry, if you run your fingers down the paint work, you will feel very small roughness. Top tip - put your hand in a freezer bag and do this same; it really highlights the micro particles. Get a clay mitt from Halford (easier than a clay bar) and a lubricant (specialist car one, not one that you have around the house ). Go over all the panels, using lubricant first and rubbing the paintwork with the mitt until particles have gone. You can hear and feel when they've gone. Too much clay lubricant is better than too little 

Now you have clean paint. Here is where you can 'repair' the paint, getting rid of swirls and minor scratches. Rule of thumb is if you can pick the scratch with your nail, machine polishing won't 100% fix it. Machine will fix the rest though, if used properly. Definitely recommend a machine polisher over hand - too much effort! Use a Dual Action (DA) polisher here (Â£150); Rotaries are for professionally and amateurs that know their stuff. You'll need DA pads to do the job too - different sizes and different grades, depending on what is needed. Broadly speaking, one pad to do the cutting and one pad to do the finishing. You'll need to know the approximate hardness of your car's paint too - e.g. Audi's paint is hard and Nissan's is soft. You'll also need a compound and a polish to go with the pad. Compound does the cutting with the cutting pad and the polish does the finishing with the polish pad, funnily enough! There are YouTube vids on how to use a DA, pads and polish on YouTube. If done properly, one panel will take about an hour - don't rush it!!! Note: cutting and polishing should be kept to a minimum as there is a finite limit on the paint depth! If done well, the paint should look fab.

After you've done what you need to do, the paint is ready for protection and should look shiny and great to touch. Various options now include waxes, nano sealants and others. It is up to you. Nano sealants are like nail varnish that stay on the car for years, offering excellent protection. Some of these can be done by the amateur or better longer lasting ones by the professionals only. If you want to do wax, then there are many options to suit your budget and car type.

A well prepared and finished car above, will not only look great, but will be very easy to clean the next time. Recommend clay bar and wax once every six months - will depend on what protection you car has (cheap wax, expensive wax, nano sealant...).

Have a look at Ultimate Finish and Polish Bliss website. Also Detailing World. There's masses out their and can get expensive!!

Last word: the only way to get a really shiny finish is to rid the car of swirls and scratches.


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## user2010 (Sep 27, 2017)

MetalMickie said:



			It's a car for God's sake 

It will depreciate in value in any event. 

Use the time for playing golf.
		
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Is the correct answer!:clap:
Life is waaaaaaaaay too short to worry about polishing a car.
Pay somebody else to do the menial stuff if you're that worried about it.:thup:


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## AmandaJR (Sep 27, 2017)

I used this guy recently - he did a great job and rather him than me!!

http://www.ultimatevalet.co.uk/clay-machine.html


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## Simbo (Sep 27, 2017)

What colour are the cars? 
Black cars swirl mark like nothing on earth!! But tbh removing swirls is a bit of a delicate job. A dual action polisher is much easier to use than a rotary buff. 
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...sher/das-6-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html
Best entry level DA on the market right now if you're looking for one of those. 
Halfords do a G3 clay mitt which will remove most unwanted soiling on the surface, need to get the correct lubricant to go with it. 
A good drying towel is a must aswell, I use a wooly mammoth but there are cheaper ones available on that same site as the polisher.
The autoglym super resin polish is fine for filling light swirls, a coat of either autoglym gloss protection or HD wax to finish.

1. Wash the car thouroughly, use a wash mitt and not a sponge, sponges scratch. One bucket cold water one bucket warm soapy water, rinse the mitt in the cold water after each session cleaning on the car to remove debris in mitt and stop scratches.
2. Rinse the car with cold water
3.Use the clay mitt and lubricant to further clean the paint then rinse the car under a hose with cold water.
4.Dry thouroughly, open doors boot and bonnet and remove any excess water in there as if it runs out when the polish is one its a pain in the bum.
5. Use the polisher with a light to medium abrasive pad and cutting compound, the guys on the above website would advice you better on the abrasives and compounds.
6. Give the car a wipe over with a panel wipe to remove excess dust from the cutting compound.
7. Apply super resin polish, I recommend doing his part by hand, then remove with the DA polisher and a soft pad.
Again remove excess dust from polish with a panel wipe.
8. Same procedure as above but with high gloss finisher or HD wax. I recommend applying by hand again, do 2 panels of application, say wing and front door then remove gloss from wing, then apply to rear door then remove from front door. This is he method I use, You can do the whole car at once but the high gloss or HD wax goes quite hard and can be tough to remove if left on to long. 
That's your paintwork done&#128077;
Onto glass, rubber and wheels and tyres now&#128515;


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## Lump (Sep 27, 2017)

MetalMickie said:



			It's a car for God's sake 

It will depreciate in value in any event. 

Use the time for playing golf.
		
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Life's to short to judge others for how they use their free time.

Some people are stupid enough to watch 22 overpaid princess's kick a leather balloon around a field, but who are we to judge them for it.


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## Bunkermagnet (Sep 27, 2017)

Wax...dont polish. Wax is non abrasive
Rinse the car, wash the car using 2 buckets method, clay bar the car(I use Meguires clay bars), cleaner wax the car and buff off, then wax the car and buff...then again 30 minutes later
I use.....Autoglym car shampoo and Meguirs lambs wool mitt,( once a year... Swisswax cleaner fluid regular), then Swisswax mirage wax. 
I use a selection of Swisswax buffing clothes, drying towels abd pads.
My 14 yr old Barge looks as good as it did on day 1, but it's what you want from your labours I suppose


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## SaintHacker (Sep 28, 2017)

T-Cut + elbow grease, then Auto Glym super resin, and finish with a coat of Auto Glym extra protection. Jobs a good'un.

Whilst we're on the subject does anyone know of a good product for keeping brake dust from sticking to alloys? Mine are awful to keep clean.


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## Bunkermagnet (Sep 29, 2017)

SaintHacker said:



			T-Cut + elbow grease, then Auto Glym super resin, and finish with a coat of Auto Glym extra protection. Jobs a good'un.

Whilst we're on the subject does anyone know of a good product for keeping brake dust from sticking to alloys? Mine are awful to keep clean.
		
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You can get quite a few wheel waxes, but tbh although I do use a good wax, I don't bother waxing the wheels. For cleaning of the wheels I use "virosol" degreaser, diluted Down for normal use. It doesn't attack the alloy or plastic like some of the main brand wheel cleaners do.


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## sawtooth (Sep 29, 2017)

Excellent write up Piece.

My current car is beyond help but just bought a snow foam lance from Autobrite that arrives today. 

Going to cover the car in foam leave it there for 30 minutes then rinse with pressure washer. Hoping never to need a sponge or brush ever again or at least keep it to a minimum.


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## Rooter (Sep 29, 2017)

SaintHacker said:



			T-Cut + elbow grease, then Auto Glym super resin, and finish with a coat of Auto Glym extra protection. Jobs a good'un.

Whilst we're on the subject does anyone know of a good product for keeping brake dust from sticking to alloys? Mine are awful to keep clean.
		
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once you have them clean, use this stuff. https://www.amazon.co.uk/PoorBoys-W...6672791&sr=8-1&keywords=poorboy+wheel+sealant 

its awesome!


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## Piece (Sep 29, 2017)

sawtooth said:



			Excellent write up Piece.

My current car is beyond help but just bought a snow foam lance from Autobrite that arrives today. 

Going to cover the car in foam leave it there for 30 minutes then rinse with pressure washer. Hoping never to need a sponge or brush ever again or at least keep it to a minimum.
		
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Snow foaming very satisfying! Get the right mix and the snow foam turns to thick mousse


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## Piece (Sep 29, 2017)

SaintHacker said:



			T-Cut + elbow grease, then Auto Glym super resin, and finish with a coat of Auto Glym extra protection. Jobs a good'un.

Whilst we're on the subject does anyone know of a good product for keeping brake dust from sticking to alloys? Mine are awful to keep clean.
		
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If you really want a proper job on this, I use a quartz coating. It is like runny nail varnish that you apply with a suede cloth and bar. If applied properly (read instructions/watch a vid), it will be excellent, better (IMHO) than wax sealants, mainly because of results and it will last around 12 months. Only apply though once the wheel is spotless; i.e. de-ironed, clayed and prepped. If the alloys are simple, then I would recommend this approach. Gyeon Q2 Rim is what I use, from Polished Bliss.

You can use wax and synthetic sealants too. Slightly easier to apply for more 'complex' alloys and last around 2-3 months.


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## Slime (Sep 29, 2017)

murphthemog said:



			I have never really got into car cleaning, and certainly not polishing or waxing and such. Both of my cars could do with some tlc, and so i have started to do a bit of remedial work by hand, just a very basic go with autoglym scratch remover and some autoglym polish. Its flipping hard work though, so was thinking about buying a machine. So, some questions then:

*What is involved, what damage can i do, what do i need, pitfalls i can avoid? Etc. 
*
I am not after a show car finish, just something that is a uniform colour, vaguely shiny, and without loads of swirly marks.

Any help out there? Thanks.
		
Click to expand...

Plenty of time and effort. No real damage can be done when using a Dual Action polisher, I have a Das-6 Pro and leaves a fabulous finish. I use it with Menzerna FG400 and Menzerna Super Finish 3500.
Get a gnarly old bonnet from a scrappy to practice on. 



OnTour said:



			Takes forever ï˜• taping rubber seals as *the machine gets polish everywhere * *keeping the pad wet enough to not burn the paint* etc. Best watch YouTube for some tips. 
Enjoy your free time while you can its addictive
		
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I've never suffered from polish splatter and it's almost impossible to burn the paint when using a DA polisher.



Tashyboy said:



			Such blaspemy deserves a yellow card
		
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Is the correct answer.



SaintHacker said:



			T-Cut + elbow grease, then Auto Glym super resin, and finish with a coat of Auto Glym extra protection. Jobs a good'un.

Whilst we're on the subject *does anyone know of a good product for keeping brake dust from sticking to alloys?* Mine are awful to keep clean.
		
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Get them really clean and then wax them. A weekly wash and quarterly re-wax generally does the job.


I got into it through a forum called Detailing World. They have ALL the answers!
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/index.php

I generally buy my products from a firm called Clean your Car and, as a Detailing World member, get a discount.

For tips on using a polisher, I watch the You Tube channel of Junkman 2000 ............ he's ace.
Finally, when claying your car, I use a FareclÃ¡ G3 clay mitt, which is availble from Halford who usually do good deals on car clean products such as 3 for 2 offers.
Warning ................. it can get addictive and takes a long time to do a thorough job, but it's so worth it in the end. You can also do the car in sections if that's more convenient.

Oh, NEVER put a sponge near the paint and NEVER dry the car with a chamois.

Piece's post #10 was pretty bang on but, for ultimate nerdiness, dry your vehicle with a leaf blower!!


Enjoy :thup:.


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## Slime (Sep 29, 2017)

Just a quick example of what can be easily achieved.

Before;






After;


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## Piece (Sep 30, 2017)

Lovely stuff Slime :thup:

Polishing done properly is very satisfying :clap:


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## SaintHacker (Sep 30, 2017)

Rooter said:



			once you have them clean, use this stuff. https://www.amazon.co.uk/PoorBoys-W...6672791&sr=8-1&keywords=poorboy+wheel+sealant 

its awesome!
		
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:thup:


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## user2010 (Sep 30, 2017)

Slime said:



			Just a quick example of what can be easily achieved.

Before;






After;





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A fine example of polishing a turd.:thup:


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## Slime (Oct 1, 2017)

Scrotie McBoogerballs said:



			A fine example of polishing a turd.:thup:
		
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Hey, I got a lot of money for that turd :whoo:.


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## Slime (Oct 1, 2017)

It just takes a bit of time, effort and care and wonderful things are possible.
My DIL's 12 year old Astra had to be cleaned prior to selling it, which was the first time it'd been cleaned for years. It ended up like below and, as a result, sold quickly for top dollar!
Here's one of the bonnet and two of the roof;



















It really can be wonderfully satisfying.


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## Piece (Oct 2, 2017)

Aaah beading......


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## Rooter (Oct 2, 2017)

Ahh the days when i had more than 20 minutes to clean the car! Dug out some old ones of my old 330.

Before:



During:



After:


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## USER1999 (Oct 2, 2017)

Rooter said:



			Ahh the days when i had more than 20 minutes to clean the car! Dug out some old ones of my old 330.

Before:
View attachment 23730


During:
View attachment 23731


After:
View attachment 23732

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This is exactly the sort of marks i want to get rid of.


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## Rooter (Oct 2, 2017)

murphthemog said:



			This is exactly the sort of marks i want to get rid of.
		
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then you need a DA polisher and the suitable pads a cutting compound, polish and some elbow grease.


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## Slime (Oct 2, 2017)

murphthemog said:



			This is exactly the sort of marks i want to get rid of.
		
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They're usually caused by washing a car with a sponge that's just been dipped in a bucket of dirty water.
Never use a sponge, use a microfibre wash mitt and two buckets of water, one with warm, soapy water and the other with clean water, just as Piece advised earlier.

Halfords clay mitt is just Â£13;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/ca...iling-products/farecla-g3-body-prep-clay-mitt

Halfords bucket for Â£1;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/sponges-brushes-buckets/halfords-10-litre-bucket

Halfords wash mitt is just Â£3;
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/sponges-brushes-buckets/halfords-wash-mitt


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