Beginner Polishing help
 

Hi, never polished a car before and wanted some guidance before I start.

Overall my cars paint is very good as is, but it's a black car and I get really OCD about scratch marks/ light swirls and I wanted to be able to maintain that so it stays looking great.

Picked up a cordless polisher on discount, it had good reviews but I didn't realise just how large it was. Believe it's an 18V with a 240mm (9.5 inch) pad and i'm concerned whether that's too big for my car.

I understand smaller ones are better for angles/ coverage, but my main concern after researching is that apparently the large pads can easily cause buff burn/ damage to the paint.

So.. Should I return it and try get a smaller one? Do people on here use 10inch pads for occasional maintenance and get by fine? Is there a specific type of polisher (and polishing compound) that people here use for their 86's?

Thanks

I'd get a dual action polisher. A lot harder to screw up your paint. I have a Torq polisher and love it. If recommend the chemical guys V32-38 line of polishes. Chemical guys stuff works great and they have great sales.

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What model polisher did you get?

Polishing is no different than anything else in life. It's developing an understanding of the forces and actions at play. You can ask your boss for a raise, or you can baselesly demand it... Demanding usually ends up harming your chances more than helping. No different than buffing-- a gentle force at low speed, regardless pf the buffer pad size won't do much harm. But force any buffer pad into the paint like you're kneading bread, and there's gonna be some damage.

I use a 9" buffer with only minor issues, but can safely say all the issues I've had are entirely user problems and not equipment problems.

I got this polisher https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/...mm/537223.html

again don't know what other polishers are like but from what I can tell it's just an on/off switch at around 3000/min no-load speed.

Yea I've seen a few polishing videos and know to let the polisher do the work and to always keep it flat etc, just saw a few comments after the fact that people don't recommend 10 inch pads as they "lead to marring, buffer trails and burnt paint"

I'll look into dual action thanks

I've got a Ryobi one like that.

My 2 cents is to make sure the car is super clean before you start, get multiple covers for applying and polishing and swap them out as you go, also keep the panel a bit wet with a spray bottle with water in it.

Step 1 - cleaning: spray detergent on the car and let it sit for 10 minutes, then I powerwash, then I wash the car with a heavy duty car wash.

Step 2 -Polish: Use a polish if required and go to town for a few hours with your buffer, lots of spraying with water, lots of polish, lots of mess, then wash with heavy duty car wash and power wash.

Step 3 - Glaze: as per step 2, but now I use a quality wash and wax, I then use my big microfiber towels to dry the car.

Step 4 - Wax: cover the car in wax using a microfiber towel, when it's dry buff it off and then wipe over with a couple of microfiber towel.

I would do all this once a year, glaze about every 3 months, wax monthly, and wash weekly.

Profit.

A full polish to wax usually takes me most of the day.

I have 3 application boots and 3 polishing boots for the buffer.

I have a heap of small microfiber towels I use to apply the stuff.

I have a wash bucket and a rinse bucket which I keep changing the water in, you need to keep all your pads and towels spotlessly clean.

I have 6 large microfiber towels for drying.

2 cordless batteries should keep you going, if you only have 1 battery it's going to take you much longer.

Doing this undercover, or if possible, inside a garage is a huge advantage.

You will also need, at a minimum, a 6 pack of your chosen beverages. This is the most important part of the whole process.

And....if it's windy.....don't do it....wait till it's not windy.

Disclaimer: black cars suck.....

Thanks, i'll definitely pick up a few more pads.

May return it though and opt for a smaller dual action as somebody suggested. I can't find enough info on the toolpro polisher other than it's good for heavy duty jobs which worries me as i'm just looking to do minor touch ups... Then again there aren't many other options close to the price I paid at the local auto store so not sure what i'll end up doing

A smaller buffer will be beneficial for the entire car. Areas around the mirror and license plate you'll need a smaller pad. I use a 5" pad that's even too big for some spots, but it's pretty versatile for 90% of the car.


As previously mentioned you want a good decontamination before polishing. Any left over grime will get stuck in the pad and slow down the process.

Use a no wax soap for washing, clay the car and use a chemical iron remover. That should prep the car for polish.


As far as buffers you have rotary and dual action. Dual action are more forgiving, rotary will get faster results. Griots G9 polisher is a good dual action for beginners. Porter Cable 7424xp should be cheaper, and isn't as powerful.


Lake country, chemical guys, meguiars are reputable pad brands. Do some research on various pad types. Chemical guys has a starter pack which comes with a few different pads. You'll want at least 2-3 of each pad you plan to use for the entire car. You will want to "blow out" the pad often while using it.

I would keep the buffer you have for the large panels like the roof, bonnet and doors, for the small tricky spots, I just do it by hand.

Don't worry and think the one you have is to big, it isn't.

Just use the weight of the machine and keep it wet, you will be fine.

Or, practice on the Mrs car, she will be happy to just have you wash and polish the car for her.

I recently just did my daughters car, with a little bit of work, even a Yaris comes up with a nice deep shine.

This ^
The only thing I would add to all that has been said is to keep the buffer (no matter what size or style) moving at all times. Never ever ever leave it running in one spot. Never. Not for any reason.
Beyond that the basic instructions provided is all it takes.
Oh... And don't do it in direct sunlight. Heat bad. Cool shade good.

Larger pads are fine, they just require more pressure on the paint to get results compared to smaller pads. Also less pad options available in 9" format. The lack of speed control is the issue I see with that polisher. The speed is In the right range for a rotary but it is nice to be able to adjust the speed when/if needed.

Large pads are generally safer to use so that's a plus for learning. For spot touch ups you get faster results with a smaller pad, working a smaller area.

Esoteric has a ton of useful easy information to help the process.

https://youtu.be/G-1YIb3KuSo

Black is unforgiving if product, pad and techniques aren't considered. Incorrect pad choice especially will cause hazing and holograms if you use random stuff without consideration. Avoid microfiber pads of you don't know what you are doing.

Green, orange, yellow pads(colors are pretty universal between brands) are pretty versatile for most applications and can be used with both compound and polish and net good results. More aggressive foam pads are stiffer which transfer more heat into the paint.

An easy tip before you start is find a test spot to figure out what works. Use the least aggressive pad/polish first, and check the area. You'll learn how soft/hard the paint is and can gauge if you need to use a compound, or more aggressive pad, one step or two step.

Our paint is known to be soft for reference. I polished out holograms on my trunk by hand using a MF and polish.

I currently use the chemical guys torq kit and it works great for me, have zero previous experience polishing.