DA Polishers

[ShaunB]

Guys

What machines do you use, or can recommend.

While I clear off and do some reading, what is it that makes these safer to use in the hands of someone with zero experience

 

[J LAD]

Kestral DAS 6 Pro will do you fine.
DA polishers are much safer to use as they dont spin fast enough,( unlike a Rotary polisher ), to generate the heat that will burn through your paint or clear coat.
One tip with a DA though, allways stop the pad while it is on the panel, never remove it at full speed and run it in fresh air, the pad has a tendency / possibility to disintegrate in your face.

 

[Mercy Me]

In a nutshell, DA or dual action polishers spin in two different ways; the head spins in a concentric circular action on a spindle which in turn spins in a wider circulating motion. This makes it more forgiving in the hands of a novice as the dual action reduces the amount of time the polishing edge is in one place, thus reducing the amount of friction and heat. Rotary polishers are less forgiving as they only spin in one direction, but are more effective than DA polishers at removing swirl marks.

If you are going the DA polisher route then look at the Detalyo Kestrel, which make good budget priced electric polishers. Rupes, Flex and 3M are the premier division makes for DA and Rotary polishers.

 

[Chrishazle]

+1 for the DAS6 - bought one about 7 years ago having absolutely no previous experience, transformed my 968 coupe from slightly purple red to proper Guards Red, made her look showroom new! Have since used it on the S203, S204 and 968 cab. Very easy to use, get the small backing pad as well as the big one, and proper pads for paint correction and polishing.

 

[J LAD]

If you are only wanting a DA but want to do some serious paint correction then the machine needs some power, so i would go the more expensive Rupes - Flex route.
These have the wallop to breakdown the coarse polishing compounds such as 3m Fast Cut etc.
Normal run of the mill DAs dont have this power, couple this with a soft paint being polished ( Lexus, Honda, Nissan, Renault ) and the result aint good.
Better to be realistic, stay within the DAs capabilitys and use a medium cut machine polish that will remove 90% of swirls and scratches in your cars paint.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
I had been thinking about buying a DA on/off for years, but I bought one on impulse just last week from Argos,
Buy Challenge Xtreme Dual Action Car Polisher at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Car cleaning, Car maintenance, Car equipment and accessories, Sports and leisure.
Not used it yet, but first impressions are that it appears well made, though its a bit lumpy, would be interesting on others opinions or experience.

 

[renault12ts]

Another Kestral here.

 

[Red C220]

As part of my business we're a distributor for FLEX powertools.

I know nothing about polishing cars but I know a great deal about polishing stone and concrete (we're stonemasonry tooling suppliers).

However I understand FLEX make some very high spec machines that are well regarded in the detailing industry, so if anyone wants one feel free to drop me a line (PM me on here) and I'm sure I can put together a special forum deal.

I visited the Factory in Germany last October and they made a big deal about showing off the DA polisher in a demonstration, before donning leather shorts and taking us all to get plastered at the beer festival.

 

[wu56Shoozz]

I have this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002654I46/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

Works superb, no burning of paint... great results.

 

[kam09]

+1 for the DAS6 - bought one about 7 years ago having absolutely no previous experience, transformed my 968 coupe from slightly purple red to proper Guards Red, made her look showroom new! Have since used it on the S203, S204 and 968 cab. Very easy to use, get the small backing pad as well as the big one, and proper pads for paint correction and polishing.

Which pads do you use for hard paint? Pads for 5" backing plate and a smaller backing plate if applicable?

 

[J LAD]

Polishing rule No1 - always use the least aggressive pad and polish to get the job done.
Each manufacturer has their own colour combo for coarse, medium and fine foam pads.
Usually its Green or Orange for a coarse cutting pad, White or Yellow for a medium pad, and Black, Red, Blue for a fine finishing pad.
Test a panel first, try a medium pad and a medium cut polish first, if you dont get the result you want, you can still try the medium cut pad but use a coarse compound polish, if the paint finish is still not acceptable then use a coarse pad and medium cut, etc, etc.
Dont use your final finishing pads for defect removal, as their title suggests they work best with final finish polish.
Some pads are more suited to Rotary application, whereas others can be used on both DA and Rotary.
Speak to Tim at Cleanyourcar, he will put you right if you are in doubt.
Dont skimp on your pads, yes they are expensive but better to buy from a good reputable manufacturer than waste your money / damage your paintwork.

 

[kam09]

Polishing rule No1 - always use the least aggressive pad and polish to get the job done. Each manufacturer has their own colour combo for coarse, medium and fine foam pads. Usually its Green or Orange for a coarse cutting pad, White or Yellow for a medium pad, and Black, Red, Blue for a fine finishing pad. Test a panel first, try a medium pad and a medium cut polish first, if you dont get the result you want, you can still try the medium cut pad but use a coarse compound polish, if the paint finish is still not acceptable then use a coarse pad and medium cut, etc, etc. Dont use your final finishing pads for defect removal, as their title suggests they work best with final finish polish. Some pads are more suited to Rotary application, whereas others can be used on both DA and Rotary. Speak to Tim at Cleanyourcar, he will put you right if you are in doubt. Dont skimp on your pads, yes they are expensive but better to buy from a good reputable manufacturer than waste your money / damage your paintwork.

I know about above points but wanting to know which exact pads are being used with the das6 polisher?

 

[Mercy Me]

I know about above points but wanting to know which exact pads are being used with the das6 polisher?

It comes with 125mm and 150mm backing plates so you can use pads / foams of either of these sizes. I do this professionally and having tried different makes of pad over the years, always come back to 3M products (150mm).

 

[Mercy Me]

As part of my business we're a distributor for FLEX powertools.

I know nothing about polishing cars but I know a great deal about polishing stone and concrete (we're stonemasonry tooling suppliers).

However I understand FLEX make some very high spec machines that are well regarded in the detailing industry, so if anyone wants one feel free to drop me a line (PM me on here) and I'm sure I can put together a special forum deal.

I visited the Factory in Germany last October and they made a big deal about showing off the DA polisher in a demonstration, before donning leather shorts and taking us all to get plastered at the beer festival.

I use a Flex rotary polisher, which is a great quality, well balanced piece of kit and highly recommended!

 

[Chrishazle]

Used a 3M pad for the first time recently, on my DAS6/968 cab, and was disappointed at the way lumps of blue foam flew off using 3M Perfect-it polish. Only had the DAS6 speed set to 3 and was not applying excessive force, so although the polish did well I was not impressed with the pad.

 

[kam09]

Used a 3M pad for the first time recently, on my DAS6/968 cab, and was disappointed at the way lumps of blue foam flew off using 3M Perfect-it polish. Only had the DAS6 speed set to 3 and was not applying excessive force, so although the polish did well I was not impressed with the pad.

So which pads do you use normally on the das6? Do you manage to correct hard mb paint efficiently?

 

[Chrishazle]

The rest of my DAS6 pads are Sonus. I've only done a light paint correct on the S204 (using Autoglym Bodyshop 02B 2000 grit and 01B hard polish, both no longer available!) as the paintwork was in good condition.

 

[Mercy Me]

Used a 3M pad for the first time recently, on my DAS6/968 cab, and was disappointed at the way lumps of blue foam flew off using 3M Perfect-it polish. Only had the DAS6 speed set to 3 and was not applying excessive force, so although the polish did well I was not impressed with the pad.

Lumps will fly off a cutting / polishing foam pad if it gets too dry, caused by friction / heat. Keep it slightly damp with a fine mist of water from a spray bottle and it will be fine.