DA Polishing and Detailing, my experiences!

[CockneyPlayboy]

Having been in receipt of the relatively newly stocked KESTRAL DAS-6 Dual Action Polisher, I thought I'd share with you my experiences....


You can pick your choice of which pads and polish products you want... personally I went for the Sonus pads and Menzerna Products (polishes).
I actually didnt need to use the Cutting Compound (by the way it is quite harsh stuff!) so I moved straight onto the next stage of fine compound Power Finish, just enough to take the small swirls out of the paint thanks to daily use of the car. Then swapped pads out and laid on the Final Finish to remove the very finest of blemishes left. The Polisher was fantastic and small enough to hold and manouver and certainly not too heavy, in fact just the right weight to let it 'lay on' the paintwork in the latter stages whilst in operation. The 6 speed selector never needed to go beyond 4 although I usually kept it to just below this for the best finish. Not too much vibration and the unit is hardy and built for purpose. No dangerous bits to accidentally damage the paintwork which is always good! :lol:
I would recommend this combination of pads, polish and machine and I think the whole lot came to around £130 all in. There is enough polish to last a lifetime if you are simply in line to keep your own cars up to standard and this kit and polisher certainly was up to the task and I was left with an awesome finish as you can see....(BTW this is 16 year old paint!)

Love that last pic as you can really see the effect of the Qutani Red Paint (On my GTO! 8)
AFTER I had finished with the 2-Stage Menzerna polishing I gave the car 2 coats of the ULTRA strong Collinite (the hard wax not the liquid). Two days later I applied Dodo Juice Banana Armour which tends to vring out the lustre of the darker colours before finishing it off a week later with a coat of the super silky (and in my opinion the product producing the best possible deep wet-look shine) R222, formerly P21. Yes I know the product isnt long lasting but with that little lot under it I am sure it'll serve its purpose!!!
TO GET BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POINT OF THE THREAD... the actual review and summary of the polisher.... BIG thumbs up! The polisher perfomed superbly and came with a really nice carry bag and nice long lead. For the money it is up there with the best DA's and I would heavily recommend it. The only niggle I had was the Carry Handle holes were a little off centre making it very difficult to line up the screws when first assembling. Not the biggest drama in the world though!

Hope this little experience of mine helps...

 

[Howard]

I'll be round later , you can do mine if you like ?

 

[wemorgan]

Thanks for the report. One day I'll make the jump and buy a polisher, but I'm too afraid of doing more damage (burnt paint?) than good.

Do you learn from experience or is it just a case of not polishing one area for too long ie. keep the polisher moving over the panel?

Thanks.

 

[johny5_uk]

looks like a great finish. Do you have any pics of before?

 

[C43AMG]

Yes i buy all my polishers etc from Clean Your Car. Highly recommended.

I use Poorboys jetSeal 109 ( a couple of Coats ) then followed by a couple of coats of Colinite 476S, lasts through the winter.

 

[CockneyPlayboy]

Thanks for the report. One day I'll make the jump and buy a polisher, but I'm too afraid of doing more damage (burnt paint?) than good.

Do you learn from experience or is it just a case of not polishing one area for too long ie. keep the polisher moving over the panel?

Thanks.

THIS is the beauty of a DA polisher over an OPRBITAL polisher which operates at much higher speeds and as such is very easy to 'burr through' the paint.

Ideally you should take paint depth measurments but if your paintworks not too old or bad then a DUAL ACTION polisher should be fine. Ideal for the beginner. I'd defo recommend starting with one of these.

Move the polisher over smallish areas at a time, carefull not to overlap too much as if you do then that part of the paint will take twice as much abrasion. But remember, you are not taking that much paint off, its only the first couple of cutting compounds that will do this, the rest is relatively minimal. NOT TOO MUCH PRESSURE on the polisher. Let it do the work itself.

looks like a great finish. Do you have any pics of before?

I'll try to dig some out of it for you.

 

[Chrishazle]

Thanks for the report. One day I'll make the jump and buy a polisher, but I'm too afraid of doing more damage (burnt paint?) than good.

Do you learn from experience or is it just a case of not polishing one area for too long ie. keep the polisher moving over the panel?

Thanks.

Good piece of advice for novice DA users from detailingworld - visit local scrappie and buy a cheap and nasty old bonnet, practice on that until you feel comfortable with the machine - return bonnet to scrappie and get to work on P&J!!

One day I'll have to do this myself...

 

[CockneyPlayboy]

Here is an example of working some fine cutting Menzerna compound using a DA and Sonus Pads on my MERC.

I then polished, then sealed it in with Collinite paste then added a final top coat of R222

What do you think? You can have these results with patience!

 

[splitpin]

Here is an example of working some fine cutting Menzerna compound using a DA and Sonus Pads on my MERC.

I then polished, then sealed it in with Collinite paste then added a final top coat of R222

What do you think? You can have these results with patience!

It looks sparkling, very nice.
I see that you used a DA.

I assume that you have Nano lacquer.
Was the paintwork in pristine condition beforehand i.e. just swirls with no minor scratches ?

The reason for asking is that many professional detailers that have experience of
working on similar very hard finishes, indicate that a rotary is preferable.
They explain that if such paintwork has suffered any more than just superficial effects,
the DA is barely man enough for the job (Vibration included)

I was poised to use a DA & would be interested in your comments, particularly if you
have experience of these hard finishes ?

Splitpin.

 

[CockneyPlayboy]

It looks sparkling, very nice.
I see that you used a DA.

I assume that you have Nano lacquer.
Was the paintwork in pristine condition beforehand i.e. just swirls with no minor scratches ?

The reason for asking is that many professional detailers that have experience of
working on similar very hard finishes, indicate that a rotary is preferable.
They explain that if such paintwork has suffered any more than just superficial effects,
the DA is barely man enough for the job (Vibration included)

I was poised to use a DA & would be interested in your comments, particularly if you
have experience of these hard finishes ?

Splitpin.

Tis true if the paint is that bad BUT its worth remembering that its very easy to 'burr though the paintwork' with a rotory unless you are careful and know what you are doing. I am ultra fussy and admittedly the job takes longer with a DA but at least I know I am safer plus the finish in the end has me smiling! I'd get used to using one of those first off.

Here's some more pics of the paint on the AMG....

 

[Chrishazle]

Persuaded herself and daughter to buy me a DAS6 and Sonus pads for Xmas, used them for the first times last week. Didn't follow my own advice and get a scrap bonnet to practise on - started with the bonnet of the 968!

OK, I used different products to the OP - Autoglym Bodyshop 02b and 01B for paint correction, then Swissvax cleaner fluid and Onyx wax, but overall my experience mirrors that of the OP and I am delighted with the DAS6. The paintwork on my 968 is now getting close to being completely clear of small scratches, swirl marks etc.

I subsequently did the c270 with AG01B polish then HD wax, and the slightly grey silver became a lighter shiny slightly blue silver - looks loads better! Also cannot see the benefit of expensive Swissvax wax over much cheaper AG HD wax!

Don't be afraid of using a DAS6 - just be sensible and light handed, if you get too heavy with it the rotation stops - so it's obvious you need to lift off a bit.

 

[Dieselman]

Tis true if the paint is that bad BUT its worth remembering that its very easy to 'burr though the paintwork' with a rotory unless you are careful and know what you are doing.

Not really true. it's very difficult to burn the paint if you are half sensible, especially on metal panels as the metal conducts the heat away quickly.

I have only once burnt the paint and that was on a plastic spoiler where the lacquer was being cut back with too hard a pad. Most people wouldn't even see the mark, but I knew I'd done it. It was my fault entirely, I should have used wet sanding first.

 

[crockers]

Not really true. it's very difficult to burn the paint if you are half sensible, especially on metal panels as the metal conducts the heat away quickly.

I have only once burnt the paint and that was on a plastic spoiler where the lacquer was being cut back with too hard a pad. Most people wouldn't even see the mark, but I knew I'd done it. It was my fault entirely, I should have used wet sanding first.

I would never have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out to me.

 

[CockneyPlayboy]

Not really true. it's very difficult to burn the paint if you are half sensible, especially on metal panels as the metal conducts the heat away quickly.

I have only once burnt the paint and that was on a plastic spoiler where the lacquer was being cut back with too hard a pad. Most people wouldn't even see the mark, but I knew I'd done it. It was my fault entirely, I should have used wet sanding first.

I didnt say BURN through the paint I said BURR through it... polish too much off.... leave thin paint... this IS very easily done if you are too enthusiastic and dont keep concentration on what you are doing. Once experienced it is second nature though.

 

[A210AMG]

What sort of price is the DA and the pads / polish.

There seems a whole world of stuff on the detailing world forum, but what do you actually need

I've been on the detailing world forum a while but so far restrained to only buying a snow foamer for my karcher lance

 

[Dieselman]

I didnt say BURN through the paint I said BURR through it... polish too much off.... leave thin paint... this IS very easily done if you are too enthusiastic and dont keep concentration on what you are doing. Once experienced it is second nature though.

My mistake, but I've never heard the expression "Burr paint". A burr is a rough edge when cutting a hard object like metal or plastic.
Have you actually measured the paint thickness after using a DA or rotary polisher?
You will find that due to requiring a more coarse abrasive with a DA it removes more paint thickness than a rotary with a less abrasive polish, which tends to warm the paint enough to smooth it without removal.

As long as people use a soft enough pad and fine polish they are very unlikely to damage the paint. The pad will be destroyed well be for the paint gives out.

I have a spare car at present which may be seeing the scrapyard in the sky, if so I'll do some paint damage tests...

Anyone wants a play with a rotary is welcome to come and do their worst...

 

[Chrishazle]

What sort of price is the DA and the pads / polish.

There seems a whole world of stuff on the detailing world forum, but what do you actually need

I've been on the detailing world forum a while but so far restrained to only buying a snow foamer for my karcher lance

My DAS6 was £80 delivered, plus a couple of quid extra for the 3 1/2" backing pad for the 4" Sonus spot pads I already had. A set of 4 Sonus 6" pads was £30 delivered - different pads for swirl removal through to final gloss.

As for the products to use - you can spend as much or as little as you like, and different people will speak well of the cheaper end and the ***** expensive end (Swissvax, Zymol etc). I've used a lot of AG products, tried some Meguiars and a couple of Swissvax (and rimwax for my wheels), I find my AG selection covers most bases and gives me a finish I'm happy with - although I think the Swissvax cleaner fluid may be worthwhile on my Guards Red 968, not on the silver c270.

 

[A210AMG]

Is this the same,

Some talk on detailing world that this has smaller pads?

CAR POLISHER KESTREL Electric Multi Speed. DAS6 Kestrel on eBay (end time 22-Mar-11 06:01:55 GMT)

or this from Clean your car

CleanYourCar DAS-6 Dual Action Polisher

My birthdays a while off but its always hard to buy for me so I may ask Mrs A210 and the kids

 

[Rory]

CleanYourCar DAS-6 Dual Action Polisher

My birthdays a while off but its always hard to buy for me so I may ask Mrs A210 and the kids

I got the Meguiars Kit (bought elsewhere but it was the same price) for Christmas for the same reason. Got it out last weekend and was baffled as the pads had no logos on them or markings on the bags. So put it away again. I got a mega Dremmel kit the Christmas before and that remains untouched too.

(I've been in touch with the supplier and figured it out which pad is which now!).

 

[Chrishazle]

Is this the same,

Some talk on detailing world that this has smaller pads?

CAR POLISHER KESTREL Electric Multi Speed. DAS6 Kestrel on eBay (end time 22-Mar-11 06:01:55 GMT)

or this from Clean your car

CleanYourCar DAS-6 Dual Action Polisher

My birthdays a while off but its always hard to buy for me so I may ask Mrs A210 and the kids

Yes, that's the puppy - and I got my kit same way you're contemplating for yours! Mine came with 5" and 6" backing pads, I bought the 3 1/2" backing pad separately as I already had 2 types of Sonus 4" spot pads.