electric car polishers - any good ?

[219]

So i bought the Wido polisher which arrived yesterday and turns out to be a rotary polisher, so i also ordered the DA from ebay, just a cheapie one, im not a pro detailer and lets face it, once you have done your compounding, your polisher will go in its case and probably not really be used again. So at some point im going to source an old bonnet from either a salvage yard or a bodyshop and tape it off and do a rotary/DA comparison from a beginners perspective. Im not afraid of using the rotary, to me its just a case of being more careful, going slower, 2 passes instead of 4, maybe even using pad lube, either way its trial and error.

And to keep it a fair fight, ive ordered chemguys hex logic pads

Electric Car Polisher 1200W Variable Speed - Wido

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www.wido.com

Dual Action Random Orbital Car Polisher Buffer Sander Platinum Package with Case | eBay

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That wido one looks like a clone of my Clarke one

 

[Sicario]

Not tried it yet, it will stay in its case until i can source a scrap panel. Itching to get my cleanyourcar bits so i can finish off my bonnet, just excitedly curious to see if i get a better/easier finish.

 

[clk320x]

This one

Lake Country HDO Heavy Cutting Microfibre Pads (various)

Lake Country HDO Microfibre Pads The Lake COuntry HDO pads are designed for use on a dual action (random orbital) car polisher. This HDO Microfibre cutting pad is designed to give anear rotary level of cut on a dual action acr polisher. The pad has low heat generation, with a high cutting action, p

www.cleanyourcar.co.uk

Why didn’t you try the yellow lake country pad first? Won’t this one be too harsh? Cheers

 

[Sicario]

To be honest, its my first attempt at using a DA and wanted to go in gentle to start, but after the best part of 5 hours on my bonnet and not being happy with the end result has motivated me to go in a bit harder with the MF cutting pad and a harsher compound, my top coat is like concrete, progress has been slow.

The finish is like glass, ive never known paint to be so smooth and from a 3 feet away the paint looks flawless but get these glass worms scratches in the light and they shine out.

 

[clk320x]

To be honest, its my first attempt at using a DA and wanted to go in gentle to start, but after the best part of 5 hours on my bonnet and not being happy with the end result has motivated me to go in a bit harder with the MF cutting pad and a harsher compound, my top coat is like concrete, progress has been slow.

Ah I see fair enough. I’m going to start correcting mine soon and plan to start with the Lake Country Orange correcting pad for around 4 passes with Megs UC, then 2 passes with the Black Pad and Megs UP.

 

[Sicario]

The megs UC with chemguys orange hex got rid of my swirl marks and flattened the finish 100%, the combination just wasnt enough to go that little bit deeper to eradicate the scratches. When i say scratches, they are not actually scratches as such, you cant feel them with a finger nail, they are just there, like the top coat has been shaved with a razor blade but not enough to feel the scratch, they are fading but they turn into glass worms in the finish. Kinda like floaters in your eye ball when you catch them in the sun.

I might actually try sanding one out with 5000 grit and then cut & buff it back

 

[clk320x]

The megs UC with chemguys orange hex got rid of my swirl marks and flattened the finish 100%, the combination just wasnt enough to go that little bit deeper to eradicate the scratches. When i say scratches, they are not actually scratches as such, you cant feel them with a finger nail, they are just there, like the top coat has been shaved with a razor blade but not enough to feel the scratch, they are fading but they turn into glass worms in the finish. Kinda like floaters in your eye ball when you catch them in the sun.

I might actually try sanding one out with 5000 grit and then cut & buff it back

What do you mean by it flatted the finished 100% ? What did you use to finish the process? Megs UP?

 

[billywoblyneck]

Thanks for all the replies , Think I will try one - Once the lockdown is over. Cheers.

 

[moodi]

The megs UC with chemguys orange hex got rid of my swirl marks and flattened the finish 100%, the combination just wasnt enough to go that little bit deeper to eradicate the scratches. When i say scratches, they are not actually scratches as such, you cant feel them with a finger nail, they are just there, like the top coat has been shaved with a razor blade but not enough to feel the scratch, they are fading but they turn into glass worms in the finish. Kinda like floaters in your eye ball when you catch them in the sun.

I might actually try sanding one out with 5000 grit and then cut & buff it back

Any pictures? Careful you do not burn through your topcoat

 

[Dazsw]

I hope you guys are using a paint thickness gauge when learning to use a polisher.

No matter how old or new a car, it may have been worked on previously, resprayed with less paint, etc.

Lots of possible issues the inexperienced polisher may encounter.

If your serious buy a gauge, cheaper than a respray.

 

[Atavus]

Unless you spend serious money a PTG won’t be much help. Cars that have been repaired tend to read much higher, but that won’t indicate whether the clear coat is thinner or thicker. So-called smart repairs are a bigger risk and it won’t be much help for finding those.

DeFelsko PosiTector 200 will probably do the job.

 

[Dazsw]

Unless you spend serious money a PTG won’t be much help. Cars that have been repaired tend to read much higher, but that won’t indicate whether the clear coat is thinner or thicker. So-called smart repairs are a bigger risk and it won’t be much help for finding those.

DeFelsko PosiTector 200 will probably do the job.

With experience this is stuff you learn, depending on how its been repaired paint is usually thicker, but can be thinner.

Someone with little experience can easily burn through the clearcoat.

I have a Defelsko, and its an incredibly worthwhile tool, saved me on countless jobs by giving you information that your eyes cannot tell you.

You can spot respray work by orange peel, dust spots, sanding marks, etc, but the paint gauge is excellent

 

[Sicario]

Oh yeah let me just pop out and spend £500 on one of those, just to do my car, or i can just be careful

 

[Dazsw]

Just offering some advice mate, but never mind your clearly a legend and can tell the thickness of clearcoat just using your eyes.