Will I be happy with first detail with swirls..?

[1ntense]

OK, so by tomorrow I should have everything needed to do my first detail, well more of a mini detail as Im skipping the clay as I hear its not really needed if you're not going to polish.

Heres what I have and should have by tomorrow..

Nilfisk C110 X-tra
VP PH Neutral Snow Foam
Duragloss 901
M/F Noodle Mitt
PB Drying Towel
Dodo Juice Purple Haze
Eurow Buffing Cloths
Red Mist
CG Fabric Clean
Hose

So after spending all this money on equipment and products, Im starting to wonder if Im going to be happy with the finished result as there will still be swirls present. From what Ive noticed, the swirls are pretty bad, probably average for most cars actually as Im sure most are washed with a sponge or at garage car washes etc.

I cant imagine that Ill be happy with swirls in the result so Im probably going to have to spend even more money on a polishing machine of some sort.

I was looking at the random orbit grinders.. how good are they as they seem fairly cheap, well cheap compared to the proper polishers anyway.

Anyone here used one?

[J222JRA]

You cannot control a grinder the same as a polisher...no variable speeds and you would damage (burn your paintwork)

[saxovtsmad]

i need a car to practice on with my new polisher any volunteers but i wont be held responsible for any damage but i will be carefull

[Rob-6]

i can vouch for the pressure washer you have just bought being excellent! cheers james for that one.

[J222JRA]

i can vouch for the pressure washer you have just bought being excellent! cheers james for that one.

Glad your happy with it buddy :y:

[1ntense]

nice one, mine is sitting in my kitchen ready to use when I get my hose or borrow my neighbours, I bought it on James's recommendation as well lol

I didnt realise that you couldnt control the speed on them, seems like lots of people use them on detailingworld though so they must be OK surely?

saxovtsmad - sounds tempting but also worrying lol

[saxovtsmad]

if you want pics i can show you some get some pics of your car up nothing to worry about

[1ntense]

pics will be embarassing lol especially in the detailing forum..

Ill see if I can get one up though

[Saxo-SX]

If your not confident at getting your own machine and doing it yourself, get Pred or Wayne to do the work for you. Then all you'll have to do is maintain it.

If you want to give it a try yourself Id get hold of an old panel to practise on first. Ive got a front wing off the old saxo that I'll be using to practise on before the polisher goes anywhere near my car. Just got to wait until april now until I get the polisher.

[1ntense]

I would imagine getting Wayne or Pred to do it would be rather costly and funds are pretty tight at the moment.

saxovtsmad has offered to do it for me to give him some practice.. not entirely sure if its a good idea though lol he did say that hes done it once before though, Ive seen pics and it does look as though he did a good job.

Whats the worst that could happen if I let him loose it? lol

[J222JRA]

The worst that could happen when you let someone loose with a rotary polisher is he could / would remove your paintwork. Rotarys take alot of getting used to and easily burn the paintwork.

Skipping the DA stage and going straight for rotary is not a good plan.

[jamiemackie]

I honestly don't see the point in spend money on products like purple haze etc when you are not going to clay and polish, imo you just wont get the most out them, all you would need to spend is another £20 on a clay bar and a bottle of polish eg. chemical guys all in 1 and the end result would be 10x's better.

[J222JRA]

I honestly don't see the point in spend money on products like purple haze etc when you are not going to clay and polish, imo you just wont get the most out them, all you would need to spend is another £20 on a clay bar and a bottle of polish eg. chemical guys all in 1 and the end result would be 10x's better.

Couldnt agree more tbh.

As i have said many times before.....Waxing an un-prepared surface is a waste of wax.

[welshy23]

i was thinking of using a M polisher, then i remebered that jumping into anything new isnt easy thats why i took that thought out my head before i brought one and ruined my paintwork, which i know, me being me would of just gona straight for the kill on my car and ruined it and then cried. LOL. Dont you need to measure the paints depth and then get an acurate reading of how deep/long you can stay/polish in one place? See its all very comp. i'd just let the big boys do it for now and like Saxo-SP said get an old panel and practice mate. Like James said, the worst could be he takes your paint off. Then YOU would cry. :)

[J222JRA]

i was thinking of using a M polisher, then i remebered that jumping into anything new isnt easy thats why i took that thought out my head before i brought one and ruined my paintwork, which i know, me being me would of just gona straight for the kill on my car and ruined it and then cried. LOL. Dont you need to measure the paints depth and then get an acurate reading of how deep/long you can stay/polish in one place? See its all very comp. i'd just let the big boys do it for now and like Saxo-SP said get an old panel and practice mate. Like James said, the worst could be he takes your paint off. Then YOU would cry. :)

You do really need to measure the paint thickness yes if you do not know the cars history.

As for people being scared about machine polishing....just buy a DA polisher and start using a softer (less abrasive) pad and its impossible to burn / damage the paintwork.

[welshy23]

You do really need to measure the paint thickness yes if you do not know the cars history.

As for people being scared about machine polishing....just buy a DA polisher and start using a softer (less abrasive) pad and its impossible to burn / damage the paintwork.

See! so much that a noob couldnt waltz in. Cheers james, ill give that a try actually. I bet the DA arnt as expensive? I need to M polish my car, did the school boy thing of not claying before i lime primed it and now i have lots of swirls, altough is still very shiney!

[J222JRA]

You can get a da polisher with pads and polish for like £120 now

[1ntense]

right, so Ill get a clay bar then..

There are 2 megs kits, one for £15 and one for £25, anyone know the difference?

the polishing part, I think Ill have to skip as I only have a limited amount of time (planning on asking neighbour if can borrow their drive for a while) and I dont own a polisher, unless I decide to let saxovtsmad loose on my car, I cant see me spending more on polish to do it by hand and not get a good result for the effort I put in.

so a clay bar today then..

[P90PTS]

Get the megs smooth surface clay kit, its 23.95 off of CYC

[1ntense]

this is the one I was looking at as I really cant and dont want to spend much more on products.. Ive already ran a good bit over budget.

http://www.wilcodirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_53&products_id=43

I think its the same but you only get 1 bar?

[P90PTS]

Yes you only get one bar. also i would order from CYC as they are cheaper and are awesome!

[baker556]

Not sure why everyone says its hard to use a rotary,

just watch a few videos and try it out, its much easier than most people make out, keep the speed low not too much pressure keep the polish on, keep checking the pannel for temperature and an awesome result :y:

[J222JRA]

Not sure why everyone says its hard to use a rotary,

just watch a few videos and try it out, its much easier than most people make out, keep the speed low not too much pressure keep the polish on, keep checking the pannel for temperature and an awesome result :y:

What I am saying is for a beginner it is easier to damage paintwork (burns) with a rotary.

I would always start with da machines.........i also find a da better on plastic parts.....less heat = less chance of warping.


This is just my opinion though...:bored:

[baker556]

What I am saying is for a beginner it is easier to damage paintwork (burns) with a rotary.

I would always start with da machines.........i also find a da better on plastic parts.....less heat = less chance of warping.


This is just my opinion though...:bored:

yeah the orbital ones are alright.


I started on the Makita rotary, aches your arms after a while tho...

[J222JRA]

I use an orbital for most of the parts on my saxo tbh.........just use rotary on the bonnet and roof.

I feel you get the same finish just obviously takes longer but i have all the time in the world lol.

By the way......the makita rotary is an awesome machine....nice buy.

[1ntense]

the makita looks pretty expensive compared to the mac one I was looking at in B&Q, any opinions on that one?

CYC site looks good but they take the piss with postage costs IMO, i4detailing are alot cheaper if ordering smaller quantaties as you dont get stung on postage costs :y:

Im also still waiting for an order from them, I was expecting next day delivery with them as thats what I got with i4detaling and polished bliss, especially with the inflated p&p fees. Also a bit slow on correspondance, thats my experience with them anyway. I sent them an email on the 19th, received one back the same day, sent one back the same day and Im still waiting for a reply.

I went ahead and ordered anyway but will stick to i4detailing from now on unless theres something CYC have got that I cant get anywhere else.

Would defo recommend i4detailing to anyone though, 1st class service :)

[J222JRA]

the makita looks pretty expensive compared to the mac one I was looking at in B&Q, any opinions on that one?

CYC site looks good but they take the piss with postage costs IMO, i4detailing are alot cheaper if ordering smaller quantaties as you dont get stung on postage costs :y:

Im also still waiting for an order from them, I was expecting next day delivery with them as thats what I got with i4detaling and polished bliss, especially with the inflated p&p fees. Also a bit slow on correspondance, thats my experience with them anyway. I sent them an email on the 19th, received one back the same day, sent one back the same day and Im still waiting for a reply.

I went ahead and ordered anyway but will stick to i4detailing from now on unless theres something CYC have got that I cant get anywhere else.

Would defo recommend i4detailing to anyone though, 1st class service :)

You Cannot use an angle grinder for detailing if you wish to produce good results.

Variable speed is very important....most big grinders are just way too quick

[P90PTS]

CYC is a site that is used worldwide they are VERY VERY busy, Tim's cust service is first class and CYC is my first choice for me!

[stinkycheese]

CYC was good for me. V.Quick delivery.

OP, for the price that Wayne charges, it would probably make sense to pm him unless you enjoy the challenge.

[1ntense]

Ill shoot him a PM then.. Ive got it in my head from somewhere that the prices Im going to be looking at are a bit more than I can afford at the moment though but Im sure he does a great job.

Could someone explain the difference between a DA, a rotary and a random orbit grinder please?

[1ntense]

James - when you said you use an orbital on most parts of your saxo, I take it you dont mean a random orbital grinder?

Theres a thread on DW about them 1800 posts long, I havent read much but I think some of them have variable speeds..

Heres the link..

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=83874&highlight=random

[jamiemackie]

He means an orbital polisher, once again i don't see the point in trying to use something that isn't ment for detailing when you can buy a polisher that is for that exact purpose, other than to save money, but when you can get a DAS6 for like £60/70 whats the point.

I really don't mean to go on at you but you have bought some great products with the purple haze/red mist but you are just not gonna get the most out of them.

You say you are short on cash, but then decide to buy the megs kit when you could just get a cyc claybar and make your own lube for half the price.

[saxovtsmad]

i got some bilt hamber clay off ebay for £15 delivered and you only need water as a detailer it was very good too

[J222JRA]

i got some bilt hamber clay off ebay for £15 delivered and you only need water as a detailer it was very good too

Yeah i agree bilt hammer is very good......however detailing spray is a veryyyyyy useful product.....for wiping down in between stages if a detail and even using it as a drying aid.

[1ntense]

I understand what you're saying about polishers mate but I simply cant afford to pay £60-70 for a polisher plus polish and pads after just spending £150 odd on bits and bobs to clean my car.

£15 for a clay kit, I can just about stretch to but not the above.

I would have got a clay bar from CYC with my order but everyone recommended the megs kit to me saying it was perfect for beginners etc. I thought it wasnt really needed if not polishing which I cant do as I havent got the bits to do it with.

I dont want to have to go out and spend another £25 on the bigger megs kit if at all possible though, I dont think anyone has answered if its the same clay in the cheaper kit or not?

So basically if I skip the polishing stage, the result will be crap? lol Im hoping the answer to that is no?

[J222JRA]

If you dont clay and polish....its pointless imo applying the wax.

You are effectively rubbing crap (contaminates) into the paint making the surface even worse (could cause more swirls) ad tbh is wasting wax.

Personally i would save the waxing until you have saved the money for the polisher / polish / pads / clay

[saxovtsmad]

in my oppinion if its never been clayed then its no use polishing sealing or waxing i have learnt alot from this method

[jamiemackie]

it will be the same clay mate.

The results wont be "crap" but, they will not be anywhere near as good as if you clayed and polished.

I think what you need to think about is if you are serious about getting it looking good build up a collection of products over time, that wax should last a while just make sure next time you do a clean spend £25 on clay and some half decent polish and go from there. If you are not happy with that then buy a polisher or pay someone to do it for you.

[1ntense]

OK, well like I said I cant afford to polish at this stage unless I got some hand polish, think I would rather wait until I got a polisher or someone to do it for me though.

What if I clayed it but didnt polish, still a waste to wax it?

What exactly would be the benefit of polishing by hand? I cant see it removing many swirls? Tbh I dont want my car too shiny as I havent got a drive or garage and its parked on a fairly busy mainish street. I dont want to attract too much attention as it would be asking for someone to key/coin it. Saying that I cant see it staying clean for very long in this weather lol

[jamiemackie]

If you clayed you would want to wax for protection and it would look better.

Polishing by hand isnt necessarily bad, you can still get it to look good without a machine polish, its kinda cheating but some polish's contain fillers which help to hide swirls, so you can apply by hand and still get results.

[1ntense]

OK thanks mate, I think Ill probably just clay and wax this time. It is my first attempt at a detail after all, most people would just wash with a sponge and shampoo TBF so if I foam, wash, clay, wash, dry and wax, I think Ill get a better finish than most people would taking their car to a car wash or wash it with a sponge.

Ill look into getting a polisher or some polish for my next full detail though, by hand I take it SRP or the CG swirl remover would be a good way to go?

[saxovtsmad]

ive got some polish and swirl remover which you can use by machine or by hand

[1ntense]

yeah, I know you can get it but I dont know if it would be worth the effort for the finish you would get TBH.

My situation isnt the best as you know, think Ive said it before in this thread or another but I live on a mainish busy street with no drive or garage or anywhere to work on/detail my car.

If people are really advising that I polish it and that Ill get a really crap result by skipping the polishing stage then Ill just wash my car until I can sort out some polish and a polisher or get someone (maybe you lol) to polish it for me before I clay and wax it :(

[djmartin]

if your a starting out detailer stick with DA = Dual Action polisher.
dont add pressure onto the polisher go over the area a couple of times on level 2 then again level 4 then again level 6. DONT carry on if the compound/polish goes dusty/dry looking as you run the risk of burning the paint.

dodo juice do a good DA set up for £129 even the pro's still use it as its a very good polisher.