got myself a Polisher!

[bozothenutter]

Gone overv to the darkside and got myself a polisher....arctic blue here I come!

just to make sure...

wash
clay
polish
glaze
wax

right?

been reading up on here, any tips?
will be using the following products.

wash : Dodo born to be mild
clay : Dodo supernatural/born slippy
polish : Monello
glaze rima amigo
wax : Dodo purple haze pro


why all the dodo stuff....I liked the name

 

[GeorgeH]

Proberbly best get some tar remover and iron x before you clay

 

[aucky]

Rinse
Wash
Iron
Rinse
Tar
Rinse
Clay
Wash
Dry
Polish
IPA
Glaze
Wax

 

[bozothenutter]

what's a good Tar remover?

and what's IPA?

do i use iron X on the whole car? thought that was just for wheels?

 

[Jeff456]

what's a good Tar remover?

and what's IPA?

do i use iron X on the whole car? thought that was just for wheels?

Autosmart Tardis is a great tar remover, think you can only buy it as 5Ls but definitely worth it.

IPA- Isopropyl Alcohol- Removes wax and glazes etc I believe, so you can truely see what state the paint is in before you correct. If defects are filled then you won't see them so won't know to correct them, IPA will strip waxes, glazes sealants etc, so you can see all the defects.

I Ironx the whole car, although it is brilliant on wheels, the whole car will be covered in iron fallout which you will want to remove.

 

[lewisredfern001]

Beaten to it!!^^^^

get some autosmart tardis. then yes you can iron x the whole car.

IPA is isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) you do a wipe down after polishing to ensure the paint is completely clear of any oils/polish residue before you glaze then wax. An alternative which is very good is Carpro eraser.

All 3 are very important prep stages for glaze and wax to do its job at its best.

 

[SWJames]

Rinse
Wash
Iron
Rinse
Tar
Rinse
Clay
Wash
Dry
Polish
IPA
Glaze
Wax

From all of this you just use the machine to polish and glaze right? Sorry, complete noob

 

[lewisredfern001]

Yes to polish and yes to glaze, no other steps tho. Depending what polisher you have you may want to try glazingBy hand using a microfibre pad?

 

[SWJames]

Do you glaze the same way in which you polish? And I haven't got one yet but am planning on getting meg's one very soon

 

[bozothenutter]

another Q, how do you deal with sharp edges?
ie around the wheels etc..tape?

 

[MatthewR]

Part of me thinks you really should have researched more before buying one..

Check out dw and YouTube for guides..

 

[bozothenutter]

I read the guides on Dw and know the general idea on what to do.
was just wondering about like the edge of the wheelarch and such.
do I polish extra carefully of avoid raised area's altogether?
anybody got pics of a taped up clio?

 

[Slammed172]

Just be light when you get to edge, and brush over them with the machine. Keep the machine flat to the paint, if you move the angle towards the wheel on the wheel arch, you'll catch the edge.

Panel to panel, people work differently, if one panel is slightly higher than the other (bad repair) then mask the higher panel to stop catching that edge. If they are flat some people still choose to mask, but isn't essential.

 

[MatthewR]

I usually mask off all plastics, and then gaps inbetween panels - this is to avoid the polish getting stuck inbetween the gaps

 

[Slammed172]

Masking plastics is mandatory.

Masking panel gaps doesn't stop polish getting stuck in-between panels though ?! You should only get dust in-between panels anyway, polish should be worked in before you get to the edges.

 

[bozothenutter]

thanks guys...front bumper looks a bit daunting :S

 

[MatthewR]

Masking plastics is mandatory.

Masking panel gaps doesn't stop polish getting stuck in-between panels though ?! You should only get dust in-between panels anyway, polish should be worked in before you get to the edges.

Seems to help me with avoiding dust getting between panels, considering that the gap isnt there anymore so the dust cant go down it :S

 

[aucky]

Do you glaze the same way in which you polish? And I haven't got one yet but am planning on getting meg's one very soon

No need to step up the speed with a glaze. Just lightly work it at low speeds and low pressure.

 

[lewisredfern001]

If you are a little worried about it then best bet is a cheap 2nd hand panel front a breakers £10-15 (oxidised red is a good start). This way you can practice without fear of damaging paint work and Perfect a technique