Orbital polisher

[Unknownsoldier]

Washed and waxed my car today, used my orbital polisher for the first time to buff my wax up, superb job (If I do say so myself ). She looks lovely again now

Suprised how easy it was:

>Washed and de-tarred, dried etc.
>One coat Ultra Deep Shine Polish, to revoe some light scratches (found 4 stone chips ),
>2 Coats of Meguires Gold Class,
>And 3 coats of Extra Gloss protection, the paintwork gleams like glass

ATB,
Tom

[ADE Type S]

you getting some pics up then??

[Unknownsoldier]

And just to show you it is like a mirror, here's an ugly git looking in it



Tom

[Vet_2010]

Very nice indeed!!

I get fed up after doing 1 coat of wax never mind 3 or 4, but after seeing yours I'll put a bit more effort in next time. Which willl hopefully be this weekend

[Unknownsoldier]

Thanks, it really is heart warming to see how it looks in the end (and really worth it too), then heartbraking as Seagull cr*ps on it as it did about 10 seconds after the picture was taken (that is a dead seagull flying, I'll get him......).

Tom

[Chris_J]

Looking good however, next time try the wax on top of the EGP. I'm fairly certain the EGP won't bond very well to wax.

Try that EGP on top of Super Resin Polish, and then it really will gleam

[Robbieee]

What orbital polisher is it? Its a pity you have a black car as they get dirty real easy. Nice job tho, looks well smart!

[NEEMSTAR]

very clean and shiny

[Unknownsoldier]

Hi Guys,

Chris J, I'll give it another coat of wax on top of the EGP, when it stops raining, I should only need to give it a wash with my microfibre cloth and water (thats why I take my time on the waxing, it takes the effort out of cleaning ). I don' use super resin polish, I use Ultra Deep Shine polish as this is apparently better suited to dark mettallics.

Robbieee, it's an "Einhell 110 Polishing machine" (APM 241/2), I got it from macro about 5-8 years ago, but it's bullet proof, I also don't buy polishing pads or covers (waste of money IMHO), I use Autoglym perfect polishing cloths and place the polisher on top of them, that wroks just as well for a fraction of the cost.

Neemstar, Thanks, just very annoyed ,that after 8 hours work on the car, it starts raining 20 minutes after I packed up!!!!!!

ATB,
Tom

[gm1980]

Hi tom, I have few questions, btw your car looks vary nice and since in ywo months owneship of mine i have some minor swirls i would like to take actions as to remove them, Anyway i would like to ask some things,

>Washed and de-tarred, dried etc.
>One coat Ultra Deep Shine Polish, to revoe some light scratches (found 4 stone chips ),
>2 Coats of Meguires Gold Class,
>And 3 coats of Extra Gloss protection, the paintwork gleams like glass

What to you mean by washed and de-tarred dried? Which procedure does this method follows?

When you say that you apply 2 coats of mequires gold class and 3 coats of extra gloss protection, how are you doing this? Do you wax the car once remove it and then wax again or you are waxing it twice and removing it once? Moreover are you applying extra gloss protection when you remove it or together with the wax?

Did you tried any other products than maguires?

[Unknownsoldier]

Hi,

Firstly Washing and de-tarring:

[FIRSTLY I CLEAN INSIDE AND OIL ALL DOOR CATCHES AND SEAL ETC.]

> Drench the car with a hose, removing as much of the loose dirt as is humanly possible, many use jet washers, however I have found they turn the grit into sand-paper nad leave more marks.

> Then I apply a road grime and tar removing compound (I use a spray on one for the front of the car, bonnet, bumpers, widscreen and all lights), it's a cheap one from Wilkinsons about 99p a bottle. I use a better quality 'bottled' one from Autoglym [applying with a soft cotton cloth, usually an old finishing cloth, i.e. one used for the final polish over after the majority of polish is removed] to do the sides and rear of the car, (every other wash in the winter and summer I get as far under the car and apply this to the floor-pan thing).

>I then leave it to work whilst I start cleaning the wheels, I apply a cheap wheel cleaner to each wheel (and exhaust trim) and aggitate thoroughly to remove as much grime as possible, then wash them down, doing the sides and rear of the car, leaving the front for a few minutes longer because I find it bears the brunt of the dirt.

> Then I reapply Autoglym engine and motorcycle cleaner to the wheels and re-aggitate, before washing off thoroughly, and washing under the car.

>I then move on to the bonnet and bumper, lights etc. and wash them off with my hose.

> Now I use Autoglym car shampoo (and I mix a few other ingredients in, like other brands of shampoo, specifically designed to remove sap etc. etc.), I mix this with one bucket of clean warm water.

>I also fill another seperate bucket to use as a rinsing bucket. Fill with warm water but no detergents.

>Then I use a microfibre sponge (one of the ones with the long tentacle/wotsit shaped bits) to thoroughly was the was the car from the top-the bottom, keeping the sponge wet at all times to allow dirt to flow downwards and off the paintwork. Rinsing occasionally in the bucket of clean water.

>Then I wash the car off with the hose again and repeat this to get areas missed (Usually wing mirrors etc. etc.). Using a lambswool mit this time.

>Then after the second wash, I use a squeegee to partially dry the body work (MAKE SURE THE BODYWORK IS CLEAN FIRST!!!!!!!!!! ).

>Then I chamois it down carefully working again top to bottom.

After this I use the time it is finishing drying to clean the engine bay, I do this once every week/two weeks depending on miles/conditions driven. I clena all plastic and painted areas with detailing spray and all rubber hoses get a dose of rubber and vinyl treatment, I also hoover the air filter, to ensure it is clean but this isn't necessary. I also regrease anything necessary and apply WD40 to electrical components and hinges etc. (I also use axle grease for hinges occasionally, but don't have any at the moment ).

>Once the car is thoroughly dry, I usually take half hour off, pack up and have a cuppa, before continuing.

Waxing and finishing:

>Back again, right, I ensure all panels are clean, where necessary cleaning any minor spots with a the microfibre sponge and drying with a chamois.

>Now I apply a coat of Ultra deep shine polish over the bodywork, (I do this once in a blue moon, or once after the winter, depending upon grit and dust scratches). Small circularv motions using a microfibre polish pad. I start with the bonnet and work around the body panels in a logical progression to me, you may find a different and equally good route for yours.

>Leave to dry and buff off using a clean cloth on my orbital polisher, then use a second clean cloth and finally finish by hand gently.

>My paintwork is prepped.

>Then I apply Meguiars Gold class wax and again work my way around the body.

>Once dried buff off using above technique and repeat as many times as you feel necessary (I like a minimum of 2 as it seems to build up a nice shine).

>Then I apply EGP, althoug I apparently should do so after the Ultra deep shine and before the Meg's, I will try next time and report back.

>I prefer two to three layers of this although each layer takes approxiamtely 30-60mins to cure thoroughly.

>Then again buff off as above.

> Then to finish, I back to black all the plastic using a cloth to shield my paintwork.

>I clean all windows with glass polish from Autoglym, again using an orbital to remove it.

>I clean my lights and wing mirrors with fast glass, and hand polish to a shine, same with the rear window section.

>Then I apply two-three coats of alloy Wheel seal to my wheels and then to my exhaust, using cotton buds to get into the hard to reach places.

>Then I blacken the wheel with tyre foam...........and clean the widscreen blades with rubber care whilst I'm at it.

>Then stand back and admire before a seagull craps all over it


In answer to your last question I have tried other products (Mer being the WORST I have ever tried in my life), but found meguiars to be the easiest to use with the best results, havn'ty tried collinite, but may try some soon.

Hope this edited write up was thorough enough for you

ATB,
Tom

[gm1980]

Thanks for the answer. I would need a whole day just to write this answer but you seem to be pro on cleaning the car. I like spending hours cleaning my car but the problem here in Cyprus is that is hard to find so many products and I have to buy them from ebay. Since ebay is there no problem at all but even if i order them today, they need at least 10 days to arrive. Personally I've used once Formula1 wax and polish and the result was quite good for first time. I will do a more detasiled search of products removing the previous wax and I will follow your method mayby with collinite.

[parsnip]

Originally Posted by Unknownsoldier

>I clean all windows with glass polish from Autoglym, again using an orbital to remove it.

>I clean my lights and wing mirrors with fast glass, and hand polish to a shine, same with the rear window section.

This might be a stupid question but...why the different products for different glasses? do they have different functions?

[Unknownsoldier]

The rear is plastic and so can't have an abrasive polish used on it, and the wing mirrors have a plastic surround that marks with polish.

ATB,
Tom

[parsnip]

Originally Posted by Unknownsoldier

because they don't take as much punishment as the front screen (i.e. not as many insects and stones etc. etc.) and they only require a quick once over. Also my orbital polisher doesn't fit easily onto them to remove the polish

Oh and I clean them all whenever necessary with fast glass anyway, so not too much build up.

ATB,
Tom

ahh, so it would be fine to do the lights etc with your glass polish but the fast glass good enough

[Unknownsoldier]

Personally, I wouldn't do the lights with it, as it is mildly abrasive nad over time may haze the glass (reducing light emmission or blinding oncoming traffic). I find that a good spray of tar and bug remover left for 5 mins works wonders, just needs a rub with a bug removing sponge then and just a pump of fast glass, done, even easier if rain-x is applied.

Tom

[RabidManx]

What did you find wrong with Mer? I used it on mine this weekend (only had time for one coat) and it came up looking fine?

Also with the random orbit polisher, did you use that on all of the panels? I found on my mini cooper s for instance it was almost impossible to use on the bonnet but I guess that may be due to the panels and in particular the bonnet being mostly curver!

Cheers

RabidManx

[Unknownsoldier]

Mer set too fast on my last BM's paintwork and left lots of white marks, which were almost impossible to remove, I also wasn't happy with the shine and longevity.

I do most of the panels but find it easier to do the majority of a panel then finish of with a hand cloth. The bits around the rear lights, badges and petrol cap in particular are awquard.

Also will be doing mine with collinite soon so will write a review and an orbital polisher review for it

ATB,
Tom

[singh182]

hi guys, this might be a bit off topic but, i used an orbital polisher last weekend and used some AutoGlym SRP. applied the SRP with the machine and buffed off with hand. But the problem is you can see where i have been with the orbital polish machine, what can i do to get rid of these marks? rub the polish off harder by hand.

[Unknownsoldier]

hmmmmm, tough one, personally a light coat of SRP then buff gently by hand then a good coat of megs or collinite. Or try Bilt Hamber auto-balm.

Tom