hi guys, im wanting to have a go at machine polishing my car! i have clayed it and done it all by hand and it looks good,now i want to got that bit further and get rid of the swirls/ligh scratches i couldnt get rid of by hand!

i have been looking around at machines and have seen loads!i would like a duel action but they seem so expensive for something i wont use that often!
their are loads of rotary ones that seem qiute a good deal,machine and selection of pads for £50/£60!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PLATINUM-DELUX...item20b1356357

thing im worried about with the above machine is that its to fast??
i have had a bit of experiance with a rotary but not on my own car and not a whole car!

 

I have a machine polisher brought from eBay similar to the one in your link , it does a good job and has lots of different speeds so you can go as slow/fast as you like , just the pads that come with it are not that good , so i bought some 3m ones and polish and it done a really good job on my car , it done a better job than the DA polisher Ive used, and removed lots of the swirls/scratches.

 

I could go on for ages about being careful with that type of polisher. It's a rotary, also know as a mop. Read the polished bliss guides in the car care section. Don't use this type of polisher straight off on your car. spend a tenner on a scrap panel from a scrappy to practice on first.

 

Hi m8 just a word of advice on the moping of you car make sure you use plenty of water and mask up the door handles plastic trims etc.
Make sure you get a mop with varible speed get sum g3 & g10 the g3 is a cuting compund and will need applying wet and the g10 will need applying by hand and will give you a deep shine
You can get this poliches on ebey most bodyshop's this to take out scratches

 

Hi m8 just a word of advice on the moping of you car make sure you use plenty of water and mask up the door handles plastic trims etc.
Make sure you get a mop with varible speed get sum g3 & g10 the g3 is a cuting compund and will need applying wet and the g10 will need applying by hand and will give you a deep shine
You can get this poliches on ebey most bodyshop's this to take out scratches

 

g3 and g10 are from the dark ages imo compared to the new line of polishes. the menzerna range of polishes don't require water as they are oil based and are a lot more user friendly. they're ok for body shops but not great for the everyday home user.

to the op have a look for a dual action polisher. you're far less likely to inflict buffer trails and due to the nature of the polisher you get less heat build up and are less likely to burn through.

 

cheers for advice guys! i can get hold of old panels no probs and was going to have a practice on a few anyway to see whats what! my car only needs a light going over then a good polish and wax! will keep a eye out for a used duel action,but if nothing comes up think i will try a rotory and get a few old panels and practice loads first!

looked at the polished bliss guide and found that very helpful!