DA polisher
 

Ok ive decided to look into buying one there is so many out there to choose from so need a bit of help i am a so called perfectionist when doing it by hand on the cars so i thought i would try the lazy man's tool of choice so any reccomendations would help i have the perfect car to practice on i.e the wifes beemer lol .

Meguiars DA's are pretty reasonable -

Also check here...

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polish...prod_1797.html

Nice little kit and sensibly priced...

Ryan

+1 that's the same as ours too. Dave is out there using it now lol

the abbreviation d.a means dual action and is associated with paint preparation , it is a sanding tool which spins and oscillates at the same time , it air powered mainly although electric ones are available . From 40 grit to 500 is for making flat and making a key for paint and 800 to 2000 is for sanding orange peel from new paint which is the same as wet sanding .The discs that you use for a"d.a" are called free cut

Mechanical polishers used with a cutting compounds are, I think what you need. these look similar to disc cutters but work at a much much lower speed .
usual suspects such as bosch , Makita , dewalt , festool, are hi end and come with speed adjustment (recommended)
other makes like titan ,evolution ,works, are all Sh@t
The heads of these tools are foam, stippled foam, and lambs wool type for final buffing

if your gonna do this I would recommend masking anything you don't want covered in compound or polish and use water spray to keep the compound wet to stop burning of the paint and keep the head moving all the time , finally stay away from sharp edges this will ruin the rotating pad . hope this helps

A lot of people get an old bonnet from a scrapyard and practice on that.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...splay.php?f=17 is a nice link Scott, Polished bliss have a lot of nice videos on you-tube and join detailers central on facebook.
Rupes is an awesome range but at a pricetag to match. The "Clean your Car" DA linked above is a good all-rounder for the weekend warriors :)

...Dave is still out there with the DA lol

I went with an earlier version of this Menzerna kit http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polish.../prod_675.html

You can't go far wrong even with the Menzerna 400 cut.
You would do more damage working a small area by hand than working on 1/4 of a panel with the DA.
The problem with white is identifying the worst swirl areas as their alot harder to spot than on black. Even with a sun lamp.

I recently got this kit http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polish...prod_1212.html haven't used it yet though

Thanks i take it you can use your own polishes , wax etc with the DA polisher .

I tend to stick with Menzerna for the cutting/polishing/DA work as their products come with all the technical data to back up their performance.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/docs/TDS_HCC400.pdf

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/images...s_E_2pages.pdf

A number of the other popular detailing brands that also do cut/polish/compounds don't seem to provide this level of information. Which makes me think they haven't done the same level of R&D but just thrown together a formula.

Once I've done with the DA I'm then happy to open up my purchase/use to anything that gets good reviews.

I used the kit that came with the DA on my Black Leon FR, starting with the '500' (no longer available, so you have to use 400) then 2500 upto 4500.

There are a few images of what it sorted out here :
http://www.southeastscoobies.co.uk/v...highlight=leon

Paintwork didn't look too bad and clearly been wax'd by the SEAT dealer before I collected. Clay bar didn't lift anything much off the paint before setting the DA into action.
Not so good though when you shine the halogen on it.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...psffc2d95f.jpg[/URL]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...ps8754a872.jpg[/URL]

Very pleased with the results,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...psafd89099.jpg[/URL]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...psc5adf3fa.jpg[/URL]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...pse24b7cf6.jpg[/URL]
N/S wing also looked pretty good until Halogen was used, and highlighted this scratch plus another further forward.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...ps13c7cc9f.jpg[/URL]
A few minutes later :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...ps1ac14392.jpg[/URL]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...ps6e65ebc7.jpg[/URL]

That does look good finish is there a tecnique to using the DA i.e circular motion or left to right following the panel .

I normally work left to right on a slow pass with the DA set at about 2/3rds speed.
Up and down a bit but I find it easier to apply the small amount of pressure required left to right.

In deeper marks rock the edge of the pad across and directly into to imperfection. This rounds off the sharp edges of the mark/scratch and looses it without taking a large area down.

Left to right slow and small sections then back over up to down :ok:

DA polisher
 

Like Scott and also based on Ryan's recommendations I have stuck with Menzerna products.

You don't have to be super specific with how you polish the panels, just prepared, organised and light handed, and don't use more product then you need too.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ed26a22dfe.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b116a646af.jpg

Cheers same technique i use on the r but by hand and cheers Rob for posting that nice shinny ass:-D dont miss the car much like :cry:

During each phase from cutting to polishing do you use a soft plush towel to buff off the residue and is it per panel at a time as thats the process i use when i do the r .

1. Applicator and compoud microfiber towel buff
2. Applicator and polish microfiber towel buff
3. Applicator and sealent/wax microfiber towel buff
4. Soft plush towel for supershine

Something like that, Correct Pad and very soft plush towels for each stage as you don't want to re-introduce swirls/marring while buffing.

Some folks like to use a panel wipe between stages (depending on the products your using)

What sunlamp/Halogen do you use Scott?

Plenty of guides to using a DA on youtube, well worth a few hours watching

Ron's top tip of the value B&Q 12V drill for about £20 Remove the check/motor and replace with a 12v halogen.