Buffer Or Duffer

[red14uk]

hi folks,
i have been reading through the threads and picked up some good info on washing my car properly (which i didnt even realise, and hadn't given much thought until reading the posts).
I was wondering if anyone had used a buffering machine ie. the £40 quid one from halfords, would these do i decent job, as being rather lazy i'd much prefer a machine to put the hard work in than me.

 

[red14uk]

also forgot to mention, ive just been to halfords and they dont seem to supply any of the recommended products on here. Is there a massive difference between the likes of carlacjk twins and the stuff you find at halfords ie. turtlewax and autoglym.

 

[cordobabrendy]

steer clear from halfords, search on here for silverline, they do the job of a pc only better and faster, you do need to learn how to use it in case you are too abrasive and damage the paint though.
This is my one, took scratches and swirl marks out very well from my bonnet etc, pads are easily gotten hold of from the same places that sell them, £34 quid and 100 times better than the crap rotating pieces of turd halfords sell.

 

[red14uk]

thanks for your reply on the buffer.
I have a red LCR and to be honest, my heads done in from looking at all the different polishes and waxes etc.
am i right in thinking that this is the right combination to clean your car to a high finish:-

1. wash with shampoo (any brand will do?)
2. use polish ( whcih brand can people recommend please for around £10)
3. after letting polish dry, apply wax (i was thinking meguiars NXT or turtle wax)
or whatever someone can recommend for red. Then remove wax with a lambs wool mitt.

is this the correct sequence, as ive read about sealants too. never realised making a car look good was so complicated.

Please advise. PS. on auto express website, they did a test and turtle wax came out best, above the ones recommended such as POORBOYS AND P21'S etc.

 

[Sisson]

I suggest you have a read of here....

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/guides.html

use:

2 buckets
wash mitt
waffle weave drying towel
Polish car using applicator pads and buff off with plush microfibre towel
Apply wax using same technique as above.

My suggestions would be:

Meguiars Gold class shampoo

Meguiars wash mitt and waffle weave drying towel.

Autoglym Super Resin polish for the polishing stage, has alot of fillers in so will hide scratches and swirls.

Followed by Autoglym Extra gloss protection, as the SRP won't last long.

There are better products you can buy from online but the ones i quoted can be bought from local Halfords.

 

[red14uk]

thanks for your reply its appreciated, i have been checking out other polishes which i can buy on ebay, i don't necessarily have to go to halfords. So what do you use or could reccomend for me.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

[R18]

have you tried zymol?

 

[skullmunki]

i have a red fr, and the products i am using at the moment are;

1.Turtlewax shampoo
2.Autoglym Super Resin Polish (good stuff but a tad dusty)
3.Poorboys EX-P Sealant
4.Pinnacle Liquid Souveran wax

comes up a treat, have some pics here.

Gave it the full monty this weekend, using Megs clay and quick detailer after the wash...felt silky smooth! (will post up some pics later)

All done by hand at the moment, although i did buy a cheapo polisher and got about 5 mins out of it before the motor burnt out. Will definately have a look at that silverline unit though (before i end up with arms like popeye!)

 

[red14uk]

thanks skullmunki thats exactly what im looking for, will give it a go and post some pics. like the father jack pic too.

 

[UncleFester]

Silverline looks like a rotary, if you're new to all this .. i'd avoid a rotary - too easy to damage paint.

I've just started using a PC myself and am just getting to grips with what to use with it and how to use it etc. It's no less work than doing it by hand but the results are a definite improvement.

As for advice Rich / Clark from www.polishedbliss.co.uk are very helpful, their site is also well worth a read!

 

[cordobabrendy]

fester, I was relatively new to machine polishing, but after reading detailing world and polished bliss write ups and advice, you cant really go wrong unless you turn the silverline up to 6 straight away, use no water when compounding and press way too hard.
Work it in at a slow speed setting and itll come out great.
I thought about a pc then though, pay 200 quid for the pc and other bits just to learn how to use one then pay 35 for the real mccoy, sod that, why not just learn how to use a proper rotary first? the pc is too slow for my liking, ive borrowed one and it took forever to get a few scratches moving.

 

[red14uk]

well just to let anyone who's interested know, ive decided to go with this combo for my 1st ever car detail wax jobby.
There are so many products out therewhich makes it a fustrating choice, especially when you dont really know what you doing.

1. turtle wax car shampoo.
2. Autoglym super resin polish.
3. then ive just bought some poorboys EX P sealant to go on top.
4. then i'll finish that lot off with some natty's blue wax.

hopefully that lot should do the trick and i won't lose interest half way through.

Oh forgot to aks!! IS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO USE A CLAY BAR FIRST BEFORE I START!, i kind of already know the answer, and if so, is it time consuming.

thanks for any advice given, greatly appreciated, and i'll post some pics after.

 

[UncleFester]

fester, I was relatively new to machine polishing, but after reading detailing world and polished bliss write ups and advice, you cant really go wrong unless you turn the silverline up to 6 straight away, use no water when compounding and press way too hard.
Work it in at a slow speed setting and itll come out great.
I thought about a pc then though, pay 200 quid for the pc and other bits just to learn how to use one then pay 35 for the real mccoy, sod that, why not just learn how to use a proper rotary first? the pc is too slow for my liking, ive borrowed one and it took forever to get a few scratches moving.

Yeah but when you're cack handed - like me ... best to err on the side of caution. My paint doesn't really need rotary, quite happy to plod along with the PC You've got a fair point though - and if money is tight / was tight then i'd learn with a rotary.

well just to let anyone who's interested know, ive decided to go with this combo for my 1st ever car detail wax jobby.
There are so many products out therewhich makes it a fustrating choice, especially when you dont really know what you doing.

1. turtle wax car shampoo.
2. Autoglym super resin polish.
3. then ive just bought some poorboys EX P sealant to go on top.
4. then i'll finish that lot off with some natty's blue wax.

hopefully that lot should do the trick and i won't lose interest half way through.

Oh forgot to aks!! IS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO USE A CLAY BAR FIRST BEFORE I START!, i kind of already know the answer, and if so, is it time consuming.

thanks for any advice given, greatly appreciated, and i'll post some pics after.

Yes its worth claying if the paint feels rough - 90% preparation and 10% final finish

 

[skullmunki]

i just posted some more pics on the thread in my last post. Used some Megs clay and it came up a treat. Like fester says, all the work is in the preparation! (just get some good tunes in the background, seems not to take as long then!)

looking foward to your pics.