zebedy Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 so after reading a thread of polishers and someone mentioned one selling in Lidls I popped in and bought the last one. Seemed to have flown off the shelf. Dont know anything about polishers other than this one is a 280 dia orbital polisher with two handles with an assortment of pads and bonnets. So as a virgin buffer I thought I might give it a bash over the week end. My car is Gunmetal metallic. so in light of this what should my products be and how would you do it ie panel at a time, maskin?? etc etc Just want some simple guide lines to obtain a better finish that with doing it but hand. Not looking at spending big money on product as Ill be fitting my kit before long so I just want to do it just see whats possible before the work starts. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouthwash Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I think a lot of detailing places advise you practice on a spare panel / car you don't care about before you take one of these to a car you actually care about. Never used one myself so can't hand out any real advice, just thought I'd mention it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 A- What have you bought? Link? B- What does it come with? C- What do you want to achieve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedy Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 This is the chap. Had some of this hanging around so decided to give it a go. As I said wasn't bothered about possible paint damage as its being painted dipped or wrapped at some point after the kit is installed. URL=http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/nigelrees123/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-04/DSC_0775_zpsvohzps2e.jpg.html][/url] Came with some micro fibre bonnets and synthetic lambs wool ones. Did the super resin first and buffed with the micro fibre. Then tried the hi gloss with the wool. The super resin buffed off with minimal effort but the gloss one took bait more effort. Still well pleased with the outcome which makes me think after 28 years of car ownership this is the first one I've ever bought. She wanted a go. FairPlay she asks to try everything from sanding plaster boards to drilling walls and screwing things into wood. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedy Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Best 16 quid ever. Even if it last a year. Well pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 £16!! Look's like a bargain to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopedmark Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeybrain1234 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 £16 - bargain of the year . . . . I may brave Lidl to get one. . . . does it seem okay when you used it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedy Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 Yep. It operates similar to a DA sander and rotates on a cam and not on a central axis. The Autoglym Super Resin polish came off with no effort at all whilst the top coat of Gloss Wax was a bit harder but still a breeze. Polished each panel in turn and the whole car in under 10 mins. Well worth 16 quid. I spend that on supper lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirag1988 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 This would make life a lot easier but I'm just a bit worried about the stories I've heard about applying too much pressure and damaging the paint... I presume I can use it to polish, glaze and wax and then buff off respectively? Can I get separate foam pads, microfibre pads for each product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLandy Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Toolstation do one for £20 (silverline) and a Draper for £30, both with spare pads available http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p52526 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) I would have a few concerns with this type of polisher (including the Silverline and Draper versions). Firstly there's no speed control - if it just happens to work at the required speed for the compound being used then that's great, but that in turn makes it useless for glazes or waxes as you'll require a lower speed. Secondly the pad size on these tend to be around 9-10". That's huge! It means there's a number of areas you simply couldn't use it on a Z, and a few more where you certainly couldn't use it well! There's a number of others that I have, such as controlling the pressure properly, but I can't be bothered to type them all out at the moment. It's probably adequate for slapping on a layer of SRP, as that's just full of fillers it's always going to give a degree of a good finish, but for doing any proper correction work? I wouldn't even entertain the idea of trying it with this. £16 might sound like a bargain to some, to me it sounds about right. Edited April 22, 2015 by ilogikal1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 To me it sounded expensive, tbh. I bought one once, many years ago. Tried it on one panel, realised it was a crock of shite, and threw it away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) To me it sounded expensive, tbh. I was using the £4 electrical machinery + £12 "detailing tax" formula. That seems quite typical to me. Edited April 22, 2015 by ilogikal1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirag1988 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I'll stick to good old elbow grease and do it by hand in that case 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payco Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Cant beat elbow grease in my opinion. I have tried loads of waxes but have just used R222 for the first time. Not cheap but wow, different league to anything I have used before. Prepped my z for Incarnation Sat and it looks better than ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedy Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 I never said it was good for detailing and Im not into that at all. Just want a good clean car now and again. You can swap the foams for smaller pads like 3" if you need to plus it comes with an assortment of bonnets. You can aslo slow it down but only though pluging it into a resistor which is already lugged into the socket. So speed is not an issue on this. If your a detailer its probably pants but for me, and thats what counts, its great for the level of valeting that I want to do myself. If I needed a detail It would be done by a detailer shurly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedy Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Ekona, I doubt it was the polisher and probably the waxes or polish that you were using. Most polishers are the same - they rotate, they speed up they slow down. Thats it. Its down to the chemicals and pads / bonnets and pressure that determine how good the finish is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 No, it's all down to the person using it. That said, you wouldn't put Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel of a Corsa and expect him to win a grand prix, would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebedy Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 true. I would'nt let it loose with the wife thats for sure lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) If your a detailer its probably pants but for me, and thats what counts, its great for the level of valeting that I want to do myself. If I needed a detail It would be done by a detailer shurly. I appreciate that, I was just trying to highlight that it has it's limits as to what it can do. As I said, it'll probably be adequate for applying SRP. I'm interested to hear you can change the pads for smaller ones, does that mean that the backing plate is easily changeable too? As for plugging in a resistor to amend the speed, that's great... if you need to use it at lower speed. I can assure you that speed is an issue with these machines if you need it for more than one product. That may mean it's still suitable for some people, but it also means it's not suitable for a lot of people. As for most polishers being the same, that's not true, that's akin to saying all cars are the same; they all transport people from one place to another. There's much more to it than simply rotating. Also, what Ekona said; someone who knows what they're doing is likely to get better results from substandard equipment than someone who doesn't with the absolute best stuff. Of course the guy that knows what he's doing is also going to get much better results still with the best equipment. Edited April 23, 2015 by ilogikal1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'd rather own 1 DAS6 than 5 of these. Much better value for money, and perfect for beginners. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'd rather own a Duetto Bigfoot and a Mini Bigfoot than 36 of these... but I just want a Duetto and a Mini really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'd rather own a Duetto Bigfoot and a Mini Bigfoot than 36 of these... but I just want a Duetto and a Mini really. ah... so subtle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I heart my Bigfoot very much For some situations, it's absolutely perfect and knocks spots off even my Makita. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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