meph137 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 (edited) Hi all, I'm thinking of usnig a machine to polish my car, I've never done this and am looking for advice - is it a good idea? I have some oxidisation on my front and rear bumpers so would like to remove that with G3, and have heard you should use an orbital polisher for that. So, any advice for general polishing, and also how to remove oxidisation, and would everyone think that a machine is better to use than by hand? Also, Is it any quicker? Cheers! EDIT - also, seems as though the small battery polishers are called orbital ones, yet the bigger ones (that look like grinders, connected to the mains) don;t seem to be called orbital, whats the difference, any recommendation between the two? Edited June 5, 2008 by meph137 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859 http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=66024 And G3 isn't the best option, look for a product that breaks down the more you work it, that way you should get a much nicer finish. Spend some time on the links above and the rest of the DW forum for more info. Failing this someone local to you may be willing to come round with their machine and help out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Orbital ones rotate and wobble.. a bit like the moon oribiting the earth which orbits the sun. The idea is that you wont get round swirls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 read up on the links that michael has posted , g3 is not the best product if its only slight oxidation, plus take a bit more care on the bumpers even with an orbital youll need to watch for heat build up . try and find a local detailer lots of contacts on DW if only to get first hand advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Whats the most abrasive stuff and when would you use that? (guessing mopping here?!?!) I thought G3 was pretty much as abrasive as you can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Whats the most abrasive stuff and when would you use that? Wet and dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 start at the least abrasive combo , and work up . you cant put CC back on unless your a sprayer that is , as for g3 its quite abrasive , i dont use farecla products, pretty much a good bodyshop range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Wet and dry. Bloody hell must have big balls to do that! Be as smooth as a babies bum though if done correct I bet! If not a little murky till polished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meph137 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859 http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=66024 And G3 isn't the best option, look for a product that breaks down the more you work it, that way you should get a much nicer finish. Spend some time on the links above and the rest of the DW forum for more info. Failing this someone local to you may be willing to come round with their machine and help out? Thanks a lot for those links, Im going to look at them now, as for the wet and dry talk, yeh that much be pretty hard stuff. I know I was spraying, so was using 1200 grit (not opn the finished product!), but I was told to scuff the surrounding area to blend the paint in and it made the surface cloudy instantly, which (imo) seemed pointless as I then couldn't blend, so had to use rubbing compound to remove the cloud. Worked nice in the end tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meph137 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Well, been reading since my last post, very vey helpful guides, thankyou. I think I'll try with an orbital, seems safer in a newbie's hands. One thing I noticed was that the guides suggested oxidisation won't be removed on a car with clear coat, does anyone have any info on this? I've been advised it will help. As a side note, I'm quite naive and don't know its oxidisation, all I know is its slightly darker than the rest of my paint! ITs on plastic bumpers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest damelza Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 is it just compound paste and a wet rotating buffer? Did our bonnet a treat. We used a bit on the plastic, discoloured headlamps and it made a difference so maybe on the bumper too...... check though. I might be proper wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 what you might find is that the bumper is a slightly different shade to the rest of the car , due to it being plastic , i know mine is and ive machined my car to within an inch of its life , unfortunatly it might be something youll just have to live with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meph137 Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Yeh, it could be, which would be an arse. I might try my dads grinder/sander/buffer - you can slow it right down and it has polishing bonnet's, i'd buy my own tho. I don;t wanna spend £100 ish on a decent polisher for it not to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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