Sore arms from buffing !

[Amchlolor]

Did the full monty on the wife's car yesterday,prior to winter.
Wash/dry/crystal paint cleaner/buff/crystal polish/buff/Collinite wax/buff.
I was buffing buffed after it,I tell you !
Given that my next car will almost certainly be black too,the thought of hand-buffing two motors is making my eye twitch.
So,how much would a power-buffer thing cost me,for a good one ??
What about the pad bits ?

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Did my Mrs's MX-5 last weekend and cut a dead tree down this weekend so know how you feel.

Paul

 

[Matt]

There is one on eBay now
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Porter-Cable-...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Have to be careful though, can do more damage than good if you use the wrong pads/polish/technique!

 

[Amchlolor]

Have to be careful though, can do more damage than good if you use the wrong pads/polish/technique!

Hmmm,that's what a mate said...
Actually,he said "wise up,you'll drop it and scratch your car"..
So maybe I need to change my technique ?
How do you feel about this 'panel at a time' technique ?
I must admit,I just tend to cover the whole car with polish/wax first.
Which makes buffing off a right pain,coz it's gone mega-dry !

 

[Matt]

I do a panel at a time. Thats what the polish and wax I use at the moment recommend anyway. The wax sets way too hard if left so its literally an on then off job as soon as the whole panel has been covered or it will not be coming off in a hurry!

I do it by hand, dont trust myself with a porter cable

 

[Amchlolor]

I do a panel at a time. Thats what the polish and wax I use at the moment recommend anyway. The wax sets way too hard if left so its literally an on then off job as soon as the whole panel has been covered or it will not be coming off in a hurry!

That's exactly what I'm experiencing.
I'll try the panel at a time method,cheers.

 

[rich1068]

Funny you should bring this up bowfer. I did the wife's black Polo a couple of weeks ago and my own a few weeks before that. Exactly the same products too. Thing is we seem to suffer from the same sort of 'instruction blindness'. The whole job is squillion times easier if you do one panel at a time and just apply and wipe off. Don't let it dry. The time it takes you to put down the applicator and pick up the cloth to remove is plenty. I've learnt from my mistakes. And a crisp Scottish tenner says that in direct sunlight you've hazed the paintwork Trust me, I've been there.

Re: machines. A PC is the only machine to get from what I've read but it takes a braver man than I to tackle a car with one. Best left to the professionals IMO. See www.detailingworld.co.uk for one in your area.

 

[stan]

I use one of these with a set of pads, just takes the hard work out of it, wont correct any paint.
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[rich1068]

^^ Good call. That's the reasonably priced version of the Meguiars buffer isn't it?

 

[Amchlolor]

And a crisp Scottish tenner says that in direct sunlight you've hazed the paintwork Trust me, I've been there.

Ah,now thankfully that's one thing I don't get !
I use a microfibre cloth,which completely avoids haze.
I'm quite paranoid about haze,it looks awful.
No complaints about the ultimate finish of the car,just the effort it took !
I must,must ,MUST do a panel at a time !
I know I won't though...
No,I will..(won't..)

;-)

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

That is the one advantage with a large double garage, I could park the Mrs's MX-5 in the middle of the garage and work on it, panel by panel.

I need to do the A3 soon, slightly bigger job than the MX-5, I have a PC but haven't been brave enough to use it yet. I think I will get a boot or door from a scrapyard to practice on first.

I bought a full Sonus pad kit replaced the Yank cable with a nice long industrial terminated cable so that it will plug straight into my site 110V transformer.

Paul

 

[OutLore]

Thing is you need to remember different products do different things - polish for example generally does not need to be left on the panel, where there are a lot of waxes/sealants that do require some time to cure before being buffed off.

Make sure you have plenty of good quality microfibres to buff with.

It is also well worth looking at getting a clay bar to totally remove contaminants from the paint. Can be a long task but the outcome is fantastic - makes applying and removing polish, sealant and wax so much easier.

Also - you'll find it hard to remove residue if you have used too much product.

 

[stan]

^^ Good call. That's the reasonably priced version of the Meguiars buffer isn't it?

Good price on ebay also bought spare battery & just like the Meguiars one, very useful tool great for putting on a layer of wax really thin, but i mostly use mine with a paint cleaner.