First time using a DA polisher experience

**Gradywhite3535** · 10-26-2017, 02:07 AM

First time using a DA polisher experience

I have always washed my car myself and try to wash my car often. I have a 03 Acura that was due for a compound and polish as I've never done one to the car.

I did some research and watch a bunch of videos. And wow did that teach me how much is involved with washing a car properly, preventing a car from getting scratchs and swirls from the beginning, what tools and polishes I would need, how to polish with a DA and etc,etc.

I was really pumped up and planned to detail the exterior over the weekend. i started at about 10am Saturday morning and started to wash and clay the car in preparation to compound and then polish the car. I started with a DA and a 6 inch orange lake country pad with M105.

I did a test spot on the trunk and was hard to see an improvement after a few passes. I found m105 dries up so fast( again I have no experience Withh other products) and it was hard to know when to stop. I would pass one time going about a inch a sec with a lil pressure and I couldn't see the product against the silver paint.

That made me nervous in the fact that it seemed like it dried up so fast and didn't know when the product had flashes. Mind you I was also outside I the shade. I would use 4 -6 drops and saw some guys use a spritz of detail spray or wax which I did try.

I ended up using m105 the whole car first then used 205. M205 seeemed easier but I had no luck all said and done. I looked at the car at a shopping garage and there were swirls. I was so pisssd cause I put a lot of time into it. I just got to the point where I had to get it done and had bad results. I'm going to practice and just concentrate on the trunk getting rid of swirls and scratches to best I can do.

Some questions

1. What is actually doing the cutting. the pad, compound or both? What has more effect?

2.what would happen if the polish or compound dries up and you keep polishing not knowing it and countinue to do 1-2 section passes too much?

3. You take a da to the clear coat and start Buffing with no compound 2-3 section passsd?

4.i don't know exactly how much pressure to use when pushing down, if I just use a moderate pressure to just holding the machine against the paint would I get good results?

5. What would be a easier compound to work with with longer working times, m105 seemed to dry fast plus hard to see agiainst the silblver paint.

6. Using a wash and wax before Claying the car have any effect with having scratches and swirls after the entire process
the car came out really shiny and glossy after everything but I want all the swirls and light scratches out where in the sun you can't see ANY lol.

Just trying to learn this whole new to me detailing process

.

Thanks

**Eldorado2k** · 10-26-2017, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Gradywhite3535

I have always washed my car myself and try to wash my car often. I have a 03 Acura that was due for a compound and polish as I've never done one to the car. I did some research and watch a bunch of videos. And wow did that teach me how much is involved with washing a car properly, preventing a car from getting scratchs and swirls from the beginning, what tools and polishes I would need, how to polish with a DA and etc,etc. I was really pumped up and planned to detail the exterior over the weekend. i started at about 10am Saturday morning and started to wash and clay the car in preparation to compound and then polish the car. I started with a DA and a 6 inch orange lake country pad with M105. I did a test spot on the trunk and was hard to see an improvement after a few passes. I found m105 dries up so fast( again I have no experience Withh other products) and it was hard to know when to stop. I would pass one time going about a inch a sec with a lil pressure and I couldn't see the product against the silver paint. That made me nervous in the fact that it seemed like it dried up so fast and didn't know when the product had flashes. Mind you I was also outside I the shade. I would use 4 -6 drops and saw some guys use a spritz of detail spray or wax which I did try. I ended up using m105 the whole car first then used 205. M205 seeemed easier but I had no luck all said and done. I looked at the car at a shopping garage and there were swirls. I was so pisssd cause I put a lot of time into it. I just got to the point where I had to get it done and had bad results. I'm going to practice and just concentrate on the trunk getting rid of swirls and scratches to best I can do. Some questions
1. What is actually doing the cutting. the pad, compound or both? What has more effect?
2.what would happen if the polish or compound dries up and you keep polishing not knowing it and countinue to do 1-2 section passes too much?
3. You take a da to the clear coat and start Buffing with no compound 2-3 section passsd?
4.i don't know exactly how much pressure to use when pushing down, if I just use a moderate pressure to just holding the machine against the paint would I get good results?
5. What would be a easier compound to work with with longer working times, m105 seemed to dry fast plus hard to see agiainst the silblver paint.m
6. Using a wash and wax before Claying the car have any effect with having scratches and swirls after the entire process
the car came out really shiny and glossy after everything but I want all the swirls and light scratches out where in the sun you can't see ANY lol. Just trying to learn this whole new to me detailing process

. Thanks

1st of all, these are some really great questions. Kudos on that..

But before anything, I can't help but need to ask you an important question because it seems to be a possibility to what may have been a problem with your efforts, and the question is: Did you mark your backing plate? Which backing plate are you using? Because some are much less user friendly especially if it's your 1st time and you happen to not know or forget about the "marking the backing plate" tip.

Why? Because several popular backing plates are black in color [just plain bad idea IMO] and the only 1 off the top of my head that's perfect for the beginner is the Lake Country backing plates, because they're yellow and therefore are easily marked with a black permanent marker [which everyone has available at home] and the most easily visible too, thanks again to being bright yellow with your black mark... So that's the 1st and most important question before everything else.

**RTexasF** · 10-26-2017, 08:31 AM

Which DA did you use? If it's a Porter Cable then the 6" pads are too large for it to turn them. Step down to a smaller backing plate and smaller pads like 5" or 5.25".

Mike Phillips · 10-26-2017, 08:55 AM

First...

If you look at your original post and compare it to the portion quoted right below it... I edited your post and put in some "white space" by hitting the [ENTER] key here and there to break up the HUGE CHUNK OF TEXT.

Here's why...

The human eye has a difficult time tracking from the end of one sentence to the beginning of the next sentence starting after the end of a 3rd sentence. What happens in the blogosphere is people will simply tend not to read because you've made it hard on them.

The above is just a friendly tip from a guy that types a LOT of text and I want people to read it. For this reason, I don't make it difficult for them.

The above is also even MORE TRUE when you type on Facebook because now you're forcing all your text into tiny messages boxes.

So here's a tip...

Break up huge chuncks of text using your [ENTER] key once in a while and you'll get more people to actually read what you write and then you'll also bet more and better replies.

The above is all meant in good spirit to help everyone that "types" on any digital media.

Next I'll try to help answer your questions. First I had to edit your post just to make it easy for ME to read.

Mike Phillips · 10-26-2017, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by Gradywhite3535

First time using a DA polisher experience

I started with a DA and a 6 inch orange lake country pad with M105.

First - Sometime s little more information can help us help you.

Which DA polisher are you using?

Some are very weak some are very strong. Knowing which one helps me to figure out why you're not removing swirls.

Second - The 6" pad you reference is actually 6.5" in diameter. Besides being what is by today's standards considered LARGE for a DA pad it is also incredibly THICK. It is the diameter which creates the total contact area and the thickness, which absorbs and dissipates (you can use the were wastes instead of dissipates), the energy coming out of ANY free spinning orbital polisher.

7 years ago I wrote this article, it's when the INDUSTRY CHANGED and pad manufactures started making thinner pads...

Thin is in...

Here's an article I wrote back in June of 2016

5.5" SUPER THIN FOAM PAD OPTIONS for your Dual Action Polisher

This article uses pictures to show how far pad manufactures have come since writing the "Thin is in" article in

From left to right - Lake Country 5.5" ThinPro foam pads - Griot's Garage BOSS 5.5" foam pads - Meguiar's 5.5" foam discs

Here's how THICK the pad is you're using compared to a thin pad.

Guess which pads rotate better on free spinning tools?

Getting better results could just be a matter of getting a 5" backing plate and some smaller pads and thinner pads.

And have you watched this video and then done what I recommend?

Video: Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see pad rotation <-- click link to see video

The black mark helps your eyes to monitor pad rotation. Here's the deal...

IF THE PAD IS NOT ROTATING YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING

I've seen a few detailing gurus argue that defects can be removed via oscillation only but oscillation only without pad rotation really means the pad is ONLY VIBRATING against the surface and take my word for it... you're simply wasting your time your if all that's happening is the pad is vibrating against the paint.

You MUST have pad rotation to effectively remove paint and thus effectively remove below surface defects like swirls, scratches and water spots.

But pick a guru and follow them and what they say....

Mike Phillips · 10-26-2017, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by Gradywhite3535

I did some research and watch a bunch of videos.

I wrote the definition for Test Spot. I wrote the definition for Section Pass. I started the practice of pressing down on a free spinning DA instead of the recommended, "use the weight of the polisher" advice that was the norm back in the late 1980's.

So just about every video that shows you how to use any simple DA usually includes the above but never the sources from where they learned those foundational techniques.

If you haven't watched this video - take a few minutes and watch it. It covers EVERYTHING you need to know to successfully use any simple dual action polisher and get great results the first time.

Here's the link to the dedicated thread for this video...

Best video ever on how to machine buff a car from start to finish

And here's the video...

Mike Phillips · 10-26-2017, 09:22 AM

.

And if you have not read this yet - then give it a read-through... I wrote this almost 7 years ago and I always recommend a person new to machine polishing to read it FIRST before even taking their polisher out of the box.

It will prevent you from making all the common mistakes.

DA Polisher Trouble Shooting Guide

**david b** · 10-26-2017, 09:23 AM

Just my opinion - m105 can be difficult to work with, especially if you're just starting out. If it were me, I'd get my hands on a more 'user-friendly' product that's easier to apply and easier to wipe off. Good luck and happy detailing!

David

Mike Phillips · 10-26-2017, 09:25 AM

.

It also sounds like you're using too little product. The sage advice by so many experts to use 3 peas sized drops of product is simply wrong because it's NOT enough product to do the job.

Check this out,

How to prime a foam pad when using a DA Polisher

Dimes, Nickels and Quarters are your friend.