New machine polisher

S

Sparky123

New member
Hi, very new to the forum and would like some advice


I've purchased a da 6 machine along with some

flexi pads, green , blue and black with maguires 105 and 205.

I'm wanting to do my red audi but confused on what to do, do I use the green pad with 105 and 205 to get swirls and light scratches out then wash the car and use 205 with the black pad

Many thanks in advance
 
Sparky123- Welcome to Autopia!


 


Whose polisher did you buy?


 


I'm not familiar with "flexi" pads, but you want to use the most aggressive pad with the M105 until the paint is basically perfect, and then use a milder pad with the M205 for the final polishing.  Audi clear is generally *hard* (I have three Audis at present and have owned many others) and you'll still spend a *lot* of time even with the most aggressive approach.


 


Unless you want to spend a *LOT* of time cleaning pads, you'll need quite a few of them; you can't do a whole panel before cleaning the pad out as it'll get loaded up with dried product and cut-off clear.  Don't underestimate what it'll take to correct even seemingly minor marring.


 


Be sure to have *GOOD* lighting so you can see what's going on.


 


Pick a test spot and work it until it's corrected to your satisfaction so you can dial in your approach. 


 


Remember that M105/M205 don't break down, they just dry out.   This can matter, especially when wiping off the (still abrasive) M105 residue.


 


M205 leaves a *LOT* of oils behind.  They can conceal residual marring which will lead to unpleasant surprises later when said oils dissipate.  I find that the oils are tough to get off/out of the paint, so give some thought to how you'll do that (no, IME you can't just wipe them off with rubbing alcohol).


 


Again, work a test spot so you can get all squared away before trying to do a larger area/whole panel/the entire car.  And be sure to inspect that spot under lighting that will *really* let you see what's going on. 


 


Allocate a *LOT* of time.  IMO people drastically underestimate how long it takes to do significant correction, especially on hard clear like Audi uses.  You might set aside an afternoon to do the test spot and the rest of that panel (maybe use the trunk lid for this).  Heh heh, fair warning- you'll have to do the area inside the Audi Rings by hand; I've spent more time on that little job than you want to know about!  Also behind the door handles, don't plan on just an hour...
 
Hi Accumulator, thanks for the reply and the advice

The machine I got is a das 6 , I know it's going to take

a long time with this compared to a rotary but I want to get

experience first with this one first , I will have the car in my

brother Inlaws large garage with plenty of light , I hear the m105

is very dusty while working so do I wash the car after using that

Dry the car then use the m205 with the finishing pad, I've heard about

ipa wipes and paint cleaners but I wouldn't know where to start using

any of those just yet. Many thanks
 
Sparky123- OK, I'm not familiar with that polisher, but I'll assume (uh-oh...) that it's up to spinning the 6" pads.  FWIW, I *never* touch either of my rotaries these days.  Never.  No need for them with today's pad/product tech.


 


I never had huge dust problems with M105 the way some people do...maybe because I don't "work it until dry".  But you do have to use a lot of product and that can get messy.  I work pretty small areas at a time, and IMO that helps keep everything under control, including the mess.


 


Pace yourself, take it slow.  Keep the areas of operation small; I seldom do the usual 2' x 2' that people recommend.


 


DO NOT let the product get dry on the pads and DO NOT let the pads get loaded up before you clean/replace them.  That's just *so* important.


 


I seldom wash after compoundinging, in part because that can get compound residue down into nooks and crannies (carried there by the water/washing).  IMO it's better to do a lot of masking before you compound to keep the stuff out of hard-to-access areas.  Yeah, that can take a lot of time and effort (BTW, I like the newer *yellow* masking tape).  I use M34 Final Inspection when buffing off M105 residue to minimize micromarring.


 


Research the Kevin Brown Method for info on how to prime your pads for use with M105/M205.


 


Rather than using IPA for removing polishing oils, I use Akra Klean (think that's the name/spelling, it's AKA Prep Wash) from Top of the Line.  Many use a product called Eraser.  Sorry, I can't do links on this computer/site for some reason, but you should be able to google 'em up.


 


Make sure the garage has the *right kind of* light; fluorescents are basically useless IMO.
 
Hey Accumulator, thanks so much for more info and tips, the machine I have is the da6 not the pro version just the basic one, I have 5" backing plate on it and the pads are the hex pads from chemical guys don't know where I got flexi pads from lol ,what about the silverline rotary polisher is it pretty good for starting off aswell ? I'll look your stuff up and look into the eraser stuff aswell will remember to work in small areas and I'll have to get some tape too many thanks again
 
Sparky123- Wish I weren't so out-of-date on stuff but I hope I can be of some help anyhow.  I just don't know about that polisher.  If it works OK then it works OK.  IF it doesn't, you can try more aggressive pad/product combos and see if that helps (MF cutting pads with M100 or M101 is a good combo for aggressive correction, and *that* is the "?will it be OK?" application).


 


I'm not familiar with the CG Hex pads, maybe they'll work OK for you; that 5" size is a good idea.  FWIW,these days I like MF cutting pads and flat foam polishing pads.  But you might also look at all the offerings from Buff and Shine, which are highly regarded by people I trust.


 


Now as for if you do need a new polisher, I *do* know what's OK/not today :D  DO NOT buy a rotary.  Period.  You don't need one and you can sidestep the whole long "rotary learning curve" by simply buying a very good Random Orbital polisher.  I work on *hard* clear and do fine without touching the rotaries that I used to *need*.  The ultimate RO is a Rupes 21.  The Griot's Garage one is also *VERY* good.  There are "forced-rotation" ROs from Flex (I have their 3401) and Makita (I think that's the other one...the model is BO2040 or something like that, sorry I forget).  All of these are dead-simple to use (especially compared to a rotary) and give great results.  But what you have now might work fine.
 
Ok cheers for that, my one is a kestrel dual action one will look in to the pads and the random orbital machines, what speed would you reckon I start of with and to work with the m105 cheers
 
Sparky123- I generally do all my M105 work at top speed, but watch that you don't overwork it, that stuff dries out FAST...I sorta consider that a feature, but some others find it frustrating.
 
Accumulator, will watch out for it drying out too quick, thanks so much for your time and a lot of advice it's helped me a great deal cheers
 
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