Joined
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613 Posts
Hi....
So, I'd been looking into machine polishing for a few months and after some gentle persuasion from my mate 'across the pond' (you know who you are, and thank you for your endless amounts of advice and support), I took the first few steps by buying the necessary kit, attending some 1-2-1 tuition with Matt from Magic Detail, and then reading up on what to do and what not to do.
I didn't for one second think this was going to be easy, but I was certainly guilty (and naïve) of thinking I would pick it up fairly easily. So I thought I would share my 'first time machine polishing experience' with you and have included some before and after pics of my journey.
My girlfriend very kindly agreed for me to use her 2008 Audi TT 3.2 V6 as my 'detailing project', and my first mistake was in thinking I could get the polishing done in a day....! We're lucky enough to have a garage at home but it's tiny, and you can barely get a car in there, let alone walk around one. So I managed to blag some space in a storage lock up down the road. The unit is used by the trade every week day, so I only had Saturday and Sunday to use the indoor space. And times were strict, 09:30 - 16:30 on the Saturday and only 11:00 - 14:00 on the Sunday. Knowing what I know now, I could have done with at least an extra full day on the machine polishing stage. But it was what it was, and I really wanted to get the whole car done that weekend.... So I pressed on...
Products used:
BH Soft Clay with ONR mix for lube
Iron-X
Dodo Juice Supernatural Tar & Glue
CarPro Hyrd02 (to seal the wheels)
Dodo Juice Basics of Bling Shampoo
Dodo Juice Total Wipe Out
Microfibre Madness Incredimitt
Megs Mitt for the wheels
Selection of brushes
Microfibre Madness Slogger / Yellow Fellow & Crazy Pile Towels
Eurow Shag Towels
Kestrel DAS-6 Pro
Lake Country Hydro Tech Pads (Crimson / Tangerine & Cyan)
Scholl Concepts S17+ (also tried S20 Blue and S30+ but settled on S17+)
CarPro Eraser
DIY Sungun
Lenser P7 LED Torch
Gtechniq T1 Tyre & Trim
Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass
Swissvax Crystal Rock
Day 1 (at home):
3 stage de-contamination (clay / iron fall out remover and de-tar)
2BM wash
Interior - cleaned with Total Wipe Out APC - the seats had been done recently with Supernatural Leather Cleaner & Sealant, so a quick wipe over inside and vac is all that was needed.
Day2 (at the unit):
Tape up the car and get cracking with the polishing / wiping down with Eraser. Scholl S17+ on a cyan LC HT Pad was the combo I used. As I say, this was my first attempt at machine polishing and I don't have any experience with any other paint types, and although the paint was not badly marred or swirled, it wasn't in the best of shape, so the results I achieved with the products I had, were (to me), very satisfactory. I have tried to capture images of the paint condition before & after (below).
Day 3 (at the unit):
One final wipe down with Eraser and two coats of Crystal Rock, dress the tyres and clean the glass.
Due to my time restraints I didn't have time to do any fancy 50/50 shots but did try and get some before and after pics with two different light sources, which will give you an idea of how things progressed.
All in all, I was very happy with the results; it was my first time after all, and I certainly learnt a lot! I managed to polish the whole car but as I mentioned earlier, another day would have been nice, and this would have given me the opportunity to refine the finish.
Taped up & ready to go...
Rear wing before:
Rear wing after (inside with Sungun):
Rear wing after (outside with Sungun):
Rear wing outside (with LED):
Front wing / top of bonnet before:
Front wing / top of bonnet after (with Sungun):
Front wing / top of bonnet after (with LED):
And some final shots:
If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read my post.
(Comments & questions always welcome...)
:thumb:
So, I'd been looking into machine polishing for a few months and after some gentle persuasion from my mate 'across the pond' (you know who you are, and thank you for your endless amounts of advice and support), I took the first few steps by buying the necessary kit, attending some 1-2-1 tuition with Matt from Magic Detail, and then reading up on what to do and what not to do.
I didn't for one second think this was going to be easy, but I was certainly guilty (and naïve) of thinking I would pick it up fairly easily. So I thought I would share my 'first time machine polishing experience' with you and have included some before and after pics of my journey.
My girlfriend very kindly agreed for me to use her 2008 Audi TT 3.2 V6 as my 'detailing project', and my first mistake was in thinking I could get the polishing done in a day....! We're lucky enough to have a garage at home but it's tiny, and you can barely get a car in there, let alone walk around one. So I managed to blag some space in a storage lock up down the road. The unit is used by the trade every week day, so I only had Saturday and Sunday to use the indoor space. And times were strict, 09:30 - 16:30 on the Saturday and only 11:00 - 14:00 on the Sunday. Knowing what I know now, I could have done with at least an extra full day on the machine polishing stage. But it was what it was, and I really wanted to get the whole car done that weekend.... So I pressed on...
Products used:
BH Soft Clay with ONR mix for lube
Iron-X
Dodo Juice Supernatural Tar & Glue
CarPro Hyrd02 (to seal the wheels)
Dodo Juice Basics of Bling Shampoo
Dodo Juice Total Wipe Out
Microfibre Madness Incredimitt
Megs Mitt for the wheels
Selection of brushes
Microfibre Madness Slogger / Yellow Fellow & Crazy Pile Towels
Eurow Shag Towels
Kestrel DAS-6 Pro
Lake Country Hydro Tech Pads (Crimson / Tangerine & Cyan)
Scholl Concepts S17+ (also tried S20 Blue and S30+ but settled on S17+)
CarPro Eraser
DIY Sungun
Lenser P7 LED Torch
Gtechniq T1 Tyre & Trim
Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass
Swissvax Crystal Rock
Day 1 (at home):
3 stage de-contamination (clay / iron fall out remover and de-tar)
2BM wash
Interior - cleaned with Total Wipe Out APC - the seats had been done recently with Supernatural Leather Cleaner & Sealant, so a quick wipe over inside and vac is all that was needed.
Day2 (at the unit):
Tape up the car and get cracking with the polishing / wiping down with Eraser. Scholl S17+ on a cyan LC HT Pad was the combo I used. As I say, this was my first attempt at machine polishing and I don't have any experience with any other paint types, and although the paint was not badly marred or swirled, it wasn't in the best of shape, so the results I achieved with the products I had, were (to me), very satisfactory. I have tried to capture images of the paint condition before & after (below).
Day 3 (at the unit):
One final wipe down with Eraser and two coats of Crystal Rock, dress the tyres and clean the glass.
Due to my time restraints I didn't have time to do any fancy 50/50 shots but did try and get some before and after pics with two different light sources, which will give you an idea of how things progressed.
All in all, I was very happy with the results; it was my first time after all, and I certainly learnt a lot! I managed to polish the whole car but as I mentioned earlier, another day would have been nice, and this would have given me the opportunity to refine the finish.
Taped up & ready to go...
Rear wing before:
Rear wing after (inside with Sungun):
Rear wing after (outside with Sungun):
Rear wing outside (with LED):
Front wing / top of bonnet before:
Front wing / top of bonnet after (with Sungun):
Front wing / top of bonnet after (with LED):
And some final shots:
If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read my post.
(Comments & questions always welcome...)
:thumb:
nice clean glossy finish.
