Detailing - worth it ?? Lancashire recommendation

[Pilot Pete]

Phil, the DA is actually very easy - like you I spent years doing cars by hand and you are right it’s bloomin’ hard work!

The key is getting a half decent DA, a range of pads, a couple of polishes with cut and less cut/ more polish and do a bit of research regarding how hard the paint is on your car.

Start with the ‘weakest’ or ‘least cut’ combination of pad/ polish and do a test panel - if it cuts and polishes enough then go with that combo. If it doesn’t increase the cut by one level (heavier cut pad or heavier cut polish) until you get the right combo.

Actually using the DA is simplicity itself - you smear your clean pad with a load of polish and rub it in. That primes the pad. Then pick an area about 2’ square. Put three pea sized blobs of polish on the pad equally spaced. DAB the pad around on the panel area to ‘blob’ the polish across the area to be polished. Put the DA on a low speed setting, hold against the panel and switch it on. Now simply move the pad across the surface to spread the polish evenly around the chosen area.

Now switch the speed up and with the pad in contact with the panel switch on the DA. Start in one corner, gently push the pad into the panel and move the pad across the surface fairly slowly from side to side, like ploughing a field, but overlap each pass by half the width of the pad. Once you have done the horizontal ‘stripes’, now do a set of vertical passes across the same area using a similar technique. Stop the DA with the pad still in contact with the panel.

You will notice after you start your passes the polish turns clear and this is it breaking down and starting to do its thing. Don’t pass too fast, give the pad time to do it’s work. Don’t go too slow either, you will simply ‘get’ what feels right.

Wipe the remaining polish off with a microfibre towel and then inspect the area. Has it removed the defects? Has it polished to a shine? Does it need more correction or is the result to your standards? Can you actually do more correction? If a defect is too deep you can’t just keep polishing or you will strike through the clear coat and need a respray! However, a DA is very forgiving, which makes it most suitable for beginners and amateurs alike. I, like you, was concerned before I did my first car but really needn’t have worried. The results were spectacular compared to hand polishing, in a fraction of the time.

The ideal solution is to get a mate who has a DA show you how to use it and do one panel on your car for you, letting you do part of it too. It’s really not that difficult, honest!

[Pilot Pete]

Pete!! Not happening, I’m just gonna rock up unannounced!!

Ok, I’ll get the kettle on.

[Jimmyrn85]

Pete, this?

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/das6pro- ... n-polisher

How often can you do it though? Without damaging the paint and going through the clear coat?

Never done it before.

[scm]

The ideal solution is to get a mate who has a DA show you how to use it ...

Or offer to do your mate's car first!

[Pilot Pete]

Pete, this?

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/das6pro- ... n-polisher

How often can you do it though? Without damaging the paint and going through the clear coat?

Never done it before.

When you say ‘how often can you do it without damaging the paint and going through the clear coat?’ There is no definitive answer.

It depends, is the actual answer! It depends on how thick your paint is to start with (has it been machine polished before? Is it the factory paint? Has it been resprayed before?) You can get all technical and use a paint depth gauge which will tell you.

It then comes down to what are you trying to achieve? Correction of defects or just a light polish? Depending on how deep the defects are (scratches etc) will dictate whether they can be corrected without removing too much clear coat or not. The solution for a defect that is too deep is to repair that before polishing back to a shine. I did this on a scratch on the right wing/ bonnet on mine. The scratch had gone through the clear coat, down to the base coat and through that at one point.

The fix is to clean the scratch/ stone chip with isopropyl alcohol, then gently correct the defect with base colour, then clear coat (or you can mix them together and apply in one go. The way to do this is to apply tiny dabs with an extremely fine artists brush or something like a cocktail stick. All you want to do is fill the scratch/ stone chip. You are not trying make a smooth painted finish. The clear coat should be slightly proud of the surrounding paint surface.

You then use 2000-2500 grit wet and dry with copious soapy suds to wet sand with a small rubbing block to flatten this clear coat. Then use 3000 grit to finish it of perfectly smoothly. You then end up with dull patches where you have repaired your paint. Here is my bonnet with a number of dull patches. All the white bits are splashes.

[Pilot Pete]

Part 2

So with the deeper defects corrected you can then cut/ polish back to a shine without having to remove excess clear coat.

You should only need to do this once in a very long time if you use a two bucket wash method and protect your paint finish. Once it’s corrected you don’t then use a machine polisher every time you clean your car!

My F had never had its paint corrected since new. The paint was almost gritty to the touch it had so much contamination embedded in the surface. No amount of washing and spray detailer would make it shine like it should. It was in desperate need of a proper paint correction. There were a few swirl marks from previous bad washing techniques and it had lots of tar spots all down both sides.

So now it’s corrected, I don’t anticipate doing it again for a number of years. I will however have a go at son #3’s Mini!

I’m thinking that’s one Christmas present sorted!!!

[Jimmyrn85]

Thank you for the detailed write up! Defo a bit beyond me I think atm to start doing that on the F!

[MArtyn Veg]

Hi Jimmy, just had mine done and would say definitely worth it!

[Pilot Pete]

Pete, this?

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/das6pro- ... n-polisher

How often can you do it though? Without damaging the paint and going through the clear coat?

Never done it before.

No Jimmy, the Pro+ https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/paint-co ... n-polisher

[Jimmyrn85]

Thanks both, looks fantastic Martyn, just probably not best I learn how to do this stuff on an F Type!!