Da polisher

[Duran]

How exactly do I use my da polisher.

 

[Brunzca]

This is a good video to start with

 

[Duran]

How was your experience

 

[Brunzca]

I bought a Griots G9, and replaced the standard 6” backing plate with a 5” one.
I’d never used a polisher before. I used white lake country pads, with car pro essence, and it worked great. It took a while, and a lot of getting used to, you have to work on making sure the plate is spinning, or it’s not polishing, and if it gets off balance, it won’t spin (but that’s why it’s safer than a rotary, and won’t damage the paint). Just make sure to fully prep first. Wash, de-iron, clay, before polishing/correcting

 

[Duran]

Got you. How about the passes how many and what speed was the machine and hand work for compound and polish. What did you use to clean your pad duri g the compound and polish stages

 

[Brunzca]

I started on 2, to spread the polish around, then went up to 4. I went 3 full passes at 4 over each area (1 pass was up and down until covered the work area, then left to right until covered it again). No hand polishing needed. And I didn’t compound, the essence is a pre-ceramic enhancing polish, that removes swirls, and fills small defects. So just that one machine step. Cleaning pads - I just switched to a new pad when necessary, then washed the pads in the washing machine with my microfiber towels afterwards. They can be cleaned with a terry cloth towel during compound/polishing, or with a pad brush if necessary

 

[Duran]

I started on 2, to spread the polish around, then went up to 4. I went 3 full passes at 4 over each area (1 pass was up and down until covered the work area, then left to right until covered it again). No hand polishing needed. And I didn’t compound, the essence is a pre-ceramic enhancing polish, that removes swirls, and fills small defects. So just that one machine step. Cleaning pads - I just switched to a new pad when necessary, then washed the pads in the washing machine with my microfiber towels afterwards. They can be cleaned with a terry cloth towel during compound/polishing, or with a pad brush if necessary

Greatly appreciate your feed back. Ill be sire to follow your guide

 

[jth877]

I love my DA. <-- Sounds weird. You can make your vehicle look better than new. It's also a huge time saver when applying sealants/waxes and spreads them thin so it's easy to get off. Spread with 2-3, polish with 5-6. Wax with 4ish. Every DA is a little bit different though.

I would go with Megs ultimate compound and polish ( available locally in every auto store) to get started and a 6 pack of various 5.5" lake county pads from autogeek. Change the backing plate to 5" with a lake county one. Don't worry too much about ruining paint. It's very hard to do with a DA and the mild compound I suggested.

 

[dannymcd]

I just did my entire truck with the HF DA with 20mm stroke, Did the compound then polish and followed it up with turtle wax graphene wax (liquid not the spray) the results were pretty good, there were some scratches from the car wash that I didn't get out but I didn't have the will to cut that deep into the clear coat. All in all the results are great, all the swirl marks were gone and the graphene is so slippery I use straight water with a filter and 90% of the dirt comes off without wiping.

 

[scottmoyer]

You want more than just the white Lake Country pads. You will want the right pad and right product for the job your trying to do. Many years ago, I only had a Flex orbital. I bought the wool 9" pad and 9" waffle polish pads. I used 3M rubbing compound with the wool and the 3M finishing pad glaze. I got outstanding finishes. I then couldn't understand why the Porter Cable DA I bought wasn't removing the swirls in a car that I did. I was using newer compounds and new LC pads, but I learned that the compound doesn't cut as much with a white pad, as it does with the orange. Once I learned that, I was able to remove swirls again.