Car Polishers?

Good timely question, I am looking to buy one myself.

John

Big bodyshop style ones that look like angle grinders work well for compounding. The ones I've seen with two handles either side of a motor are useless.

Heh heh, wifey bought me one of those last summer. Easy peasy I thought. Read the instructions, well glanced at them, OK, took them out of box and placed on cupboard. Put the applicator pad on the motor, placed a lovely artistic swirl of coloured wax on the nice clean pad. Placed polisher next to car and walked to extension lead to plug in. Feeling really proud that I have a new toy, plugged in and switched socket on. Hmmmm, polisher was switched on already. Result. Loads of burgundy car wax all over the front of my house, my drive, the flowers and my freshly washed car windows. To this day, that stupid toy has not come back out of the box. Pete

Got one from Costco ages ago and never used it. Read somewhere that you have to be extra careful, not too much polish and very light touch, otherwise it results in burnishing great patterned swirls on the paintwork-which cannot be polished out. Might have a try with it when the weather improves. DaveK.

I believe this is where random orbital polishers are supposed to be better as they don't simply rotate?

This is the sort of area that I'm after information on though - presumably these handheld ones aren't going to be as powerful as a professional/bodyshop type of product that I'd expect could screw things up royally in the wrong hands?

cheers, Paul

FWIW my Bosch random orbital sander came with a polishing bonnet that I use for my car. Good results.

We got a cheap one from Maplins. It polished out the marks in the bath with T-Cut quite well (thanks Guy) but SWMBO put a little too much pressure on it and knackered the bearings. They've replaced it but I haven't used the replacement yet. The bonnets are a pig to get to stay on too.

I've got both & the cheap ones suprisingly good for T cutting red VWs. If you buy one buy several spare bonnets at the same time.

Better to knacker yourself than the paint, you can have a lie down and regain your strength , your paint can't! The *only* way to polish a car ( that you are not selling ) is to do it by hand, the only way to make it easier is to do it more often with expensive polish.

Does anyone apart from used car dealers actually do that anymore? I thought that the whole point of metallic paint and laquer was to do away with this chore. Bad enough to have to wash the car a few times a year.

Huw

A lot of people do it would seem, I have hand polished my car and the results were pleasing, I purchased a pressure washer and it came with a vacuum and polisher, I have tried the polisher and the results are better, but I would not use it all the time, if you do get a mains powered one then make sure it has a long long power lead....