Bodywork electric polishers/buffers

Scattycat

Scattycat

Free Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Posts
920
Likes collected
1,262
Location
Mayenne, France
Funster No
24,131
MH
Rapido
Exp
Since 2010
Hi peeps, as arthritis is making polishing the van a little on the painful side I've been toying with the idea of buying an electric buffer/polishing machine.
What are folks views and recommendations?
tia
 
Where have you been Mike not seen you on the forum for ages, you must be psychic, I was just thinking of dropping you & Lin an email to see how you were.

Sorry can't help with the polisher I'm still doing it the hard way.
 
Get one of the 12 v ones, the trouble is with the mains ones, is that unless you have been trained you can easily go through the paintwork with them and cause damage.

I expect there will be someone with better info along soon.

Alternatively get a local scout to come and do it once ahead on Bob a job week ! Or whatever it is if they do it these days.
 
I have had good results with the 240Volt 110Watt Halfords Car Polisher. You can useT Cut on bloomed paintwork or just use car polish. Worth getting a couple of spare mops. I have even used it polish UV damaged headlights.
 
Blummin Eck, just using mine as we speak, but it is a heavy duty 240v thing and takes a bit of wrestling about
image.jpg

image.jpg

as with any buffing, paint restoring polishing with a buffer nice and light on the pressure and plenty of water sprayed on, or you could burn through the paint?
Ady

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
  • Informative
Reactions: f6c
I have an Clarke'sone with nice double handles that rotate for best grip.
It has concentric (?) movement so you don't spin one spot more than you want.
I do advise LOTS of extra bonnets as they clog easily with excess polish. Haven't bothered using on MH but have done on cars .


Screenshot_20200419-114403.png
 
I bought mine from Lidles, knowing I was making a mistake..... but I wasn't. It is lightweight, does not burn the paint as it oscillates. My van is 5 years old and the paint is still in good condition so 'T' Cut not needed yet.
 
Yep, oscillating heads - professional body shops always use them since they are the best, but they are very light cos you just hook up the airline to operated them same as your air chisel etc etc. Bit noisy to operate that sort of compressor at home though, if you even have room for it ……. easily available on your trade account with your Motor factor LOL

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Get yourself a d a polisher.

You’re unlikely to burn the paint/gel coat.
Always start with fine cutting to determine how coarse you need to cut.

Before you do any polishing you need to decontaminate the bodywork with something like iron x then was it
Then clay the bodywork and wash.
Now you’re good to go ?
 
WESTY66 said:
Blummin Eck, just using mine as we speak, but it is a heavy duty 240v thing and takes a bit of wrestling aboutView attachment 380060
View attachment 380061
as with any buffing, paint restoring polishing with a buffer nice and light on the pressure and plenty of water sprayed on, or you could burn through the paint?
Ady
Click to expand...
240v angle grinder AND a water hose.... Jesus take care.??

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I bought a Challenge extreme Dual Action polisher from Argos about 18 months ago. It was on offer for about £30 so no big deal if it didn't do the job. I can't believe I didn't get one of these sooner. I'd read loads of reviews from people trying to say you needed to spend £100's but these were usually 'detailers' who go to extremes. It takes much of the strain out of polishing (obv not all, you still have to hold it/move it). I've polished both cars and the MH a few times, even buffed out scratches on the motorhome windows and removed the misting on the plastic headlights of a friend's car.
 
Baden87 said:
any pictures and details for the one from lidl
Click to expand...
It is rather dark outside just now. I bought it from Lidles some time ago although they have from time to time re-stocked them. I just Googled 'Lidle car polisher' and both Lidle and Aldi include them on the occasional sales.
 
The most important thing is that you get a DualAction (DA) polisher. As a member of a car club with two cars I like to keep looking tip-top I use one and know that many other members do the same with their cars, some of which are worth mega-bucks.
 
AJM2 said:
I bought a Challenge extreme Dual Action polisher from Argos about 18 months ago. It was on offer for about £30 so no big deal if it didn't do the job. I can't believe I didn't get one of these sooner. I'd read loads of reviews from people trying to say you needed to spend £100's but these were usually 'detailers' who go to extremes. It takes much of the strain out of polishing (obv not all, you still have to hold it/move it). I've polished both cars and the MH a few times, even buffed out scratches on the motorhome windows and removed the misting on the plastic headlights of a friend's car.
Click to expand...
I have one of those too. It’s a bit heavy but once it’s polishing it’s easy to handle and does the job brilliantly. I polished the car with it a few days ago. Much easier and faster than hand polishing. It has variable speeds so you can polish as gently as you like.
 
Hi. I do detailing as a profession. The correct term is Paint Correction NOT mopping. You mop your floors when cleaning them... Do not buy an orbital polisher. These need constant movement and if you are not trained properly you will cause a lot of damage to paintwork and easily burn through the lacquer and paint without realising what you have done. I see the damage hobbyist do every week. To have a panel on a MH rubbed down, sprayed and lacquered then oven baked will cost thousands and thousands of £££. Your safest bet is a Dual Action polisher. The better the quality the smoother it runs, the better it is and the lighter it is. If you have arthritis I would suggest you only do a little bit each day. If you spend all day paint correcting you will get tingling in your fingers and hands. You don’t need to apply any pressure with a machine. It’s weight along with correct pad and compound will give the cut desired... You can use the machine to apply a polish. These are silicon based products which offer very little cut but contain fillers to mask defects in the paint. Topped with a wax will look good for about 2/3 months then your notice it really appearing and will do it again. The polish is bonding to uneven surface as it’s got swirls etc. The wax is bonding to a silicon based substance. Heat rain and UV quickly break this down and it deteriorates. Waste of time and effort.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I suggest you go to Youtube and have a look there are a number of videos for beginners. Do not use an angle grinder type unless you are experienced or you stand a good chance of burning through the paint. Having seen a video I purchased an oscillating polisher (not a cheap one) and did some research on product to use with it. I have to admit I spent @£200 on stuff, but compare that to the cost of someone doing for you it's a bargain and now it looks like new. Also I have one set of cleaning products for the Fiat bit and one for the GRP bit which does add to the price.

For those who might want to know which products I used (I not sponsored by the way) -
a) Griots compound,

For the front which is steel.
b) meguiars polish, c)meguiars wax.

For the rest which is GRP.
B) meguiars marin polish, c) meguiars marin wax.

There are lots of other polishes out there, it's all a matter of personal choice.

Hope this helps a little
 
Scattycat said:
Hi peeps, as arthritis is making polishing the van a little on the painful side I've been toying with the idea of buying an electric buffer/polishing machine.
What are folks views and recommendations?
tia
Click to expand...
Just remember make sure everything is clean any small bit of grit/dirt on vehicle or Polisher will scratch vehicle in a split second
 
Hi scattycate

I have a meguirs dual action polisher I polish on 3-4 and wax on 2-3 it is reasonably light and easy to use as a previous poster says get a dual action one and also only do a small area at a time. I only use Meguirs products and have bought from Moto geek an online parts company.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
www.elitecarcare.co.uk

Meguiars MT320 Dual Action Polisher - Ultimate Kit

Meguiars MT320 Dual Action Polisher – Ultimate Kit The MT320 has been completely re designed to bring together the perfect […]
www.elitecarcare.co.uk www.elitecarcare.co.uk
This is what I just purchased last week, as a complete novice I’m delighted with the results, it takes time though as it’s cut, pre polish and polish, as well as already stated prep before that, it’s brought the scratched windows up brilliantly, I just have both sides of the vans painted metallic surface to do now, then will start on the defender? Enjoy it becomes weirdly addictive
 
I polished the hull on our sailing yacht a while back using a rotary polisher and a 10" lambs wool pad. Of course the boat is GRP and not metal paint but using the correct marine cutting compound and 'knowledge' gleaned from Youtube and specialist sites I set about it. The results were fantastic and I came to the conclusion that most of the 'scare stories' are just that...... stories!. Commonsense and a steady hand, not too fast, not lingering in one place......... all contribute to a good result (y)

The boat is 29 years old (well actually launched 25 years ago) and looked like it had not been cut or waxed for decades)

Here are a few before/after type photo's

IMG_8304.JPG
IMG_8306.JPG

4A204F89-6637-42C1-AB0E-4E55DF00E23A.jpg
 
I've just caught up with this thread as I'm considering buying a DA polisher, preferably cordless, and was looking at this Sealey model. Any advice please on pros & cons.

1592489661808.png
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top