# Which polish? duh



## Blonde_Tee_Tee_Girl (Apr 10, 2012)

I'd like to polish my TT today. It's a sky blue colour.

I've never polished it before as I've only just got it.

I've got a machine polisher from B&Q that rotates as well as moves in an elliptical manner (if that makes sense).

My question is, what sort of polish do I need to look for? I've seen the machine polishing guide online here but it will take me several hours just to read it.

Can anyone offer me any advice?

:-*


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## mik3 (Jan 15, 2012)

whats the finish like on it? i used meguirs ultimate compound was alright


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## muld77 (May 10, 2012)

If you are polishing and not correcting the best bet IMO would be something like SRP (Autoglym Super Resin Polish), it's cheap, you can get it easily (Halfords) and contains fillers. Are you applying any wax / sealant afterwards (you should really if you are going to the effort of polishing it). FK1000p is pretty decent stuff (and easy to use) to seal on to top of SRP. There are a stacks of combinations of course other people will prefer different products. Halfords won't sell FK1000P though, if you want to get it all together and quickly Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection will obviously be OK too but takes an age to cure (30mins to an hour depending on temperature) and won't be as durable imo. You don't need much of it. I've had a bottle for ages and done 20 cars I bet and it's still over half full.

SRP/FK1000P is good on alloys too


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

Blonde_Tee_Tee_Girl said:


> I'd like to polish my TT today. It's a sky blue colour.
> 
> I've never polished it before as I've only just got it.
> 
> ...


What polishing machine did you buy, hopefully not one of the twin handled 12 volt type ?
A da (dual action) type is good to start with.
The rest depends on your answer tbh.
Jac-in-the-box has got some sound advice, be worth giving him a shout 

Jase.


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

The device she describes (rotates and has an elliptical motion) would be a Dual Action polisher. A lot of people start out with a basic one and move on. The only real advantage to getting a "branded" one is that everyone knows the recommended speed settings.


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

wja96 said:


> The device she describes (rotates and has an elliptical motion) would be a Dual Action polisher. A lot of people start out with a basic one and move on. The only real advantage to getting a "branded" one is that everyone knows the recommended speed settings.[/quote
> Those cheapie ones I refer to are a random orbital affair which is why I asked tbh. You probably know which type they are, usually around 20 quid and come with a synthetic wool bonnet.
> Might as well start at the beginning as it would help answer questions later on.


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

If it's something like this it's obviously less than optimal.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... IcBEPMCMAM

Hopefully, it's something like this

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... IIBEPMCMAE

B&Q have been selling McAllister branded versions of both for quite some time. They also do a rotary.


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## Blonde_Tee_Tee_Girl (Apr 10, 2012)

wja96 said:


> If it's something like this it's obviously less than optimal.
> 
> http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... IcBEPMCMAM
> 
> ...


Its the top one, with two handles...110w

why are they sub obtimal? as long as it wont hurt my paintwork I guess I can start with that one as it's dual action.


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

Blonde_Tee_Tee_Girl said:


> wja96 said:
> 
> 
> > If it's something like this it's obviously less than optimal.
> ...


It's not ideal tbh, as there is little control over the speed and the motors are generally a bit weak. It might be ok for buffing the wax off with the fluffy bonnets thats provided.
Give it a go but try not to be too aggressive with it.
Personally I would return it and pay a bit more money for a better machine as they're flexible to use.
Clean your car or Elite have some offers on from time to time or have a look for a second hand unit on FleaBay ;-)


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## mik3 (Jan 15, 2012)

I did some research when i bought mine (the second one) and the polisher you baught has some bad reviews: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B002QRUG68/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
one review says: only for box shaped cars as they dont tilt for round edges that the TT has like the second polisher does.


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## matty fitz (Feb 8, 2012)

get some ulitmate compound if your not correcting and are a novie


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

matty fitz said:


> get some ulitmate compound if your not correcting and are a novie


Could still do with a decent machine to start with, irrespective of what polish you intend to use.

Megs Ult Compound is a good starting point considering it is a single step polish...still need to put some protection on the paint afterwards. Sealant and wax ideally.


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## Gizmo68 (Feb 26, 2012)

muld77 said:


> If you are polishing and not correcting the best bet IMO would be something like SRP (Autoglym Super Resin Polish), it's cheap, you can get it easily (Halfords) and contains fillers. Are you applying any wax / sealant afterwards (you should really if you are going to the effort of polishing it). FK1000p is pretty decent stuff (and easy to use) to seal on to top of SRP. There are a stacks of combinations of course other people will prefer different products. Halfords won't sell FK1000P though,
> 
> SRP/FK1000P is good on alloys too


+1 you won't go wrong with this combination. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

The problem with the cheap units is they don't spin in the correct speed range.

The one you have will spin too slowly to work the polish properly. You want a slow speed to spread the polish, then a medium speed to work it and finally a high speed to break the polish down. People talk about getting some heat into a panel where the friction of the polish warms the metal. You don't want to over-do this, but you do need to be able to get some heat into the work to get a good result. The unit you have won't be able to do that.

Sorry.


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## nylo (Oct 29, 2009)

No harm to you, but if it were me, I'd be reading every review going and every piece of advice written before I went near my TT with a machine polisher.

Which polish? Where do you start! How bad is the paintwork? Are there swirls? Are there scratches? Is it simply a polish it needs? Does it need waxed? Do you want a polish with sealant? A polish with cleaners? What do you want to achieve? Once you've decided that, then you need to get into which pads you'd need to use and that seems to me to be a whole other story.

And _that_ ^^^ is only what I've gleaned from dipping in and out of Detailing World! I wouldn't trust myself to go near my TT's paintwork until I was absolutely sure of what I wanted to achieve and what it needed. As such, I got a mate who is super-particular about his own car to go over mine with his DA to take some swirling out and I've maintained it since with good old fashioned elbow grease and waxes and polishes applied by hand which I'm sure of.

Good luck with the polisher though, be interested to see how you get on
Carolyn


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