# Rotary or dual action?



## mattwarner (Apr 2, 2007)

I've got an old A6 avant which needs some serious correction which I am keen to do myself (only ever seen car washes for 10 years) have been going back and forth between a das-6 and a silverline rotary for weeks now and need some help!

I don't want to shell out more money for a dual action which I've read will struggle to correct on the hard paint when a cheaper rotary will do a better job, on the other side I know DA's are safer for first timers and don't want to screw my paintwork.

I have next week off work and weather permitting want to put 2 days aside for detailing

What should I do? :?


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

I went for the DAS-6 in the end just thought it being smaller would be easier to use, brand new £60 delivered, only had a quick go with it at the weekend with some poorboys black hole and was much easier than by hand and great results. I dont really need any correction although I did get the different pads in case I need to sometime just want it for polishing really and with a black Hex pad was great


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## mattwarner (Apr 2, 2007)

£60 is a great price where did you get it from?


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

Got it off an Ebay seller he had make an offer so did £55 and was accepted and the rest was postage, he had a few for sale all different prices so I picked the lowest one with make an offer and came with a 6" backing pad but I've also bought a 5, 3 and 2  
If you want the sellers name let me know :wink:


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## davelincs (Jan 1, 2010)

You will be better off with a da , especially if you have not used one before.


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## mattwarner (Apr 2, 2007)

Found it and offer made! Going for the menzerna set in pads and polish from CYC


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## TheMetalMan0 (Jun 30, 2009)

markypoo said:


> Got it off an Ebay seller he had make an offer so did £55 and was accepted and the rest was postage, he had a few for sale all different prices so I picked the lowest one with make an offer and came with a 6" backing pad but I've also bought a 5, 3 and 2
> If you want the sellers name let me know :wink:


I'd be interested in this mate if you wouldn't mind PM'ing it over


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## SteveTDCi (Nov 10, 2009)

I'd go for the DA too, in fact thats what i use. I have the mez pads but prefer the Megs soft foam pads for finishing with.


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## Robtur (Jul 6, 2009)

Go for a DA if your not confident to use a rotary, but obviously it will take longer to correct. Also when buying a machine polisher take into account you need pads, and compounds and very easy to spend £150+ initially


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## S16LAD (Apr 9, 2010)

markypoo said:


> Got it off an Ebay seller he had make an offer so did £55 and was accepted and the rest was postage, he had a few for sale all different prices so I picked the lowest one with make an offer and came with a 6" backing pad but I've also bought a 5, 3 and 2
> If you want the sellers name let me know :wink:


Hey Mark, how's things? I'd be grateful if you could PM me the details too... 11 days off and am going to have a go :?


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

Hi Si all good here mate :wink: Here is the guy I got mine off, the price is creaping up it seems but he still has make an offer on there, he accepted an offer of £55 from me but did notice he had accepted £53 after I bought mine but the price was £61buy it now at that time. Worth a try but remember you only get 3 offers :wink:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-polisher-Mop- ... 27ba3d5c01

Edit: Just sent him a message on ebay asking if he would do them for £55 + postage £6.99 for forum members, he said he would if you call, his details are on the link above, he did say he was running low so get in quick, his name is Richard and just mention the TT forum :wink:


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## S16LAD (Apr 9, 2010)

markypoo said:


> Hi Si all good here mate :wink: Here is the guy I got mine off, the price is creaping up it seems but he still has make an offer on there, he accepted an offer of £55 from me but did notice he had accepted £53 after I bought mine but the price was £61buy it now at that time. Worth a try but remember you only get 3 offers :wink:
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-polisher-Mop- ... 27ba3d5c01
> 
> Edit: Just sent him a message on ebay asking if he would do them for £55 + postage £6.99 for forum members, he said he would if you call, his details are on the link above, he did say he was running low so get in quick, his name is Richard and just mention the TT forum :wink:


Cheers buddy, much appreciated.

Si


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## TheMetalMan0 (Jun 30, 2009)

Will be giving mine a go this weekend. Will post up some results


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

TheMetalMan0 said:


> Will be giving mine a go this weekend. Will post up some results


Ive had a couple of goes with mine and its so much easier and better results, it was harder researching all the pads and backing plates than actually using it. As Ive said didnt need any correction just been polishing and have new faith in Autoglym resin polish I had knocking around and Poorboys black hole is great (on black)  just need to get a good sealant now


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## YoungOldUn (Apr 12, 2011)

markypoo said:


> TheMetalMan0 said:
> 
> 
> > Will be giving mine a go this weekend. Will post up some results
> ...


I have looked into buying a polisher on and off over the last couple of years and would rather go with personal recomendations than what is reported in various magazine/web comparisons as they all recomend something different, so I welcome your thoughts on what is a good polisher and will almost certainly buy the Kestrel DAS-6. My remaining uncertainty is around all the various Machine Pads & Backing Plates (Ref - http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/machine-p ... 69&&page=1), what did you end up with for final polishing/waxing?


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## Gone (May 5, 2009)

I bought a DAS-6 from clean your car last year, it came with a bunch of Menzerna polishes, 6 pads of varying severity, the backing plate and a handy stowage case for around £130 at the time, seemed a decent enough deal to me. My finish is non OEM but seems pretty hard, that set up did fine for me. I opted for Dodo Juice Blue Velvet wax to finish, it costs a bit but genuinely does go for miles. Beads well for months after application as well. I'll also be having another go next week. Finally, sun when I plan to work on the car!


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

YoungOldUn said:


> markypoo said:
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> 
> > TheMetalMan0 said:
> ...


Depends what you want to do if its correction or just polishing. I went for the Hex pads (5.5) and a 5" backing plate as a 6" came with the polisher. Different colours have different cutting properties, I went for a green (light cut) a white (polishing) and a black (finishing) plus you could get smaller backing plates for the spot pads when a full size pad is just to big for the area you need to get at


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

Having had a DAS-6 and now a DAS-6 Pro I would say the Pro is worth the extra if only for the extra cable length. I found the cable on the DAS-6 always a touch too short! Other than that I can't say I've noticed the extra power making a huge difference.

I would also suggest you look at the 3M range of polishes as they are very easy to use and they don't suffer from that weird 'oiling' phenomenon the Menzerna ones seem to ie. I find the Menzerna stuff goes transparent then comes back oily again (so you know to wipe it off) but the 3M ones just go transparent when they finally break down completely.

I find many people get poor results with DA polishers because they don't work the polish in between spreading it and finishing the work off. I reckon it takes me about 25 minutes to do the bonnet on the TT. And that's just the polishing and refining. I don't glaze after polishing (why would you need a filler if it's properly smooth) but if I've had the Fast Cut Plus out then it's 3 polishing steps in total to refine it properly.

On the DAS-6 I find speed 2 best for spreading then 3.5 for working the polish then 5-5.5 for finishing the panel. I would also suggest a wool pad if you have really bad swirlies. It sounds counter-intuitive that a wool pad would be more aggressive than hard foam, but it is.


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## TheMetalMan0 (Jun 30, 2009)

markypoo said:


> Depends what you want to do if its correction or just polishing. I went for the Hex pads (5.5) and a 5" backing plate as a 6" came with the polisher. Different colours have different cutting properties, I went for a green (light cut) a white (polishing) and a black (finishing) plus you could get smaller backing plates for the spot pads when a full size pad is just to big for the area you need to get at


That's so weird, after about a week of research after buying the DA I went for the exact same pads as you :lol: Which polish did you go for?
I bottled it this weekend as I had nowhere to park the car in the shade and it was absolutely scorching on Saturday when I was planning on doing it. I did put it all together and turn it on though


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## TheMetalMan0 (Jun 30, 2009)

Couple of pics from my first go.

Before:









After:









Didn't manage to get it perfect but it's a heck of a lot better than before.

I used GTechniq P1 first on a black hexlogic finishing pad, then on a white polishing pad which is slightly harder. Didn't go for the green pad as I was happy with that finish for a first go and not to ruin my car!


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

Great results mate :wink: Nothing to be scared about using a DA and get great results with alot less effort.
I've been using Autoglym SRP and Poorboys Black hole, thought Id use the SRP up as had nearly a full bottle in the shed but after looking on detailing world alot of people rate it and I must say its given me great results so far


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## TheMetalMan0 (Jun 30, 2009)

markypoo said:


> Great results mate :wink: Nothing to be scared about using a DA and get great results with alot less effort.
> I've been using Autoglym SRP and Poorboys Black hole, thought Id use the SRP up as had nearly a full bottle in the shed but after looking on detailing world alot of people rate it and I must say its given me great results so far


I've got some AutoGlym Ultra Deep Shine which is apparently the same as SRP but specifically for black cars, so may have to give that a go next. Got my dad some blackhole and he loves it. May have to try and pinch some of that to try too!


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## markypoo (Sep 4, 2009)

TheMetalMan0 said:


> markypoo said:
> 
> 
> > Great results mate :wink: Nothing to be scared about using a DA and get great results with alot less effort.
> ...


I dont think ultra deep shine is the same, I had some of that and it was like water, you just covered the whole car and wait for it to haze then buff off


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## TheMetalMan0 (Jun 30, 2009)

markypoo said:


> TheMetalMan0 said:
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> > markypoo said:
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Ooo now this is getting confusing. Think I'll stick with my GTechniq stuff for now then


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