I just bought myself a DA polisher

[alekos911]

After some searching on the net and after countless hours of buffing my zed .. I decided to buy a Kestrel DAS6 polisher. THis one is practically the same as the one made from meguiars, cheaper though. I decided not to experiment right away with cutting products etc. So I chose products which are on the ''safe side''. To be more specific I will pair my polisher with menzerna 106 fa polish (a fine polish which may level out the fine swirls on my car) together with lake country ccs white gray and orange pads. I really don't know if the decisions I made are the best because it was an impulsive buy. So I would appreciate if the detailing specialists could judge my decisions.
And because I know that I will post photos as soon as I get the first proper detail done.

[Wondermike]

Looks like a decent bit of kit, I am considering something like that too.

[R26Andy]

Works great for an amature like me.

I`m not keen on menzerna polish however as its far too temperamental.

*edit: I`ll expand on that to try and help a bit more. I have tried menzerna and while it gives good cut on bmw paint it does not like changes in temperature which reduce its effectiveness. The 3M range is much better for me, especially because I do my correction outside. The 3m equivalent of the menz you are using is 3M ultrafine.

I use Hexlogic pads myself but LC seem to have a good reputation on detailing world. I used hexlogic green (light cut) and hexlogic orange (medium cut) to get the relatively fine swirls out of my paint. Watch out for hollogramming caused by not working the polish for long enough or not refining after a heavier cut.

Andy

[scottbt]

Good pads to have are 3M and lake country for DA. Meguiars 105 and 205 or Menzerna would be choices for BMW paints tbh, especially if its the ceramic clearcoated variant as they are rock hard.

[pvr]

My X5 only works well with Menzerna, the M is teflon coated so no wax touches that

Tried different products on the X5 and only Menzerna gave a good result. The Swissol however is much better on my VW paint (1993) where Menzerna did not work well.

All in all, depending on the colour and car you will find the best combo.

[alekos911]

I am gonna experiment on my old tired but always loyal fiat punto first and then on my beloved zEd.
I have a question for you guys. When should I stoP working the polish on a section?

[powerontap]

I have a question for you guys. When should I stoP working the polish on a section?

If it's an abrasive polish (one to remove swirls), you will see it ''break down'' after 2 minutes or so (easy to see the cream composition of original product separating), that's when it's time to stop and wipe it off. If it's a non-abrasive polish (types that simply hide the marks) then you only need to even it out on the surface you are covering.

Personally, I prefer using CCS red pads when applying a final wax/polish by machine. Gray pads aren't as soft and soak up some of the product, creating waste.

Now, if you want to go for the ultimate show car shine, after you removed the final polish by hand, cover a pad with a micro-fiber bonnet and buff the car to a ''spit shine''. Since that step will usually create some static (drawing dust), you can then apply a final coat of P21S Concours if it's a dark colour, or Zaino Z2, if it's a light color.

But that's just me...

[alekos911]

The polish I currently have is a finishing polish. It has mild cutting power (2500 gritt). I think menzerna itself rates its cutting abilities at 2.5 out of 5.