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-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-270.html)

thanks guys for all the info. i bet teambhp is the only place where you can get first hand experience of anything, so many responses :)
One more question, i do see that Makita starts from 800rpm but one of the best product in autogeek, porter cable DA have a range from 2500rpm-6000rpm. What's the advantage/disadvantage of this ? Can you guys help me understanding more on this.

If you look closely Porter cable runs at 2500-6000 OPM (orbits per minute)

Even though its spinning the pad at 6000OPM, the rpm produced by the motor is way less

OPM is entirely different from RPM and there isn't any correlation between the two

btw in a rotary polisher, I never go above 1500RPM. I believe that the paint will burn at around 2500 -3k RPM (max range of a rotary is 3k RPM) and is never recommended!
(Only the most powerful drills can cross 6000RPMs!!!! :eek:)

Doubts?, Check these out - PC & RPM's - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

Nandan - Sohail has explained about the rotary vs DA difference perfectly !

A rotary is for one who gets used to a DA & then can use the experience for an advanced surface treatment which corrects defects faster. (with more power comes more responsibility :D)

A DA is more for the DIY type of enthusiast & those starting out with machine polishing.

Hybrid DA's like the Flex are also good & combine the best of both the rotary & DA, keeping things safe for the paint.

Also some types of paint are softer, for which a rotary would not be required, the power of a DA would be enough to do the correction.

Wow! What a terrible mistake. It is just "O" and "R" but huge difference. Thanks a lot for the explanation Sohail.
One more question, Porter cable 7424xp has the power ratings as 120V/60Hz. So can i use this over in India with a converter. As everybody knows we use 240V/50Hz in india. Converter would take care of 240 to 120 but how about the 50Hz to 60 Hz. Will this have any impact on the machine ?

For the wattage what these polishers use, you would need a huge Converter and will be very costly as well. Better to source polisher from UK, like Meguiars or Kestrel DAS6 both are 220v. I am using kestrel and it works great, or Dewalt which sohail uses.

Hi Shamanth, Not sure if you have posted your experience of using the Kestrel DA, if not please do share your findings of using the same along with the type of pads & compounds that your are using ?

I recieved it 10 days back, I have ordered for pads set from lake country since i had confusion if its 6 or 5'' backing plate. I got it around 8k from shopyourworld. So as soon as i get it, i will start my work on my cars. In between if you guys meet for any detailing session let me know, i will get my machine. Or if you come around indiranangar.

Adding photos of kestral DA polisher

Congrats.

Btw, Interested to drop in to see the equipment in action. Please do ping me when you plan for one.

Sohail,
It is not so important to watch out for speeds but the temperature. The clear coat tends to soften at around 115 deg F or 46.1 deg C. So depending on the pads you use, the speed your hand is working, the pressure you apply all tend to build the heat. So I would recommend using an IR (infra Red) gun and monitor this aspect. So once you are in the range of 5-45 deg C you are okay with whatever speed etc you want. If you go in the danger zone the paint softens and the scratch or swirls rather than getting cut, will expand. It is called thermal cracking. Hence till the clear is hard, cutting is easy no matter what machine, pad or chemical you use. The various chemicals, depending on their chemistry, make the process simpler, harder, slower and faster. Also depending on ambient temperatures these speeds are not universal hence each enthusiast has to fine tune the conditions to meet these parameters.

This is some insights on scratch removal when we had our detailing stint in the USA.

Yea! Since I'm moving over the panel rather slowly, I prefer lower speed on the rotary!

Higher speeds mess things up pretty quick before you have the time to react.
and since rotary is such a heavy machine(except the flex and a few other brands) I rarely use pressure except when I'm using a wool pad to remove sanding scratches.

And yea, as you pointed out, temperature is the most important guide while machine polishing with a rotary.
I keep checking the temp with the back of my hand(lol) in between buffing and if its between warm and hot, I let it cool down or accelerate cooling with IPA.

I read an article on thermal cracking where when paint was exposed to higher temps(in arid places like Az, the swirls that were thought to be removed, kinda magnified!!

I feel that polishing in winter is kinda safe as panels tend to cool down quickly.

Also while QDing, the qd doesn't streak due to premature evaporation! :D + all the sealants seem to work better!

btw any further insights will be really helpful!

Where can i get some clay here in Mumbai? the approx 2k cost at BB seems a bit overpriced. Na?

Teambhpians this is a new machine we got. It is a backpack steam machine. Saves water, does better cleaning especially from nooks and crannies. Got it from Italy. The model is SC-05 from Imexserve.
Posting some photographs of the before work being done. I shall post photos of the after work later on.
Uses just 1-1.5 litres to clean the whole car.

Finally did my Honda City (6 year old) with the products we researched.
I am posting the photos of the final result.

The car has been running after the treatment, so please excuse the dirty tires and wheel wells.







This is the process I did.
1. Steam wash
2. Iron Cut for taking out the contaminants and opening the pores of the paint. It is sprayed and let to dwell on the paint for around 5-8 minutes.
3. Rinsed.
4. Clay bar (did not have to do much as the paint was quite smooth)
5. Used medium polish of Koch Chemie (Germany) with a yellow foam pad and a rotary machine.
6. Used antihologram polish of KC with an orange foam pad and the Flex 3401.
7. Steam cleaned the residues. We found this more affective than using IPA.
8. Applied the new Aquartz Premium which is nano titanium based product.
9. Sealed finally with the Takumi Crystal Glass sealant (Japanese).
10. After 12 hrs applied Collinite 915 to protect the glass sealant against water marks during the 15 day curing period.

Total Process:8 hrs.

Let me know if I have missed any points which fellow bhpians would like to know.

@ThinkBig, the car is looking great! Good work!