# First time with a DA!



## E60525d

I bought an almost new DAS6 pro off a forum member a few weeks ago and over the past few weeks I have buying plenty of detailing stuff. Most of the items have been on a budget as I didn't want to spend £100's and then realise that I cannot do paint correction!

In summary i got the following items;

DAS6 pro with Dodo orange and green pad - £85
Serious performance MF cutting and polishing pads - £18
Tardis 1L - £8
IPA 1L - £6
Clay cloth - £10
MF cloths - £10
3M 3434 tape - £10
Triple qx iron fallout remover - £6
Menzerna polish's - Already had

So not a hugely expensive kit. But luckily I already had Menzerna polish's which I bought quite a few years ago but never got round using them.

I also bought a scrap VW Polo bonnet for £10 to try it on first.

So I masked up an area to test. This is what I was dealing with;



















Apologies for the pictures as I was using my cheap torch. Currently waiting for a proper one that I have ordered.

The bonnet was covered in swirls and RDS.

I first tried Menz Final Finish with a cutting pad. Being VW paint, I didnt think a finishing pad would be strong enough. So steps were;

Spread on speed 1
Speed 4.5 and several slow passes
At this stage polish started to become clear so 1 spray of QD on pad and repeated steps above.

So results, I was quite surprised on how much defects the final finish removed. Most of the light stuff and medium was gone but deeper swirls were still there. I then changed to Menz Intensive Polish and tried again.

This was much much better, I got rid of pretty much all the swirls. Not 100% perfect but more than good enough for me.



















The 50/50 shots say it all 

Next step is to refine my technique and also try to remove the RDS. I will go at these again with a 4" cutting pad Menz Intensive polish.

So next steps is waiting for my LED light and PTG to arrive.

In conclusion, I have learnt that it is quite straight forward if you follow the various guides and no where near dangerous as some people might say!

Any feedback/tips?


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## MBRuss

Great stuff! I'm also about to machine polish my car for the first time later this week. I've slowly been amassing polishing equipment for months, but having recently had our first child and moved house I've not had time to use any of it yet.

I also have a VW, so I'm also expecting hard paint, but we'll see.

Good work, anyway - looks much better. :thumb:


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## E60525d

Thanks.

Overall I was quite surprised on how straight forward it was. Also its very encouraging when you start seeing the results.


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## bencossie25

Great work buddy


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## E60525d

bencossie25 said:


> Great work buddy


Thanks. Next step is to go at the heavy defects.


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## E60525d

So next step was to go at the heavy marks and defects on the scrap VW bonnet.

I asked a question on what is best for heavy marks, wet sanding or heavy compounding. I decided to find out myself!

So this was the defect I was up against;



So using my DAS6 pro and a 4" MF cutting pad with Menz Intensive polish I went for it. After several passes it did make an improvement.



Not huge but definitely better.

But at this stage I decided to stop as I felt the panel getting warm and didnt feel comfortable carrying on and therefore a little frustrated that the defect was gone.

So next step was to wet sanding. I found a couple more marks on the bonnet, one was heavy and the other was medium.

Heavy mark


Medium mark


On the heavy mark I started with 1500 wet & dry, then 2000 and finished with 3000.

The medium mark I started with 2000 and then 3000.

After wet sanding


It looks pretty grim TBH. :doublesho:doublesho

But after a pass with Menz the sanding marks were completely gone a long with the defects. :thumb::thumb:



I was amazed on how quickly it took to polish out the wet sanding marks. And best of all the defects were gone.

Remember the first defect that I couldn't get out by compounding. A quick go with 2000 grit and that was also gone!!



So overall I am very pleased with the results you can get with wet sanding.

One unknown is that I have no idea how much clearcoat I have removed. I have ordered a PTG so next I time will take before and after measurements.

A few things worth noting for next time;

- Hopefully my PTG will arrive for before and after measurement
- Try to wet sand only the defect. I noticed I sanded an area which was larger than the defect. I may mask around the defect next time.
- Try lower grit papers. I think 2000 on the heavier mark may of been enough.
- Fill stonechips with paint and try to wet sand repair.


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## E60525d

Surprised no one has replied, any views on this?


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## neilmcl

Here's a recent vid I found quite interesting regarding wet sanding:


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## E60525d

A further update, so i took the plunge and tried the DAS6 on our VW Scirocco. Took 2 days in total but the transformation is huge.

All swirls, marks and deep scratches are gone! I did have to wet sand a couple of deep scratches but it worked really well. I was surprised how much correction can be done.

In the past, I would of thought that you have to touch up deep scratches, but any more, they can easily come out with a DA.

No before pics, but I will upload some after pics later.

Also worth mentioning the cost. In total the DA and products came to around £200. Considering I should be able to do around 3 to 4 cars, its an absolute bargain!


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## Alexbmwx5

Hey. Nice thread. Enjoyed reading and seeing that.

The only thing that struck me with my own limited experience is that you'll need to be wary that you don't know how much lacquer you've taken off your VW as you havent posted anything about measuring paint depths. Fair enough as you've done a greta job on a budget, but worth remembering so that you dont carry on polishing every few months and find yourself in need of a respray if you burn through all the clear coat. Also worth sealing with some wax for a few months protection!


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## E60525d

Thanks.

Yes I agree about paint thickness and which is why I wont be paint correcting it again. Obviously I will take precautions when washing so should not get no where as many swirls as it had done previously. So in theory, I will be only using a finishing polish on it now on.

And yes it was sealed using Harly wax, I rate this highly.


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## Sawel

I've worked on 3 Sciroccos and paint has consistently been between 110 - 130 on all panels which isn't bad... a little to work with unlike the amount of paint some other manufacturers give you.


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## chongo

Great thread this and it just goes to show that in theory detailing (machine polishing) isn't that hard as long as you do your homework:thumb:

You've done a great job on the car and now it's all about preserving the finish now, so a good wash technique and common sense will keep your car in great order:thumb:


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## E60525d

chongo said:


> Great thread this and it just goes to show that in theory detailing (machine polishing) isn't that hard as long as you do your homework:thumb:
> 
> You've done a great job on the car and now it's all about preserving the finish now, so a good wash technique and common sense will keep your car in great order:thumb:


Thank you :thumb:

Yes I completely agree, the whole process was no way difficult as I had imagined. A bit of research, a bit of practice on a scrap panel and you WILL get good results.

Also the costs is not as bad as I had originally imagined. A couple of hundred pounds of equipment/products will give you enough to do around 3 cars.

I am doing paint correction on a Toyota Auris on the weekend. Being soft paint it should be easier and quicker by just using the one compound.


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## steelghost

Assuming the Auris has similar paint to my Avensis (being built in the same factory in Derbyshire), I expect you'll find it more "medium" than "soft". Still, usual rules apply ie start with least aggressive combo etc.


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## E60525d

steelghost said:


> Assuming the Auris has similar paint to my Avensis (being built in the same factory in Derbyshire), I expect you'll find it more "medium" than "soft". Still, usual rules apply ie start with least aggressive combo etc.


Interesting to know. I was hoping that i could get away with a finishing polish and MF cutting pad.

If that does not work, I will try Menz medium polish with a MF finishing pad.


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## steelghost

Mine reacts very nicely to S20 Black on a Scholl Purple Spider pad


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## E60525d

The only products I have at the moment is;

- Menzerna Intensive polish (PO91L) (Cut 3.5, Gloss 3) 
- Menzerna Final finish (PO106FF) (Cut 2.5, Gloss 5

I think the Final Finish should be ok with a MF cutting pad.


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## M.J

Good bit of experimenting , I gonna try them small de-nibblers that you can buy look good for small areas. Next time measure before and as you go each step or inbetween steps. Once its gone its gone . Using different light source helps to find any unwanted sanding marks , Something that I'm working on , A, seeing them/finding them and depending on the paint surface which way do I go. Only have a select amount of detailing componds/heavy polishes, Might need to just up the aggression slightly as sometimes hard paints need that bit more . Highly rewarding work and worthy of getting better and better at it.


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## [email protected]

@E60525d Just a couple of things, you don't need to spray QD onto the pad when you're polishing the oils in the polish are there to lubrucate just make sure you have primed the pad correctly first.
Also when the polish starts to go clear it means the abrasives have been used so to speak and the polish is now starting to refine i.e. there is very little cut left.


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## Benfr16

Nice start! Where did you buy your tape? It usually costs around £2.50! 

Impressive you had the confidence to get wet sanding right away! Im sure you've noted the importance of knowing paint thickness, especially when using sand paper


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## E60525d

[email protected] said:


> @E60525d Just a couple of things, you don't need to spray QD onto the pad when you're polishing the oils in the polish are there to lubrucate just make sure you have primed the pad correctly first.
> Also when the polish starts to go clear it means the abrasives have been used so to speak and the polish is now starting to refine i.e. there is very little cut left.


Thank you for the reply. Interesting point you mention about the QD. The polishes I was using were old Menzerna compounds which I was told do not have the oils and working time as the one's now.

If i did not use the QD, they were drying out really fast.


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## DimitriUK

Great job mate, masking tape does not work in case you want to minimize sanding area you need to use a thin aluminium plate with appropriate hole, I forgot the name of the stuff.


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## E60525d

Benfr16 said:


> Nice start! Where did you buy your tape? It usually costs around £2.50!
> 
> Impressive you had the confidence to get wet sanding right away! Im sure you've noted the importance of knowing paint thickness, especially when using sand paper


Tape was bought from eBay. Got 5 rolls for £10 from memory.

It was a scrap bonnet so had nothing to loose by wetsanding.


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