A Beginners Guide to Machine Polishing Your Car | Top Tips & Real Time Footage in 4K

You may recognise this video as the prep for the Garage Therapy One Year Ceramic Coating and you would be right!!
I was asked by a subscriber to show the complete machine polish method / technique I was using as an aid to helping them with their understanding to the process of using a machine polisher on their own car and felt it may benefit others so here it is in its lengthy real time format.
If you are fully proficient at paint correction using a variety of different machine polishers then this video probably won’t be for you but I would welcome any feedback you can provide in the comments section.
In this video Ive already decided I only needed a fine polish / enhancement so chose to use the brilliant Farecla G3 Pro Fine Polish and my Rupes LHR 15 dual action polisher with Rupes fine pads
It’s not an in depth ‘how to tutorial’ but I do hope you can find something useful from it
Products used in the video
Rupes LHR 15 Dual Action Polisher MK2
Farecla G3 fine polish (dual action) amzn.to/4frr46g

[@jonlinder189]

Great video and explanation for something that's not rocket science to get a great result. Too many get locked into the Direct light 99% perfect mindset when 75-80% is perfectly adequate for 99% of people 👌

[@GMDetails]

Thank you Jon!!, that’s ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON 👌👌

[@jonlinder189]

@@GMDetails #notadick 😋

[@pigeonpoo1823]

Excellent video. So much to digest. One day, when i finally get a polisher, I'll come back to the video. Well done

[@GMDetails]

Thanks mate!, appreciate the kind words 😊

[@AntEloftheHouseofEl]

Good video there mate, explaining things well! Best advice I ever had when I was learning was this: 1. Don't even LOOK at a polisher until your wash and decon is 110%. If you can't get every single millimetre of your car spotlessly clean, you have NO PLACE touching it with a polisher. 2. Go to a scrap yard and buy a bonnet and a boot lid (preferably from a Japanese car, as the clear coat is softer and harder to perfect) and work them and work them until you perfect your technique. Learn you scratches from your pigtails. Your swirls from your etching. And learn EXACTLY what it takes to burn through clear. Especially on edges. Always stood me in good stead and I've found, since then, I can pretty much tell what pad and polish combos I'll need just by looking at the paint under my torch!

[@GMDetails]

Fantastic advice that!!, thanks for sharing your best tips mate 👌👌

[@paulquickmire4140]

This is absolutely fantastic, bravo Graeme. This type of content is very hard to find, just what I've been wanting to see for ages. A proper look at machine polishing, broken down into very easy to understand steps,, so many tips and very clear instructions too, from machine speed to arm movement, something often missed or even sped up from others leaving the amature unsure of speed right through to cloth choice. This will definitely be saved for future reference, thank you for saving the footage from your previous video. Well done 👏👏

[@GMDetails]

Thanks Paul!, if it helps a handful of people with getting started I’m happy with that 👌 Of course I’m not the best at machine polishing or know everything there is to know but as Jon said in the pinned comment it’s not important for the car owner to seek 99% clarity although this was above that at least it gives an idea of what’s achievable with a couple days spent on it 👌

[@paulquickmire4140]

@@GMDetails absolutely agree. People need to understand what the limitations are and not to try and achieve 100% perfection. Social media has a very nasty habit of promoting it when in reality it's impossible to achieve. Your introduction has done more for us beginners than a lot of others will ever do. We don't all own £100k super cars that scream look at us with near perfect paint!!!

[@GMDetails]

@paulquickmire4140 that’s a very good point Paul!! 👌

[@decker0373]

Excellent video mate, people will have learned plenty from that. Hope you're well. All the best. 👍

[@GMDetails]

Thanks Lee!, best wishes mate 👌

[@gillywash1487]

Hopefully this will help people out, good tips and advice throughout without making it daunting. Some people seem to overthink it when working on their driveway wanting to do multiple stages etc. when a safe fine polish and pad can give great results like this 👏🏼

[@GMDetails]

That’s exactly what I wanted to achieve Thanks Nick 👌

[@SparkleanAutos]

Greta upload Graeme to show people that this isn't something to be afraid of ifbyou follow a few basic steps - and manage your expectations!!

[@GMDetails]

Greta thanks you Mark 😅

[@SparkleanAutos]

@@GMDetails 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤣

[@SparkleanAutos]

@@GMDetails I'm not even gonna edit that, let Thunberg have her moment 🤣🤣

[@GMDetails]

@@SparkleanAutos 😂😂😂

[@adrianlawrence7224]

Great demo to encourage anyone to have a go. As you explained, watch the crease lines and not a lot can go wrong. All I'd add is also watch the internal curves, especially if they're deep. The oscillation can and will burn the the "exit" side of the curve with the side of the pad if you're in too deep, especially as pads lift on the edges with a da. I know it's not the best explanation but, I'm afraid to say, I've been there.

[@GMDetails]

Thanks for the feedback mate and the tip of the concave curves, would a smaller pad be more efficient in this area if you have a really curvy car?

[@adrianlawrence7224]

For sure a small pad helps. Not just because of the smaller diameter but because a smaller pad comes with typically less oscillation, less of a throw. When you're concentrating on carrying the machine over the curves you can easily miss the throw, or offset, has reached the "exit" part of the curve. I think it's something everyone learns early on but as I already alluded to, I learned the hard way. I think if you've got a short throw DA that allows 5 & 3 inch backing plates you're set to go. If you've got a 15mm throw, like me, that sometimes don't offer interchangeable plates you really need a mini 3 inch. A nano is just too small as a viable alternative. Lastly, you really got that blue colour of yours to glow. 💙

[@GMDetails]

@@adrianlawrence7224 yeah in the video I use a mini DA which doesn’t have that big a throw, great little machine from In2detailing

[@shamilbasayev99]

Thanks n love from indonesia

[@shamilbasayev99]

If i already have a da polisher, whats better for me, buying a 3 inc rotary or 3 inch another da machine? Thanks sir

[@GMDetails]

Personally I’d buy a smaller DA (3”) as a larger DA machine won’t like a smaller backing plate being used with it, it’ll feel unbalanced plus a small DA is preferred as they don’t have much of a pad throw at that size so it’s perfect for small areas a larger machine can’t get into

[@paul-fk7de]

Very well explained 👏 👌

[@GMDetails]

Thanks mate 👍

[@paul-fk7de]

@GMDetails hi sorry I ment to ask can you recommend a wheel brush that's good to get on behind the spokes am looking for either and angled one or one that can bend ?

[@GMDetails]

@paul-fk7de I think the Autobrite wheel brush can bend 🤔 do you have much room between your calipers and the wheel barrel ?

[@paul-fk7de]

@@GMDetails yes a do if it helps it's a vauxhall mokka I have so the spaces are not small

[@GMDetails]

@@paul-fk7de well yes I can tell you the Autobrite Direct Flexible wheel brush does indeed flex if you need it to

[@jaimedpcaus1]

How long do you typically spend polishing per panel? If polishing outside, do you encounter scratches from debris in the air? Thanks.

[@GMDetails]

Hi Jamie thanks for your question, the answer is ….. it depends……. There are so many variables with polishing that it was so difficult to make this video cover everything but I can try and explain the process here So if you have inspected the car and find it relatively swirl free like this one and you find the pad/polish combo that works to your liking typically on a bonnet area you’d spend around 30-45 mins per panel If however you’re working a 2 stage cut then refine you can easily double that time If you just want a quick polish using an AIO or a glaze you could easily get around a car of this size in under 2 hours so I hope that gives you an idea of timeframes to expect 👍

[@gavinbetts4404]

Good review what u think of them farecla compounds I saw them in Halfords I used some of there professional products in the past

[@GMDetails]

I didn’t like the AIO polish with the DA it was generating balls of white silicone from using it but that may have been due to me over working it but this fine polish compound for the DA is excellent I love it