How To Use a Car Polishing Machine to Buff Paintwork
There is nothing better, when you are a vehicle owner, than having a nicely polished car. Polishing your car not only gives it a shine, but it also serves a purpose to help remove small blemishes from the bodywork. When looking to polish your car, there are two core methods that you can use to put a glint back into the paintwork. You can polish your car by hand, using polish and a cloth, or using a car polishing machine. Overall, by machine polishing your car it will give much better, much quicker results, and is worth considering if your paintwork needs a thorough polish.
Is a Car Polishing Machine Worth It?
So you’re looking to machine polish your car? When looking to buy a car polishing machine to buff paintwork yourself, there are a couple of things that you should consider first about the current state of your car and you own ability to machine polish cars or vehicle paintwork. Below are core considerations you may want to keep in mind.
The Depth of the Paintwork Imperfection
Due to being slightly abrasive, polish can be used in order to help lessen the visibility of minor scratches on the very surface clearcoat of the car. That being said, even car polish machines won’t be able to remove deep scratches that cut down into the paint. These would need to be repaired professionally, using a car bodywork repair specialist such as market leaders, ChipsAway.
TOP TIP: When deciding whether you want to try to machine polish your car or whether you need to call in the specialists, you can run your fingernail over the scratch. If your nail catches then you will probably need to call the experts and get it repaired, as it is unlikely to polish out.
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Your Technical Ability
If you don’t have prior experience and expertise when handling some types of machine polishers, you may end up doing more harm than good. If that is the case then it is often best to leave it to the professionals!
When to Machine Polish Car Buffing is a Good Idea
When searching for instructions on how to machine polish a car, it is important to take all aspects into account. There are cases where a machine polisher, or machine polish car buffing, is a good idea. If your paintwork has extensive surface swirl marks, hand polishing may not be enough to get rid of the imperfections. Therefore, a car polishing machine could be a good investment in order to remove the patterns. Using a car polishing machine is also less taxing than polishing by hand, which requires a lot of energy and effort.
If the condition of your paintwork is already very good, the costs associated having a machine polished car may not be worth it. You should just keep on top of the paintwork by regularly polishing it by hand.
How to Use a Car Polishing Machine
If you’re confident in your ability and feel you need to use a machine polisher overdoing by hand, then there are a few core steps you need to take before starting to use the machine.
1. Prepare Your Car for Polishing
The first thing you need to do is clean your car before using the car buffer, ensuring that it is spotless before you start. This is because the smallest piece of dirt or debris left on the paintwork may end up getting dragged across the coat of your car and scratching the paint further. Once the car is clean, thoroughly dry the paintwork with a microfibre cloth or professional drying towel. This will help prime your car to perfection, giving you the surface you need for effective polishing.
2. Apply Car Polish
When looking at machine polisher, you should see a polishing head at the top of it. Apply a single blob of polish to the polishing head and then spread the polish onto the area which needs to be polished. This ensures the area is lubricated, as a dry polisher can cause damage to your paintwork.
3. Start Polishing the Car
Place the pad on the paintwork and ensure the machine is set to a slow setting. Then use the buffer to spread the polish around the area.
Now turn the buffer to the desired speed – this will depend on which make of polish you are using, so be sure to follow the instructions on the container. Apply even pressure to the paintwork, pressing down on the buffer quite lightly, and not too much so that it could damage the paint and the buffer.
4. Work in Small Sections
Move the buffer slowly over the section in circular motions to form a haze effect. You may need to go over sections more than once.
5. Finish with a Polishing Cloth
Move the buffer slowly over the section in circular motions to form a haze effect. You may need to go over sections more than once in order to get an even polish across the surface of your car.
Professional Car Body Paintwork Repair
Of course, there are occasions where a polisher won’t help. If you are looking to machine polish your car, but have a large scratch on the surface, then you may need to have a professional take a look. If you are at all unsure about whether you might need professional help to remove any minor scratches and scuffs to your car paintwork or need any advice about maintaining your car in showroom condition, call ChipsAway! As the originators of minor automotive paint repair technology, ChipsAway provides high-quality, cost-effective repairs each and every time.
At ChipsAway we are proud to have a 5* rating on Trustpilot! You can find out more about how we can help by finding out more about our car scratch repair. Alternative, click here for your free estimate today.
