Trying Machine Polishing for the First Time! - Metro NEC Prep

As part of getting Melvin, my Rover Metro, sparkling and ready for the 2022 Practical Classics Classic Car Restoration Show, I thought I'd try my hand at some machine polishing.

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[Hectorthedog]

Great first effort. It's always worth using a clay bar prior to machine polishing to remove bonded contaminants and avoid marring. Also, either blow off or gently brush off the polish residue before adding new polish to the pad - it's a bit counterintuitive but prevents clogging up the pads with old polish etc.

[mattbowers]

Chemical guys hex logic pads are fantastic for compounding your cars paintwork and affordable too, koch chemie is another fantastic brand of cutting compounds which brought up my astra gtc paintwork a treat, it all takes time but generally you should be moving across the paintwork with your da at around 1 inch per second... and no quicker to give the compound a chance to cut effectively... a good first go though ed. Keep up the great content.

[RoxhamCottage]

You're a dedicated owner -- Melvin looks amazing, especially the shiny tip! Can't wait to get my hands on some of these Autoglym products, now available over here at Canadian Tire.

[Morinaka]

Machine polishing is a rabbit hole. AG SRP is a good polish, but it is meant more for hand polishing, so designed to fill micro scratches that can be removed with machines. You can use it just fine for machine polishing, but it has a tendency to dry out quite quickly (you might have even noticed this yourself already), so keep a water spray bottle handy and give a light spritz on the pad if you feel it drying out/dragging on the paint.
The only thing i would have done is clay the paint before polishing, so you have that glass smooth finish free of contaminants that can get in the machine pad and swirl up the paint.
It's been a little while since i was in this type of thing, but for me i found claying -> AG super resin polish -> AG extra gloss protection -> collinite 476s wax to be a great easy to use combo. But you have a million options and opinions available to you these days, but i often found you end up with diminishing returns and an empty wallet, for something 99.9% of people won't notice.

[Bucharestguidedtours]

My favourite of the moment is 3M Ultrafina, its a finishing polish, buffed on after the cutting has been done, use with a soft pad, really brings up the shine, ready for wax or sealant. Works well with the DA. Melvin is looking good, best wishes.

[peterriggall]

Agree Autoglym good stuff. Mothers good stuff too.

[peterallam]

30/3 22. Your exhaust embellisher could serve as an audible reversing aid as the first thing you may touch when reversing by looks of the overhang. A final misting with paraffin when buffing adds emphasis to the finished 'glow.' Think your future lays with this type of work - can see you as the go-to person for detailing & restoration. Can you tell us more about yourself - school, career, aspirations etc.

[roverboi]

yr pipe to stand out OMG PMSL I DID LAUGH

[mikeenglish]

Excellent Ed!
A machine polisher will now be on my Christmas present wish list!
Mike

[classicminidetails]

AutoGlym metal polish is the best hands down.

[ejc]

Excellent, well presented video 🙂👍🏽 The exhaust pipe innuendo did get me chuckling 🤣🤣👍🏽

[garethdavies]

Another great vlog Ed’s thank you
from the young master of innuendo 😉

[DGxGhost]

Not bad mate, least you never burnt the paint like alot of people do their first time ask me how i know 😳

[dennisrobinson]

The trick with machine polishing is don’t stay in one place to long and keep away from sharp body lines, as you may burn through the paint.

[edwardospells]

You won’t burn through clear coat unless you use a very strong cutting compound . Mequiers is very easy and won’t burn through unless you leave it in one spot for 2 mins

[peterriggall]

Like you I have never taken the leap into these. Should do it as it saves a lot of elbow grease. Great video as usual.

[ACDCZippo]

Great Video, showing an amateur do it, which I find far more relatable.

A Product I personally find really good is the Sonax EX 04-06.(it is great value for money and quite amateur friendly) It cuts really well and unlike the Meguiars 105 I used earlier, it stays liquid way longer and doesn´t turn chalky after a while.

For me the EX 04-06 is a great one stop shot. It gets rid of lots of swirls and gives the car a good shine in one go.

[TruckerStu]

I know you seem to like your autoglym products but I can recommend chrome Cp cleaning products. You can find them at most services with the truck stuff (as that what they are originally for)
“Pink” is a good one for plastics/dash etc with the added bonus that you can spray it onto tyres as a tyre black.
I’ve used their stuff for years in trucks

[JAYish]

Cool stuff mate.. I use a Halfords DA . I find it great. I bought an Auto Finesse one too .but didn't get on with it. So I just carry on with the trusty OLE Halfords one.. I wet sanded and reapplied the clear coat on my Stilo. The wet sanded again to denub etc.. the Halfords DA Was great.👍

[aston-martin-internationalist]

The right wax or sealant will add not only gloss but protection too (application and applicants also make a huge difference). I'd also avoid using SRP as it's a filler polish (polish is a very loose term for this product) not really want you want for refining the final polish, it merely covers imperfections and without wax, that will not last.

Would advise at the very least something like a G3 Farecla wax applied with a pad and buffed off with an Eagle Edgeless buffing cloth (do not use regular microfiber towels as they will smear (with buffing wax) and marring (when buffing off polish)..

Nice work though. 👍