How to Use a DA Polisher
Welcome back to the Proje’ blog! We’re getting close to Christmas now, and what better Christmas present to yourself than making your car look like a million bucks in preparation for 2018 and beyond? To do that, I’m going to talk to you about a great tool for any auto detailing enthusiast to have – a Dual Action, or DA Polisher.
How Does a DA Polisher Work?
A Dual Action Polisher gets its name from the two separate motions that are produced by the machine. The head spins on a central spindle, which itself then rotates. This creates a slight “jiggling” motion, which can feel a bit strange when you first use it. However, it won’t wobble from side to side thanks to a counterweight. And the jiggling is actually really helpful – it acts as a safety mechanism which prevents overheating and burning which can happen with rotary polishers.
DA Polishers are also super-safe because the housing of the mechanism contains a sort of fail-safe. If you press too hard, the pad will stop rotating and just vibrate instead, meaning that you can’t damage your car’s paintwork – even if you really tried! Even better, because it stops working with too much pressure, you are forced into using just the right amount as you work, guaranteeing great results!
Now, a DA Polisher is designed to be used by anyone. You may feel that machines are a scary prospect, but these are really easy to use. They will take care of all that superficial damage to your paintwork. However, if you have a really deep scratch on your paintwork you’ll need to deal with that using a rotary polisher. These are more difficult to use, and you can get it wrong and cause a lot of damage. So make sure you get some expert help if you’re considering going rotary.
Now we know what we’re holding in our hand, let’s get down to business!
Choosing a Polisher
Now, a polisher is nothing without a really good polish to use with it. Fortunately, at Proje’ we’ve got a fantastic product for you to use: Leveling DA MF Polish. It’s developed specially for use with a DA Polisher, and it’s multi-function, because it doesn’t just buff up your paintwork beautifully; it also utilizes the latest micro-abrasive technology to remove moderate paint defects such as water spots, swirl marks, and oxidation with one simple, easy-to-use liquid on any clear coat, gel coat or even ceramic coated surfaces. It’s as easy to use as a DA Polisher itself: as you apply the polish, it automatically applies itself evenly and fills in any defects after removing contamination, meaning that you are left with a perfectly level polished finish!
Applying the Polisher
Before you start, remember to work out of direct sunlight. This gives you maximum protection and lubrication – not just with this polisher, but with cleaning, waxing and polishing products in general.
Step 1: Add four small dots of the Leveling DA MF Polish to a fresh microfiber pad on the DA Polisher. Put those dots on in a square - you don’t need much! Now set the machine to speed 2.
Step 2: Take a small part of your bodywork – say about 2 foot by 2 foot. Now place the pad on your car’s paintwork. Do this before you switch the machine on, so that you don’t fling the polish all over the place! Now, make one full pass over the section at speed 2. This is just a light pass – remember you don’t need to apply pressure.
Step 3: Now you’ve spread the Leveling DA MF Polish over the section of paintwork nice and evenly, let’s crank up the power. Change the setting to speed 4, and go back over the surface. This time, go in a cross-hatch pattern to ensure full coverage and workability across the surface. Take your time, and remember: you don’t need to press down. Unlike with other levelling products, you won’t get any dust kicking up, so you should start to see results as you work.
Step 4: After three of four passes in this cross-hatch pattern, you’ll want to give the surface a wipe and then take a look. So, get a really good, clean microfiber towel – our BluePro, WhitePro and RedPro 16 x 16 Microfiber Towels are perfect for this – and wipe the panel. When you inspect the paintwork, you should be able to notice the difference; no oxidation marks, no swirls or stains, and a shinier, smoother surface. Just compare that section with a part of your car you haven’t done yet – it should look so much shinier and smoother!
Step 5: Go ahead and repeat these steps over the whole vehicle. DA Polishers are great, so this shouldn’t take too long, and our polish is really economical, so you won’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on buying more all the time! If you need, you can make two passes over the same area, if it’s a particularly swirly or dull part of the vehicle. You won’t do any harm!
And that’s it! After 30-45 minutes you should have a beautifully polished vehicle, ready to take on the New Year with! So work safe, and remember: Enjoy the Process!
If you have any questions about any of the techniques or products that I’ve mentioned in this post, just contact us on info@projeproducts.com and one of the Proje’ team will be in touch with you! Remember that we stock only the best auto detailing supplies, so why not click some of the links in this blog post, or visit our products page to find out more?
