So I bought myself a new DA....

I've always loved a bit of car cleaning and detailing, going back years! I really started getting into it when my dad bought me a pot of Zymol wax for my new Clio Williams in the 90's.....

I decided that this year I really want to try and push on and get to grips with machine polishing a bit more. Anyone that has dabbled with a DA or rotary will probably agree that it is actually more difficult than you think to get perfect results and that those top guys who do it for a living, well they are actually pretty talented

I've had DAS-6 for a couple of years now and while it's OK, I've never really felt that comfortable using it, it is pretty loud and it can vibrate a fair bit. I got my old Trophy looking pretty good using it, but can't seem to get my current Oyster 250 looking quite how I want it.

So today, I had a new DAS-21E from Clean Your Car delivered, they had a Valentines promotion with 10% off, so I thought I'd bite the bullet and get one.

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-21e-dual-action-polisher/prod_1391.html

When I did an Auto Finesse course a little while ago, I had a quick go with a Rupes Bigfoot and immediately felt more comfortable with it, it felt a lot nicer to use. I couldn't justify the cost of one, so didn't bother with it, but it's always been on my wishlist.

I saw that CYC had the DAS-21E on their website and had read some pretty good reviews of it, Tim at CYC seems to rate it pretty highly as well. It's basically a copy of the Rupes, but half the cost, plus 10% off made it 135 quid, so thought it was well worth a go.

Not sure when I'm going to get time to properly try it out, but will report back any findings here, if anyone is interested.

 

Haha, it's not that bad andybond you'd have to go some to harm your paint with a DA, a rotary is a different matter....

Plenty of great stuff online, definitely better than I could ever write, this is probably not a bad place to start:

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/what-does-polishing-do.html

 

Cheers Jamie, just need to escape the wife and kids for a suitable period of time to give it a proper go!

 

Make the most of it mate, while you can!

 

I'd probably have a 911 if it wasn't for those pesky kids, as much as I love them! lol

 

Cheers Ed, that’s good to know

I actually bought the 5” plate as well as I have some Chemical Guys Hex-Logic 5.5” pads, so will see how I get on.


Must say, there are so many pad and polish combinations out there that it’s bloody mind boggling! :eek: lol Might also try the 6” orange pad that was made to work specifically with this DA, cyc recommend Sonax EX 04-06 polish to work with it.


Any favourite pad and polish combinations for Renault paint that you recommend ED?

 

Thanks mate

Yeah, I must admit, I didn't really get on with the AF revitalise polishes, seemed to work OK on the Trophy when I used it, but just couldn't get on with it on the 250.

I'll have a look at the Scholl stuff, as you say, it's a bit of a suck it and see and see which works best, cheers

 

Thanks Ed, I've got some Menz super finish 85RE, which I got as part of a kit from polished Bliss, when I originally got my first DA, but need a little more cut as have some deeper scratches. Samples a good idea, cheers

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Will do, cheers Ed!

 

Thanks mate, I'll check them out

 

So I tried this out at the weekend, and feel like I made some real progress.

Only had time to do the roof and bonnet, both of which had some nasty scratches from the previous owners bad washing technique. I'd had a couple of goes with the DAS-6, but now realise I wasn't using anything aggressive enough to properly shift them.

I've been reading up and watching a lot of Youtube and have also got some great suggestions on here, which I'm going to try out when I do the rest of the car. For this, I went back to basics and used Maguiars 105 and 205.



I also bought a 5" backing plate to replace the 6" that comes with the machine, so I could use it with the Chemical Guys 5.5" Hexlogic pads.





Must admit the DAS-21E was really nice to use and I felt much more comfortable with it than the DAS-6. I didn't really take any pics but I finally got the scratches off with one pass using the 105 and hexlogic orange pad, found that OK to use, if a little dusty. This pic courtesy of my 10 year old daughter :rolleyes:




Finished it with 205 on the white hexlogic pad, which was really nice and easy to use and finished it off nicely. Only pic I took in the garage after, finally looking a bit more like I want it, if I can get the rest of the car looking this good I'll be very happy. Definitely feel more confident with the new machine, can't wait to get back out and do the rest of the car now! Will probably try something slightly less aggressive than Megs 105 for the rest of the car, will try out a couple of options and report back with my finding.....



Was over at my Brother-in-laws on Sunday to try out 'Rag Top', the new hood cleaner from Auto finesse on his 911, it's in desperate need of a proper clean, so I'm going crack out the DAS-21E on that, be great to get some more practice on a 911 :cool:

 

Cheers Jamie, definitely worth it mate, miles nicer to use and at the price, a bit easier to justify than Rupes...

 

Yeah, I looked at both and went for the 21 in the end. Funnily enough though, I had exactly the same thinking as you, keep the DAS-6 for the spot pads and tighter areas... I'll have a go with the spot pads on the 21 and let you know.

 

Yeah, thought about selling mine, but they are not that expensive to buy new, so didn't think I'd probably get much for it, so decided to just keep it.

I've been struggling a bit with mine, paint seems a little harder than my Trophy, I got that looking great much easier! But really pleased after this weekend, 21 definitely a step up and a bit more practice with some different polish and pad combinations and I reckon I'll have it looking good

 

Cheers addyb230, not tried the microfibre pads, but a few people have mentioned them, I'll probably have a look at those.