We begin the intermediate detailing tuition course by discussing the preparation steps required to ready the vehicle for machine polishing, why these steps are important, and what can happen if they are not carried out.

 

Before beginning the polishing process we need to understand a little about the surfaces that we will be working on:

  • Is the vehicle an older single-stage paint finish?
  • Does the vehicle have a clear coat?
  • Is the paint or clear coat hard or soft?
  • What type of defects are present?
  • How do we identify if the vehicle has received any repaint or repair work?
  • How do different vehicle materials respond to the heat generated during machine polishing?

 

Before physically beginning the machine polishing we also need to measure the depth of the paint on the

vehicle to ensure that there is a sufficient amount of paint/clear coat to safely polish. Once we have confirmed

that it is safe to continue, we will then look at preparing the vehicle for polishing. This will involve masking

areas of the vehicle that we wish to protect from the polishing residue, and sharp areas that may damage

the polishing pads or may be damaged by them such as badges or angular panel edges.

Once the vehicle has been correctly prepared and is ready for machine polishing to begin we will then talk

you through the different types of machine polishers that we will be using, discussing the differences in the

equipment and the techniques required to get the best results from them.