Does anyone use an orbital polisher and if so, what's the finish like ? Thinking of buying one as doing it by hand takes forever..... Tony
i have one and use iton my everyday car, but i wouldnt on the 355. But thats just me. The polisher i got from halfords for £30. Its great and a good labour saver.
just me i suppose fella, its good but i wouldn't trust it on the ferrari. I think i'm one of those sad types who prefer to do it by hand. God i feel old, even if i am only 30
Tony, I don't think you'd get the finish you're looking for with a machine; not because it'd scratch (but it might-Ferrari paint is quite soft in my view, and might be susceptible to swirl marks) but also because as Stephen says, it'd get polish in all the gaps, seals etc. Robert.
Tony i alos have the Halfords one nad use it on everyday cars but not the 355, always worried there will be that spec of grit!. my experience is that they do give a deeper shine but they remove a lot of hte polish so it doesn't last anywhere near as long
I'm with the don't use 'em camp. Use your hands, you are much more in control of what's going on. As already mentioned, a spec of grit under a polisher can do a lot more damage than the same spec under a cloth. Also, 'swirl marks' are by their very nature produced by a rotational motion. I've read stuff on the web from detailing experts that a bonnet-to-boot on horizontal surfaces and floor-to-roof direction on vertical ones produces the best finish. You can't do this with an orbital polisher. I've also read that bonnet-to-boot on the vertical ones is good. Orbital - hand or machine - is not good. Think of it this way - to fill in swirl marks with glaze/wax you need to move across the marks rather than along them (make sense?). Treat your Ferrari like a woman - use your hands and enjoy the curves! Edit - I should also add that I've put into practice what I've read and it really is amazing what finish you can get. The key is to glaze before wax, and use a real glaze/wax rather than a cheap polish from Halfwits.
Tony I have a bodyshop polisher (£100 from machine mart) this does give a really really good finish and make's polishing neglected paintwork real easy, but the finish is just not as good as doing the complete zymol thing by hand (should take at least a full day to do properly!), as well as the splatter from the wax (and you cant really use the zymol carnuba type wax's) its really difficult to get into the nooks and crannies. in short great for cleaning up a daily driver but bugger all use for doing a good job on a Ferrari (unless you need to agresivley polish faded Trossa mirrors)
