Best Way to Polish a Car With a Random Orbital Sander

Have you just bought a new car and want to make sure it keeps that new car look? Or are you doing up an older car, and want to make sure it is shining properly? You may be wondering whether to polish your car by hand. However, while this may be a cheap option, polishing by hand will never achieve the same results as a machine. This is because your hands just aren’t capable of doing the work that a powerful orbital sander would be able to do. 

If you are thinking about polishing your car with a machine, here is some information about the different types of polishers you can buy, as well as how to use one safely to get the best results. 

Types of polisher

Machine polishing can be safe, as long as you are using the right equipment. Here are the three basic polishers:

  • Rotary buffer: This is a machine that should only be used by a professional. Because this type of polisher is so powerful, it should only be used for severe paint damage. If not used correctly, this type of polisher can cause more harm than good. 
  • Random orbit polisher: This is one of the safest and most effective tools you can use to polish your car. This powerful tool can remove scratches, water spots, acid rain, bird dropping damage and many other different tarnishes on your car’s paint job. This polisher not only removes any imperfections, but can also be used to polish your car perfectly, and can even add a layer of wax. 
  • Wax buffers: This type of polisher is one of the cheapest, and as a result cannot polish as well as other types of polisher. You get what you pay for with this polisher, and it will not offer the same high standard of polish another power tool will.

How to use a polisher

You may be worried about using a power tool on your car. However, it is actually very safe and easy to use a polisher, even if you are not a professional. 

If you are nervous, start slowly and on a low setting. The best technique to receive the perfect polish is to use an overlapping motion to run the polisher over your car at a steady pace. You can then adjust the speed of your polisher in order to remove any serious damage to the paintwork.

Here are some tips to make sure you polish your car safely and properly: 

  • Do a test spot on an area of your car before you polish the whole thing, to make sure it is the correct tool for the job. 
  • Start with the least aggressive mode of polishing, and only speed the machine up if needed. 
  • Go slowly! Polishing can’t be rushed, and there is no point trying to do a rushed job, as you may end up damaging your car further. 

Conclusion

If you want your car to look as new and shiny as it possibly can, a machine polisher is the best and easiest way to do this. Make sure you always read the instruction manual and understand what you are doing before you start polishing your car.

Author: Doug