I have the old Porter Cable DA polisher. Basically the model all these others copied. You really dont have to worry about practicing much with this thing. Its not NEARLY aggressive enough to ever come close to doing any sort of damage to paint. Think of this as a powered hand wax or polishing. Its really just gonna make things a lot faster (and easier) than doing things by hand, but it wont be aggressive enough to do bad paint correction, let alone damage anything. Just use the machine to spread out the product - or do that by hand, let it haze, and then remove with the machine. I usually do one panel at a time, or half a panel. You’ll get use to it very quickly. Its pretty idiot proof.
The PC was my first machine to wax and compound the car. It does work very well for maintenance and shining things up. I’m sure the HF model does just fine. I also have HF’s cheapest rotary polisher that i bought to fix the paint on a black car that was sitting under a tree for a few years that i decided to sell. Even with those - the “dangers” of damaging paint are HIGHLY exaggerated online. I think spending a lot of money on machines like these isnt necessary. They are spinning a pad. That’s ALL they do. The biggest visual effects you’ll see will be from the products you use. I highly recommend Mequiar’s Ultimate line of compound and waxes. I have a tool box filled with many different ones i tried, and the Ultimate worked better for me than even their professional line and many others. Their compound removed stains in the paint and sap damage MUCH faster and easier then everything else i tried. It left the paint much shinier too. Their claim is the compound starts off being more aggressive, and breaks down as you remove it, becoming less aggressive and leaving the paint in better shape. When i first started, the car looked so bad, and i tried the PC with little results that i thought I’d be stuck wet sanding the entire car. In the end, I think i spent $49 on their black polisher, a wool pad, and Meguiar’s Ultimate compound and wax did the trick.
Do yourself a favor - stay away from all these ******* YouTube videos from places SELLING stuff. It makes you feel like you need to spend money on **** you dont need, and stuff that will make NO difference to how the car looks when youre done. Its become a contest about “who spent the most money” to maintain a BRAND NEW car.. of COURSE its gonna look great. Walk into most body shops and the guys that do detailing for a living are still using the same wool pad they used 20 years ago for everything. All this **** they sell today is unnecessary.
I even have the cordless Milwaukee models now - but STILL haven’t used them. (I had gift cards to use). But again - the products you use will make the biggest difference.
This is a really old picture, and its not from “right after” fixing the paint, but a few weeks before this - that car looked like hell before the compounding and rims were put back on. There was not one shiny part on the paint. Spots, scratches, and sap covered everything. You’ll have to take my word that close up, EVERYTHING was removed. Even with a ****** camera 20’ away u can see theres reflection off the side.. you dont NEED to spend lots of money for results. Use the the DA, see how you like it. If you need something more aggressive buy their cheap rotary polisher and a wool pad.
And actually i think this is polisher i bought.. its only $39 now without coupon.
https://www.harborfreight.com/7-in-10-amp-variable-speed-polisher-62861.html
