I'm going to get straight to the point here. When it comes to car polishers and buffers you get what you pay for and there ARE solid well established brands out there... not a lot of marketing hype in that regard.
What Makes a Good Polisher
If you do decide to go this route make sure you know what you are doing. If you end up using sub par pads or compounds you will irreversibly damage your paint! Also, you're going to want to get good equipment. The cheapo Wal-mart or Canadian Tire stuff won't cut it! if you like you can read the customer reviews on their respective websites. Please ignore the 5 star reviews as they are bogus. Nobody would actually rate any of those things a 5 star and If they did, they really have no clue what they are talking about to begin with. If you read any of those polisher reviews you'll notice that the major complaints that keep cropping up are lack of power. To get the best results possible on your car it's important to have equipment capable of maintaining a decent RPM. That means a good strong motor and that means its going to be a little heavy. If the car polishers you're looking at seem light it's because they are made of cheap plastic and even cheaper small motors. Just like car wax you want a smooth even application and that means smooth constant power delivery.
One of the best and well known brands are Porter Cable. They offer a wide variety of polishers, buffers and applicator pads. See what kind of deals you can find online. Being so well known and respected their product doesn't come at a bargain price so don't expect any killer deals unless someone is having a going out of business sale or something!
A Word on Car Polishing Pads
Lets assume you've found a decent polisher. Good job, but just because you have a good polisher doesn't mean that it will get the job done properly everytime and right from the start! You still need to find the right polishing compound and applicator pads. Again here too, you get what you pay for. The cheapo pads are just that, cheap. Stay away from them. Get quality natural or synthetic ones and treat them well. Clean them after every use so the compounds don't try inside the pad. Use a mild degreaser soap and hand wash in warm water. Treat these pads well because they in turn will treat your paint well. Any bits of sand, dirt, or dried up polishing compound will cause nasty swirl marks all over your car. I personally trust the natural fiber pads a lot more and stick to wool and cotton. Plus they are better for the environment and that makes anyone feel good right?
The Final Say on Car Wax and Polishing
After you're done polishing you still need to wax your car.
Car waxing and Car polishing are two closely related things that work together to form a fantastic finish and shine on your ride. Polishing helps remove the scratches and imperfections in your paint caused by weather and time. Waxing coats your handy work with a protective wax that seals and shields your paint from further wear and tear. You now have a brief overview of what to look for when shopping for your tools of the trade. Search up a storm on how to apply the polish and wax - YouTube is your best friend for this. The more practice you get the better you'll be and don't forget to ask experience friends for tips. Most of all though, be careful! You can do a lot of damage if you aren't meticulous and diligent with your prep, execution, and clean up. Car Care takes time and patience and a lot of people use this time as a bit of a mental escape from daily life.
