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In this review, we take a look at the best car polisher machines on the market to restore that gleaming shine to your vehicle.
Does your car paintwork look dull and faded? Covered in swirl marks and scratches? A buffing machine (polisher) will help restore the paintwork to it’s former glory and bring back that glossy shine it left the factory with.
There are a whole host of different machine polishers available, with a fair few considerations to be made, we will simplify them and make it easy to understand in this article.
Pushed for time and would like a quick summary and overview?
Best Budget Option
Tacklife PPGJ05A Polisher
- 1200W Motor offers strong power
- 6 Variable speeds
- Detachable D-Handle and polishing pads
- Safety lock design
CHECK LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON →
Best Value Option
VonHaus Dual Action Polisher Kit
- Complete kit containing 4 polishing pads, 1 wash mitt, 1 microfibre cloth and contains 1 carry case to house everything
- Ergonomic adjustable handle
- Variable speed setting
CHECK LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON →
Best Alternative Option
Poorboys PB-DA900 Polisher
- Powerful 900W Motor
- Variable speed setting
- Includes 125mm backing plate, storage bag and spare carbon brushes
CHECK LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON →
Why Should You Buy A Car Polisher?
A car polisher is a brilliant investment to help restore and maintain your car’s paintwork. With a little time and effort, and the right resources, a car polisher can perform minor miracles and inject value back into your car.
A common problem amongst cars is swirl marks. What are swirl marks you might ask? Swirl marks are very minor scratches in your paintwork which have been caused poor washing and drying techniques. On that note, we have produced two brilliant articles on how to safely wash and dry your car, check them out below
A car polisher can completely remove these nasty scratches and restore your paintwork to a high shine which then enables you to protect from your paintwork from further damage
What Are The Benefits Of A Car Polisher?
- Restores shine and gloss to your paintwork
This is probably the biggest benefit of using a machine polisher on your car. A polisher can easily remove nasty swirl marks and scratches and produce a deep shine and gloss to your paintwork once more.
They achieve this working in conjuction with specially design car compounding polishes. The polishes are designed to cut away the faded and oxidized layer of lacquer on your car and restore their original shine. Once a car has been painted, it’s the protected with a top layer of paint called lacquer. Lacquer is crystal clear and it’s the lacquer than produces the shiny effect on your paint. Many layers of lacquered are applied to your car at the factory, a car polisher cuts away a very small layer of that to reveal a gorgeous new shine underneath.
- Scratch removal
You may be asking yourself can a car polisher remove scratches from my car? The answer is yes, a car polisher can remove scratches. It is however entirely dependent on the severity and depth of the scratch ofcourse. A general rule of thumb test is to see whether you can feel the scratch under your nail. If you can, it’ll be fairly difficult to remove with a polisher but not impossible, you may be able to remove the scratch completely wet sanding the scratch and then polishing.
For lighter scratches that you can’t feel with your nail, a car polisher will remove these with ease.
- Adds value to your car
It’s a known fact that a polished car is more valuable than a non polished car. Have you ever gone to look at buying a used vehicle and been left underwelmed it’s mediocre paintwork? By contrast, a shiny and glossy car would have atrracted you towards it much more.
Restoring your car paintwork to it’s former glory will substantially add value to the car and massively help with trying to sell it when you decide to do so.
- Much more effective than hand polishing
A car machine polisher is much more effective than hand polishing. The biggest advantage that a car polisher has is the power it can generate, and in turn the revolutions it can create. Your hands unfortunalely can’t compete with this and therefore produce much less impressive results.
Hand polishes tend to be made up of fillers which simply hide and mask the swirl marks. Whilst it may appear to have made a huge difference and removed the swirl marks, unfortunately they’ll return and be visible again after the next wash due to the fillers being washed away. A car polisher will completely correct the paint and remove the defects once and for all.
Are There Different Types Of Car Polishers?
Generally speaking, there are two different types of car machine polishers – Dual Action buffers and Rotary polishers.
What Is A Dual Action Machine Polisher?
A dual action polisher oscillates in a concentric circular action. A dual action machine is a much safer option for a beginner to start polishing with as there’s very minimal risk of causing damage to your paintwork. You’d have to really go out of your way to inflict damage to your paintwork with a DA, however that isn’t the case for a rotary polisher.
What Is A Rotaty Polisher?
A rotary polisher or buffer is a very straight forward machine that spins on a single axis in a straight forward circular motion. Whilst a rotary buffer is much more powerful than a dual action polisher, they also carry a greater risk of inflicting damage to the paintwork such as lacquer burn. Lacquer burn occurs when the polisher has been worked on a specific part of the paintwork for too long and the heat build up has burnt through the paintwork causing damage. Once this happens, it’s unfortunately a respray job to repair. Rotary buffers can deliver stunning results but need to be used extremely carefully to avoid damage. Generally, rotary buffers are more commonly used in bodyshops and professional settings.
Considerations When Buying A Car Polisher
Before choosing the right car buffer / polisher, be sure to consider these important factors
- Your Skill Level
An important consideration this one. If you’ve never used a car machine polisher before, we would strongly advise starting out with a Dual Action polisher instead of a Rotary. A dual action polisher works oscillates in a concentric circular action which means is much safer than a rotary and less likely to inflict damage. A DA is a brilliant polisher to start machine polishing with and can deliver outstanding results. Admittedly, a rotaty polisher can deliver better results, much faster than a DA but they can also inflict heavy damage to paintwork if you aren’t careful.
If you’re highly skilled and competent at machine polishing, we would advise going for a rotary buffer. You’ll get better results than when using a dual action machine and also get the job done much quicker.
- Motor and Speed
Naturally, a polisher with a bigger rated motor is going to be more powerful than that of a lesser powered motor unit. This is an important point to consider when purchasing, how much polishing are you going to be doing? How regularly are you going to be using the machine etc?
- Ergnonomics
Being comfortable whilst machine polishing is an extremely important consideration. It’s highly possible that you’ll be using the machine for an extended period of time, it’s therefore important that the ergonomics of the machine as a good match for you. For example, some machine polishers only come with the ability to have a hand on one side. Depending on which hand you use most, this may not be the best polisher for you. Some polishers have the ability to mount the handle on either side of the machine for added ease of use.
Addtionally, some machines will include padded handles. This helps to counteract the effect of the vibrations when polishing over uneven surfaces.
- Size and Weight
Make sure you choose a machine which is the correct size and weight for you to use. Some of the more top end machines may be substantially larger and heavier in size than others which may or may not be beneficial to you. Consider how easy it’ll be to use the machine in tight to reach areas etc.
- Price
With any purchase, price is ofcourse heavily important. It’s very much dependant on how much you’re willing to spend and what you want to achieve. Are you going to be using the machine on a regular basis? If so, you may want to spend more money on a higher spec model. If you’re only going to be using the polisher on a few occasions then a budget option may be the perfect polisher for you.
Also consider the warranty with the product too. This will help provide peace of mind when making your purchase.
Car Machine Polisher FAQ’S
Q. What are swirl marks?
A. Swirl marks are micro scratches in a vehicle’s paintwork which have been imparted poor washing and drying technique. As an example, lots of swirl marks are often caused failing to use a pre wash such as snow foam prior to washing a heavily soiled car.
Q. Can A buffer / Machine Polisher remove swirl marks?
A. Yes, a polisher can remove swirl marks with relative easy. Swirl marks are actually very light micro scratches on the top layer of the protective clearcoat on the car paintwork. A polisher can easily remove these and restore a brilliant shine once again. Whilst a hand polish may be able to remove swirl marks too, it’ll take much longer and much more effort than using a machine polisher. Also, most hand polishes using silicones and fillers which appear to remove swirl marks but actually just hide them using the fillers. Once your car is washed again, the swirls will return. Using a machine polisher completely corrects the paintwork.
Q. Is A Machine Polisher Hard To Use?
A. Using a car machine polisher isn’t particularly difficult and is one of those things that you’ll only get better at with practice. We strongly advise starting out with a Dual Action polisher which are extremely easy to work with and use. Once you’ve had a few goes, you’ll quickly realise how to get the best results. For example, initially, you may begin working too big of an area at once. Don’t worry, this is a common mistake and something that you’ll soon master and perfect.
Q. Should I Use Wax After Machine Polishing?
A. Yes, you should use a wax after machine polishing. The aim of machine polishing is to remove all of the defects in the paintwork such as swirls and scratch marks. Once you’ve restored the paintwork to it’s former glory and defect free state, it’s important to then use a good quality wax to lock in the finish and protect the paintwork. Waxes protect car paintwork from harmful UV rays and can also drastically improve a vehicle’s gloss and shine levels. As well as protecting your car from harmful UV rays, a good quality wax will add hydrophobic properties to your paintwork meaning that it’ll repel water and dirt as soon as it comes into contact with it.
Our Best Pick Car Machine Polishers
Best Budget Option
Tacklife PPGJ05A Polisher
- 1200W Motor offers strong power
- 6 Variable speeds
- Detachable D-Handle and polishing pads
- Safety lock design
CHECK LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON →
Best Value Option
VonHaus Dual Action Polisher Kit
- Complete kit containing 4 polishing pads, 1 wash mitt, 1 microfibre cloth and contains 1 carry case to house everything
- Ergonomic adjustable handle
- Variable speed setting
CHECK LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON →
Best Alternative Option
Poorboys PB-DA900 Polisher
- Powerful 900W Motor
- Variable speed setting
- Includes 125mm backing plate, storage bag and spare carbon brushes
CHECK LATEST PRICE ON AMAZON →
Just so you know, we may earn a small commission through the links on this page but we think that’s a fair trade off for the hours research and time that we put in.