Is it possible to polish with an eccentric sander

Choice of pastes or gels. How to polish the car.

In addition to polishing technology, the question of polishing the car is no less important. Having understood the basics of production processes, you need to choose polishing pastes, protective and restorative polishes. It is customary to divide polishing pastes into powder and gel. The first type of pastes is chosen for hard coatings with numerous damages and polishes the enamel with a reduction in grain size.

Gel pastes work more gently, they are used for polishing soft paintwork of budget foreign cars with relatively little damage. Gel (pasty) and aerosol (liquid) pastes in cylinders are used for various parts of the body. The gel paste is applied to the polishing wheel, it is convenient to process the side surfaces (doors, fenders) of the car with it. Aerosol paste is sprayed on the roof, hood, trunk of a car, and then rubbed with a soft polishing wheel.

When using abrasive polishing pastes, remember that the number of polishes is not infinite. Each polish removes a layer of paint, polishing the machine weekly, you will wipe off the paintwork in a year.

In the same way, the abrasive polishing of the car is performed after body repairs and touch-ups of the car. In this case, its goal is to level the paint layer, eliminate paint drips, “shagreen”. After painting, it is better to use gel polishing pastes.

You can see in more detail how to properly polish the car on

Restorative abrasive polishing of the body

Before you polish the car with your own hands, you need to take care of the tool and consumables. There are two ways to abrasively repair damage to the paint layer. manual and mechanical (using a grinder). For beginners, lovers of independent work, experts advise first to try their hand at manual abrasive polishing, which requires less material costs.

For manual sanding of paintwork you will need:

• abrasive grinding cloth (R-2000, R-2500);
• spray for water;
• special napkins or cotton rags;
• polishing pastes and polishes.

Preparatory operations

The garage must be cleaned before work, removing dust as much as possible. Experienced auto mechanics advise against polishing the car at sub-zero temperatures and in hot weather (over 35. 40 degrees). Before starting polishing, a number of preliminary operations are required:

• body wash (manual or non-contact);
• removal of stains and stubborn dirt (oil, bitumen);
• pasting decorative parts (chrome, nickel, rubber, plastic);
• inspection of a clean body (the choice of abrasives, the granularity of polishing compounds depends on the degree of damage).

If you do not have a place or conditions for washing your car yourself near the garage, right before polishing you can visit a car wash, preferably a contactless one. Having driven into the garage, you need to wipe the car again with a clean, dry cloth.

After washing, stains of bitumen, oils are clearly visible, which are removed by hand, mild solvents, degreasers, white spirit. In this case, you do not need to use screwdrivers and knives. After soaking the stain, it is easy to remove it with a fingernail or a plastic card.

In order not to damage decorative elements (glass edging, moldings, mirrors), they are pasted over with masking tape. Professional polishers also remove nickel-plated door handles, but beginners are not recommended to do this during their first experiments.

Experienced lovers of independent work with the car, simultaneously with polishing the body, polish the glass of the car. Technologically, the operations differ little (only in the compositions of pastes and protective agents), having gained experience, you will be able to polish the glass yourself. At the first attempt to polish, it is better to glue all the glasses.

How and what to polish the car with your own hands at home

Problems of how to polish a car begin to bother car owners already in the second or third year after purchasing a car. Even durable car enamels of premium foreign cars fade and fade during this period. Less durable paint on budget cars not only loses its luster. Paintwork without protective polish begins to peel and crack.

Body abrasive grinding operations

Before use, cut the sanding paper into small pieces and round off their edges so that sharp corners do not leave deep scratches. Manual grinding begins with a small area of ​​the body, then moving from it in different directions. Before grinding, the surface is moistened with water from a sprayer.

With a soaked sandpaper, the paint is sanded in two perpendicular directions, achieving an even matte paintwork color. The process is repeated several times, wiping off the water with a damp and dry cloth. After sanding P-2000, the second grinding can be done with sanding paper P-2500. After that, with a fine-grained sponge or a plastic card, a polishing paste is applied to the sanded area and rubbed with force in a circular motion with special tampons or napkins.

For mechanical polishing, you will need to add the following tools to the original set:

• grinder (with adjustable speeds from 700 to 3000);
• protective glasses;
• grinding and polishing discs;
• mandrels for fixing discs of various thicknesses;
• felt or fur polishing wheels;
• hard brush for cleaning circles.

In the process of mechanical polishing, the machine is driven in a circular motion. Begin work at low speed, making an effort to rub in the polishing paste. In the future, the revolutions increase, reducing the clamping force. Begin to work with coarse grained pastes and hard circles. According to the results of polishing, they are successively changed to softer wheels and pastes with small grain size.

Working with a grinder requires experienced skills, so before polishing the car body, you can practice on the removed body part. With the wrong choice of the grain size of the paste, the rotational speed of the disk and the pressing force, the car enamel can be erased to metal, burned out (iridescent tarnishing spots appear, the paint swells). The bends of the body, curly stampings on the hood, fenders, doors, which need to be polished with particular care, become especially critical places.

How to polish a car at home

Naturally, home conditions mean a dry, well-lit garage. It is impossible to polish a car outdoors or in the yard even in warm summer. Dust blown by the wind, fallen leaves will spoil the results of your work instantly. Uneven drying in the sun of many types of pastes and polishes is also important, which affects the quality of work, the general appearance of the machine.

Reasons for the need to polish and restore paintwork

The main reasons for the need for polishing are natural aging of car enamel and dirt on domestic roads. All road debris lifted by the movement of passing and oncoming vehicles leaves marks on the body of your car. Micro scratches are difficult to see with the naked eye, but their accumulation affects the reflectivity of the varnish. noticeable on the paint are traces of hard sand, gravel, flying stones, roadside branches hitting the body.

The scuffs and dull color of car paint are caused by road chemicals, winter sprinkling of highways with salt, sand, and chemical reagents. Various bischofites and modified calcium have a destructive effect on the body paintwork. Acid rain, hail, dirty snow leave traces on the car enamel.

Oddly enough, but auto mechanics consider an important reason for scratches and scuffs to drive on an automatic brush wash. From regular washing with rotating brushes, body paint (especially soft enamels) loses its shine and tarnishes. And if the owner of the car wash saves on timely replacement of worn brushes, the hard ends of the bristles leave deep scratches on the paint. Road dirt is stuffed into micro-scratches and small chips, expanding and deepening damage.

In addition to the loss of gloss and brightness of the factory color, all damage to the paintwork is dangerous with more serious consequences. Scratches, overlapping each other, completely cut through the paint layer and can become hot spots of rust, which will require expensive body repairs with repainting of the car.

Every driver wants to restore the perfect shine of the body and glass, but the services of branded technical centers and road detailing studios are not available to an ordinary car owner every two to three months. With limited financial resources, many Russian motorists have no choice but to polish the car themselves.

Protective paint polish

After processing with abrasives, restoring polishing pastes, filling in micro-scratches, level the surface of car enamel, correctly reflect light rays, which gives the paint a mirror-like shine. But refurbishing polishing does not protect the body from new damage. Protective polishes are designed to prevent minor damage to the paint.

Manufacturers produce protective polishes based on:

• artificial and natural waxes;
• teflon;
• wood resins;
• silicone;
• ceramics;
• “Liquid glass”.

Before choosing a polishing paste for protective polishing, you should carefully read the instructions for use. Some of them can be applied to the car by hand, others require the use of a sander.

The principle of action of protective pastes is the same. They create a thin layer on the paintwork that protects the enamel from ultraviolet radiation (paint fade less), repelling water, dirt, chemicals.

Simple soft pastes include wax compositions that can be manually applied to the body and rubbed with a special napkin. The car owner can apply preventive protection to the car body in an hour, but the soft paste withstands only two or three contact washes.

Polishing protective pastes based on silicone, Teflon are more durable. They can withstand 30. 40 washes, but you need to polish the car with a grinder with replaceable attachments. Polishing technology is similar to abrasive, but requires precise time delay, depending on the drying of the protective compound.

In more expensive nanoceramic protective polishes, a hard outer layer is created by polymerized compositions containing the smallest crystals of silicon dioxide, titanium oxides. The polymer ceramic layer fills the unevenness of the paint, tightens microcracks, and protects the enamel from peeling. The protective properties of nanocremics increase depending on the applied layers of polish (up to ten layers are used). Professional polishers highly appreciate Ceramic Pro, NANO POLISH, CERAMIC PRO LIGHT, Restor FX polishes. Determining the effectiveness of a protective polish is fairly straightforward. If you pour a bucket of water onto the hood of the car, the liquid will collect on the surface in large drops.

Compositions under the common name “liquid glass” contain plastic solutions of silicon dioxide, sodium silicate, which, when hardened, fill microdamages and irregularities in the enamel. The mirror layer of silicon compounds, obtained from quartz sand, is harder than car paint coatings, therefore it becomes a reliable and durable paint protection. After finishing polishing, the machine must not be washed for about two weeks, until the protective layer has completely hardened.

Having made an abrasive restorative polishing on your own, having polished the car with durable protective compounds, you will return the car to an appearance that is not inferior to a new car. Protective polishing operations that need to be repeated once or twice a year will reduce the need for abrasive refurbishment.

Additional features of eccentric sanders.

Some models allow for changing the sole. For example, the installation of soles with a diameter of 115 and 125 mm, designed for different volumes and types of work.

ergonomics. Some manufacturers equip their tools with special vibration pads on the handles to reduce vibration. Powerful models may have an additional handle on the body for more convenient operation. Lightweight grinders usually only boast a circular top handle and a rounded body that can be gripped with one hand. They do not have an additional handle. and the possibility of its connection is not provided. Handles can be in the form of a clamp, an arc or a rod.

Additional handles can be partially folded back (for example, when sanding along the edge of the surface), brought into different positions and even rotated around the body.

smooth start-up or maintaining a constant number of revolutions greatly facilitate the work) ‘. You can choose the number of revolutions and vibrations taking into account the material. Particularly convenient is the full-wave electronics, which provides smooth speed control. And the function of setting low speed allows you to process heat-sensitive materials.

Read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully before switching on the eccentric sander.

For surface polishing, it is desirable to use a model equipped with control electronics, which allows you to adjust the vibration frequency. The fact is that during such work, the vibration frequency should be less than during grinding. And if the user polishes the surface at “high speed”, the engine overheats or the material to be processed is damaged.

It is recommended to grind varnished surfaces at the lowest speed. They are very sensitive to high temperatures, so for optimal results, care must be taken that the temperature does not rise. Experts advise using clean abrasives in such cases and not pressing too hard on the grinder, so as not to create additional friction.

For grinding plastics, abrasive wheels with a grain size of 240 and higher are used. When processing metal surfaces, the grain size of the abrasive wheel must be at least 600.

Second handle

The specificity of working with an eccentric machine provides for pressure on it from above. Even the very shape of the instrument is wholly and completely directed towards this. But quite often the starting mechanism and the electric motor are somewhat off-center, which creates certain difficulties in operation. In this regard, the manufacturers of ESHM have added an additional handle that compensates for the pressure on the other side and makes it easier to work with the machine. The handle itself can be removable or stationary. It all depends on the model. For example, the Makita BO5040 / 5041 sander has a removable handle, while the Bosch PEX 400 AE is equipped with a stationary additional handle. Of particular note are the DWT grinders. They have equipped their ESM with side handles, which provide additional convenience when working on vertical surfaces.

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ESM power

The main characteristic of any power tool is its power. And eccentric sanders are no exception. It is this that should be taken into account in the first place when choosing a grinder. The high power of the ESM allows you to use the tool longer and with greater efficiency. In addition, the quality of the work performed, the speed of rotation of the sanding pad, as well as the weight of the machine depend on this parameter.

Power range of eccentric sanders from 160 W to 900 W. But low-power and high-power ESM can be enumerated on one hand. The most common grinders with power from 300 W to 600 W. The most popular ESM segment with a power of 300. 600 W is the Bosch eccentric sander. When choosing, you should pay attention to ESM with high power ratings. over, if the difference in power is 20. 50 W, then there will be no special differences in the quality of processing. But if the difference is 100 W or more, then preference should be given to a more powerful instrument. The quality of work, their duration and service life of ESM will be high.

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Polishing sander. choosing a reliable unit

When choosing a grinder for polishing, the power of the tool is important. At high power, you can work for a long time and, moreover, without interruption. Also, high power helps maintain high speed. The diameter of the discs is also of great importance. Typically, standard tools have it from 175 to 230 mm. If the model has a disc with a slightly larger diameter, then it is better not to use it. The number of revolutions when working on this tool is also important, if there is a speed switching function, then the polishing quality will be much higher.

Let’s try to figure out how to choose the right polishing grinder. As a rule, the quality of a tool can be determined by price. The higher the cost, the more functions the grinder has and the higher the power. Modern models are available in power from 800 to 2500 watts. Performance and quality of work depend on power. Pay attention to the number of revolutions. The maximum value usually reaches up to 10,000 rpm.

If the model of the polisher has a high number of revolutions and low power, then the torque will be low, and the efficiency will be far from desired.

The most convenient are polishing grinders with an installed automatic speed controller, because this will help stabilize the speed. By pressing on the polished surface, you automatically reduce the speed of rotation of the disc, the regulator will not allow this to happen. If you adjust this manually during operation, then an additional load on the tool is created. over, when manually adjusting, it is not possible to correctly calculate the required rotational speed of the disc and the intensity of polishing. All this will not have a very good effect on the surface paintwork.

Performance also depends on the size of the discs, on average, they range from 145 to 300 mm. Small discs are used if you need to process small parts, well, and large discs are suitable for processing voluminous surfaces. Manufacturers have recently added additional features to their tools. Often on modern models you can see automatic soft start and spindle locking. If there is a blocking of the spindles, then you can always conveniently and quickly change the attachments, and with such work you do not need to press the power buttons. With a smooth descent, the jerk will be much softer each time the engine is started. And this will not only help to reduce the load on the network, but also significantly extend the operational life.

ESM rotation speed

This parameter of an eccentric sander is directly related to its power. The quality of the work performed and the convenience of work depend precisely on the rotation speed. But there is one important point here. When buying, they usually try to choose a machine with high rpm, believing that the higher the better for the job. But this applies more to productivity than to the quality of work. Very high RPMs of ESM are suitable for roughing the surface, but for perfect grinding, low RPMs are required.

Another feature that should be taken into account is associated with the rotation speed. It lies in the fact that the rotation speed will be the lower, the higher the power of the machine. For example, the bo6040 eccentric sander from Makita has a power of 750 W, and at the same time, its rotation speed is only 1600. 5800 rpm. At the same time, the Bosch GEX 125-1 AE eccentric sander has a power of 250 W and a rotation speed of 7,500. 12,000 rpm. When choosing an ESM, it is necessary to remember this feature and focus on the purpose for which the machine will be used. Will it be a high speed sander for rough sanding or a low speed sander for finishing sanding.

Types of car polishing

There are two types of vehicle polishing. regenerative and protective. Restorative polishing is designed to eliminate minor scratches on the car body, restore the gloss of the paintwork and give the body a rich and even color.

Protective polishing prevents the negative effects of salts, acids, alkalis and sunlight on the vehicle body. To protect the paintwork, ionic polishes are used, which have an antistatic property and do not allow dust to settle on the surface of the car.