A little while ago I wrote what has become one of my most read posts on the differences between a dual action polisher, rotary polishing machine and orbital buffers. Since then I have been asked on a number of occasions which is the best dual action polisher to buy.

There are of course many variables when looking to choose the best dual action polishing machine for your own needs. Some will buy on price, others performance, maybe even on weight or a combination of all these factors.

In this post I aim to give you an unbiased dual action polisher comparison of many of the popular machines and consumer brands including Meguiars and Chemicals Guys as well as some of the not so well-known names i.e. Flex, Rupes & Shurhold

Before getting into the detail of comparing each car polisher side by side, let’s first look at what makes a good dual action car polisher. (But if you want to get straight into the detail you can scroll down to the comparison chart)

If you are following my detailing guide series on reading this article you will be at a stage where your paintwork is suitably prepped for you to now look at how to wax a car by hand.

If you have not signed up for the guide series don’t worry this article will still guide you through how to wax your car, but you may want to catch up on some of the preparation steps to ensure you are working on the smoothest possible finish you can get prior to applying your car wax.

Although the title of this article is How To Wax A Car By Hand, I will also include the use of car paint sealants here as they are becoming just a popular, if not more so than waxes.

Indeed many concours enthusiasts will tend to apply a sealant first and then apply a layer or two of car wax over the sealant. Not only can this produce an extremely deep gloss shine, but also a longer lasting one.

If you have been following my detailing guide series you will have now washed and dried your pride and joy in the safest possible, swirl avoiding ways and have completed the initial stage in your paintwork preparation. Your next step is car paint cleaning…

The purpose of this stage is to remove the fine defects from your paintwork in a way that removes as little paint thickness as is humanly possible.

The paint cleaning process, including the previous claying stage is one of the most important steps in detailing, as this will set the level onto which you apply your polish and paint protection.

Car Paint Cleaning vs Polishing

Car paint cleaning is usually achieved with the use of a pre-wax cleaner. The main difference between pre-wax paint cleaners and claybars is that clay bars remove above the surface contaminants and paint cleaners are designed to rectify below surface defects.

Completing both stages leaves a silk smooth and deep clean finish.

Meguiars Ultimate Compound was launched into the car care market back in 2009 and quickly established itself as a high performing product.

Not only is it highly effective when it comes to restoring tired and neglected paint finishes but Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound also steps up to the mark where others fail in removing bird poop marks, water stains, tree sap and other annoying blemishes you sometimes find on your paintwork.

Meguiars Ultimate Compound uses a proprietary technology they have termed “Super Micro Abrasives”.

Although Meguiars are understandably very secretive about the details, essentially Ultimate Compound  uses a special blend of extremely fine abrasives that do not breakdown the more you rub like the Diminishing Abrasives found in some of their polishing products.

If you’re on this page and you have a white, silver or other light colour paintwork on your vehicle, you will know like me how difficult it can be to get that real deep clean shine, where all you can normally see are masses of dulling swirl marks.

Enter Poorboys White Diamond Show Car Glaze, a real game changer when it comes to polishing light coloured paint.

Poorboys White Diamond is a formulation of gentle paint cleaners which remove grime and grease from the fine swirls in your paint.

These are combined with special fillers which smooth over the cleaned swirls to make your paintwork look perfectly smooth ready for your wax or sealant, giving your vehicle that deep gloss diamond like shine.

What’s more Poorboys White Diamond can be applied by hand or machine as well in the sun or in the shade. It really is an extremely versatile and effective product.

When it comes to your cars’ looks there is nothing worse than plastic trim parts that have faded to grey or in some cases near to white. So what do the professionals turn to when seeking the back to new look on their plastic parts? For many the product of choice is Wurth Plastic Dye Plast-PT.

Go behind the scenes in many garages and bodyshops up and down the country and you will undoubtedly find a range of Wurth products being used in many of them. The reason for this is that Würth products are subject to rigorous testing before a product is brought to market and where appropriate, their products will meet or exceed DIN or TÜV specifications.

In Europe and the UK Wurth are indeed the leading supplier of car/motorcyle care and maintenance products to the automotive workshop market.

Amongst their range of professional car care products is Wurth plastic dye which is a permanent colouring product, not just a dressing. Wurth Plast PT comes in a 75ml tube and is suitable to re-colour your bumpers, vinyl and fabric soft-tops, interior plastic trimmings, rubber parts, water hoses and running boards etc.

This professionals choice of dye for plastic comes in two colours. A black plastic dye and also in anthracite, a grey dye for plastic.

So if you are looking how to dye plastic black or grey see below on how to use this product, what others say about it and how to get hold of it.