DA Power System Tool

I was skeptical about using this with my Makita corded power drill, which gets up to >1500 rpm. I took the plunge after the reviews and one or two videos. The dual action head has a gearing mechanism inside it that (i) slows the rotation of the pad and (ii) adds a circular "wobble" to the head - hence the "dual action". So the pad itself doesn't spin at the drill's rpm and therefore you don't get your liquid compound splattering out at all. Great!I have used the black pad (which is actually the polish pad) with Meguiars Ultimate liquid compound on my scratched car windows and windscreens. Using multiple passes, the glass surfaces have been restored to a mirror finish, Deeper scratches are still there, but there is a noticeable vast improvement. It is very easy to use, although it can be a bit tiring if you have a heavier power drill like I do. I put some Rain-X on the glasses and the water is sliding off fairly good.. Based on that test - some glasses can do with another treatment of compound to get them even smoother - but it's acceptable for me right now. Will see how it fares when rain falls.I also used the DA orbiter and compound on the rear quarter panel that had some scratches from me trying to buff off some deeper scratches with 2000 grade sand paper - it did a good job on that too.I polished the bonnet using another black pad and Mothers liquid polish.That also restored some shine, but I think I need to do the full process (compound, polish then wax) to get the desired results. The paint job is over 2 years old and wasn't the greatest finish either.All in all - I'd say the DA orbiter works fantastic for what it cost, and really does the job pretty quick. You still need some elbow grease to buff off after you've applied the treatment though! There's no getting away from that, but at least the DA eliminates you having to do physical hard rubbing and is alot cheaper than even entry level car buffers.

I have never used a polisher or any other power tool on my car. This Mequiar's DA is so easy to use. First I clayed my car then, used The Meguiar's DA with Menzerna SF4000, I wiped it all down by hand with rubbing alcohol. You have to make several passes in a small area. Takes a lot of time. Watch the Auto Geek guys or Meguiar's videos for pointers. The finish was high shine no halo almost perfect. I put Menzerna PL sealant on by hand two coats a day apart. I Plan on putting a Wax on top of that. Maybe Meguiar's NXT. But at this point I can say the paint looks better than new. My car is a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid. I am a Grandma and got detailer results with this tool. I have always washed my car very carefully so it was in good shape to start with but those little halos you can see around the sun when you look at your paint, I had some and now they are gone. I could never have made a difference by hand. I did take out slight scratches as well. I went and bought a cheep plug in drill from Harbor Freight. You could use a battery drill but I didn't want to wreck ours. I checked the shine by holding a bottle with words up to my car and looked at a before and after spot (yes of course I left a spot not polished to impress my husband) you can clearly read the letters in the after and in the before area they are all blurred. It is really strange to walk by the car and see the reflection of your feet go by. I love the DA power system and the pads are great to use for hand applying sealants, waxes etc. I would buy the pads to use for hand applications now that I know how they feel and work. Easy to wash out. You could use the Meguiars DA to apply sealant and wax they have plenty of videos showing how. I just used the pads by hand for the sealant and really they are a nice size for the job. I used the yellow pads on the DA for most of the polishing and then the black one to go over it once with polish. I used the black pad for hand application of the sealant. It is crazy crazy slick. I had no idea my car could look so good. No wonder so many guys get hooked on car detailing. Little learned HINT: I did a lot of paint fixing before I polished (Plasti-Kote repair pen) and a few after I was done with polishing. The paint fixes that got polished were nice and smooth and of course no matter how careful you are there will be blobs. I was not confident to get out sanding paper no matter how gentle it was. The paint fixes really smoothed in when I polished. The paint was only one day applied. The little fixes I made AFTER polishing I can go and find with my hand but the others painted before polishing, not so much. I repeat I am a Grandma not a car guy. I am considering taking this thing to some ugly Formica to see what I can do next. I hear the Corian installers love this tool and they use it with Menzerna SF 4000 to remove light scratches while installing Corian.

I used this for the first time to do 2 things on my 08 civic; do a light compounding to the surface and apply a cleaning wax to the body. To do these tasks I used my corded drill that met the RPM specs as per the instructions of the DA power system tool. The paint finish was in a good condition but needed some minor work for the sake of looks. I will list the pros and cons as follows:Pros:1. Easy to hook up to the drill and once locked in place it stays sturdy.2. The pads works quite well and do not shred out or tear.3. Working out light scratches is far easier than by hand. Same goes for the cleaning of headlights, windows etc.4. The results are good. A silver car will not have the depth of a darker colour but still, it looks great.5. The tool does not cause any damage but....(see cons #3)Cons:1. No way can a vehicle be done in 30 minutes just waxing. I took 1.25 hrs. Compounding was about 2 hrs.2. Hard to work certain high areas such as the roof because of how the tool is held. Doors, hood etc. are far easier.3. Be careful with the pads. After compounding I was removing the pad and the backing that allows it to attach to the DA power system came right off. The adhesive became saturated with the product I was using causing it to become loose. Same thing with other pads. In my opinion damage could result if the pad fell off during use.4. Tool is tiring to use and causes some discomfort. Being small in diameter and the area to work plus the weight of the drill I would say it is better for small projects e.g. headlight restoration. In my view, not an entire vehicle.5. Price of the unit in comparison to some light duty orbital buffers.