Realistically, no, unfortunately hand polish will have a very difficult time achieving the same results as machines polish. When u hand polish, at best u could start with 30-40 RPM with your hands (if u bother to count the amount of rotations u do per minute on a panel), but by the time u have done 1 panel and moving on to the next, u will start to get tired and your speed slows down to maybe 20 RPM. A typical rotary machine's lowest speed is 600 RPM, so its easily doing 15-20 times faster work in polishing your paint. Besides, hand movement often provide far less consistent pressure on the pad and paint, and machines would generally have more consistent pressure.

Having said that, it is still very useful to have some compound and polish at home. If u do get some fine scratches, u can easily spot polish and remove some of these scratches quite easily.

Tricky, rotary is great at cutting, but finishing had always been tougher, especially for the less experienced. That is why DA became so popular, because it can finish to high gloss and swirl free even for newbies.

Handwax generally is still the most practical option.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD2q2gLzNlQ

For u 2-bucket wash fans out there, here's an interesting modification to the existing system.

From my own basic logic, the inner side of the wash mitt will have the dirt pushed further into the mitt, unless u flip it around and wring again with the spinner. Basic g-force rules.

If u guys got time and patience, then can try wash 2 cars with different variations of this method and see if what he says is true.

Cleaner wax is the super mild version of a typical polish, so u can use that first. If dont work then polish. Clay only helps to remove embedded contaminants, for ur case it is more of a stain that may have mildly etched in.

Erm, while u may have the mindset of not being particular about how the results turn out, but think of it as u plan to get B&D KP600 which is quite useless, then u may as well save the RM300 budget and use your own hands to do the work and treat it as exercise. I kinda think anyone that is wanting to invest any money into a polish machine would want to see results that are far better than what can be done by hand, else why spend in the first place?

Alternatively u could also spend the RM300 going to a detailing shop to give your car some decent polish and wax.

Just my 2 sen.

As now u understand, hand compounding and polishing can be extremely tiring if u want it done right. So u want to get a machine that replicates your hand efforts of a good quality compound/polish. There is where I would say that B&D KP600 isnt worth your money, because it probably wont do half the work u did by hand that made u so tired.

I did post earlier regarding hand compound and polishing. There is an exceptional disadvantage that your hand pressure can be inconsistent and thereby creating inconsistent results. Too much pressure and u are pretty much forcing the abrasives in your compound/polish to scratch instead of removing scratches, to little pressure and u are not removing scratches anyway.

Since u have the thoughts of investing in a machine that can use to compound/polish/wax other cars down the road as u said, then the suggestion is always to get a better machine.

http://osren.com/product/tools-and-accessories/all?p=1

https://www.facebook.com/shinematemalaysia/

https://www.facebook.com/rupesmalaysia/

A selection for u to choose from. However, unfortunately the budget definitely have to be higher than the initial RM300 u mentioned.

Just my 2 sen.

Lol, I always keep detailing supplies shop at the back of my mind so as I know I can go anytime to get what I need. That makes it kinda worse, cuz end up I do both that u guys mentioned, lol.

Lucky thing other than Osren, SGCB and Meguiars suppliers are far away for me.

I try to avoid shipping if it is within Klang Valley area. So kinda disciplining myself only to go buy when I am sure I need or want it, hehehe....

Now my itches are overseas orders for some stuff that cant get here, especially pads and latest Meguiars M110 and M210, hehehe....

Lol, money tight and no sales, so only thing I can do is scratch myself.

Own use, detailing shop biz closed down long time ago.

Yes, tried D300, quite decent, but lacks more cut when required.

Agreed, and worse still is its flash drying which makes it almost impossible to remove without IPA assistance. This is one disadvantage that I constantly struggle to deal with.

However, M105's biggest advantage is its ability to cut very rapidly. Apart from M100, this is probably the next heaviest cut in their lineup. And since I had a gallon of M105 and being a home detailer takes forever to finish, so just hold back on other purchases for now, lol.

I dont use Rupes pads because they are quite expensive to replace when they eventually wear and tear. Also, I use a custom 5" backing plate for my Rupes 21Mk2, so I go for 5" Meguiars/Lake Country Microfiber cutting pads paired with M105, then Meguiars black pads paired with M205 for finishing.

The results come up to 90-95%, and because I tend to get lazy when it comes to protection after the first post-polish application, then this effort will last me for some time.

I guess there are all sorts of car users in this world, and there are many who really dont care (some to the point where they hardly wash their car even). I always believe each to his/her own element, but I always offer my close friends and family some detailing advice whenever they see the world of difference between my car and theirs, lol.

Aiya, I actually have 1 gallon of it bought last year, also hardly use (mainly just as a replacement rim wash). Could have sold u probably 1 liter of it, and still have plenty spare for myself.

Wow, didnt know pressure washers actually appreciates! U must have taken very good care of ur unit for a long time!

Personally though I had a bad experience with Karcher. Bought a Karcher vacuum cleaner, spoiled in less than 2 years even though hardly use, repair motor cost 3/4 price of brand new. Now just stick to Philips for vacuum cleaners, lol.

Hmm, I didnt get any streaking for rain post-application. Is that streaking or is it the rain washing off the PeRL?

Erm, those are rotary polishers. I would suggest u research on youtube about rotary polishers extensively before considering. They are generally more for experienced detailers who know how polishing works.

Generally I would recommend DA for first-timers. U can read just previous or this page that I posted some links to reliable suppliers and brands.

Perhaps consider trying this: apply with your sponge, then buff off excess lightly with another clean towel. Then repeat with 2nd application. Hopefully this may work better?

Honestly I wouldnt know the difference between a "soft" and "hard" surface of plastic trims. I only know plastic trim by their roughness/smoothness, and even so I personally wouldnt expect PERL to streak like that.

Hmm, then I wouldnt agree entirely. I find that Carpro PERL as a water dilutable plastic and rubber protectant is great value for money, and not so much on durability. I have applied PERL on an entire car’s plastic trims (inside and outside the car), tyres and wheel arches. Typically I see it lasts longer on plastic trims because usually tyres will be the first to contact water (water puddle).

Perhaps I could suggest try using it a few more times and see if it still occur. Hope it helps.

Perhaps I would suggest skipping the IPA part. While IPA is great in many uses, it does strip plastics of their "moist" and eventually may make plastics crack. This is also true for rubber. If u do need to thoroughly clean your plastics or rubber, a good APC or even degreaser would do the job just fine.

Just based on my experience.

I think paint imperfections from factories are quite rare generally, as from my understanding factory painting is done by precision robotic arms. However it is not impossible to happen despite all the care taken to prevent it.

Depending on the type of nib u have, if it bulges out then u have the option to shave it with a razor blade (use extreme care), or spot wetsand it to flatten it and follow up with compounding and polishing.

If it concaves in, then u may need to spot wetsand so that the surrounding clearcoat levels (or close to leveling) with the concave, followed by compounding and polishing.

Well, I drive Honda Civic 2016, bought among the first or 2nd batch, my disappointment when collecting the car was the gaps between the doors, fenders, bumpers, rear boot cover, all got alignment issues. Had to get them to readjust to give the gaps a more even look, else ppl will think I wrecked my car and all are replaced parts, lol.

Generally, the correct compound to use to polish and windows is compounds that contain cerium oxide (key component). This is even available in pure powder form and can be used to polish windscreens once added with some water to make a paste. However, it depends on what defect u are trying to remove. Are u trying to remove water marks/spots or scratches? Does your rear windscreen have wiper attached (like typical hatchback cars or SUV), or no?

Also, just to note that side mirrors are not the same glass material as the windscreens, so removing waterspots with this method is highly NOT advisable.

On a side note, there is another method that is highly NOT recommended historically to clean waterspots, which is by means of using acid. However, in my recent polishing round of my wife's car, I had found that acid with the right dilution can still be highly effective and still safe (to a certain degree) to use. I do have to note that I have only tested it on one car (Toyota Altis) windscreens, and results may differ for other cars. Nonetheless, I believe it is worth sharing it as well.

Hmm, if your friend ended up changing the windscreen, that would mean the polish he used scratched his winscreen more than removing waterspots. Perhaps u could share what he used and how he did it for our analysis?