Random orbital? I use the Porter Cable 7424XP. And Lake Country pads. I use the green pads for finish wax and the orange ones if I need to use a more aggressive compound like swirl remover.
Porter Cable is the way to go. You can buy one and use if for years heavily and never have an issue.
If you want limited use and a much shorter life before you go buy a Porter Cable then the Harbor is your tool. You get what you pay for here in the electronics. The Brushes usually go in these. For a cheap grinder or other tool you do not use often these tools are fine but I use my Porter often and love it to death and never had an issue.
As for polishes that is your own choice and preference. Right now I have Various Polishes from Maguire's Professional line and 3M. Right now I am happy with the 3M Finesse ultra fine for finish and use the more aggressive on surfaces in need of more work I do for others.
You just have to use different stuff and see what you like and how it works. One polish is not for all and that is why we have so many.
Keep a varity of pads as some are more aggressive than others as well a good supply of microfiber towels.
Now I do keep a regular buffer variable speed for heavy work and new paint. There are times you need the extra power but with it you need to practice and learn how to use it as they are much less forgiving.
The big and small of it here on the Harbor tool is if you plan to use it a lot and often buy the Porter. If you will only use it once a year the Harbor will be fine. I use them for my limited use tools but if I use something a lot and hard I keep with a better well known reliable brand. The Porter I have gets heavy use and is the standard that all others are based on for this tool.
I have the HF DA sander pictured above. It is (unbelievably) a high quality unit. I got their sanding pad attachment and use it as a DA sander mostly, but I have also polished with it. I recently used it to finish sand a 27' x 14' wood floor prior to finishing (loooong story there) and have used it to make spot repairs on the finished floor. In a few weeks I'll be using it to prep my truck for paint.
It has a speed control on the end by the cord. You dial in the speed you want and use the on/off switch with your thumb. The red pad above the spindle is for resting your palm if you need to put pressure on it (like when your on your knees removing scratches and swirls from your hardwood floor...).
Wait for it to go on sale and use a 20% off coupon.
Edited to add: For whatever it's worth, my HF angle grinder has outlived my 3X more expensive Ryobi. They are ALL made in the land of almost right, so start at the bottom of the price range and work your way up. I also have a HF 18V 1/4" impact driver that I use A LOT. It has about the same level of quality as my Dewalt 18V drill.
------------------ 1986 SE Aero coupe.
3.4 DOHC swap is complete and running, now just have to finish the rest of the car...
[This message has been edited by tesmith66 (edited 08-17-2015).]
The big and small of it here on the Harbor tool is if you plan to use it a lot and often buy the Porter. If you will only use it once a year the Harbor will be fine.
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback. I probably wouldn't be using it all that often.
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Originally posted by tesmith66:
I have the HF DA sander pictured above.
Wait for it to go on sale and use a 20% off coupon.
The sale price shown above, $59.99, is current. Are you aware of it being offered by HF for less? And where are the coupons found? I receive the HF emails, and I haven't noticed any coupons lately for any type of percentage reduction (over and above the sale prices).
A question for those of you with any of these units... Have you stuck with the backing plates that came with them, or have you bought smaller 5" plates like some people recommend?
I recently used it on my motorcycle to get out tank scratches and swirl marks and it came out very well, best it's ever looked in fact. The PC is one of the better polishers for a novice, and it is HARD to mess up with it. For my bike, the PC has an adaptor that accepts 4" pads for harder to reach areas, which made all the difference around the neck of the bike.
There are cheaper options, but Adams is very good and convenient. They are located not too far from me and I bought after I attended a detail clinic and saw results on an an attendees car.
Google "Harbor Freight 20% coupon", or get on the mailing list. I just got one in the mail a couple of weeks ago and used it on an electric trimmer while it was on sale. Got it for 23 bucks! It's actually a very nice trimmer. I also got the electric 10' pole saw and am very happy with it. They also have coupons at their website. They change the coupons weekly, so stay tuned.
HF has been ratcheting up the quality lately. I love going there.
Last summer I picked up a 2" gas powered water pump for $135 during their sidewalk sale. Fantastic price, and the pump is awesome. Works like a champ and always starts on the first pull.
I get at least four emails a month from HF with plenty of coupons for reduced prices on items, but no 20% off coupons. So I did a search online and found this...
I also found various discussions online as to whether or not HF will accept these 20% off coupons on sale price items. Seems to depend on not only which store you're at, but even which clerk you get. Interestingly enough, if you go through the steps of ordering online and having the item delivered... the coupon is accepted with a sale price item (although I didn't follow though to actually pay to see what ultimately happens).
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 08-17-2015).]
I recently used it on my motorcycle to get out tank scratches and swirl marks and it came out very well, best it's ever looked in fact. The PC is one of the better polishers for a novice, and it is HARD to mess up with it. For my bike, the PC has an adaptor that accepts 4" pads for harder to reach areas, which made all the difference around the neck of the bike.
There are cheaper options, but Adams is very good and convenient. They are located not too far from me and I bought after I attended a detail clinic and saw results on an an attendees car.
Yea, the junkman. That`s where I found out about the PC buffer and the hex-logic pads.
Well, that's 3 hours of my life I won't get back. Really good info, and I see now why the PC is the right tool for a beginner, but goodness, Mr. Junkman, that's three hours could be distilled down to about 45 minutes. I think that at eight minutes into the first video in the five part series he was still talking about the extension cord he bolted on his polisher.
Kinda stoked to stock up on some of that stuff and go to work on the Sprite, since the dark green paint on it shows the swirls the most of our three show cars.
[This message has been edited by lorennerol (edited 08-18-2015).]
I recently used it on my motorcycle to get out tank scratches and swirl marks and it came out very well, best it's ever looked in fact. The PC is one of the better polishers for a novice, and it is HARD to mess up with it. For my bike, the PC has an adaptor that accepts 4" pads for harder to reach areas, which made all the difference around the neck of the bike.
There are cheaper options, but Adams is very good and convenient. They are located not too far from me and I bought after I attended a detail clinic and saw results on an an attendees car.
Note Adams detail spray is the best stuff there is. You can use it in direct sun with black paint and no streaks. It was reformulated and is even better now.
I use it to dampen my polish pads before buffing with my PC buffer.
In the past, I'd always manually buffed everything. However, I picked up the DA polisher last year from Harbor Freight. I don't have any regrets. I'm sure the PC is probably better, but it is also a LOT more expensive. If I did this as may daily job, I'd probably go with the PC, but for a novice like myself, the Harbor Freight unit does the job extremely well.
------------------ -Chris '85 V6 SE 4sp (SOLD) '88 GT - Series 3 SC3800 w/ 3.5" pulley, 1.8" rockers, 3" exhaust, 3.5" intake, 3.29 gearing. Installed and tuned by Sinister Performance '99 Kawasaki Vulcan 500, owned since new '09 G37x Sedan w/ Premium & Nav (wife's car) '13 G37xS Sedan (new daily driver) '14 Yamaha FJR - 0-60 in 2.8s w/ 34MPG!!!
Yes, I purchased all three pads. They seem decent, but I don't have a lot to compare it to. I may switch out to a 5" backplate at some point, but for now, the 6" backplate meets my needs. I've used them with Zaino and NuFinish. I've been using the NuFinish to try and knock down some of the oxidation and orange peel, since NuFinish is cheap and works pretty good for that purpose. If you know you're going to be dealing with a lot of oxidized paint, I don't think I'd use one the hex logic pads for that... I'd use a cheaper pad and then use a hex logic pad for everything else.
Once the oxidation is taken care of, I'll switch to using some real compound. I've always had good luck with the stuff from 3M and will likely go that route unless the M105 & M205 is cheaper.
------------------ -Chris '85 V6 SE 4sp (SOLD) '88 GT - Series 3 SC3800 w/ 3.5" pulley, 1.8" rockers, 3" exhaust, 3.5" intake, 3.29 gearing. Installed and tuned by Sinister Performance '99 Kawasaki Vulcan 500, owned since new '09 G37x Sedan w/ Premium & Nav (wife's car) '13 G37xS Sedan (new daily driver) '14 Yamaha FJR - 0-60 in 2.8s w/ 34MPG!!!
I just use soap and water to clean. On a dry pad I use a conditioner before applying compound to buff. You can also just use conditioner to revitalize the compound already on the pad before it starts to dry out. It doesn`t take much compound to work. I have had really good results color sanding with 2500 grit and Meguires M105 and M205 compound with the hex logic Orange and White pads.
[This message has been edited by TXGOOD (edited 08-20-2015).]
Yes, I purchased all three pads. They seem decent, but I don't have a lot to compare it to. I may switch out to a 5" backplate at some point, but for now, the 6" backplate meets my needs.
I discovered that the reason many people change to the 5" backing plate is because the outer edge of their foam pads were being torn up while using the supplied 6" plate. Found a simple free solution/modification HERE.
I also discovered while doing research on this that swapping over to a 5" backing plate caused vibration problems if the counterweight wasn't also swapped out.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 08-20-2015).]
I just use soap and water to clean. On a dry pad I use a conditioner before applying compound to buff. You can also just use conditioner to revitalize the compound already on the pad before it starts to dry out. It doesn`t take much compound to work. I have had really good results color sanding with 2500 grit and Meguires M105 and M205 compound with the hex logic Orange and White pads.
What kind of conditioner do you use? I was going to buy some but don't know what to get or where to get it
I dont like to use a DA to sand wood. The crossgrain swirls show up bad in the stain. OK I guess for paint. I use a 'back n forth' hand sander for wood Im going to just clear or stain.
I use only a trusty old B&D 9" commercial buffer with a wool pad. Its heavy, but reliable. I just got a workout today. I started at 6:30 am before it got hot out and buffed out a custom painted 40' motorhome with 3 sliders. Im tired. A smaller one would have been lighter, but taken me twice as long. It took all of 8 hours as it was. Im going to hand wax it tomorrow....no buffer...get into nooks and crannies better.
Regular buffers are fine if you know what you are doing and have the practice and skill to use it. For the average guy who wants a good finish with little risk of buffing through a orbital buffer is the safer move.
I know you know that but I just want to warn others who have not used one. Also the regular buffer is a little over kill just to clean up a good finish.
To clean pads I just wash them out from the center out. I only use them for a short while and get new ones as they are not that expensive and I mostly work with black paint.
Anyone care to comment on how This one would compare to the Porter unit?
I made a road trip today down to the HF in Bellingham WA. They're having one of their 3-day Parking Lot sales. The DA polisher was marked down to $54.99, and the three different foam pads were also all marked down to $3.99 apiece.
I just need to learn what kind of goop to put on the pads and I'm all set.
The Porter-Cable is a standard bearer at it's price point. I found this video interesting. It goes into the advantages and disadvantages of some designs as you move up the price scale. This is with an eye on professional detailers, but it's good info. He mentions the "PC" towards the beginning. The Griots DA would be a step up but more closely related to the PC, I believe.
(this guy also has some insane detail vids show paint he's saved and restored)
The Porter-Cable is a standard bearer at it's price point. I found this video interesting. It goes into the advantages and disadvantages of some designs as you move up the price scale. This is with an eye on professional detailers, but it's good info. He mentions the "PC" towards the beginning. The Griots DA would be a step up but more closely related to the PC, I believe.
(this guy also has some insane detail vids show paint he's saved and restored)
Most good orbitals are either based on the PC or copied from the PC. I have seen PC with different names on them at higher prices but they are the same units.
Using sub tools may work but generally the correct tool always works better.
I see so many claim their leaf blower or compressor is the greatest thing to blow dry a car. Metro makes the Air Force Master Blaster. It is for nothing but drying cars. It has a focused jet of air that is warm and dries a car in ways the others only could wish. Now it is not cheap but for the job it does for me it was worth every penny because of all the drip places on my vehicles. Also with black cars they tend to dry too fact on their own even inside.
You can get a PC for about $100 and for what I use mine for it was worth every penny and had over 10 years of hard use but still works like new.
Another reason I like wool pads. I have a tool called a spur that has small spinning wheels with teeth that clean the residue out as you go. Ive also used a screwdriver. When foam clogs up, your done till you wash and dry it out again. The wool will also cut off lots of scratches a foam pad wont, or a random orbital buffer. My bigun took all the tree branch scratches from front to back on the sides of this motorhome completely out. Looks like it was just repainted at 10 years old.
One unintended side-effect of this thread and watching all those videos: Just got back from our local Corvette show and all I could see when I looked at paint was swirl marks. 50-60 Corvettes there and there was ONE that had nearly scratch-free paint. I'm afraid to go look at my Sky and Fiero, and Wifey's Sprite...
Edit to add: There was also one car there where a polisher had clearly gone right through the paint on several edges. Ouch.
[This message has been edited by lorennerol (edited 08-23-2015).]
One unintended side-effect of this thread and watching all those videos: Just got back from our local Corvette show and all I could see when I looked at paint was swirl marks.
Yeah, it's just like when you learn what to listen for when it comes audio compression, or what to look for when it comes to image compression... all you can notice from that point onward is compression artifacts. Ignorance is bliss!
Yeah, it's just like when you learn what to listen for when it comes audio compression, or what to look for when it comes to image compression... all you can notice from that point onward is compression artifacts. Ignorance is bliss!
Tinnitus saves me from fretting about audio compression. Maybe I just start wearing Mr. Magoo glasses to car shows
I'll go double-check my emails and report back.
Interestingly enough, if you go through the steps of ordering online and having the item delivered... the coupon is accepted with a sale price item (although I didn't follow though to actually pay to see what ultimately happens).
Ignorance is bliss! 
