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Looking to purchase a Griots Garage 6 inch orbital polisher. My 2015 black vette has allot of micro swirls/scratches that I want to remove. I have used the Blackfire Total Polish and Seal as per Glenn e instructions. Not having a orbital polisher at the time I applied this by hand when the car was new...June 2015......I am afraid having no experience using a orbital polish I might create more swirls than I have now! I've seen many black cars on the road with what I think are major swirls made by a orbital polishe....don't want that... I have watched several u tube videos on how to use a orbital polisher. Figure it can't hurt to ask forum members for some advise ....like is there a better orbital polisher, what type polishing pads to use, a better swirl remover product, proper use of a orbital polisher, etc. Also looking to apply cquartz after clay barring and removing the swirls....not sure if I should attempt applying the cquartz myself.
Dan

Glen e

Griots 6 in polisher, still the best value out there......learn to use a polisher- Autogeek DIY vids - and you will never swirl from use. Medium pad (white or green) and med speed. Use Meguires 205 polish.

Or the griots cordless...a great polisher and more than enuf power/charge a new car...it's all I use these days...

C7-Beast

This ^^^

Mine is about 10 years old and going strong. I thought about upgading to a Flex but at this time, I can't justify the additional expense.

nmvettec7

What's the difference between?

* Dual-Action polisher
* Orbital buffer
* Rotary buffer


Dual-Action polishers and Orbital buffers

The motors and drive units on these two types of polisher's oscillate in an eccentric circular motion. This type of motion is much safer to the paint because it's virtually impossible to apply too much concentrated pressure in one place at one time. Chances are good that when too much pressure is applied, the oscillating action will come to a stop thereby protecting the finish.

Because these types of machines oscillate instead of rotate, they will not instill the dreaded buffer swirls or holograms into your finish as long as you use the appropriate chemicals, buffing pads and bonnets. This safety feature makes these machines highly popular with enthusiasts who would like to use a machine but at the same time, are afraid of burning or inflicting swirls into their car's finish.

Both the G-100 and Orbital buffers offer a number of benefits:

* Uncomplicated – Remove from box, attach buffing pad or bonnet, plug in, turn on, start buffing.

* Versatile – Can be used for cleaning, polishing, and applying waxes.

* Takes most of the labor out of the process, the machine does the work, all you do is hold it.

* Faster, more thorough - you can cover more area and do a better job with a machine.

* Creates a more uniform, higher gloss finish than your hands.

* Pushes polishing oils and protective waxes into the pores and microscopic surface imperfections far better than your hands can ever accomplish.

In recent years, the Porter Cable Dual-Action polisher (G-100) has become the machine of choice over the older style Orbital buffers for a number of different reasons:

* Smaller size and lighter weight makes them easier for anyone to use.

* Very easy to control, requires no previous experience or skill to use correctly.

* Smaller size enables you to work on small panels and tight areas easier with better control.

* More options for buffing pads and bonnets.

* Velcro® interface makes changing between pads fast and easy.

Rotary buffers

Rotary buffers are drastically different in the way they work compared to Dual-action polishers and Orbital buffers.

The drive unit used in a rotary buffer is referred to as a direct drive. What this means is the auger, (the threaded part to which the backing plate attaches), is driven directly off the electric motor. This results in a powerful rotating motion. This rotating motion is typically clockwise as you look at the rotary buffer from behind, as though you were using it on a panel.

Because the rotary buffer is a direct drive machine, it can do a lot of work very quickly. By work, we mean, the rotary buffer will remove paint.

Meguiar's understands the average person doesn't want to remove precious paint from their car's finish. However, sometimes removing paint is necessary in order to create a high gloss, defect-free finish. Example: If you have a scratch in your car's finish, say someone keyed your car, or a cat jumped up on the hood and left behind claw scratches. From a horizontal point of view, these scratches would look like this,

In order to remove these scratches, you will need to remove enough paint surrounding the scratches in order to make the surface level. As you can see in this example, removing the scratches will require removing quite a bit of paint material, and in the case of the deep key scratch (where the arrow is pointing), you will not be able to completely remove it without exposing the base, or color coat of paint. This is a situation where you are better off improving the scratch, not completely removing the scratch.

Second Example: Many cars, after being painted, are wet-sanded in order to remove orange peel or to bring the surface to a show car quality finish. After the finish has been sanded, the way you remove the sanding marks is to buff the finish with a cutting compound and a rotary buffer. The cutting compound abrades the paint, removing, or leveling the finish until it’s completely flat.

After the surface is buffed flat, it will then be polished with a cleaner/polish like Meguiar’s M-83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish with the rotary buffer to restore a swirl-free, high gloss finish. Rotary buffers are necessary to do both of these procedures because both of these procedures require that some portion of the paint is removed.

Dual-action polishers and Orbital buffers do not have an aggressive enough action to remove small particles of paint in an effort to remove most defects, including sanding marks. This is the same reason Dual-action polishers and Orbital buffers are safe… they don’t have an aggressive action, thus they are safe. However, because they are safe (do not have an aggressive action), they are not aggressive enough to remove all but the finest of scratches.

Do not purchase a dual action polisher or orbital buffer hoping to use these to remove major or even minor scratches, as they are just not aggressive enough. They can often be used to remove fine or shallow scratches and swirls, but they will not remove any scratch that is deep enough to place your fingernail into.

Remember, using a rotary buffer successfully requires both skill and experience. If you use a rotary buffer and are not skilled in its use, you can easily apply too much pressure to the paint and burn right through it, requiring a new paint job. This same result can happen if you use a buffing pad attached to an electric drill. ****

****Source: Mike Phillips @ Autogeek a CF vendor.

BIG Dave

Been using the Griot's for years. Works great!

jdsaengine

I use a "Flex" purchased from Detailed Image, a forum vendor, and Menzerna products.

you can see the difference on the front of my C5 with about 10min of buffing. I leaned on it pretty heavy over the entire car, the hard clear coat is real forgiving.

JoeD-C8

Youtube is your friend here for instructional how-to's. Rotary buffer require more finesse, DA are much safer, though not fool proof.
Practice on another car, someone always has a beater, like your wife or friend.
As far as clearcoat goes I would be very careful. The thickness varies from car to car and you need to let the machine do the work. You should never have to lean on the machine. The last thing you want to do is burn through your clearcoat. Do some research, every manufacturer uses a different clearcoat formula and each reacts differently to different polishes. It may take a few trial and errors before you find the ones that you like. Most of the detail forums here will at least lead you to the best polishes and in what steps to use them.

Then you can tackle waxes and sealants, another whole ballgame.

Glen e

An orbital, with a medium foam pad, and a finishing plish, will NEVER burn through the paint, if used in the normal manner. That's why they're great for us ,that are amateur detailers.

Now a Rotary like my Flex , with a hybrid wool pad, I can burn thru the paint in less than 30 seconds or so.......

traderfjp

I use mine maybe a few times a year. I bought a Harbor Freight polisher for around 50.00 and it works great. However, I find myself using my PC orbital sander because it's a lot lighter and easier on the arms. The pads fit the sander nicely. I wouldn't spend to much on one of these unless you are a professional.

USMC 0802

Another vote for Griots.

I only use their products on my cars and bikes for 20 years. The random orbital makes life so easy.

C8Jake

$110 SHIPPED...it'll even fit a 3" flex backing plate

Carnut1

I bought mine when they first came out with it. I would agree youtube good place to look, though some advice. If it were me I would first take any wax that is on the car off, and then I would clay (these days they make pads like nanoskin) the car. You will get much better results that way. Over the years I have found different waxes and polishes work better than others on different manufacturers paint formulas. I have yet to do anything to my car, but perhaps others on here would suggest the best waxes and polishes for these cars.

jim2092

My Flex DA Orbital does everything better then a Porter Cable. I gave my Porter Cable away when I got the Flex. It is more expensive as you might imagine. The off hand handle is on top and not the side which can tilt the pad. It has a trigger speed adjustment and speed control on the comfortable control handle which allow changes while still operating. And it is gear driven so it will not stop orbiting like the Porter with too much pressure. The Porter has none of the above.

GizmoZ

Another vote for the Griot's Garage 6". I have the Flex 3401 as well but 9 times out of 10, the GG is plenty. I highly recommend getting a 5" backing plate and running the smaller pads on a car like the Corvette.

Glen e

when you buy an orbital you pay more for two things; one that is lighter and one that does not vibrate your hand off.

Use a harbor freight and then use a griots...night and day diff... and two hours later you are not sore from doing isometrics and the vibration...

now if you only use it one a year, then harbor freight makes sense.

C7-Beast

The cheap ones are like running a chain saw. Your arms twitch for hours

Rguy271

I use the porter cable seen above.

Carnut1

I bought mine when they first came out with it. I would agree youtube good place to look, though some advice. If it were me I would first take any wax that is on the car off, and then I would clay (these days they make pads like nanoskin) the car. You will get much better results that way. Over the years I have found different waxes and polishes work better than others on different manufacturers paint formulas. I have yet to do anything to my car, but perhaps others on here would suggest the best waxes and polishes for these cars.

C7-Beast

The clay will remove any wax or sealants but I always like to use Griots "Paint Prep" just to ensure I get it all. Polishing will remove most waxes and sealants too. My once a year routine is wash, clay, wash, prep, paint correction/polish, seal/coat.

dovervold

Black is going to keep you busy if you want to keep a show looking shine (nothing better than a black car when it is prepped right). I have been using Adam's for quite a few years. Expensive, but you always get what you pay for. You may want to check out the videos on their site. They are experts. Oh I miss the days when I had two Black Vette's to take care of