My Sears random orbital 9 inch buffer is good for general stuff, but I need something better for polishing. I eliminated the DeWalt 849 because it only takes their pads, but am considering the 7424 Porter Cable and wanted to know if it takes everyone else's pads. Are there any limitations with the 7424? It's a 6 inch buffer, but can I put on a 7 or 9 inch pad? Will Vecro do the job or do I need a hook system? Thanks!

 

I use the PC with lake country foam pads, both 5" and 6" with a velcro backing plate. I got everything from the geek.
You may want to check out the edge pads?
I believe you are advised against using the bigger pads you mentioned.
I really like my PC.

 

What color pad do you use?

 

We offer the UDM (on sale this weekend) and PC7424 in kits to take the guess work out ordering. You traditionally have two types of pad kits to choose from, the Lake Country (hook/loop) type and the Edge (adapter/dual sided pad) systems.

Both machines have been proven to be a safe enhancement for car care and will go along way in replacing that old buffer. Just remember its also valuable to consider polishes, and we carry Optimum, Menzerna, Poorboys and XMT which are considered the best in the industry.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ghlight=review
PC 7424 review/long

This is overkill, but.....
I like the orange pads, but the standard advice is to start with the white pad to see if it does what you are looking for. If it doesn't (I don't think it will) then you step up to the orange pad.
I have not used the edge pads.

 

Let's be clear:

Velcro = trade name for a "hook and loop system".
so when you read "hook and loop" backing plate , that means a VELCRO backing plate.

Once you buy a Velcro backing plate (usually 5" diameter), you can put any size pad on that plate that is bigger than the backing plate: some guys use 5.5 inch, 6", or 6.5" (what I use). Make sure that the polishing pad has significantly larger diameter than the backing plate - so that you have a safety zone of overhang over the edges of the backing plate. You do NOT want the bare backing plate coming in contact with your paint!

Bottom line: get a PC 7424, 5" backing plate, 6.5" diameter Lake Country pads ( sold at autogeek.net and elsewhere).

you can put on pads that are larger than 6.5", but you won't want to - they will not be able to reach into the curves and indentations on the hoods and door areas of many modern car models. Stick to 6'5" pads. Consider getting 3.5" "spot buffer" pads if you're going to do lots of tight work in cramped curved areas of specialty cars.

 

Bugman:
You know your stuff. You sound like a pro. Thanks for the info. BTW, you're not too far from me, I'm in the Philly suburbs.

 

Well, I just ordered the Porter Cable 7424 kit today and it's on the way. It will be nice to have some professional equipment to do the car now. I got it from autogeek.net. They know their stuff and had good prices.

 

The DeWalt 849 uses any pad you want it to, I am not sure where you heard this information?

For major paint work, or for ultimate results the DeWalt is a much more capable machine the the PC/UDM. This is also a double edged sword, as the DeWalt is capable of doing a lot of damage and has a much higher learning curve than a PC/UDM.

The biggest problem you will have is technique with the PC/UDM, as there is still a learning curve to using the machine to its fullest potential. As it is underpowered, you will want to use a smaller pad, as the a pad larger than 6.5 inches increases the drag on the paint and will bog the motor down heavily. With the PC/UDM, smaller pads allow the energy to be focused in a smaller area, so there is a great potential for work.

You should do a lot of research on proper technqiue but the pointers are...

Use speed 5 to 6 (I like 6) for polishing. Press down on the machine with about 8-15 lbs of pressure on the head of the unit. Work slowly, about one inch of armspeed per second. This is VERY slow, and the chances are you are going much faster than this. Pretend you are moving the machine an inch and count a full second off. It is a slow rate, but neccessary.

Work in overlapping passes, in an area never greated than 5 square feet or so, until the polish turns clear, but never overbuff until the polish goes dry.

The porter cable is not really a pro machine (the DeWalt is) but it is user friendly and perfect for mastering the concepts of polishing before stepping up to a direct drive (DeWalt) polisher in the future. Good luck!

 

Did you have to go back over it with a white pad to remove any hazing or marring from the orange pad or were you happy with the finish directly from the orange pad?

 

I did try the white pad/zpc and didn't think it was worthwhile. As you can see time/effort were not my concern, if it needed it I would have done it. The zpc was definitely needed after the IP though.

 

The degree if polishing haze or marring that you get will depend not only on the pad, but the pad-polish combination.

Orange pad + Scratch X , or orange pad + Zaino PC fusion = no marring left, no need to step down to a white pad.

orange pad + Menzerna Intensive Polish = very nice finish, but I see some very small benefit if I step down to a white pad and Zaino PC fusion as my finaly step.



The difference is in "how aggressive" is your first step? If it is a mild abrasive combination (Zaino PC fusion), then you're done. If it were a more aggressive combination, you'll need to "step down" to get the finish perfect.

Forgot to mention that buffer speed is also a part of that combination, so fast speeds - potential for a little marring, and then need for a second pass with a more gentle combination.


Hey HotRod Neil : howdy neighbor !
Coming down for Ocean City this fall?

 

Steve8 and Bugman, thanks for the extra info on the orange pads. The reason I asked was because I bought a six pack of the orange pads from Autogeek that I haven't used yet. So far, I've only been using the white pads. I just bought Zaino PC Fusion and was thinking of using the orange pads to get out a few light scratches and swirls. I usually polish at speed 5 on my PC, so it sounds like I should be good to go.

 

 

Don't waste time with a white pad and Z-PC - I think you'll get nowhere on the hard Vette Clearcoat. Use the orange pad, PC speed 5.5 - 6.0 and you'll do quite well with Zaino PC fusion. You can actually remove the very light superficial swirlmarks that most vehicles have.

For deeper scratches, you'll have to use a more aggressive product, but for typical use, the combination above works great, with no need to use the white pad afterward.

My white pads almost never get used at all - better to stock up on the orange ones.

 

PC is the best bet ! ! cant go wrong

 

Actually, a rotary is the best option, but in the hands of a novice it can do serious damage to the paint. So for the best option that is still safe for beginners, that would be the UDM (Ultimate Detailing Machine) I just got one this week and it's a lot better than the PC! I tried out a PC 7424 a few weeks ago and it would bog down quite noticeably when you put a lot of pressure on it, but the UDM barely bogs down at all, it's got a much stronger motor. It also doesn't seem to vibrate as much.