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I'm looking to buy a random orbital polisher and given the various angles on this car, I'm thinking that a smaller pad might be the way to go. Am I correct in my thinking or is that really a concern here? Any recommendations on polishers that you've used and liked are appreciated.
I'm looking to buy a random orbital polisher and given the various angles on this car, I'm thinking that a smaller pad might be the way to go. Am I correct in my thinking or is that really a concern here? Any recommendations on polishers that you've used and liked are appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike
I like the 3"-4" to get into all the curves. beyond that size you are bending a foam pad at some funny angles,and a Microfiber pad simply will not get in there.
In my shop I have a Flex PE8 and can tell you it is not for uninitiated. It take some knowledge and skill to not burn the paint, but has its place.
I also have a Rupes 75E 3" and like it alot, easy to use, controllable and won't burn the paint.
I just ordered a Rupes 75HR, 3" which is a pnuematic DA polisher. It has a much larger throw and able to cut much better. We get alot of cars that have a tight curves and the 5"-6" just doesn't cut it.
I have had customers come into my shop and as an example the windshield weatherstripping was cut. I asked and found that the previous detailer cut it. No doubt they used a larger pad to get into a corner of the hood and the edge of the pad cut the molding. The 3" inch is able to deal with the edges of the hood, A-pillar,and tight curves etc
While the Rupes 75E is an awesome machine, it still takes a fair amount of time to deal with removing swirls.scratches in small areas. The Pnuematic 75HR has a much better ability to deal with them faster. In my case time is lost money, or worse customer dissatisfaction as we did not clean up the scratches in those small areas.
Hope that helps
Dual action polishers are a great tool. There are several very nice polishers on the market, it just depends on how much you want to spend. If you are not going to detail on a commercial basis something like a Griots or Porter Cable may be fine for your application. Both polishers are under $150 and do a great job. Autogeek sells various levels and priced polishers and has online videos for the correct use of the polishers and various related products.
Understand the sentiment regarding cost, but I'm not terribly worried about it with regards to a purchase like this. Obviously, if I can spend $150 and achieve the same results with the same effort as I can with that $400 polisher...no brainer. Otherwise, the best typically costs more and I'm OK with that.
Had a chance to use the Rupes 75HR, on 4 cars, and it was incredible. Made a huge difference getting into the small areas and curves and made the car simply look so much better. It was night and day for us.
You do need a good compressor. It does consume air, but so worth the investment.
Should have updated this thread a while back but here we go. Ended up getting a Rupes Bigfoot LHR15 Mark II. Couldn't find a negative review on it, in fact, nothing but rave reviews. Ended up buying a full kit with buffer, pads, compounds, and miscellaneous supplies. Order additional pads to make certain I have enough to work a few vehicles. Figure I'll start on my 2007 F150, then hit up the unwrapped panels on the wife's Audi. After that, I'll do the Corvette before I get it wrapped.
Understand the sentiment regarding cost, but I'm not terribly worried about it with regards to a purchase like this. Obviously, if I can spend $150 and achieve the same results with the same effort as I can with that $400 polisher...no brainer. Otherwise, the best typically costs more and I'm OK with that.
Thanks again,
Mike
The advantage of a higher priced polisher is the speed of correction due to the increased torque and orbit of the machine. In the end you can effect exactly the same results with a $150 machine as you can with a $400 machine, just not as fast as the higher priced unit.
I snagged my Porter Cable 7424XP from Amazon during a $119 sale! Best purchase I ever made. Been doing initial first step cutting on my daily driver to get rid of all the swirls the previous owner created. Used some Sonus SFX-1 polish with Meguiar's 5" cutting pads. Holy crap! Swirls be gone. LOL
11-04-2017, 06:27 PM
Polisher with large or small pad
The advantage of a higher priced polisher is the speed of correction due to the increased torque and orbit of the machine. In the end you can effect exactly the same results with a $150 machine as you can with a $400 machine, just not as fast as the higher priced unit.
