Buffer recommendations

[GOT2B GM]

Just want to hear from the guys who have buffers on what works well, looking at picking one up this year.

 

Thanks

[warwgn3]

About 7 years ago when I had my old wagon, I spent 8 hours waxing it by hand.... after that I said "fuck this" and I got a Turtle Wax 10" orbital buffer for $50 at Wal-Mart, and still works great.

 

 

The only downsides are that it's too big to get the small intricate spots, like the plastic bumper fillers, and the vibrations tend to lead to the power cord falling off, and gets rather annoying.

 

 

[LuminaPower92]

That is more of an orbital for removing light swirls and wax.

 

I use @ work a Dewalt Heavy duty polisher Dw847.

 

Depending on how bad of shape the paint is i have a double sided wool pad to cut and some double sided blue waffle pads to polish out the swirls after compounding. Works wonders.

 

I also use 3m Compound to Buff, and use a local Ardex brand swirl remover then follow up with wax.

[LukeZ34]

The Porter Cable 7424xp is the best for a beginner to use, and even if your not a beginner, it's still great for medium to light scratches and swirls, with the correct pads of course. I've been able to do some serious paint correction with mine, but a rotary would have made the process much faster.

Rotary's are great, but it's very easy to burn your paint if you're inexperienced with one. The PC7424 is dual action, and cannot burn paint (with out a LOT of effort). It's what I would recommend to start with, and then upgrade to a rotary later if you see the need.

[terryk2003]

I like the Variable Speed Makita rotory polisher! Not sure of the model off hand but it's very nice. There is a knob to control the speed plus the trigger is variable.

[carkhz316]

That is more of an orbital for removing light swirls and wax.

 

I use @ work a Dewalt Heavy duty polisher Dw847.

 

Depending on how bad of shape the paint is i have a double sided wool pad to cut and some double sided blue waffle pads to polish out the swirls after compounding. Works wonders.

 

I also use 3m Compound to Buff, and use a local Ardex brand swirl remover then follow up with wax.

Have near the same buffer at the body shop I work at. Works great as the one we have has the speed adjustment dial on it. The trigger has variable speed as well. Works nice.

[mfewtrail]

I second Luke's recommendation. The PC7424 is plenty for most people's needs. If you do ever step up to a rotary buffer, get a junkyard hood to practice on...or practice on a car you don't care much about.

[GOT2B GM]

So you recommend this

 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/CarWashingCleaning/CarPolishers/PRD~0475940P/Porter%252BCable%252B6-in.%252BRandom-Orbit%252BPolisher.jsp

 

over this?

 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/CarWashingCleaning/CarPolishers/PRD~0475941P/DeWalt%252BCable%252B7-in.%252BVariable-Speed%252BPolisher.jsp

[jeremy]

I'd go with a CP869P

 

http://catalogue.cp.com/e-catalogue/index_xmlhttp.asp?target=vs-sanderspolishers&BA=it

 

 

[LukeZ34]

That's my recommendation, but it comes down to whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

As I said earlier, in my experiences with the PC polishers, you can cut just as good as a rotary, it just takes a little longer. The success in that is attributed mostly to the product you use, the style and cut of pad you have, and your technique. For the occasional detailer they are great, and the pads you get, if cared for properly, last a long time.. some of mine are going on 4 years old and still look and work great.

 

Check out autogeek. They offer starter packages for the PC which could help you get started for good prices, as well as all of the accessories too... Hopefully they ship to Canada, never looked in to that.

http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polishers.html

 

Everyone has their preferences, but not knowing your experience with these products, I always recommend the PC first. It allows one to get a good start and knowledge of how proper paint correction is done without causing accidental harm to your vehicle's paint. Once you get some experience with it, and a solid technique down, it will make the transition to a rotary that much easier. Besides, once you show off one of your freshly detailed, scratch/swirl free cars to your friends, they are gonna want you to do theirs too.. or at least that's what happened to me!

 

[LukeZ34]

BTW.. I'm going to move this to the appearance forum since it's better suited there.

[Regal_GS_1989]

Being that you're in Canada, check out http://eshine.ca

 

That is where I plan on ordering my Porter Cable

[GOT2B GM]

thanks for the link!

[55trucker]

 

 

I've got one similar to this as well, but geez...the damn thing weighs in at about 14lbs ..guess it's the arthritis in my hands & elbows but I can't do the entire car without having to constantly stop. How's your forearms Matt?

[Crazy K]

Is this where I can ask what to use to buff with? as in, what pads and what cutting compounds do you use?

[GOT2B GM]

sure

[runt]

Is this where I can ask what to use to buff with? as in, what pads and what cutting compounds do you use?

 

I'd also like to know this as well. Now that I see that the PC is only about $125 I might just have to save up my pennies and pick one up. Now that I"ll have two cars to maintain I'd like to make the process faster!

[LukeZ34]

I'll use Autogeek as a reference here since they have good information on their website.

 

For pad selection look here: http://www.autogeek.net/ccs-5-5inch-foam-buffing-pads.html

If you scroll down a bit, it will show you the different styles of pads, and what they are designed to do. Some are high cutting polishing pads, others are no-cut finishing pads. They all have their purpose, and you do not need ALL of those pads to do a quality job. For example, most cars I detail, I use 3 pads. Orange for compounds to remove scratches and swirls, a white pad and light polish to remove any hazing that the orange pad/compound left on the paint, and finally a grey pad to apply a wax or sealant. For paint jobs that are heavily scratched, I pull out a yellow pad and some heavy cut compound, and then work my way through the other pads like normal.

The pads that I linked to above, are great pads, but there are many other brands out there that are just as good. I just used that page to show the heirachy when it comes to pad aggressiveness.

 

As far as product goes, it's always debatable, but it's best to just pick some and try it out. Meguiars is a good brand, Poorboys world is another one I recommend, and there are many others too. They all make compounds that range from heavy cut to light cut, and all make good sealants and waxes as well.

 

 

So just as an example, in case your looking for product to buy to get started, this is what I have in my detailing inventory:

 

PC7424 Buffer

CCS Smart Pads: 1 Yellow, 2 Orange, 2 white, 1 green, 2 grey. + Many others that are no longer made.

Meguiars Heavy Cutting compound

PoorBoys World SSR 2.5, 2, and 1

PoorBoys World Nattys Paste Wax

PoorBoys Worls EX-P Sealant

+ Plus lots of 3M stuff too.

Don't forget clay bars, and tire dressing. The PBW Bold n' Bright tire dressing is what I prefer as it's not a 'shine' for the rubber (which I hate), but it just turns it a deep black, which to me is what a tire should look like. Doesn't pick up a lot of dust either like others I've used in the past.

Hope that helps someone out.

 

[Euro]

The Porter Cable 7424xp is the best for a beginner to use, and even if your not a beginner, it's still great for medium to light scratches and swirls, with the correct pads of course. I've been able to do some serious paint correction with mine, but a rotary would have made the process much faster.

Rotary's are great, but it's very easy to burn your paint if you're inexperienced with one. The PC7424 is dual action, and cannot burn paint (with out a LOT of effort). It's what I would recommend to start with, and then upgrade to a rotary later if you see the need.

 

I think I'm going to try out this one this summer. Thanks Luke!

[bg35765]

If you want the original Porter Cable 7424 instead of the 7424xp, there is one online store still selling new ones. And they are $109, which is cheaper than I have seen a few used ones go for on ebay.

 

Here is a link. I ordered one a couple weeks ago along with the bigger counter weight that is supposed to cut down on vibrations. I received it, but have not had a chance to use it yet.

 

http://www.tools-plus.com/porter-cable-7424.html

 

 

[LukeZ34]

15% off at autogeek.net thru Sunday March 28th at midnight. Use coupon code: DETAILFEST5

 

Saw that on their facebook page today, thought i'd pass it along to those of you who are thinking about purchasing supplies.

[runt]

So, I think I'm going to order something hopefully tonight. I see that 15% off coupon and it's REALLY enticing and the fact that the wife give me the 100% go-ahead makes me want to do it now!

 

http://www.autogeek.net/hk7424.html

 

I'm looking at that. For pads I was thinking of starting with Yellow, Orange, White, Green and Gray. it comes with 2 free Red pads which sound like that is what you apply the final coat with.

 

I have some liquid products, but I think that I might get some other compounds. I see that Poor Boys is pretty popular. But would:

 

Meguiars Heavy Cutting compound

PoorBoys World SSR 2.5, 2, and 1

PoorBoys World Nattys Paste Wax

PoorBoys Worlds EX-P Sealant

 

be a good start? And do I really need a heavy cutting compound. I've been doing some research at AutoGeek but I think it helps when some guys have real world experience with these products.

 

I think I'll try:

http://www.autogeek.net/poorboys-swirl-remover-kit.html - At least gets me a start, I guess. I can always order more later.

 

I'm probably going to pickup the PB sealer, but I think for now I'm not going to get any wax as I do have a lot of Meg's and Mother's products. Does that sound OK to use??

 

I also have some 3M products but I'm not 100% sure what they are right now as they are at my parents house.

 

I hope Luke sees this soon!!

 

[Euro]

Yeah, I'm at a bit of a fork in the road. After doing some reading the last few days, I definitely picked up some tips that'll help me detail better...I'm just not sure if my POS looking paint will be worth attempting to get back to life. ugh.

[LukeZ34]

I would only recommend the heavy compound if you've got serious swirls and scratches to remove. I bought that when I detailed a friends Dodge Caliber which had seen lots of dirt roads and automatic car washes. The SSR line just didn't cut hard enough on that paint, but the Meguiars cut right through it.

But IF you buy the heavy compound, I'd skip buying the SSR 2.5.. but if you don't buy the heavy compound, I'd buy the 2.5, skip the 2 and buy the 1. The SSR 1 works great to buff out the haze left by the 2.5 or any heavy compound.

It's alright to use other waxes and sealants other than PBs. So to save money, I'd just use what you have. You'll notice the biggest difference just by polishing the scratches out first, the wax is just to protect what's there.

 

Your pad selection looks good too. You may want to buy some pad cleaner, or at least get some oxiclean. You always want to clean them out good after use either by hand or machine. I've thrown mine in the washer with a little oxiclean (works good for microfiber towels too) and cold water. Use a delicate cycle, and let the pads air dry (dry microfibers in a dryer, with NO dryer sheet).

 

In the mean time, check out their how-to video on using the PC polisher. They have a lot of good resources on their website to learn anything you would want to know about detailing.

http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html

[GOT2B GM]

Done and done