[TonyFromOz]

Mark.

Originally Posted by markathome

As I'm a novice it seems best for me to start with a Porter-Cable and not a rotary. Where do I get one from in NZ? Import like everyone around the world? Is there an alternative to PC?

The Porter Cable is undoubtedly a fine tool for the work involved in detailing.
The minor problem that a lot of people from Australia, and in your case New Zealand, have is that the supply of electrical power is different.

My background is an Aircraft Electrical Trades Technician in the Royal Australian Air Force, where I served for 25 years, the last 6 years teaching the electrical trade.

So when Australians see our American friends having so much success with the PC, the idea immediately springs to mind about getting one of them. Reluctant as I am to caution against it, I do think you should be aware of some of the other requirements and some of the other things that are not readily (or easily for that fact) understood.

True, you may be able to obtain a PC, but unlike other Companies who do make tools that can be used for this application, the PC is only made in the US specifically for US usage. Hence the tool works on the American Power supply of 115 Volts and 60 Hz.

So having paid for the PC, you now also have to purchase a transformer power unit to step down the voltage from your 230/240 in NZ to the PC's 115. In doing so, the current is stepped up by the same proportion.
No problem there, as it's just Power in equals Power out. The problem lies in the frequency of that delivered power. In the US, it is 60 Hz, and in NZ, it's only 50 Hz. This might seem negligible surely, and will make little difference you might think. Not so.
The tool now runs just that little bit slower, and you may think that this is also of little consequence, but you will read here on this Forum that you run the PC on a certain speed with a certain coloured pad to achieve a certain result. As the tool now runs slower, those marks are different, and the results achieved may differ.

So, in the long run, cruise forums that will recommend a tool specific to your power requirements, and in nearly every case, you should be able to obtain the correct tool for a lot cheaper, and with less hassle than the PC which is absolutely ideal for use in the US, but not in Countries where the power is not the same.

See how it's not easy to explain. To that end, I hope I have shown you some of the differences.

Sorry to take so much space.

Tony.