wal mart bought orbital buffer

accordmaniac · 10-29-04, 07:21

ok first of all i know you guys despise those cheap orbital buffers that can be bought anywhere. anyhow a long time ago like when i was 12 i got one of those. now i am wondering if it is ok to use it to apply products so my hands don't get so sore and i can actually finish what i'm doing before i runout of time. I think it runs at 4000 rpm and i was planning to use terry bonnets. will this be safe and what are your opinions. P.S. i can't afford a PC therefore it's either by hand or this thing.

Bill D · 10-29-04, 07:28

Those 7-9" bonnets are likely of poor quality,at least all the ones I've ever had were . It might be tough finding good ones in the size you need. I don't recall seeing them available from the usual online sources. I think what you need are bonnets just like those made for a PC but in the size that fits your machine.

kempie · 10-29-04, 07:57

Last I knew Meguiars sells the large foam pads.
I got some at Pep boys about 4 years ago.

dcswd · 10-29-04, 08:02

The machine is a gerat tool to use. Its definitely not the best there is, but its a lot easier to do a whole car with it rather than by hand.

I also agree that the terry bonnets arent that high of qualiity. I have seen some foam bonnets at pep boys that looked pretty good. That is what I would try using. Meguiars makes some bonnets for 6" pads. Im not sure what size your machine is though.

I hope this helps

the other pc · 10-30-04, 11:41

The problem with most cheap polishers is that the pads are fixed. You can't switch from polishing to waxing to removal by swapping pads. You have to do it with bonnets alone. Not only do you need to have a good source for top quality bonnets you also need to either have sealed bonnets or use barriers to prevent chemical carryover. As the other guys have pointed out finding good bonnets for cheap polishers can be problematic.

If your polisher’s pad is a common size some diligent hunting should turn up high quality terry and MF bonnets for it.

Good luck!

PC.

Anthony Orosco · 10-30-04, 11:54

Those "wally world" type orbitals IMHO are totally useless, a waste of money.

One can generate more heat and friction by hand, one can polish and wax a car faster and more efficiently than with a cheap orbital.

They have one that also plugs into your cars outlet....again totally useless.

One argument is that these are good for folks on a budget and/or with arthritis but it would seem that the vibration from the flimsy orbitals would worsen the arthritis and as for the budget, I would rather spend that money on quality products.

Anthony

RedondoV6 · 10-30-04, 12:45

accordmaniac: I agree with Anthony's advice. I actually own one of those Wally's World polishers; a friend gave me the polisher as well intentioned but misguided Christmas present a few years ago. I did try using it once, just to see if it might surprise me, but it didn't. It's somewhere up in the attic awaiting it fate as a donation to a thrift shop.

I know a PC seems like a big investment for some, but believe me it will be the best $99 you ever spend ($99 at Lowes). Do yourself a favor, save up and buy one and detail by hand in the interim.

Good Luck!

Bill D · 10-30-04, 12:55

Yes this is very true. I owned three of those types of machines and wasted many years not really improving my finish at all

bretfraz · 10-30-04, 02:10

Just to add to what's been said, I have an old orbital buffer which I used to detail many many cars over the years. While it works fine it's really not good for anything more than applying cleaner waxes or similar products. There simply isn't enough torque in those buffers to correct any paint defects. Sure, you can use a glaze to cover them up but that's about it.

If all you want to do is slap on a coat of something like Mothers Carnauba cleaner wax or Meg's NXT, the buffer is fine. But if you want real results you'll need to step up into a PC at the very least.