What to use with cheap orbital buffer?

hutchingsp · 12-31-05, 04:14

I'm in the UK and am very hesitant about spending the sort of money it costs to get a PC shipped over here + vat and duty + a transformer etc.

I've just got back from the local auto spares place and noticed they had orbital polishers on sale at £12.99 ($20), similar to this - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=43425

It's 3200rpm with a 110w motor and comes with a terry bonnet and a couple of wool ones.

I wondered what combination of products and bonnets people would suggest I try - I'm not expecting perfection but I'm assuming one of these will do a better job of basic polishing/waxing than I could do by hand?

I have in the Garage:

Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze
Autoglym Super Resin Polish
Autoglym Extra Gloss Protector
Mer
Farecla G10
Meguiars Cleaner Wax

I'm treating it as a $20 experiment, everything I've read says you can't do any harm to your paint with these things.. can you?!

Paul

3Dog · 12-31-05, 06:07

I use one occasionally to spread liquid wax on large vehicles. Thats all you will get from it. Dont expect any cleaning or defect remove and it is cumbursome to use. You will also need to replace the bonnets with a better quaility.

hutchingsp · 12-31-05, 06:21

Thanks, that's encouraging in that it suggests I won't be able to do any damage

I'm just having a look on eBay and notice there are tons of rotary sander/polishers advertised. As I understand it these can do damage in the wrong hands but if you operate at a low enough rpm and use the right pads/products they should be safe to use and very effective?

Paul

Sherman8r44 · 12-31-05, 05:09

Yeah, you can't harm anything or do any kind of correction with that. I think you should go with a random orbital sander, as a rotary could easily do harm (although if used correctly it could be very effecient). I have a $40 Black & Decker FS4000ROS, but I dont think that it's made for the UK. Make sure that the sander you get is variable speed and works at a low enough speed for automotive polishing.

Dave Pickett · 01-04-06, 10:49

Quote:

What to use with cheap orbital buffer?

A dustbin!!!

Sorry I have 3 and they lack sufficient power to do anything. Do yourself a favour and get the PC without wasting any money on cheapos, they really are worth every penny and are no hassle to import to UK.....

4830Deuce · 01-04-06, 01:24

use nothing!!!! get a PC and call it a day...best advice you can get!!!

-Justin

aaron33 · 01-04-06, 02:01

One advice is to let the machine cool down for 5 minutes between panels. My friend did 1/2 a car non-stop (and it was a small coupe) using AIO with appreciable pressure and the motor popped! He bought 2 units and both bit the dust after 1/2 a car non-stop.

ed2065 · 01-04-06, 05:56

I have a DW849, works great for me.
Sometimes you have to spend a little $$ to get something that will last you a longtime. And don't have to worry about it breaking down

Danase · 01-09-06, 05:06

Those type of buffers are generally only good for applying waxes, sealants, and glazes and removing them. I would not expect it to go much with polishes or even cleaners for that matter.