Buffer Recommendation for personal use

[2002camry]

Hi,



After reading about the uses of buffers on this site, I am thinking about getting a buffer for my 2 cars.



I was looking at the Porter Cable models, but they run close to $300 CAD which is costly for use on 2 cars.



I went to Wal-Mart and they had this crappy Turtle Wax Buffer for $34.95 CAD. I then went to Home Depot and they no longer carry any buffers.



I am looking for a good quality Random Orbit buffer (6" is fine so I can work with it easier on smaller areas) in the $100 range.



Right now, both my cars are new and there are NO swirl marks on them.



I think the PC is overkill for me and for the home user.



Any thoughts?

:confused:

[caddyman]

nest to a rotary, the PC is the only choice. The cheap ones dont have ANY power, and really are useless. Even to wax.



I definately recommend the PC, even with te 300+ plunge



It should last a lifetime, and pay for itelf over and over......:)

[Jngrbrdman]

You can get the Porter Cable for less than $200 CAD. I have a few friends up there that have said they found them for around that price. I`m sure you can find one if you look in the right places.



The PC is a very very user friendly polisher. Not only that, it is very safe to use as well. You may have zero swirls on your car now, but wait till you use some POS $30 WalMart buffer a couple times. Its better to use the best and save yourself the problems of needing to replace your buffer every year. If you put swirls in your paint from using some cheap buffer with cheap pads then you are going to be shelling out the money for a PC to fix those problems anyway. I haven`t seen a machine that costs less than a PC do anywere near as good of work as a PC. A lot of the jobs I`ve done lately are fixing the problems that people have created using some cheap buffer.



The PC isn`t just for people that use it on other cars other than their own. I use my PC on my own cars waaaaaay more than I use it on other cars. It is a huge time saver. I don`t know of any other polisher that I would use on my own car that is below a PC. Someday I`ll move up to a better one, but for now I think the PC does a fantastic job on my own cars and other people`s. Don`t give up the search. You can get a PC for a pretty reasonable price these days.

[clint]

In your canadian search for a pc- it may expand where you look to search at wood working type places, who stock sanders, and also at body shop supply sources.



The `pc` is just an electric powered version of the venerable DA 6" air sander.



there may be some other brand of electric DA sander (dual action) that is marketed in canada at a better value than here in the us.



Milwaukee tool also makes an electric DA sander also for example (it`a a little stronger and also more expensive). Bosch also makes one, as does dewalt.. Search the world over for `electric DA sander` or `electric dual-action sander`

Varible speed is a plus. (ok a must)







Not to be confused with smaller-orbited random orbital sanders or palm sanders, they wont move the pad in a big enough circle to do any good as polishers.



Maybe tool-king will ship to canada?

pc at tool king (http://www.toolking.com/shop/view.asp?id=887)

[2002camry]

Does anyone know of other brands of buffers that are sold in Toronto in the $100 price range?



Also, can I buy a random orbit sander and put a terry cloth on it and use it to buff the car?

[Taxlady]

Have you tried Canadian Tire? At least one of the Home Hardware stores in Montreal carries Porter Cable sanders, which can be used as buffers. This has been discussed before, so do a search.

[exude]

i live in toronto and it,s only 220 for a pc at CT where you been shopping:scared or get one from meguiar.s canada in mississauga for $225