orbital waxer/polisher

[93mr2red]

I just purchased a powermate 6" orbital waxer/polisher today from wal mart. It only has an on and off switch, no speeds.

I have never used an orbital polisher before. I have read the article on how to, but they did not show any bonnets.



Is it best to use the sponge on the polisher or is it best to use one of the bonnets supplied.

They supply 2 bonnets.

1 terry cloth

1 wool



Is this polisher going to do the job or would it be better to buy a more expensive one?



Which bonnet should I use or is it best to use only the sponge part?



will wool scratch and cause swirl marks?

[93mr2red]

what is the difference in an Orbital waxer/polisher and a Random Orbital waxer/polisher?

[Thomas Dekany]

it will be ok for now - get some expeience with it. Foam pads are best. What size pads are they?

[wash-girl]

It probably won`t do much of a job on swirls, but it will sure speed up paint cleaning and wax application. My suggestion would be to use the terry bonnet for paint cleaning, since it has a little more "cut," and get yourself one of the Turtle Wax foam bonnets from AutoZone/PepBoys/Advance for applying your sealant or wax. I don`t think the foam pad that is attached to it is meant to be used as an applicator.

[isinoh]

People around here will tell you that it`s a piece of junk and can`t get rid of swirls. I say that they are wrong!



I couldn`t justfy going out and spending $150+ on a PC and all of the accessories so I Macguyvered my dad`s Craftsman buffer that was collecting dust in his garage.



Here`s what I did:

1) Throw away the bonnets.

2) Cut off the foam pad to expose the plastic backing plate and remove any foam/adhesive residue.

3) Stick a few small tabs of industrial strength velcro to the clean backing plate. It`s important to get good adhesion or the velcro may come off with the pad.

4) Attach some good foam pads. I purchased the Sonus Orange and Blue pads from the Autopia store.



I`m not sure what the buffer from Walmart is like, but I`d say it`s pretty similar.



Sure the PC is the better tool, but for the price, I couldn`t justify spending that much $$$ on it.



Here are the numbers for those who care...

PC

2,500-6,000 RPM

3.7 Amps



Craftsman 7"

3,800 RPM

1.0 Amps



So it doesn`t have the power, but it suits my needs. I`ve got a fairly new car with a fairly soft clearcoat, and have found that some Menzerna FP with the blue pad eliminates all of my light swirling.



I also used it on my gf`s `95 civic with heavy swirling (Menzerna twins with Orange/Blue pads) and I`d say it eliminated around 90% of the swirls. It didn`t touch the scratches or heavier swirls. I`m sure I could`ve gotten better results with a PC, but the difference was still night and day.

[ScubaStevo]

Good job isnioh. I`d still say go with the PC though. I was a cheap ***, and I was doing the same thing as you before. I just got sick and tired of it, and bought the PC. I`m a heck of a lot happier to have a PC. Also, You really aren`t getting 3,800 RPM. I think its OPM, and it wouldn`t be close to that once it touched the paint. Maybe runs 1,500 OPM if that. and with extreme load, it will even stop.

[isinoh]

Originally posted by Buick_guy1

Good job isnioh. I`d still say go with the PC though. I was a cheap ***, and I was doing the same thing as you before. I just got sick and tired of it, and bought the PC. I`m a heck of a lot happier to have a PC. Also, You really aren`t getting 3,800 RPM. I think its OPM, and it wouldn`t be close to that once it touched the paint. Maybe runs 1,500 OPM if that. and with extreme load, it will even stop.



Agreed. If you use it more than 3-4 times/yr...go for it.



If someone is itching to buy you a nice x-mas gift...go for it.



For me though - I`m just looking get results that I can`t get by hand once or twice a year when I polish, so it suits me just fine.

[AlexRuiz]

Originally posted by isinoh

People around here will tell you that it`s a piece of junk and can`t get rid of swirls. I say that they are wrong!



I couldn`t justfy going out and spending $150+ on a PC and all of the accessories so I Macguyvered my dad`s Craftsman buffer that was collecting dust in his garage.



Here`s what I did:

1) Throw away the bonnets.

2) Cut off the foam pad to expose the plastic backing plate and remove any foam/adhesive residue.

3) Stick a few small tabs of industrial strength velcro to the clean backing plate. It`s important to get good adhesion or the velcro may come off with the pad.

4) Attach some good foam pads. I purchased the Sonus Orange and Blue pads from the Autopia store.



I`m not sure what the buffer from Walmart is like, but I`d say it`s pretty similar.



Sure the PC is the better tool, but for the price, I couldn`t justify spending that much $$$ on it.



Here are the numbers for those who care...

PC

2,500-6,000 RPM

3.7 Amps



Craftsman 7"

3,800 RPM

1.0 Amps



So it doesn`t have the power, but it suits my needs. I`ve got a fairly new car with a fairly soft clearcoat, and have found that some Menzerna FP with the blue pad eliminates all of my light swirling.



I also used it on my gf`s `95 civic with heavy swirling (Menzerna twins with Orange/Blue pads) and I`d say it eliminated around 90% of the swirls. It didn`t touch the scratches or heavier swirls. I`m sure I could`ve gotten better results with a PC, but the difference was still night and day.



Nice solution! :xyxthumbs



I found that even using foam bonnets a cheap orbital can help. Try to use a chemical cleaner/remover, as abbrasives require more mechanical action which the cheap buffers lack. But even using some mechanical polishes you ca get decent results. I just got a PC 7336, yesterday, but before I had a cheap 10" buffer with a wimpy 0.65 A motor. 2500 OPM under no load, close to 1200 on the paint. I found that focusing the effort or tilting the buffer in one direction could increase the contact time with the paint. I was able to even get the paint sligtly warm just by tilting the buffer in the right angle and move it slow. Granted, for a focused spot hand works better, but for a few spots together even the cheapie helped.



Alex





PS. Save the money, get a PC. If you were able to accomplish thing with a cheap buffer, the PC will make it much easier.