Dual Action Polisher from Harbor Freight

**Omagic** · 03-22-2011, 07:22 PM

Hi,

1st post, but long time lurker. I`ve just gotten a new used car and it`s a dark blue. There are swirls in the paint. I`d like to try my hand at paint correction, but the budget is a little tight. Sure, I`d love a Bosch or Portercable polisher, but I really can`t swing it right now.

I saw a polisher at Harbor Freight over the weekend and was wondering would that be ok? I know it`s not as good as the better brands obviously, but would I just be wasting my money and time on it? It`s about $50 if I remember correctly.

Any other suggestions? I`d like my car to look nice, but is that just impossible unless I have a lot of disposable money?

**BigAl3** · 03-22-2011, 10:26 PM

save your money and buy the Griots 6" Random Orbital, it`s money well spent and you won`t regret it later down the line...

**AlexRuiz** · 03-22-2011, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by Omagic

Hi,

1st post, but long time lurker. I`ve just gotten a new used car and it`s a dark blue. There are swirls in the paint. I`d like to try my hand at paint correction, but the budget is a little tight. Sure, I`d love a Bosch or Portercable polisher, but I really can`t swing it right now.

I saw a polisher at Harbor Freight over the weekend and was wondering would that be ok? I know it`s not as good as the better brands obviously, but would I just be wasting my money and time on it? It`s about $50 if I remember correctly.

Any other suggestions? I`d like my car to look nice, but is that just impossible unless I have a lot of disposable money?

Welcome to the forums. What you saw at HF is NOT an orbital, it is a fully fledged rotary (circular polisher, HF doesn`t sell orbitals) A rotary is not for a rookie. Save the pennies and get the orbital. Otherwise, get the HF rotary and get a few scrap panels to practice

**LaTuFu** · 03-23-2011, 07:01 AM

I have yet to "save" any money buying a tool from HF. They are the ultimate embodiment of "you get what you pay for".

**Omagic** · 03-25-2011, 06:11 PM

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate them.

Here is a link to the polisher I am thinking about: 7" Variable Speed Polisher/Sander

It`s actually got pretty decent reviews. Most of the reviews say they were surprised at how well it worked....no one says that it sucks at its job, but several say the polisher itself broke on them. For $35, I figure I`ll take my chances. The HF by my house is close and as long as I save the receipt, I can return the polisher if it breaks. I will also practice on my gf`s pos car before using on mine.

Most reviewers also suggested getting the better pads than the ones that come with the HF polisher.

I think I`ll pick it up tonight and I`ll let everyone know how it goes. Thanks again, I do appreciate all of the input!

**Omagic** · 03-27-2011, 07:01 PM

Well I went ahead and bought this from HF on Friday night. Less than $40 with tax. I used it on the GF`s 2006 Black Honda Accord. This car has never been handwashed(as far as I know.) She usually runs it through one of those $15 "detailing" places that runs it through a soft brush tunnel type car wash and then they "dress" the tires and interior with Armor All. It had tons of marring, swirls, and imperfections.

I started with a good wash using joy to strip anything that might be on there. I then dried it and used Meg`s clay bar. I then used Meg`s Swirl X with the HF Polisher. After that I used Meg`s Ultimate Polish. I then topped that with Meg`s Gold Class Liquid Wax. Overall, I think it looks great....definitely 100% better than before.

The polisher actually surprised me at how easy it was to get used to using. I think it would be impossible for me to ruin paint unless it was set to a very high speed. I didn`t encounter any of the problems some of the people in the HF reviews did, but that`s not to say I won`t. The polisher seems to be built very well. I kept my receipt though, just in case.

Overall, for less than $40 I`m very happy with the HF polisher. I`m going to try it on my 2011 Mustang next weekend. I don`t have all the swirls or marring, so I`m going to go with the Klasse Twins I think.

More to come next weekend on the Harbor Freight polisher

**Scottwax** · 03-27-2011, 10:05 PM

What kind of pad and polish did you use? Have you looked at the car in the full sun yet?

**imported_Prestige Detail** · 03-27-2011, 10:06 PM

My cord messed up on mine. I bought the warranty with it cause it was only a dollar or so at the time. I plan on taking it back for another soon. For a cheap rotary it is OK. Would much rather have a makita though.

**Omagic** · 03-28-2011, 04:46 PM

I`d totally rather a Makita, Griot`s, Bosch, or Porter Cable....BUT right now I don`t have that kinda extra money. I`m sure all of those are better than this HF polisher, but for less than $40, I am happy with the results on the Gf`s car. It was either buy a cheap, $40 polisher or do all of that by hand. I think I made the right choice.

I just wanted to throw this out there for some of the people who may not have the $$ for a name brand polisher and are just detailing their own cars(of course, HF polisher wouldn`t be a good deal if you`re a pro and detail cars for a living) but for someone who will only use it 3 or 4 times a year, I think it`s a good buy.