Got a polisher, but got a few ??s too......

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ExplorerXLT95

New member
Alright, this is kinda a continuation of the previous thread where I vaguely described an orbital buffer that I have. I have been quite busy lately with college packing and moving, so I did not have time to respond until now... 1 hour before I go back to school :( Anyways, here's the situation:



My dad bought this thing to "make it quicker" and I was wondering if I could use it with the products that I just bought from CMA (ie Klasse twins, 3M SMR, etc). I got the stats from the owners manual of the thing, so here goes:



Craftsman Buffer/Polisher System (Double Insulated)



Model No. 646.10712



Specifications:

Motor RPM: 3100@120V (Bench speed)

AMPS: 65 (Working load)

Oscillations per minute: 2400 (No load)

Weight: 5 lb., 6 oz.



It only has one speed (you simply push the red button).



So, my question is, can this thing be used successfully with products such as 3M SMR, due to the fact that I have some kinda nasty swirl marks and would like to get rid of them, as well as Klasse AIO and Klasse SG???



Help me out guys, cause I would love to start removing some swirls!! :D
 
Well, unless you accidentally bought a supertanker buffer I'll assume you actually mean 0.65 amps! :D



Unfortunately I'm sorry to say it sounds a bit underpowered and on the slow side. With 0.65 amps it'll slow down a bit once loaded, but it's already going only 2400 opm so its usefulness will go down. It most likely has a fairly large pad, like 9-10 inches right? Large pads are used to compensate for slow turning, but the flip side is they create more drag.



Speed (and the friction it creates) is probably the most useful thing you need. The reason why people use a Porter Cable is because it also has the power to maintain high speeds easier (3.7 amps). If you can return/exchange it, try to get something faster and stronger, or with a smaller pad as well.



If you're stuck with it, I don't see why you can't at least try it with SMR. Use a terry polishing bonnet, apply a minimal amount of product for the area (as per masterofreality), and use light pressure working it for a long while and see what happens. Download DavidB's video of PC usage if you have high speed (16MB) to see the technique. Be aware though, that older threads are full of advice saying SMR won't work well without a PC.



For simple product application I'm sure it'll work fine though.



HTH
 
It sounds like a replacement for hand applicaton (polish, wax) but don't expect the machine to do more work than your hand.
 
4DSC said:
Well, unless you accidentally bought a supertanker buffer I'll assume you actually mean 0.65 amps! :D
Click to expand...



Just reading the owner's manual/specifications, it says exactly what I typed. 65 amps. That's what it says, there's no "0." in front of it. This thing moves at a pretty good clip. Yes, it has a 9-10" pad and as far as I can tell it's non-replaceable (at least not without a lot of work).



So basically, this thing is crud?? I just wanted to see if it would have the PC effect if I used 3M SMR and the Klasse twins with it. Anybody else have any input on this thing???



PS: I found what I believe to be the newer version of this buffer/polisher. Here is the link.



Help me out guys, I really need to clean my car on fall break (sept 7-11) so I need to get my plans all set out beforehand!
 
It's .65 amps. Rotary buffers are only between 8-11 amps, so no chance that thing is 65 amps.



I had a Craftsman like that some years ago, it's .65 amps.
 
I'm not saying that you're wrong, but the specs say 65 amps. I don't know why they would purposely mislabel, etc the owners manual. That being said, I have absolutely NO experience with these things except when about 2 years ago I used the thing on my Ford Taurus with Mother's carnauba. I'm sure you guys know what you're talking about and I'm sure that it's actually 0.65 amps, but I'm just telling you what it says.



Anyways, do you guys, once and for all, think using this thing would be a good way to get rid of my swirl marks with 3M SMR for Dark Colored Cars AND do you think that it would be good foor application of Klasse AIO and SG???



Let me know guys...
 
Actually he may be right. Under normal useage an electric motor will take some current (say 11amp for PC)... but if you keep it under total load (switch it on and keep it from moving) the current jumps way up. It's a way of measuring an electric motor. I think the new 5 tonne (air vol. measurement) central A/C appliance we're getting is rated for some extreme "under load" amperage... like 100amps... but it says it'll use 60amps when starting up (3 seconds) and run at 15amps when running.



Remember operating load and working load are different.



Of course, I just read the original post and it does say working load... oh well.



Maybe .65A instead of 65A
 
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