Harbor Freight 6" DA

Thank you. So you found the HF pads ok to use? Regarding products, what would you recommend then that is comparable in performance to the products I listed? The car is a 2006 with moderate/severe swirls/marring, never been polished to my knowledge. I'd be starting with wash down with Dawn and Meguiars Clay BTW.
 
baseball07 said:
Thank you. So you found the HF pads ok to use? Regarding products, what would you recommend then that is comparable in performance to the products I listed? The car is a 2006 with moderate/severe swirls/marring, never been polished to my knowledge. I'd be starting with wash down with Dawn and Meguiars Clay BTW.
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I can't seem to find the thread, but there is one that talks about the HF pads -- allot of complaints that they don't last long. I also noticed that the backing plate on the HF polisher is larger than the recessed velcro on the HF pads which might cause the pads to fail sooner. Keep in mind that everytime you buy a six pack of 5.5" pads you save $15 vs 6.5" pads so with that $15 you can buy a 5" backing plate. Every six pack beyond that you save $15. The pads play a major part of the success of your work so why not get some good ones that will last with care. Buff & Shine (I believe they are the same as HD pads) makes great pads with a recessed Velcro that I have found an extra margin of safety when polishing around proturding objects--as a beginner it was a great advantage to me. Here's a great price on a 5 pack Buff and Shine - Autoality Incorporated note the 5" backing plate at the bottom of the page.



As Ron recommended HD UNO, Polish and Speed are very easy to work with--long working times, no dust, easy to remove, no heavy oils--really helped me have great success as someone new to machine polishing. You also might want to consider HD POXY--hybrid sealant/wax. 3D International, LLC Don't know if you'd need HD Cut--depends on how bad swirls are and how hard the paint is or if it's recommended to someone just starting out machine polishing.
 
Definitely picking one up for use as a back-up so my PC dying on me today wouldn't have been a big deal. Paint was too soft to finish with a rotary so I was stuck running out to the only Walmart that had a G110 so I can finish the car tomorrow.
 
I picked up 3 today using the 20% off code plus the 2 year extended warranty still cost less than $60 ea. :) most my pads were drying still when i got back so i fired one up and got about 5 minutes with it on a cherry red HHR using some UNO and a White polish pad. Felt good, even got some good results for what i was trying for. So im happy. Going to check all three tomorrow for the grease thing and most likely repack them with better grease, then throw longer better power cords on them. Order my HD Cut, UNO, and polish today as well as some of they're 5.5 pads, i also have samples of each of the Buff N Shine 5.5 euro foam pads coming in about a week or so. Back plate seemed fine with my 5.5" white n black pads... Might get the HD 5" or whatever backplate? What other back plates fit the HF shaft thread and are recommended for 5.5" pads?



Thanks in advanced
 
Shane.belzers said:
What other back plates fit the HF shaft thread and are recommended for 5.5" pads?
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I've had good luck with the Buff & Shine BP--fits the B&S and HD pads perfectly and it's only $15 most places.
 
I get B&S for cost so if that works good ill get one :) This is the one i see in my catalog, 6" velcro DA back plate BU-600Y Or is it a different one?



Thanks
 
That one is for 6.5" pads. If you want to use 5.5" pads then use 500Y Flex edge grip backing plates



What a great deal -- B&S pads at cost--B&S pads seem to be the same as HD pads. I've been very happy with mine--very durable and the Yellow heavy cut pad finishes down well on hard paint.
 
Yuppers, My Chem guy carries all the buff n shine and lake country stuff :) I did order 3 of the HD pads with my order because i will have them sooner than the b&s ones, But im getting one of each of the B&S for free as samples before my guy buys a case.



Oh and i keep looking and did find the 500Y back plate so i have 3 of them coming for my new polishers as well... Who here prefers waffle over flat and why? Or other way around??
 
CONCOURS.JOHN said:
My gears did not even have contact with grease. I could see this being an issue till warmed up by then a little late.



4emusuzy.jpg


vu5yvure.jpg




Picked one up doing this before fire up.

Thanks Charlie!
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How did you get that open. I look at the diagram but couldn't figure how to get past the counter weight and so on...



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Shane.belzers said:
Anyone? Can't figure out how to get that far...



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Shane--did you read the original post by Charles? I seem to remember him explaining exactly the steps.
 
pwaug said:
Shane--did you read the original post by Charles? I seem to remember him explaining exactly the steps.
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Correct; back on page 4-5 on this thread are the diagram and the information on how to remove the spindle assembly/etc. -- seems that some are able to spin the bearing assembly free as a unit. Basically:



1) Remove counterweight

2) Remove head cover

3) Insert tool to stop the gear assembly from rotating

4) Spin the bearing assembly off

5) Remove shroud

6) Pull screws holding the gear case together



Then grease and re-assemble in reverse order.
 
I debated taking mine apart and checking it.

Then, wait a minute, why go through all that. I did measurement check of the temp of the gear housing before turning it on, run it 10 minutes with a load on it, and measure the temp of the housing. If it didn't go up by more than 20 degrees, it had enough grease in it.

Mine works fine, without having to take it apart.

I assume, that as with anything that is man made, there may have been a very few units that got to HF with insufficent grease.
 
Ya after looking at the diagram more i came to the conclusion that the main spindle had to brr held in place then the piece spun off to remove the shroud ..



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Hello, novice new guy here.



I have three daily drivers that have neglected paint that I'd like to try and revive.

2000 pickup Pewter metallic

96 sedan Red

06 compact suv Green



All vehicles kept outside under partial tree covering, pickup has never been polished/wax, sedan maybe once in its life, 06 a couple of times maybe.



I have the HF 6" DA and am trying to figure out what backing plate, pads, and compounds to order for this application. I'm a bit overwhelmed at this point quite frankly.



I wonder if I should order a kit like this from autogeek which comes with pads, compounds, instructions and videos etc. Except that I read on this thread that one pad will not do an entire vehicle, so maybe I should order the products separately?

Optimum Detailing Kit:This kit contains the optimum products for swirl removal & paint protection!



Also, I have a bit of arthritis in my hands and I use vibration gloves when using a grinder or other similar type of tool and this seems to work ok. However, if I understand the process correctly the surface contaminants (and there are more than a few on these vehicles) need to be removed using a clay bar? I'm a bit concerned how my hands are going to hold up to pushing a clay bar over all three of these vehicles. Is it possible to use an aggressive pad/compound and the machine to remove said surface contaminants?



Thanks
 
Knob Creek said:
Hello, novice new guy here.



I have three daily drivers that have neglected paint that I'd like to try and revive.

2000 pickup Pewter metallic

96 sedan Red

06 compact suv Green



All vehicles kept outside under partial tree covering, pickup has never been polished/wax, sedan maybe once in its life, 06 a couple of times maybe.



I have the HF 6" DA and am trying to figure out what backing plate, pads, and compounds to order for this application. I'm a bit overwhelmed at this point quite frankly.



I wonder if I should order a kit like this from autogeek which comes with pads, compounds, instructions and videos etc. Except that I read on this thread that one pad will not do an entire vehicle, so maybe I should order the products separately?

Optimum Detailing Kit:This kit contains the optimum products for swirl removal & paint protection!



Also, I have a bit of arthritis in my hands and I use vibration gloves when using a grinder or other similar type of tool and this seems to work ok. However, if I understand the process correctly the surface contaminants (and there are more than a few on these vehicles) need to be removed using a clay bar? I'm a bit concerned how my hands are going to hold up to pushing a clay bar over all three of these vehicles. Is it possible to use an aggressive pad/compound and the machine to remove said surface contaminants?



Thanks
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check out our forum sponsors websites and i'm sure they will be more than happy to help and hook you up (they both have a large variety of products to choose from). they are just an e-mail or phone call away with any question you may have... :) :up



phil at detailersdomain.com ( www.detailersdomain.com ) & corey at carpro-us.com (CarPro USA )
 
soooo....GG6 is more powerful than this, correct? I dont need another pcxp, I have 6 dead ones in my garage.



worth it to get? for everyday use...for full corrections. the PCXP is not nearly strong enough or fast enough for me to go full corrections with, hence why I got the GG. the GG is better than the G110v2 from what I hear, so if Joe is putting it between the pcxp and the 110v2, I am having a hard time seeing the point....
 
toyotaguy said:
soooo....GG6 is more powerful than this, correct? I dont need another pcxp, I have 6 dead ones in my garage.



worth it to get? for everyday use...for full corrections. the PCXP is not nearly strong enough or fast enough for me to go full corrections with, hence why I got the GG. the GG is better than the G110v2 from what I hear, so if Joe is putting it between the pcxp and the 110v2, I am having a hard time seeing the point....
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eric, if i were you i would just stick with the GG6. it's not as powerful, but it would be a nice back-up expecially considering the cost...
 
thanks for saving me money!



Thats what I thought!



tried out the 15rupes as well...the GG gets more cut, so im perplexed as to why everyone is raving about them...heard there is a learning curve, but it feels like same speed/cutting ability as the PC, not even the PCXP. might have it up for sale soon
 
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