If you Had too...Chicago Electric/Harbor Freight

R

ride92

New member
So I only have my daily driver Mazda Protege5 that I need to polish up a bit and I'm broke. The machine will only be used about twice a year tops so i was thinking of getting a rotary From Harbor frieght but don't know which one. One is 40 bucks 300-3000rpm range and one is 60 bucks 1000-3000 rpm range with soft start and LCD display. I know they're not the greatess tools but for my limited use it should work. I've used Rotary polishers before with out a problem (I now live about 2000mi away from my dad's dewalt). So which one would guys get if you had to??? Would the $60 one be better with the soft start and is 1000rpm slow enough?



- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices



- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices



Thanks,
 
Go visit your father spend some quality time with him. Just before your about to leave throw the Dewalt in your trunk and book out of there. Stealing from a parent is NOW legal in the United States.check your local laws
 
Thanks for the responses. I know I should get a Makita or hiatachi or something of that quality but I really can't justify $150-200 for something I'm barely going to use. I'm not a pro just want to take some scuffs and dullness out of my car. Tha northern tool one looks good but Harbor Freight is two min fro where I work In Oregon. So same Question would it be better to spend the extra $20 Bucks or not???
 
ALAN81 said:
Go visit your father spend some quality time with him. Just before your about to leave throw the Dewalt in your trunk and book out of there. Stealing from a parent is NOW legal in the United States.check your local laws
Click to expand...



Uhh, intersesting Idea... but I respect my dad to much to steal his tools and Driving from Oregon to Wisconsin doesn't seem to be a cheaper option then going to Harbor freight two min away.
 
If you have your mind set on a polisher from HF, there's usually a 20% coupon in car magazines such as Super Streets or Import Tuner. or google and see if you can find a scanned pic of it.
 
LoiG37 said:
If you have your mind set on a polisher from HF, there's usually a 20% coupon in car magazines such as Super Streets or Import Tuner. or google and see if you can find a scanned pic of it.
Click to expand...



Already got the coupon in hand, but thanks for the tip.
 
I have this same model and it works well for my limited uses. It is a great tool to learn the basics of rotary work and my nitpicks are that: 1) speed control is sometimes fluctuates and 2) will bog down with pressure. Obviously, a makita/dewalt et al will be of much better quality, but for occasional use its fine.
 
I had the chicago electric $40 one and I concur with what these guys are saying. It bogs and WILL break after about 20 uses. Mine started to do wierd things before it broke. It had problems with speed control. Then one day I was using it and I heard a loud POP from inside then a little puff of the mysterious blue smoke wafted out of the side and it was dead. If you are ok with it only lasting a couple uses then get it. If you want one that you will never ever have to replace get a Dewalt. That's what I did after the CE died.
 
dont bother with harbor freight buffers....



harbor freight is good for tool that you dont mind breaking like a pair of pliers, or getting a tool box or some clamps for cheap.





but a buffer.... you can get one from there, use it 3-4 times to do a full buffing and get a worse job out of it (motor sucks, and it wont keep the same speed when working with it), and it will break, and when you buy another, youve already equaled the price of a used dewalt or makita that is gonna last your entire lifetime in a bodyshop.
 
I would recommend to spend $100 and get a DA like the pc 7424XP or the older 7424, they can be found for around $100+ shipping :) Unlike the product your listing these WILL last a long time.



Cant wait to get mine soon:)
 
Check Craigslist and E-bay before you waste $60 on a POS. Even though $60 is cheap for a high speed buffer, it's still $60. Lets not pretend its not a good amount of money.

If you can't get a good deal off of one of the above sources, maybe you can check with Home Depot or something and see if they have something they can rent you for like $20 a day or something. 60 bucks is 60 bucks and while I spend a ton of money on detailing products, I'm not spending 60 bucks on junk that I know is on borrowed time before you even get it out of the box.





Edited to add:



Like stated above, if you can swing another $46 you can get the Ultimate Detailing Machine from Autopia and you'll have a great tool that will last you a lifetime and won't break the bank. I have the original PC 7424 and I just got the 7424XP (UDM) for my old man. They're both great machines.
 
a few years back i purchased a vector from pep boys for like $40 did TONS of cars with it and once I could afford my hitachi, I kept it around for two man jobs and it worked awesome



but in comparison I would wait save some extra money and get a hitachi, dewalt, makita or like everyone said above grab a new generation DA they look to be promising
 
I have the HF, and its not terrible, but you really need a PC before you get a rotary. The PC can apply waxes/glazes and it will take out buffer trails. If you just have the rotary, especially on a dark car, you might not be happy with the results. The other thing is, the PC or rotary is cheap. You'll need pads and polishes which will bring you up to another $100. The holidays are coming up, what about asking for a PC?
 
I only do my own cars and friends and family. I was in the same boat as you two years ago and so I just bought one when it was on sale for 29 dollars. I have used it countless time and it Still works. I do argee it does bog down with pressure but other than that I have no issues. I guess I am just one of the few with good luck with it. I do however has a porter cable and I wouldn't ever part with it. I guess if you have to get one just save the reciept and if it does break thell exchange it.
 
If you feel that you really need to get one from there because HF is a few minutes away and you're using this as an impulse buy, get the one for $20 more. A smooth start is important, imho.
 
I have 10 of them. Yes they are crappy but they do work. We used them to polish two WW2 bombers and none failed. Polishing aluminum is tough work and we went hard on these buffers.



The DeWalts you see in this box were purchased on ebay for about $90-$100 each.



box_o_buffers.JPG




282.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top