Pneumatic Polisher

R

RAG

New member
Has anybody ever used a pneumatic polisher?



I know they are not the most convenient for most people, but as a professional if I could shave an hour off of compound & polish jobs, I figure it would be worth the investment for the air and polisher unit (even though 1/2 my details are on location where I wouldn't be able to use it). Is this not the the type of tool used by many manufactures?



I was wondering if this thing was the real deal? Looks nice anyway, and sounds promising. http://www.properautocare.com/nadexlraorpo.html
 
RAG said:
Has anybody ever used a pneumatic polisher?



I know they are not the most convenient for most people, but as a professional if I could shave an hour off of compound & polish jobs, I figure it would be worth the investment for the air and polisher unit (even though 1/2 my details are on location where I wouldn't be able to use it). Is this not the the type of tool used by many manufactures?



I was wondering if this thing was the real deal? Looks nice anyway, and sounds promising. http://www.properautocare.com/nadexlraorpo.html
Click to expand...



Keep in mind, speed equals heat and heat can ruin paint. The pneumatic won't save you any time in a proper detail if you use it properly. If you take advantage of the higher speed to try and do a panel quicker, you're risking burning the paint. A good electric rotary is more than adequate to handle any job. The advantage the pneumatic would have is the size and weight, but they should both be spinning at about the same speed while polishing, thus taking the same amount of time.
 
Hmmm. 94blkstang, have you used an air-driven pneumatic DA polisher before? Isn't the above pneumatic a random orbital, and thus doesn't generate that much heat? Your resoning for it not getting the job done faster might hold true for a rotary, where you can't exactly double the speed and cut the time in half, but a faster DA polisher with a longer throw will get the job done faster. And keep in mind I use a rotary about 4-8 hours a day...six days a week, so I do understand the concept of heat generation and how it can "ruin" paint. I can't imagine that a pneumatic DA would generate much heat anyway, especially when compared to a rotary...and thus if one simply kept the pneumatic moving (like a rotary) it would be fine. The whole idea being a replacement for the PC - instead of having to make 3 passes (with PC) to remove rotary compounding swirls, one could theoretically make one pass to get the job done. Or for those 1-step polish jobs on dark cars where I elect to use the PC only...instead of polishing for 2 1/2 hours...maybe this unit could accomplish the same defect removal in 1 1/2 hours?



Or am I missing something here?
 
RAG said:
Or am I missing something here?
Click to expand...



I didn't click on the link and thought you were referencing a pneumatic rotary polisher. Even at that, if quickness is your motive then I would think an electric rotary would be the best bet.
 
Yes. I believe you are right. But on dark colored vehicles I always finish the the DA for obvoius reasons...if I could cut this time in half, that would make it worth it. Also, on black and other dark colors, if I do a single-step polish...I then use the DA only...and usually end up spending a considerable amount of time doing so (typically 2.5-3 hours); again, if I could cut this time down...
 
RAG said:
Yes. I believe you are right. But on dark colored vehicles I always finish the the DA for obvoius reasons...if I could cut this time in half, that would make it worth it. Also, on black and other dark colors, if I do a single-step polish...I then use the DA only...and usually end up spending a considerable amount of time doing so (typically 2.5-3 hours); again, if I could cut this time down...
Click to expand...



It might be a good tool. You would have to make an investment in a decent size compressor also, but those are also valuable for many other things. The only thing I hate about pneumatic tools is the weight of the air hose. It's much more cumbersome than an electric cord and there is a little more risk of it doing some damage to a vehicle. They are typically noisier especially with a compressor running. Best case would be if you could rent one or borrow one to see if it does what you need it to do. If you don't have a compressor (or need one) it could be a sizeable investment for no real gain. Good luck and let us know how it works out if you take the plunge.
 
It's the real deal. Car manufacturers use them around the clock on thousands of finishes. They're serious about working with industrial efficiency and strict quality. They turn to air tools from companies like National Detroit and Dynabrade to get the job done.



The only thing that keeps me from going pneumatic is the fact that you need a lot of air to run the tools.



Not only does your air system need to deliver high volumes of clean, dry air to run the tools but it needs to do it continuously, hour after hour, day after day. Compressors that are up to the job are physically large and they aren't cheap.



Since I'm just an enthusiast it would be tough to justify the cost and I simply don't have the space in my garage. If I were a pro with a fixed location I would definitely go pneumatic.





PC.
 
Yes, I'm with on the cumbersome(ness) nature of the air hose. Hopefully that Dynabrade orbital attachment I just ordered will kick the PC's butt and I won't need to look for a better alternative. Tried the cyclo and it didn't impress me.



Theotherpc...I sort of have hard time justifyng the expnse given that I am "mostly" mobile and would only be able to use it about 40% of the time.
 
Hoses are not excessively cumbersome if you use a high grade, flexible hose with swivel fittings.



Electric motors are big and heavy compared to pneumatic motors with the same power output. This allows the pneumatic tools to be much smaller and lighter while still delivering power to the pad, where you need it. Dynabrade's big electric DA is 18" long and weighs over 10 pounds. An air model can be half the weight and two thirds the length with far less bulk. Imagine the difference following the curves and surfaces, vertical, horizontal and in between on every type of car for eight hours a day. With smaller pads you can use even smaller, lighter air tools to get at weird nooks, crannies and features.



I can understand that in your situation it's still hard to justify the cost. Electric tools do work and quite well at that. The added efficiency of pneumatics would only be an incremental improvement, easily justifiable in high production but since you'd only be using them part of the time it would take much longer to pay for itself.



Perhaps something like the Festool Rotex would give you the extra aggressiveness over a standard DA without the drawbacks of the rotary. The big Dynabrade is pretty cool and worth giving a try but I'm not yet convinced it's better that using a rotary and following with a PC.





PC.
 
Thanks...I have already ordered the Dynabrade adapter for the orbital and if this doesn't beat the PC, I'll try the Festool 150.



Someday when I can finally open my dream car wash(with first class detail department of course) I will have air-powered equipement for sure...seriously.



Thanks.
 
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