How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

[Mike Phillips]

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

This is just a general guide to help you choose the right polisher for your detailing needs. Power Tools are to guys like shoes are to women, you can never have too many. So perhaps don't limit yourself to just one category of tool, instead put yourself on a path that will eventually include at least one tool from each category. Every 6 months or once a year reward yourself with a shopping spree and add another polisher to your arsenal of detailing tools.


An overview with demonstrations of the Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's G110v2, Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher, Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher, Flex 3401, Flex 603, Flex 3403, Cyclo Polisher, Makita 9227C, DeWalt 849,

Part 1 - How To Pick the Right Car Polisher for your Detail Project

Part 2 - How To Pick the Right Car Polisher for your Detail Project

The Flex 3401 in action...

Visit Autogeek's YouTube Channel for more YouTube Videos

Ease of Use Ranking
Each of the tools below are also graded as to their ease of use using a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most difficult.


In order of ease of use to learn how to get great results...




Single Head - Random Orbital Polishers - Free Rotating Spindle Assemblies
Ease of Use Ranking: 1

These are without a doubt the easiest electric polisher to learn how to use and master in the shortest amount of time. The biggest benefit is they are absolutely user friendly in that because of their free rotating spindle assemblies you can't burn through the paint and as long as you're using DA approved pads and products you can't instill swirls and in fact you can use them to remove swirls safely and effectively.

They are lightweight, easy to control easy to use on both horizontal panels as well as vertical panels.

They are versatile in that you can use them to remove swirls, polish paint to a high gloss, apply a wax or paint sealant and even use them to remove the wax or paint sealant after it's dried.

If you've always used your hand to take care of your car's paint or a Traditional Orbital Buffer, then a Single Head, Random Orbital Polisher is a great next step in your detailing evolution.

Commonly referred to as Dual Action Polishers or DA style polishers, these polishers are great for,

• People new to machine polishing
• People looking for a safe, but more powerful polisher as compared to a Traditional Orbital Buffer
• People who only take care of their own car or their family's cars.
• Anyone wanting to start a part-time or full-time detailing business
• Anyone with a detailing business that wants to add a DA Style polisher to their arsenal.
• People that work in body shops looking for a tool to insure swirl free finish.
• Teenage boys and girls interested in the detailing hobby
• Boat owners looking for a better way to maintain their boat
• RV owners looking for a better and faster way to maintain their RVs
• Airplane owners looking for a safer, faster way to maintain their airplane's finish

Dual Action Polishers are both great entry level polishers and tools seasoned professionals use to create a true, swirl-free, show car finish.

There's lots of options when it comes to designs, sizes add types of buffing pads for these tools with more new pads being introduced all the time.

All the DA Polishers offered by Autogeek.net are quality tools that will help you maintain your cars better and faster.

Drive Mechanism - Free Rotating Spindle Assemble

From left to right...
Porter Cable 7424XP - Meguiar's G110v2 - Griot's Garage ROP - Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher


Close-ups...








Dual Head - Random Orbital Polisher
Ease of Use Ranking: 2

The dual head Cyclo Polisher is also a very easy electric polisher to learn how to use as it's lightweight and well-balanced making it easy hold and control. It takes a tick more practice to master the polishing power of the dual random orbital buffing heads but nothing that can't be self-taught the first time you use this tool.

The Cyclo Polisher has been around since 1952 with a time-proven track record. These tools have been used for decades for not only polishing paint but they started out as polishers for machine polishing aluminum to create brilliant, chrome like finishes on Airstream Travel Trailers, Vintage Airplanes, and aluminum tanks on Tanker Trucks.

The Cyclo Polisher is versatile in that you can remove the Rubber Pad Holders and install a variety of different brushes for cleaning carpet, upholstery, leather, fabrics, tile and grout.






These polishers are great for,

• People new to machine polishing
• People looking for a safe, but more powerful polisher as compared to a Traditional Orbital Buffer
• People who only take care of their own car or their family's cars.
• Anyone wanting to start a part-time or full-time detailing business
• Anyone with a detailing business that wants to add a multi-purpose tool to their detailing arsenal.
• People that work in body shops looking for a tool to insure swirl free finish.
• Teenage boys and girls interested in the detailing hobby
• Boat owners looking for a better way to maintain their boat
• RV owners looking for a better and faster way to maintain their RVs
• Airplane owners looking for a safer, faster way to maintain their airplane's finish

The Cyclo Polisher is a well-built and well-engineered polisher that offers you the ability to perform a lot of different detailing procedures from just one tool. Chances are very good it will outlast you too!




Hybrid - Forced Rotation Random Orbital Polisher
Ease of Use Ranking: 3

The Flex 3401 is referred to as a Hybrid Polisher because it's unique among the more well-known polishers in that it is a forced rotation dual action polisher.

What this means is that the buffing head oscillates at the same time it's rotating which is what the above Dual Action Polishers do except that this unit is uses a direct drive mechanical action which forces the pad to both rotate and oscillate with no allowance for slippage.

This gives this tool most of the power associated with direct drive rotary buffers but the safety of a dual action polisher in that you can't heat up the paint and burn through it and you also can't instill swirls as long as you use pads and products recommended for use with dual action polishers.

These tools are like a bridge between a dual action polisher and a rotary buffer.

The learning curve for mastering a polisher like this is a little steeper than the learning curve for a dual action polisher if you're new to machine polishing. If you're an experienced with a dual action polisher it a very easy tool to advanced to and master and if you're a seasoned craftsman with a rotary buffer it will take you about 5 minutes to learn the differences in how this tool handles as compared to a rotary buffer.






These polishers are great for,

• People new to machine polishing but consider themselves quick learners with better than average upper body strength. It's not that they require more muscle to operate it just that they require that a new operator pay more attention to the task at hand.
• People looking for a safe, but more powerful polisher as compared to a Traditional Orbital Buffer
• People who only take care of their own car or their family's cars.
• Anyone wanting to start a part-time or full-time detailing business
• Anyone with a detailing business that wants to add a multi-purpose tool to their detailing arsenal.
• People that work in body shops looking for a tool to insure swirl free finish.
• Boat owners looking for a better way to maintain their boat
• RV owners looking for a better and faster way to maintain their RVs
• Airplane owners looking for a safer, faster way to maintain their airplane's finish

This is a tool that offers a lot more correction ability than a dual action polisher or a Cyclo Polisher but its operation is quite a bit different than the how a dual action polisher feels or a Cyclo Polisher feels when operating one.

If you ever have a chance to test drive one of these polishers by using a friends or attending a class or seminar where they have one you can test out, definitely give it a try. The majority of people that take the plunge and purchase one of these types of polishers become loyal fans of this tool and strong proponents for it and are always willing to share their experience on how to best use it on discussion forums.




Direct Drive Rotary Buffers - Circular Polishers
Ease of Use Ranking: 4 - Flex Lightweight
Ease of Use Ranking: 5 - Full size Models


Rotary Buffers are the tool of choice for professionals in the refinishing industry, (body shops where new paint is sprayed), and the reconditioning industry, (car detailing both mobile detailers and fixed locations.

Rotary Buffers, also referred to as Circular Polishers use powerful electric motors to power direct drive gear systems that force a spindle to rotate in one circular direction. When you place a backing plate and a buffing pad onto the spindle you now have a tool that offers a the most correction ability out of all the tools listed here. Another way of saying this is a rotary buffer has the ability to remove a lot of paint fast.

Now I know that never sounds good but remember the industries this tool is targeted at and designed for and that's body shops and detail shops.

In a body shop situation, often times after a car is sprayed with fresh paint, after the paint dries it may be wet-sanded or color sanded to remove Orange Peel by sanding the textured surface flat. After the finish is sanded flat the next step is to remove the sanding marks which is requires a polisher that has a lot of power to cut into the paint and level it thus removing the sanding marks or sanding scratches.

In the detailing industry, a lot of seasoned professional detailers will want to use a rotary buffer for the same reason, that is they want to use a tool to remove a lot of paint quickly only instead of removing a controlled pattern of sanding marks they want to remove uncontrolled or random deeper defects like swirls, scratches, etching and water spots.

The other tools listed above like the dual action polishers, the Cyclo Polisher and the Hybrid Flex 3401 can all remove these types of deeper, serious defects but just not as quickly as they don't have the same type of power.

This power is a double-edged sword as it enables the user to quickly remove serous paint defects but if the user is not careful they can also heat up the paint on a high point or body line and actually burn or grind through the paint to expose the underlying layer of paint and in some cases the actual metal that makes up a panel.

So with greater power comes the responsibility to master the tool so you don't make mistakes.

Now listed this category as having both an Ease of Use Ranking of 4 and 5 because in this category there is a smaller, lightweight rotary buffer and its small size and lightweight make it dramatically easier to control and mastering a rotary buffer is matter of learning to control a rotary buffer.

The full size traditional models weigh more and their physically larger size just makes them a couple ticks more difficult to learn to control and to actually control when buffing out complete cars.

The learning curve of mastering a rotary buffer is the steepest and longest of all these tools and the tired and true way to learn the way of the rotary buffer is with a combination of education, hands-on training and real-world experience, lots of real-world experience.










These polishers are great for,

• Anyone with a detailing business that wants to add a more powerful tool to their detailing arsenal.
• Enthusiasts that have mastered one or more of the other groups of tools and is now ready to move onto to the rotary buffer.

Compared to the other groups of tools, using a rotary buffer will require the most upper body strength including hands, arms, shoulders, back, stomach and even leg muscles.

At this time for all practical reasons it's a must-have tool if you're going to be sanding and buffing paint; some of the other less powerful tools can remove sanding marks but the rotary buffer is the best tool for the job at the time I'm writing this, at least until new advancements in pads and chemicals are introduced.


Speaking as a detailer that cut his teeth on a very heavy Sioux or Milwaukee Rotary Buffer, if you're interested in in learning to use a rotary buffer then take a strong look at the Flex Lightweight Rotary Buffer, it's is hands down the easiest rotary buffer I've ever used. It's lightweight makes it much more easy to control than it's full size brothers and this will help you to build confidence and skill faster.




Product Showcase - Best of class electric polishers

Here's a list of all our electric polishers that are effective at removing swirls, scratches and water spots out of clear coat paints. Note that all of these polishers are available in Combination Kits that include your choice of a variety of different types and sizes of buffing pads, Swirl Mark Removers, (SMR's), as well as other products and accessories.



Single Head - Random Orbital Polishers - Free Rotating Spindle Assemblies

Porter Cable 7424XP
4.5 AMP
500 Watt Motor
5 pounds
3 Year Limited Warranty - 1 Year Free Service - 90 Days Money Back


Griot's Garage Random Orbital Polisher
7.0 AMP
850 Watt Motor
5.5 pounds
Griot's Lifetime Warranty


Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher
2.0 AMP
240 Watt Motor
Griot's Lifetime Warranty


Meguiar's G110v2
4.2 AMP
430 Watt Motor
5 pounds
1 Year Limited Warranty


Dual Head - Random Orbital Polisher

Cyclo Polisher
1 Year Limited Warranty


Hybrid - Forced Rotation Random Orbital Polisher

Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Dual Action Polisher
7.5 Amps
590 Watts
6 Pounds
1 Year Limited Warranty



Direct Drive Rotary Buffers - Circular Polishers

Flex 3403 Lightweight Rotary Buffer
11.5 Amps
1100 to 3700 RPM
5 Pounds
1 Year Limited Warranty


Makita 9227C Rotary Buffer
10 Amps
600 to 3000 RPM
7 Pounds
30-Day, No-Risk, Satisfaction Guarantee
1 year Warranty






DeWalt 849 Rotary Buffer
8 Amps
1000 to 3000 RPM
8 Pounds
30-Day, No-Risk, Satisfaction Guarantee
1 Year Free Service Contract
1 year Warranty


Flex 630 Rotary Buffer
8 Amps
1000 to 3000 RPM
8 Pounds



Tools & Accessories Quick Reference List

Here's a Quick Reference List that will take you to the different categories of products related to machine polishing

Electric Buffers - Main Landing Page for everything in this list.
Buffing Pads for Dual Action Polishers
Buffing Pads for Rotary Buffers
Buffing Pads and Accessories for the Cyclo Polisher
Bonnets
Hook And Loop Backing Plates
Grit Guard Universal Pad Washer - Foam Pads and Wool Pads - All Machines
Autogeek System 2000 Pad Washer for Rotary Polishers Wool Pads and Rotary Buffers
Brinkman Maxfire Dual Xenon Rechargeable Spotlight
Autogeek Detailer’s Tool Bag
Pinnacle Detailer’s Tool Bag
Wolfgang Detailer's Tool Bag
Defelsko PosiTest DFT Combo Electronic Paint Thickness Gauge
DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator
Defelsko PosiTest DFT Combo Electronic Paint Thickness Gauge
Foam Pad Conditioning Brush
Duo Spur Wool & Foam Pad Cleaning Tool
Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Cleaner
Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner




Traditional Orbital Buffers

If you have a buffer that looks something like this one,





We call these Traditional Orbital Buffers or Old School Buffers, in the forum world they're actually referred to as "Wax Spreaders".

While they can be used to remove light surface defects if you're serious about removing any substantial swirls, scratches and water spots out of modern automotive finishes, you really want to consider one of the other polishers listed above. For more information, check out this link.

Traditional Orbital Buffer aka The Wax Spreader


If you have more questions about which polisher is right for you call our Tech Line at 1-800-869-3011

[Slava]

Great article as always.
Thank You.

[DLB]

Well this should take care of a lot of threads/questions!
Great, great article Mike. Simple yet enough to get a person pointed in the right direction.

DLB

[Rebelranger]

Well this should take care of a lot of threads/questions!
Great, great article Mike. Simple yet enough to get a person pointed in the right direction.

DLB

And it did just that. Great article!

[Pie]

Great read. I just purchased the PC7242xp. I think I should have picked up the Flex instead. I'm a very quick learner and already want more power.

[longbal30]

Extremely informative, very nice, just what I was looking for before placing my order.

[turbos17]

Damn...that is an awesome break down for newbies and seasoned vets as a refresher!

[killrflake]

What an informative post you've put together Mike. Easy to understand for all the folks getting their feet wet in detailing and just makes sense. I for one, feel your joining the staff has filled a void that needed filling badly. Thanks for all the great "how to" articles, their appreciated.

[jake66]

A few years ago I told my wife I wanted a buffer for Christmas. She went to the auto parts place (O'Reilly) and came home with that grey Chamberlain Polishmaster. They charged her about $180 for it and it was off the shelf and dusty with no box or manual, etc. Luckily, we got it returned for a refund and I got a PC from AGO and the addiction began.

[MobolWerks]

Looks like there's a Flex 3401 in my near future. Thanks!