They Were Beasts Back Then ~ Some 39 Years Ago

[Wyle E Coyote]

These are images from a 1976 movie entitled Car Wash.

Anybody care to venture the actual polisher used here?

I'm sure the case was made of cast iron steel which meant this monster weighed a ton (and made in the good 'ole U.S.A)

[WAXOFF]

I'm using a Black & Decker right now on a truck I'm detailing. I bought it in 1977 and it still works like a dream. 2300 Rpm so you have to know what you are doing as it only has one speed. Buffed may cars over the years with it until i got a PC and a Flex 3401. This is a work truck so perfection is not an issue. Come to think of it I have never even changed the brushes. It is a heavy sucker though.

[aim4squirrels]

I'm using a Black & Decker right now on a truck I'm detailing. I bought it in 1977 and it still works like a dream. 2300 Rpm so you have to know what you are doing as it only has one speed. Buffed may cars over the years with it until i got a PC and a Flex 3401. This is a work truck so perfection is not an issue. Come to think of it I have never even changed the brushes. It is a heavy sucker though.

You ever tried one of these to govern the speed?

Router Speed Control (http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html)

[WAXOFF]

Thanks, I'll have to check that out. There is a Harbor Freight near my house.

[Don M]

My dad had an OLD two-speed rotary that I tried on my first car. I burned right through a body line the second I touched it to the car. It took me 6 years before I touched another buffer and it was a heavy tank too a GEM orbital, awkward, unwieldy, but we got some good results with it. My PC is infinitely better though, multiple speeds, dozens of pad options LIGHT weight.

[custmsprty]

I'm afraid of these old school polishers

With good reason, they are dinosaurs, extinct.

I watched a video by Renny D. earlier tonight, his insight is always spot on. It was a little bit older one comparing the Flex vs. the Rupes. The interesting thing is he said how it would be cool if he could go back 20-25 years and see some of the work he did with rotaries and if he'd think it was good work and be proud of it today and he was being facetious, how about that.

[Calendyr]

Come on, you take one of these polishers, use some compound that you can feel the grit using your fingers and you can do a whole car in less than 30 minutes ;)

[Calendyr]

Then all you have to do is repaint ;)

[custmsprty]

Then all you have to do is repaint ;)

Oh man, that's classic, LOL!! :props:

[Rmd]

The disco theme song and soundtrack were pretty bad too.

[Wyle E Coyote]

Yeah, but that was some cast of characters including Richard Pryor, George Carlin, The Pointer Sisters, and I don't recall his name, but he currently plays the cashier in the dinner on the series Two Broke Girls.

[DetailKitty]

come on, you take one of these polishers, use some compound that you can feel the grit using your fingers and you can do a whole car in less than 30 minutes ;)

haha!

[FUNX650]

...and I don't recall his name,
but he currently plays the cashier in the
dinner on the series Two Broke Girls.
That would be:
"Chico Escuela"...from SNL.


Bob

[Larry A]

Ive got a Black and Decker that I bought new in 1964, and it still works fine. It was a single speed at 1800 rpm I got a lot of use out of it when I worked with my uncle when he was restoring Volkswagens. We often used it as a rust grinder. It went through a lot of hell and never let us down.

[2black1s]

I've also got an old Black and Decker that I used on hundreds of acrylic lacquer paint jobs and even a few urethane jobs. Bought it back in the late 60's or early 70's and it still works as good as the day it was new. Like others have said, these things are beasts. Nearly indestructible with gobs of edge-eating torque. You can hardly slow them down regardless of the pressure you exert on them. As for weight... How does 12-13 lbs. sound? Today I have relegated it to primarily rough misc. grinding tasks using 16 grit discs although I'm sure I'll put it to use as a polisher again sometime before I die. It's gonna last longer than me!