Hi all,
I'm thinking of purchasing a polisher but I know nothing about them and the process.
All I know is that I'm tired of polishing & waxing by hand. It takes wayyy too long and I'm sore afterwards.
That's why I'm looking for a quicker, easier way. And I'm assuming a polisher is the answer.
First off, I'm not a professional nor do I want to become one. I'm just an owner who wants to keep the paint on my cars looking the best it can.
The thing I'm concerned about using one of these things is damaging the paint. I've never used one before.
I'm hoping someone makes one that's idiot proof. I do NOT want to damage any paint.
So tell me what models I should be looking at, including the pads.
I'm in the same boat as you--just take care of my own car and sometimes a friend or relative.
You can't beat the Griot's Garage 6" equiped with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" or 5" pads (they are less expensive, easier to work with and more effective)--it has more power than the other DAs so you won't have to struggle with stalling, it is completely safe and it has a life time warranty. It would be a shame to only use the polisher a few times a year and then have to spend $80 on repairs 4 years down the road--not a problem with Griots--just call customer service and in most cases they just replace the polisher with a new one.
I would suggest the new Megs THIN pads since there are only 3 different colors to deal with, they improve the performance of the DA and the agressive maroon pad finishes down very well. Make sure you get enough--4-6 for your compounding or aggressive step, 4 for polishing and one for each LSP you plan to use. Trying to do an entire car with one or two pads per step is a recipe for failure. Here's an article by Mike Phillips --- http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ut-my-car.html
There are allot of articles and videos regarding polishing so make sure you spend some time reading and watching before you embark on this journey. Here's a list of articles and links to videos by Mike that will help http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-phillips.html
For polishes take a look at the HD line of products--very beginner friendly as they have a long working time, little to no dust and remove easily. They are SMAT products so you only have to work them until you achieve the correction you want.
Griots Garage 6" Random Orbital, a good selection of foam pads, and a couple microfiber pads for cutting deeper scratches. Also would recommend Menzerna FG400 and SF4000. They are expensive but well worth the investment.
Finishing Touch Auto (Stayton, OR)
Ryan Hendricks (Owner) 503-602-8483 FTA Website
This question has been asked many times in various places on this forum. I have tried all three systems - The Boss System, The Flex System (although not a real system there is a "recommended" setup which includes LC 4 inch backing plate, 5 inch LC Hybrid Pads and Menzerna polishes) and finally Rupes. These are the more expensive systems so if you are not looking to spend a lot of money, then ski2 makes excellent recommendations with GG 6".
I think your decision will depend on your cars and circumstances. For me at least, I have found the Flex with the recommended setup to really work well for no other reason that the potential for stalling or stopping with other DAs is eliminated and this to me just improves the whole experience. Many members say they don't experience stalling or stopping but that was not my experience.
There are many forum members who favor Rupes and the Boss over Flex (and the Boss over Rupes and vice versa) for various reasons. As a result, I would suggest you read a few posts on these tools and buy Mike P book before you do anything else. It is an ebook and you should read it before you even think about spending any money. It helped me a lot. From there you should get the Flex book so you can at least understand how that tool is different. Then you will be much more informed on the way forward. If you have the funds, you may wind up spending a bunch of money but at least your rides will look awesome.
Good luck with your research and please post your experiences as you progress. As a aside, please see this post which was read by a few members with a lot of interesting comments which documented my experiences. It took a long time and a lot cash to figure out what worked for me. My final conclusion was to keep it as simple as possible as I don't do this for a living (and would never) but it actually is a fun hobby and having an excellent looking ride is a great thing.
Long time lurker, new to posting here. 30+ years detailing "experience". I bought the Harbor Freight one for $ 53 on July 4. Just wanted to see what I could do using a machine polisher for the first time. I'm stunned actually. Watched several hours of how-to lessons, mainly from Mike and also Junkman. I bought the orange and white Hex logic 5.5 inch pads and a 5 inch backing plate. and Meg. 105 & 205.
I guinea-pigged a black '09 Kia Borrego. Swirls and marks all over it... not now. The pic doesn't show a good angle with the sun hitting it to show swirl marks.
The PC 7424XP seems to be a go-to polisher on here.
When I reach for what I call an entry level dual action polisher I always reach for the Porter Cable.
I like the fit and finish and also how if I drop it, it won't break.
As long as you're using a 5" backing plate with 5.5" thin pads there's nothing it can't do as fast as any of the other entry level dual action polishers.
You'll find you'll always being using speed 6 on the PC unless you're machine sanding then you'll be on the 4.5 to 5.0 speed setting.
I use entry level dual action polishers for both machine wetsanding and machine scrubbing and I never feel an electrical shock when using the PC.
Most people don't machine sand and only a few machine scrub tires, (the only way I clean tires), so the "shock" issue isn't a big deal.
Here's a streetrod we machine sanded and anyone doing any machine sanding was using a PC
I know most guys on this forum recommend the Griot's and I don't have any problem with recommending the Griot's as it is the most powerful entry level dual action polisher around but like I said, when I need an entry level DA I reach for the PC.
If I need MORE POWER I don't reach for the Griot's I reach for the right tool for the job, that being a rotary buffer or a Flex 3401 or a Rupes Bigfoot 21 etc.
Here's my article on marking your backing plate, read the entire thread as there's TONS of info in the thread for anyone purchasing a PC or a version of the PC.
Thanks: 
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks