I want to buy an orbital buffer.

does anyone uses it. Is it worth it?

If yes, what should I look for, and what should I try to avoid?

thanks

 

Only one to buy...

Porter Cable 7424. Buy it from Coastal Tool

It's $119 and it includes the 6" hook and loop pad and 6" counterweight. Incredible deal.

 

I like the larger pads...9 or 10". I guess the perfect deal would be to have both.

Small one for rough or tight spots & the larger one for an overall buffing.

 

Now wait.. There are two different types of orbital buffers.

An orbital buffer, like the one posted above. High speed and difficult for a beginer to use (In my opinion) Does very well at bringing a surface back to life. Getting heavy scratches out or fine polishing. It has one motion, Circular!

A randor orbital buffer. This is the easiest to use buffer. You can stop it with your hand. It has 2 motions. It spins in a circular motion freely, but it also oscilates. These kind use bonnets that you can slip over the head. These are great for putting on and taking wax off of a car that has a good surface alread. These are much cheaper and the best for someone looking to cut the elbow grease out of waxing.

http://www.bobvilla.com/ProductServi...lishers-1.html

Sears has a whole line-up of them. Think they range from 20 to 50 bucks. They also come air powered.

As far as the orbitals go, spending extra money does nto get you a better finish. I use the 30 dollar one on the link above. it does nice job for what I use it for. I have yet to kill the buffer, but I get a new one every 3 or 4 years. And I wil use it about 50 times over the summer. I detail cars out of my house as a hobby and it has served me just fine.

Just get good bonnets and the important part is the chemicals that you use!!! I do not re-use bonnets. They are 2 bucks a piece so I just replace them to be sure!

Hope this helps!

 

^^^I have the Craftsman...works wonders.

 

CLean,

Totally untrue about the PC. Read the link: Porter-Cable 7424 Polisher & Sander 6" Random Orbit with Bonus Kit

Nothing personal, but the $30 buffers suck. They do not generate enough heat and speed to work the polishes. And they are not very well counterbalanced. They tend to wobble a lot, causing you to end up hitting the car with the edges of the buffer. Big No-No.

And I don't even think the one you linked is a random orbit buffer. For that price, I doubt it.

Stick with the PC. It's the most widely used random orbit polisher. Check the detailing forums. Everyone swears by it. I used it for 5+ years when I was working for a detailer.

 

great info NSXNext. I used to work for a detailer in college and have not found equipment that came close to matching what we had in the shop. I've tried some of the polishers from Sears and thought they were a waste of money...way underpowered. So, what kind of polish are you using with this?

 

NW-CL,

I'm a Zainoholic. Using an orbital with Zaino is a waste of product. I do it all by hand. I do use it when I need to apply an abrasive. I'm a big fan of 3M Swirl Mark Remover.

I use it quite a bit on my wife's car, 03 Altima and on my beater, 93 Integra. It really brings the color back.

 

PC Buffer is a dream to use. I went through several "orbitals" in my time and they all wound up in the same place...the garage sale or trash. Velcro (hook and loop) backing plate makes it a snap to change pads. DON'T do what I did and buy through Meguiar's as they sell the same unit at a higher price.

Also agree about using Zaino with the PC. I use Zaino on my wife's Honda Pilot and Meguiar's Tech Wax on my RAV4. PC buffer gives unbelievable results.

 

Thanks! I need a good one for my wife's '01 Accord. The color is eternal blue which looks great when it's done right, but it has quite a few surface blemishes so I need to start over. As for the CLS, I only use Zaino so I hear what you're saying. However, her's needs a serious paint overhaul that only a good buffer can do. Thanks for the info, I'm gonna buy one.

 

NW-CL,

One tip I can give you with the PC and SMR. I've found the best results are to start on a slow speed 2-3 to spread the product over the surface. Work it for 30-60 seconds then move up a speed or two. Keep doing this until the SMR almost dissapears. The more you work it, the smaller the abrasives get, and the less microhazing you'll end up with. You shouldn't have to wipe a whole lot of product off when you're done. If you plan to Zaino over SMR, give the car a good wash with dish soap. The SMR has a lot of fillers that don't bond well with a polymer. The dish soap will get the leftover SMR off the car. It should be squeaky clean.

 

I am not dis-agreeing with anything that you all have said. I have a Milwaukee polisher for true detailing.

http://www.coastaltool.com/cgi-bin/S...276+1080717775

But the average Joe with no experience, you can can do A LOT OF FREAKING damage to their cars with a buffer. Especially with a wool or poly bonnet. When I started at the detail shop, I went to the body shop and got a few hoods that were damaged and learned on junk parts. It is very easy to burn the paint and also buff the paint off the edges of the panels. I messed up a lot of panels by buffing to long, to hard and with the wrong chemicals.

But if you are just someone who wants to save some elbow grease, then a cheap orbital buffer will work. If you realy have the time and want the best finish possible. Then I would say get the PC.

Hands down the PC will do a better job. But that is a true buffer.

 

CLean,

Unless you sit on the PC on your hood for 5 minutes, you aren't going to burn the paint. The fact that it's an orbital keeps it constantly moving, so there is little chance of burning the paint. The cheap buffers are very good for application and removal of waxes, but I wouldn't recommend the cheap ones for applying abrasives.

 

I've got another question for you. My wife puts some nice scratches in her clearcoat (can't tell how deep yet) from trying to remove bird dropping with just a little water. Anyway, this is one of the major problem areas I will have to fix. Have you purchased any wool pads for the PC to remove scratches or did you use the pad that came with it?

 

Do not use the wool pad. They bite way too much and generate too much heat. I have used the wool pad, with a cotton bonnet on underneath to absorb heat, but I would not recommend it. I'd go for a more abrasive product, like 3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish.

 

They even do damage with my shitty Craftsman...I can only imagine the swirls left by a high-speed buffer.

 

Your all right. Wool has its advantages in cartain places. But they are few and far between.

They make different use foam pads for buffers. Might not be able to find 6" ones for the PC, but you can find them.

Some are for medium cut, fine cut, and polish.

NSXNEXT - The cheap buffers are very good for application and removal of waxes, but I wouldn't recommend the cheap ones for applying abrasives.

That I agree with.!!!

NW-CL. If you have any scratches, just get eh PC. You wont be sorry. If you are looking to save a few munites when waxing, get a cheap-o.

Just remember, that you cannot make paint appear, where paint is no longer.!!

And I must confess...... I was going to get a new Sears buffer this year because I dropped my other one a few times last year.. And ahhh.. I think I am going to get the PC...

 

So true, 2,500-6,000 > ~3800 rpms.

I've gone through 2 $20 buffers. They worked OK when I was only doing 2 cars twice a year. Never polished as well as I would like. I never liked the bonnets.

Now I do a few more cars and a boat.

With the Costal Tool package what else will I need, more pads? Something like the 3 pad set from Meguiar's?

I use Klasse AIO and SG by hand. I'll have to check into the 3M Swirl Mark Remover.

 

You'll need to buy pads. It comes with one pad that I would not use. The Meguiars pads are very good.

 

Do you ever use your PC to remove Zaino? Would it work well for that too?