Orbital buffer/polisher recommendation

[dkryan]

Originally Posted By: BlindBaby
I'm frugal on certain things and to be honest, this is an area in which I have no inclination to overspent.

I ordered the HF unit with the 20% off coupon a few days ago.

Thanks for all the input.


Well, sir, I guess it depends on your definition of "overspent" and what you expect to achieve with what you purchased.

Best of luck to you with your detailing.

 

[dkryan]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Wax spreader + M105/M205; Now granted that I did use D/A couple years ago on the entire van but still you can see pretty substantial difference with just the wax spreader and right polish.

P1070115 by sontakke, on Flickr

P1070118 by sontakke, on Flickr



Vikas - good job!

 

[BlindBaby]

Originally Posted By: dkryan
Originally Posted By: BlindBaby
I'm frugal on certain things and to be honest, this is an area in which I have no inclination to overspent.

I ordered the HF unit with the 20% off coupon a few days ago.

Thanks for all the input.


Well, sir, I guess it depends on your definition of "overspent" and what you expect to achieve with what you purchased.

Best of luck to you with your detailing.


Oy; I meant to type overspend.

 

[Benito]

Originally Posted By: BlindBaby
I'm frugal on certain things and to be honest, this is an area in which I have no inclination to overspent.

I ordered the HF unit with the 20% off coupon a few days ago.

Thanks for all the input.


It's quite heavy and a little awkward. I found myself not using it as much as I planned to - I skipped vertical surfaces. On the other hand, it appears I have "hard" paint.

But even using it to spread and remove wax on vertical surfaces is more awkward than it should be.

 

[Trav]

If you get the hang of it you may want to move up to a rotary at some point. I only use a rotary, the orbital i tried took 10 times as long to do the same work and the finish wasn’t any better. Honestly to me they are nothing more than a PITA and a huge time waster.

They need some skills to use properly and a lot of practice especially when it comes to lines and edges, they can ruin the paint in no time but once your good with them there is nothing better or faster.

 

[Snoman002]

Originally Posted By: deanm11
Originally Posted By: Snoman002

I will say it again, the the HF DA. It's cheap and you can always upgrade while still keeping all your pads and materials. Heck, buy it with the 20% off coupon and you could sell it for $5 less years later. The backing plate is [censored], so replace that, and the grease is junk so change that out too. I don't find mine to be loud at all. It is even well liked on dedicated detailing forums.
But, if your income is a bit more disposable then the recommendations here are all great


I've been using the HF one too and like it a lot, but I'm new to DAs. I have 6.5" Lake Country CCS pads so I'd like to retain a 6" backing plate- suggestions on what/where to buy a better one? And what is this grease you speak of?

I will say the first one I bought was DOA.. it rotated a bit and then locked up. But the 2nd one has been running fine.


Can't answer the backing plate question as I switched out the stock one and went with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads.

As for grease, just get the red high temp high pressure grease from HF. Others have tried a name brand grease and had it leak out, I think it's the high pressure stuff that's needed.

 

[genynnc]

Originally Posted By: deanm11
Originally Posted By: Snoman002

I will say it again, the the HF DA. It's cheap and you can always upgrade while still keeping all your pads and materials. Heck, buy it with the 20% off coupon and you could sell it for $5 less years later. The backing plate is [censored], so replace that, and the grease is junk so change that out too. I don't find mine to be loud at all. It is even well liked on dedicated detailing forums.
But, if your income is a bit more disposable then the recommendations here are all great


I've been using the HF one too and like it a lot, but I'm new to DAs. I have 6.5" Lake Country CCS pads so I'd like to retain a 6" backing plate- suggestions on what/where to buy a better one? And what is this grease you speak of?

I will say the first one I bought was DOA.. it rotated a bit and then locked up. But the 2nd one has been running fine.


You will be better served with 5.5" pads on the HF. You can buy the 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads at various online retailers.

Google Auto Detailing Solutions... they have what you need for a solid price.

The HF D/A is an outstanding value and I have three... one setup for 3- 4" pads... one for interior carpet cleaning (brush attached)... and one for waxing/ fine polishing.

My DeWalt rotary and Rupes 21/ 15 are what I cut with... however from time-to-time, some paint systems simply do NOT like the action of the 21/ 15 orbits and I will use the HF 8mm stroke for compounding.

 

[tbm3fan]

My three machines:

Makita 9227c
for removing paint and compounding after color sanding

Makita BO6040
under forced rotation to remove swirl marks

Griots random orbital
for applying polish or wax