Car Random Orbital Polishers

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Technofreak

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# 138133 21-Dec-2013 10:44

I'm looking at getting a random orbital car polisher. The main job at this stage job is to clean up oxidised paint but also to polish.

I've found the following dedicated car polishers in New Zealand.

A Rockwell from Super Cheap http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/online-store/products/180mm-Multifunction-Polisher.aspx?pid=344537#Cross

and a DAS6 from Detail Depot http://www.detaildepot.co.nz/416-kestrel-das-6-power-plus-dual-action-polisher.html

Also I've been looking at these which are not dedicated car polishers

a Makita http://www.makitatools.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?Name=BO5041K

and a Bosch http://www.bosch-do-it.com/gb/en/diy/tools/pex-400-ae-3165140594455-199908.jsp

The main differences that I can see are the dedicated car units have a slower speeds and a bigger orbiting (oscillating) range.

They are all available in local stores, except for the DAS 6.

The Rockwell is pretty cheap which makes me wonder how well it will go and how long it will last.

The DAS 6 has good reviews but is a bit more expensive than all of the others.

I think Makita and Bosch are reasonable brands and should give good service. However will they do as good a job as either of the other two since their speed and orbital specs are quite different. For example the DAS 6 speeds go from 2500RPM to 6500 RPM and the orbit size is 8 mm whereas the Bosch speeds go from 4000 RPM to 21,000 RPM and orbit size id 2.5 mm.

I like the fact that the Bosch and Makita are also suitable for sanding applications around the house.

I'd be interested in any comments.

Thanks

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Fred99

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# 955796 21-Dec-2013 13:18

You inspired me to drop in to SuperCheap on my way home from the supermarket.
I need to polish the gelcoat on my boat - it's quite a big job. My experience with these small random orbital polishers is that they're simply not grunty enough - so I've hired large Makita polishers to do the job. I don't like to use heavy cutting compounds - as eventually you'll cut through the gelcoat.
It's a once a year job - I can't justify buying an expensive trade-quality tool for that.
I walked out with a Rockwell RS4900 1200 watt variable speed polisher (not random orbital) for $89. It feels to be well constructed, comes with a spare set of motor brushes, 2 year warranty. Seems to be a knock-off of Makita polishers I've used - I haven't compared side by side, but everything seems about the same design, apart from the lower general quality of finish of castings/mouldings. Of course it won't be of that quality, there's no free lunch. Some of these "off brand" cheap chinese tools are absolute rubbish - but some are remarkably good for the price.
Backing plate that comes with it is 180mm, SuperCheap didn't have any 180mm foam pads, only 200 or 150mm. I'll see how I go when the weather clears applying polish by hand, buffing off with lambswool pads. This has worked for me in the past, even if not the recommended method. For gelcoat you need to be pretty careful using foam pads, as it's easy to burn the gelcoat if you go a little fast and/or apply too much pressure.
This type of machine might have potential to be too aggressive if you use it on a car - you'd need to be very careful to not cut through clearcoat and/or end up with circular buff marks. But for tidying up an older badly oxidised finish, could be just the ticket. It's still reasonably hard work - the bigger polishing/buffing machines are quite heavy - a couple of kg or more.

Technofreak

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# 955900 21-Dec-2013 16:37

My car doesn't have a clear coat at least not on the metal panels so no issue with cutting through that. However one other job I do have for it is polishing an aircraft and one of the problems there is the the rivets. Straight out rotary polishers can be too vicious and take the paint off the rivets whereas a random orbital is a bit kinder.

What random orbitals have you used before?

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Fred99

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# 956047 22-Dec-2013 08:29

The random orbitals I've used have been cheap ryobi etc. with small motors, as when I look at the specs for the ones you post above, they have much more powerful motors. I like the look of the "Kestrel" polisher - but for $67 the supercheap one could be worth a go. The other two look like sanders which can be used as polishers, the ergonomics don't look right to me (but perhaps I'm thinking of straight orbital, where a long handle is needed to resist twisting force).
For buffing the plane, then I'd be getting some expert advice from someone who paints aircraft. From what I remember, at least on large aircraft, they use 2-pack polyurethane paint for decades - similar to "2k" car paint, but different in that it's not acrylic modified. It's great paint, extremely tough - but you can't easily touch it up, so I guess it could be a big problem if you damaged it by excessive cutting.
It's not raining as forecast - I'm going to go over to my boat and see how the the supercheap rotary polisher goes. Quite possible I'll report back to say that the smoke came out of it - and I couldn't get it back in

Technofreak

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# 956180 22-Dec-2013 14:54

Yep once the smoke gets out they don't work as well, and it's very very hard to put the smoke back .

Will be interested in what you think of the polisher.

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Fred99

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# 956197 22-Dec-2013 15:38

Job done - about 5 hours work. The polisher worked fine, felt just like the Makitas I've hired. It was 1200 watt, so more than enough grunt - motor didn't appear to even get warm, but I was only running it at about speed 4 on the dial (6 is max). For the price (that one was $89 reduced from $115) it seems fine. Applying the polish by hand on a damp microfibre, then buffing it off with a lambskin worked really well.

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# 956250 22-Dec-2013 17:09

Give this guy a call. he can do amazing cut and polish jobs. He will know what way to go. PM ME FOR DETAILS.

Technofreak

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# 956252 22-Dec-2013 17:17

Thanks Fred99. Went into Super Cheap Auto agin today and looked at the rotary polisher, it looked OK for the money.

I'll be wanting to do cutting and polishing with it. It will take foam pads which is what I think I need to use.

TimA, PM sent

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