# Buffer/Polisher Suggestion



## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

Ok, I want to get one now to be ready for spring/summer wax job. Does anyone have a brand they can recommend? I have a gift card from Sears, are the Craftsman any good? What should I look for when purchasing one? 

I know I will go with an electric buffer, I don't have an air compressor, and I don't want to worry about a battery losing its charge before I'm done. 

Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks :cheers:


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

I actually got a Craftsman 10" electric buffer for Christmas. It is the one that has a handle that goes all around the top and kinda looks like a steering wheel.

Tried it out yesterday in the garage just to see if it worked and it seems like it will be very comfortable to use. Very easy to hang on to no matter where you grab it.

:thumbup:


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## 95 SentraB13 (Jun 14, 2002)

I have a Waxmaster 6000 random orbit 6" buffer which I bought from WalMart for around $34 CAN. It's a decent design but if I had the money at the time without a doubt the only buffer I would buy would be the *Porter-Cable 7424 6" Variable-Speed Random-Orbit Polisher* [1,2] or if you are more experienced/capable the 7428 Rotary buffer.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

the craftsman ones are extremely cheap(price)


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## I'm tired of my usernamee (Feb 16, 2004)

95 SentraB13 said:


> I have a Waxmaster 6000 random orbit 6" buffer which I bought from WalMart for around $34 CAN. It's a decent design but if I had the money at the time without a doubt the only buffer I would buy would be the *Porter-Cable 7424 6" Variable-Speed Random-Orbit Polisher* [1,2] or if you are more experienced/capable the 7428 Rotary buffer.


thats the one that i had and i loved it...........but i dont have paint on my car anymore, just primer.........


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

astreamk1 said:


> I actually got a Craftsman 10" electric buffer for Christmas. It is the one that has a handle that goes all around the top and kinda looks like a steering wheel.
> 
> Tried it out yesterday in the garage just to see if it worked and it seems like it will be very comfortable to use. Very easy to hang on to no matter where you grab it.
> 
> :thumbup:


i got the same one you did. did yours come in a bucket? and come with some terry cloth bonnets and others? yea it looks really nice :thumbup:


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

those Craftsman ones are fine for applying wax, but that's about it. I've got one at home and it doesn't do squat for polishing.. just smearing soft wax around...

If you want to really buff the car, you're going to need something MUCH more heavy duty.. I use a 10" wool/foam pad on my drill.. just a heavy-duty 1/2" DeWalt drill w/ adjustable speed. it's not random orbit and will leave some very minor swirl marks, but unless you are at a car show people won't ever look that close at the finish to tell..


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

idk man mine look BEEF as hell. i will find the model when i get home and find it on the sears site. i just looked and couldnt find it.


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## Wufaded (Oct 15, 2003)

I got the Craftsman too! The one in the bucket....










Hope it does the job, if not I'm taking it back


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## eric96ser (Apr 30, 2002)

Matt93SE said:


> those Craftsman ones are fine for applying wax, but that's about it. I've got one at home and it doesn't do squat for polishing.. just smearing soft wax around...
> 
> If you want to really buff the car, you're going to need something MUCH more heavy duty.. I use a 10" wool/foam pad on my drill.. just a heavy-duty 1/2" DeWalt drill w/ adjustable speed. it's not random orbit and will leave some very minor swirl marks, but unless you are at a car show people won't ever look that close at the finish to tell..



Its also very easy to burn through the paint with that setup. A random orbital buffer is very safe for a beginner to use, and they give great results. If you are smearing soft wax around, you didn't wait long enough for it to dry. I have a black car, and I use a Waxmaster 9" buffer, and it does a great job.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

eric96ser said:


> Its also very easy to burn through the paint with that setup. A random orbital buffer is very safe for a beginner to use, and they give great results. If you are smearing soft wax around, you didn't wait long enough for it to dry. I have a black car, and I use a Waxmaster 9" buffer, and it does a great job.



well sure.. if you sit there long enough and wear out every bone in your body with vibrations, those craftsman buffers will eventually buff paint.. but it will take DAYS to do an entire car with one. The velcro attachment pads also don't stick that well and tend to come off if you don't have pressure applied directly in the center of the buffer. thus you can't do corners or edges very well. in order to do any serious buffing of minor scratch removal, those things just aren't up to the task.
Now, if you have a high quality 9" one with a permanently attached head, that's a totally different story.. But I've found that the $40 cheapie jobs they sell at Sears just won't do the job.


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## eric96ser (Apr 30, 2002)

Matt93SE said:


> well sure.. if you sit there long enough and wear out every bone in your body with vibrations, those craftsman buffers will eventually buff paint.. but it will take DAYS to do an entire car with one. The velcro attachment pads also don't stick that well and tend to come off if you don't have pressure applied directly in the center of the buffer. thus you can't do corners or edges very well. in order to do any serious buffing of minor scratch removal, those things just aren't up to the task.
> Now, if you have a high quality 9" one with a permanently attached head, that's a totally different story.. But I've found that the $40 cheapie jobs they sell at Sears just won't do the job.


I paid $35 for my buffer and it made buffing the car way easier. It won't get the big scratches and swirls out, but it won't create them like your setup will. I haven't seen the Sears buffers, but mine uses bonnets. You don't need any pressure on the buffer. Just move it around, and let the machine do all the work. I can put 3 or 4 coats of cleaner/polish/wax on a car in a day. To do that much work by hand took longer, and my arms were sore after all that work. The PorterCable buffers are a much better deal, but you can do paint damage if you leave the buffer in place too long, or use a too aggressive pad.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

You can damage the paint with any setup, but I have yet to ever scratch the car with the stuff I use. the first key is to make sure the car is clean and use a new or clean pad-- just grabbing one off the shelf in the garage is asking to have stuff ground into your paint.

and sure.. for beginners, it's easy to burn through the paint on sharp edges on the car- that's part of the deal with any high speed buffer- even the random orbit ones.

Applying cleaner/wax isn't NEAR the same thing as actually buffing or polishing the car. If that's all you're trying to do (see my first post in this thread), then they will work fine.. but if you plan on removing scratches or buffing off any oxidation, then you're goign to need something more heavy duty than those $35 jobs.


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## 95 SentraB13 (Jun 14, 2002)

Personal opinion, I don't even use my 6" buffer anymore. I prefer to apply paste wax by hand using a round applicator sponge and removing the cleaner/polish/wax, etc. with a 100% cotton towel made in either Canada or the US. I've been asked a few times if I just had the car painted after polishing and waxing but they are shocked when I say it's 10 years old. Mind you, up close and in the day time it's terrible looking.

I would primarily use the Porter-Cable 7424 Random Orbit Polisher to apply products only, eventually I will buy one. I've never had good results removing wax, cleaner or polish even with my Waxmaster and a cotton bonnet; I prefer the towel removal method. If after you want to buff/polish the paint to get a more even finish I guess you still can.


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## Smitty 3.5 (Dec 13, 2004)

Matt93SE said:


> well sure.. if you sit there long enough and wear out every bone in your body with vibrations, those craftsman buffers will eventually buff paint.. but it will take DAYS to do an entire car with one. The velcro attachment pads also don't stick that well and tend to come off if you don't have pressure applied directly in the center of the buffer. thus you can't do corners or edges very well. in order to do any serious buffing of minor scratch removal, those things just aren't up to the task.
> Now, if you have a high quality 9" one with a permanently attached head, that's a totally different story.. But I've found that the $40 cheapie jobs they sell at Sears just won't do the job.



Those buffers will never generate enough heat or cutting action to damage paint. The worst you can do is slightly swirl the finish with an extremely aggressive polish or a dirty pad. The only purpose of any of these random orbit buffers is to speed up the application and removal of waxes and polishes, nothing more. Also a drill does not have enough torque and is too difficult to control to use properly for compounding. And the swirls that you were talking about in a previous post are very obvious in the sunlight and no matter if you have a show car or not the finish will look very poor in certain lighting conditions. Half the point of polishing is removing and concealing swirls that have been created by compounding to remove scratches and other surface imperfections.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

The drills that I use are more than powerful enough- It's actually picked me up off the ground before when a 1" wood boring bit locked up after it hit a nail. definitely has the torque and speed.

Also, given the proper compounds and pads, I can get rid of 99.9% of those swirl marks, even on a black car. just takes time and using very fine compounds. on my white car, I can stop after rubbing compound and wax it and no one can tell. try that on a black car and it looks like ass.


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## Jasper (Apr 2, 2004)

theres only one worth buying

PorterCable 7424 ... use the 5" counterweights though, the 6"er's tend ot be overkill on the 4" pad, the 5's are a nice compromise


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

just wondering......can i do minor polishing with a random orbital?








the same one Wu has.


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## Smitty 3.5 (Dec 13, 2004)

1.6pete said:


> just wondering......can i do minor polishing with a random orbital?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not more than a hand wax and polish.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

milwaulkee buffer! nothing better then rotary power! but you need to know what you are doing or your going to burn and swirl your paint!


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