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Yesterday's (Sunday) newspaper had a coupon for the HF rotary on sale for $24.99, $5 less than the online sale. Not the professional tool of choice but it's good for me till I decide to pony up for a Makita or Flex. It'll be used to cut some sanding marks then use the DA to finish it down. If I blow it up, no big deal.
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
Should be noted that the polisher on sale is not the HF Chicago (orange) rotary most of us are familiar with. Instead, the rotary is the black and metallic Drill Master
Description of Drill Master 92623
Versatile sander-polisher works in the 200-3377 RPM range so you can easily polish your vehicle’s finish or sand all types of larger work surfaces. All ball-bearing construction helps this sander/polisher operate smoothly.
- Polisher/sander includes 7" hook-and-loop backing pad, foam pad, two sanding discs (60 and 240 grit), terry polishing bonnet
- Universal 5/8''-11 TPI spindle
- Spindle lock for easy pad changes
120 volt motor, 60 Hz, 10 amps Shipping Weight: 7.85 lbs. -
Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
I've used this rotary before , works well.
They do seem to slow down some as you apply more and more product but great price.Chief Engineer.
My part time job is to maintain my black Toyota!Comment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
i am new to rotary buffing and it is interesting i just bought that same buffer yesterday!!!!! used it 2day for the 1st time and i gotta say i was scared at first lol . but i got awesome results on my black infiniti. i used it on the lowest setting for the best results of the day. when i tried to turn it up, however....... it goes from min to 5 i tried to move from min to 1 at times and i was having trouble controlling at times but also spewed wax all over the car. i ended up having to go back over those areas again with the min setting to blend and even out coat. i wiped off and final wipe with mf towels and got ridiculous shine. but i have no experience with theese buffers , and have no idea of the rpms on the settings and what is safe to use for polish/wax and or swirl x etc. if someone is reading this please help i like using it and it is imo more efficient than by hand but i would love to maximize results and no the range i can use it for. thanksComment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
Would this be a foolish purchase to buy as a $25 pad dryer?Comment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
I have and use one of these, and though you only get what you paid for, it's not a bad tool to learn rotary buffing.Originally posted by chrisalvarez View Post
My background is 30+ years experience with a rotary. I still use my 10lb. metal case Rockwell buffer that's single speed with a brutal amount of torque. Originally I bought the HF unit strictly for light duty use, such as headlights, but I find myself using it more than I ever imagined.
First, I would recommend using smaller pads, such as 5.5 or 6 inch. Not only will it be much easier to control, but the pads will also serve you later if you get a D/A polisher. Secondly, you will always have to keep a thumb on the speed control. Unlike a real pro buffer, the speed will vary drastically with pressure, so always be ready to ramp it up or down.
Low speed is useless for anything more than spreading product and speeds over 2000 rpm are too fast for any kind of paint polishing, so switch around in the middle ranges as you vary pressure and arm movement. Somewhere in this forum is a chart of speed recommendations for various Meg's products. Find it, print it and use it as your guide.
Also, tape is your friend. Tape any and all edges and peaks, and all moldings, door handles etc. Have some beach towels or bedsheets handy to cover the areas that you're not currently working, as I guarantee you will sling more product than you intended. The time it takes to tape and cover will pay dividends in greatly reduced cleanup time and avoiding unreversible slip-ups.
Finally, practice, practice, practice, but not on a valuable vehicle. Either buy a used panel from a junkyard or body shop, or practice on a beater car that you won't harm if you do any burn-throughs on edges, peaks, or just burn through the clearcoat.
Now that you know the precautions, as Nike says, just do it.
BillComment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
hey thanks for the advise man. i work in an industrial field welding, grinding etc. so i work with grinders and machines such as theese all the time so as not to be completely inexperienced. but never for anything as delicate as buffing and waxing a vehicle. i have detailed my own car and several others with the rotary now and i enjoy it and think i have gotten better. also how much pressure do you apply to keep the pad flat. and also obviously lower settings for polish/wax but how about something like swirl x which is what i bought a more powerful machine for in the first place thanks in advance any info helpful.Comment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
I don't know if this link is allowed, but if so, here's a lengthy tutorial on using a rotary:
BillComment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
I have the Chicago Electric. It works fine for me. I tear it apart and grease the gears and check the brushes and blow it out and use an electronic cleaner and spray it out.Philippians 2:14 - Do all things without grumbling or questioning,Comment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
anyone know what the speed dial numbers relate to in actual rpm's? to me the drill master looks like a makita 9227 clone execpt for the rpm range and speed dial, but my guess is min is 200rpm 1-600 2-900 3-1500 4-2100 5-2700 6-3000 max-3700 wish these manufacturers would list the actual rpms makes no sense to me why they just list numbers numbers do nothing in terms of rpm's.../end rant! if anyone has the actual rpm range of this thing let me know i dont feel like calling up HF to find the information! thanks guysComment
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harbor freight
I use the drill master rotary buffer I'm very experienced and do alot of compounds at the detail shop I work at the rotary is light and works great for me. Not saying I would choose that over a flex or 3m rotary but it's good for someone just starting out.Comment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
Can any one aswere this question? I got the same one to start out with, can't believe the manual doesnt say just has min, I, II, III, IIII, IIIII, then max.Originally posted by opie_7afe View PostComment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
I have a question on this unit! I bought it long time ago, used it couple times with the wool bonnet in the box. Never can have the result even close to using DA. is it because the bad design of wool bonnet? should i actually use a real wool pad(rather than bonnet on foam pad) to make the result better?Comment
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Re: If you're interested, Harbor Freight rotary on sale
IMO, pad choice makes as much, if not more difference than the machine. You can do much better work with a cheap machine & good pads than a good machine with garbage pads. If you're gonna get some good pads, buy something in the 5.5 to 6 inch size that you can use later if you're thinking of a DA polisher. I'm a rotary veteran, but I still think you can control a rotary better with smaller pads than the common 8 to 9 inch production pads.
BillComment
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