what buffer to buy?

[tomee]

hey guys
ive been using meguiars products by hand for a whiel now,
and im not really getting a swirl free finish
so im thinking about buying a machine buffer, and im wondering what i need to look out for one buying a machine

im a alittle lost as to what to buy
i go into a hardware store and all i see is angle grinders etc..

is that what i need to buy? and replace them with buffing pads?

i live in australia so i dont know if we have the same tools?
if anyone from australia can help aswell

thanks

[Mad iX]

I saw a detailing article in Speed magazine a few months ago, with a Meguiar's rep using a GMC random orbital. I got to try for myself and it's worked well so far. It's the GMC 515w, you can get it from any hardware store. I got mine from BigW for $40.
Just be careful though, I compared specs with the porter cable and it seems to be a fair bit more powerful. I haven't gone above 5 on the speed setting.

[toyotaowner]

I'm really fond the my Porter Cable and I highly recommend it. I was able to get rid of some sever swirls using it with speed glaze, setting of 5 and polishing it over the section for a mere 5 minutes. Love it.

BTW, do you own a Camry?

[tomee]

Mad iX: which big W,
i tried bunnings, and the cheapest GMC orbital i saw was like $80

i could not find a cheaper one, except for those crappy ones u see at super cheap


toyotaowner: yep, 96 camry
why do you ask?

[Buellwinkle]

It depends on your skills or how much skill you want to develop. The best/fastest type of buffer is a rotary. You can find these at many hardware stores. They have a 5/8" arbor to accept the common pads and have variable speeds down to about 1,200 rpm. Makita is the most popular and is sold as a buffer/sander. For OK and slower results but requiring less skills is the random orbital/dual action. There are different kinds of RO/DA sanders/buffers but the best seems to be the ones from Porter Cable and specically the one sold by Meguiars.

I can buff a car to a swirl free finish in half the time with a rotary over a ro/da buffer, on the other hand it's downsides are more splatter (on clothes, tires, soft top, can be annoying), and because it works twice as fast, you have to be twice as cautious or you could burn your paint. Some hard finishes can only be made swirl free with a rotary buffer.

Downside of a ro/da buffer are that it's slow, very annoying vibration, tougher on pads. Upside is that it's harder to damage the paint by improper use (notice I said harder, not impossible).

Then after you get chose your buffer, you have to chose pads and polish, both tough decisions, luckily you didn't ask about that!

[tomee]

heh yeah, thanks

does the one meguiars sell, is it available to us australians?

i having a hard time finding a decent random orbital around here.

i wanted an orbital becuase i knew about the rotarys burning of paint if you're not careful. and because i have never done it.

i was at an auto shop today, and saw meguiars buffing pads for $60 AU !
damn! soo expensive

[Buellwinkle]

Check out http://www.meguiars.com.au/ then you can search for dealers. If not, find an online retailer willing to ship abroad. The Australian website did show the products (pads and polish) by clicking Products and then Professional but no G-100 buffer. Since they may not sell the G-100 buffer, consider the equivalent from Porter Cable model 7224 or 7336 which is what I use. Then get the backing plates and pads from Meguiars.

Being at the bottom of the earth, when you put polish on your car, how do you keep it from falling up in the air?

[tomee]

yeah been to some of them dealers, they dont have much of a range down here.
i dont even think we have porter down here

[tomee]

Originally posted by Mad iX
I saw a detailing article in Speed magazine a few months ago, with a Meguiar's rep using a GMC random orbital. I got to try for myself and it's worked well so far. It's the GMC 515w, you can get it from any hardware store. I got mine from BigW for $40.

which Big W store?

[romulus]

tomee,
Just to chime in with the same topic from another fellow Ausie.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=4813

Cheers

[tomee]

Originally posted by romulus
tomee,
Just to chime in with the same topic from another fellow Ausie.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=4813

Cheers

thanks for that