hal m

I have been wanting to get one of these machines to clean up some swirl marks and make waxing easier.

I know Porter Cable was the gold standard for these products and Griots used to sell them. Now Griots is selling a private label product.

What is the boards wisdom on these machines and which one should I buy and from whom.

Thanks!

texas911

Buy the Porter Cable. They are even available at Lowes. Then buy some pads from a detail store on the internet. You can't go wrong. Its proven and its relatively inexpensive. You and your arms will be grateful after the first use!

pcar964

Isn't there a danger of creating swirl marks with those buffers? How fast are they?

biotechee

You have to use the correct pads and polishes / waxes for your paint / clear coat combo to get the best results. If you operate the PC too fast, I think you can "burn" the paint.

Check out www.autopia.org

I stumbled across that site a few weeks ago and am in awe of what can be done to cars with really bad paint. To say the least, those guys do some incredible things with car finishes! A lot of trial and error to find what works best with your car.

texas911

No, if you apply too much pressure on the Porter Cable it will just stop, the pad isn't directly connected to the motor, there is some sort of clutch. The motor will keep going but the pad will stop. That's why its so popular.

Bill Lucas

I got the Cyclo based on the recommendation of one of the Concours Forum pros. It is a wonderful machine. Unlike the Porter Cable you can lean on it a fair amount and it keeps running.

You really have to be using a rotary to worry about burning paint. Orbitals just don't generate enough heat to burn.

Remeber, when you're working on your paint use the least aggressive pad and compound necessary to do the job.

Monique

The perf and comp / concours forum will answer your question.

Bosch makes a much cheaper but equally good unit. The Bosch 400 AE is the one to look for...

trojanman

It's an orbital, not a rotary... nearly impossible to burn the paint, even for an idiot like me!

I have one and it works great. Once you apply any pressure to the pad, it really just vibrates on the surface and doesn't turn at all.

One lesson I learned is not to turn it on with a full pad of wax before applying the pad to the paint surface... the pad spun and shot tiny droplets of wax all over my garage. It was like a liquid wax rain bird and it made a huge mess.

It's amazing how stupid I am sometimes.

TRINITONY

don't feel bad, been there done that

Land Jet

I'm pretty sure that the Griot and Porter Cable tool are the same thing. Griot just got a lisencing agreement to put his name on it.

AOW162435

Griot's used to sell the PC machine but now have their own Made-in-China orbital.

I use the PC machine, along with backing plates and polishing pads from Top of the Line Detailing Supplies.

Andreas

awahl63

Yes I tried out Griots orbital today and I was less than impressed. I would wait a month or two and get an Ultimate Detailing Machine from David at autopia car care.

Mike J

I have used the PC for many years doing woodworking...you can use a 100grit pad and get a super smooth surface out of it, that is how good the random orbital action it. One of the tricks is not to stall the sanding head, if you are loading the head so much that it just vibrates I think that is too much pressure, the head needs to rotate and vibrate as well. Its the random vibration while it rotating that does not allow the sander/polisher to make a "track" that you can see. The Porter Cable is rock solid, I have dropped it several times with no problems.

My tool rule is much like with Porsches : Buy the best tool that you can afford and you will not regret it.

Cheers,

Mike

black ice

Biotechee, thanks a lot for the link to autopia. Neat site - answered several questions I've had...

coltj

awahl63: What specifically did you not like about it? I'm(or was) considering getting one. Thanks.

Jeffrey