07 Stang

I know you guys like to use the Porter Cable Buffer/Polisher but what about the Craftsmen 10" Buffer? You can pick one up online for less than $40.00. I need something to polish my truck with. Because it's so large, I think a small pad would take too long. Has anyone used a Craftsmen Buffer/Polisher? I know they are good about standing behind their products.

candymanjl

polishers take a beating, I just don't see a cheap one lasting. I started with a Porter Cable and then went to a Flex. the Flex is so awesome, mainly since the way it's designed it's about twice as fast to work with as a Porter Cable.

it's really up to you and how often you see yourself using it. if it'll be a once every couple months kinda thing then it's probably not worth the extra money to go to a Porter Cable or Flex. me and my roommates polish our cars and other people's cars all the time and a cheap one just wouldn't last. now if Sears will give you the same lifetime warranty as their tools then I'd say go for it, but I seriously doubt they'll do that. most of their electronic tools are someone else's just re-badged anyway.

on the pads I agree, get something that'll work with at least 6" or 7" pads. even a 5" pad gets pretty small and takes forever on even the mustang let alone a truck. be sure to get pads that are at least 1" if not 2" bigger than the velcro pad on the polisher so you don't have to worry about getting close to an edge and having anything but the pad touch the paint. I have a couple freebie 5" pads and the 5" velcro pad on the polisher can get close to the paint on curvy parts if I'm not careful. I just don't use those anymore anyway, not worth the risk.

incorrigible

Don't do it. You *will* regret it. The $40 Craftsman one will do nothing for you. The cheap ones just don't have enough power to do effective polishing Invest in either the PC or the Flex as suggested.

candymanjl

I've always gotten my polishing stuff from autogeek.net, they've got a lot of good info on their site and their prices are pretty good. the best way to get things from them is their bundles, you can save some money that way especially when you're starting from scratch.

here's all of their porter cable bundles...
http://www.autogeek.net/po.html

there's all of their flex bundles...
http://www.autogeek.net/flex-car-polishers.html

this is the kit I started with on day one except I have the older version of the polisher. poor boy's products are about the easiest in the world to work with. mainly since they don't care if you use them in the sun, shade, hot, cold, whatever.
http://www.autogeek.net/popoprkit.html
http://www.autogeek.net/autogeek-det...-tool-bag.html

now I use the Flex polisher with Meguiar's 105 and 205 polishes. those polishes work great and barely have any dust compared to everything else I've used. they don't like to be used in the daylight though so you just need a good shaded space to work with them. I still use PoorBoy's paste wax since it's really easy to use and lasts pretty long. I've used CCS pads and they're good, I just got some Meguiar's 2.0 pads that look really nice but I haven't used them yet.

the Flex spins as it random orbits so you can work much faster than the Porter Cable. it also maintains the same rpm whether you're applying a lot of pressure or barely touching the car. the Porter Cable will slow down when you apply pressure. again it depends how much you're going to use it as to whether it's worth the difference in price or not. I'd say the flex saves you about 30% in time when polishing a whole car.

either way stick with dual action polishers and you'll get good results and it's pretty hard to hurt your paint.

07 Stang

Thanks guys for your info. Since I do have 5 vehicles plus two boats and a covered trailer, I need something that is going to last. Time to shop around for a Porter Cable.

07 Stang

This is the Porter Cable Bundle I ordered;

http://www.autogeek.net/porter-cable-pad-kit.html

I chose the Orange, Green, Blue and Red pads. What do you guys think?
I ordered it today because they were offering free shipping.

candymanjl

looks great man, that'll last you a long time, my roommate's and I have tortured our porter cables for a couple years now and they still work fine.

for the boats Meguiar's makes some great marine polishes. I used those polishes on my last car's carbon fiber stuff since the CF is more like working with fiberglass than working with a paint finish. they're supposed to have oils and stuff for the gel coat, you can actually watch everything soak in and the color come back, pretty cool.

we typically use orange, white, and gray pads but I don't see anything wrong with what you picked. If anything you may need a yellow pad for when things are pretty bad and heavily oxidized. I could see you needing that as a first step on the boats from time to time since water can be pretty harsh.

typically even a really swirled car will come out gleaming after going over it with orange pad and Meguiars 105, white pad with Megauiars 205, then wax with the gray pad. real heavy oxidation and you'll want to use the yellow pad or you'll be sitting there forever with the orange pad. you'll have to experiment with different products on different pads and see what works best for you.

incorrigible

Nice selection. You won't be disappointed.

Unless your car is heavily swirled, you probably won't need the yellow or orange pads. You might want to go with:

2 white pads for first stage polish (changing pads half way through is a good idea). Offers sufficient cut for light to moderate swirls.
1 black pad for second stage polish (2 would be preferable)
1 blue pad for wax/sealant application.

I got the 5.5" pads. Good compromise between the 4" and 6.5".

07 Stang

The vehicles I want to tackle first are my 2006 E-350 Van/truck and Boat. The Truck is 10 feet high and 24 feet long and all fiberglass on the box part. I keep it washed, but I've never taken the time to polish it so it is well over due. The Boat has been neglected for about 8 years. It's about 22 feet long with an open bow. Nice boat when it's all cleaned up and great for water sports but we just don't have the time anymore. I plan on cleaning up and sell it. We do have a small boat about 6 feet long all fiberglass that is like a jet ski but it's a boat. I want to do the same for it as well.....clean it up and sell it.

I guess I need to buy one of those orange pads for the boats. Again, thanks for all your valuable information.

candymanjl

for stuff that's neglected you'll eat up the orange pads. I still think you'll want a yellow pad for the boats just to work a little faster, that's a lot of square footage! glad it's not me a marine store will have the fiberglass coat specific polishes and waxes. the auto paint stuff will work, just not as well and it won't last very long.