jbl

I rather suspect what the answers will be to this query after reading many of the posts on this page, but here goes anyway !

I have a slab sided Forester (SF5) and am basically a bone idle person !
The car is washed with hose and a soap stick in the brush, then chamois dried.

Polished maybe twice a year, nothing special or expensive.

Will a cheap random orbital polisher make the polishing job easier, there is a lot of Forester to do !! I have read about the "normal" orbtal polishers and that they may cause a problem and that the random is the best to use.

I am not into show and shine, too many muddy rural lanes around here ! I just want to clean and polish easier.
I do not want to be told to get an expensive piece of american kit as it is just OTT for what I want.

Hope you understand.

Cheers

JBL

Rich @ PB

iTrader: (3)

In that case I would personally stick to doing it by hand. Some of the cheapy units do more harm than good.

jbl

Thanks for the reply.

Is it possible to say WHY or HOW the cheaper units can do more harm than good ? What is wrong with them ?

Cheers

JBL

Rich @ PB

iTrader: (3)

Most don't have a very long throw to the dual action, meaning they create more heat and friction than paint specific units like the Porter Cable 7424. In combination with the wrong products and novice hands this can lead to too much paint removal. Also the backing plate on many cheapy units is either fixed or too firm even if removable, meaning there is too little give in the setup for safe transitioning over edges and sharp curves.

jbl

Thanks, a very helpful answer.

JBL

OzzyWRX

Depends on what you mean by cheap. A bosch unit like the PEX 400 AE is a very good unit IMO, has a 5mm orbit, variable speed and enough power to get the job done well. This would cut your polishing time down significantly.

Rich @ PB

iTrader: (3)

5mm orbit is low, makes it more like a rotary than a DA. The PC has a throw of just under an inch (25mm), so keeps temps down. The benefit of the Bosch unit would be a higher work rate, the downside more chance of removing too much paint.