Buying a new polisher

[NiceBass 272]

Need some opinions. Orbital vs rotary. I’ve heard that the good rotary machines can damage finish if not real careful. I’ve looked at shurhold, but Makita rotaries also have great following.

Opinions please

Plan on doing the same here compound polish and wax this drakes YouTube channel has a lot of info. I am still trying to decide to go cheap way out with HF or get the Makita or even a used one good luck and post how it comes out

 

[Joe Hurley]

Plan on doing the same here compound polish and wax this drakes YouTube channel has a lot of info. I am still trying to decide to go cheap way out with HF or get the Makita or even a used one good luck and post how it comes out

So I was using my Makita this weekend and the power cord took a shit. I took the 3m wool pad off and moved it to the harbor freight. What a wast of time! The hf just stalls out way to easy when applying pressure. It produced a very uneven choppy finish. So the Makita sports a custom deluxe power cord now.

 

[james0831]

I just recently bought my Grady-White Fisherman 216 and plan to detail it myself to keep it looking it's absolute best. I used to own a Sea Hunt and I had a professional detailing company handle all of the detailing work, but I finally broke down and wanted to learn how to do it myself. It is a lot of work, but I feel like I have finally got the hang of it.

Toward the tail end of owning my Sea Hunt I started to learn how to properly detail it with the rotary buffer and orbital buffer that I bought. I bought both styles because I ended up having to sand down the hull to remove some pretty severe oxidation that I let get out of hand. Should have stayed with the detailing company I used. LOL.

Anyway, I bought the Makita 9237CX3 Rotary buffer and the Griot's G9 Orbital Polisher. I have been very pleased with both purchases. They are both reasonable in price and do a great job. You will definitely want to consider getting a rotary buffer if you are dealing with heavy oxidation and deep set scratches. An orbital will not quite do the trick for this type of situation. The G9 produces a great finish and does not leave any swirl marks or holograms.

An important note to remember is that if you are new to using a rotary, you will want to practice with it a bit before using it on something you don't want to damage. They are not beginner friendly in that you can burn through the gelcoat in a heartbeat if you not careful. I found this review if you want to take a look. https://www.jjsboatservices.com/best-boat-buffers

Here are a few pics from when I detailed my old Sea Hunt with the buffers I bought.

 

[Chessie246G]

Makita or Dewalt are the industry standard as far as rotary polisher/buffer. I cheaped out and got the harbor freight model. Hated it from day one. No power, even light pressure would slow the machine down considerably. The trigger response was terrible. Used it a few times and ponied up for the better brand. Totally happy with the Makita!

 

[luckydude]

Need some opinions. Orbital vs rotary. I’ve heard that the good rotary machines can damage finish if not real careful. I’ve looked at shurhold, but Makita rotaries also have great following.

Opinions please

Makita is great, I went through this process recently, the Makita is the way to go.

 

[Halfhitch]

I just recently bought my Grady-White Fisherman 216 and plan to detail it myself to keep it looking it's absolute best. I used to own a Sea Hunt and I had a professional detailing company handle all of the detailing work, but I finally broke down and wanted to learn how to do it myself. It is a lot of work, but I feel like I have finally got the hang of it.

Toward the tail end of owning my Sea Hunt I started to learn how to properly detail it with the rotary buffer and orbital buffer that I bought. I bought both styles because I ended up having to sand down the hull to remove some pretty severe oxidation that I let get out of hand. Should have stayed with the detailing company I used. LOL.

Anyway, I bought the Makita 9237CX3 Rotary buffer and the Griot's G9 Orbital Polisher. I have been very pleased with both purchases. They are both reasonable in price and do a great job. You will definitely want to consider getting a rotary buffer if you are dealing with heavy oxidation and deep set scratches. An orbital will not quite do the trick for this type of situation. The G9 produces a great finish and does not leave any swirl marks or holograms.

An important note to remember is that if you are new to using a rotary, you will want to practice with it a bit before using it on something you don't want to damage. They are not beginner friendly in that you can burn through the gelcoat in a heartbeat if you not careful. I found this review if you want to take a look. https://www.jjsboatservices.com/best-boat-buffers

Here are a few pics from when I detailed my old Sea Hunt with the buffers I bought.

Mighty impressive results James. That picture of the sky reflection in the bow flare is super.

 

[seasick]

Makita or Dewalt are the industry standard as far as rotary polisher/buffer. I cheaped out and got the harbor freight model. Hated it from day one. No power, even light pressure would slow the machine down considerably. The trigger response was terrible. Used it a few times and ponied up for the better brand. Totally happy with the Makita!

Something with the HF must have changed. I bought one about 6 years ago and it has never stalled. How long and what size is your extension cord?
The HF was pretty inexpensive, I paid a lot more for my Presto pads. The HF pads are junk.
The bad news is that the HF is a heavy tool and your arms will take a beating.
Using the correct pad for specific applications is important as is cleaning the pads. If they get gummed up with dried up compound or polishes, they can damage the surface.
One trick I learned was that after washing the pads, they can take days to dry, especially the fluffy wool polishing pads so now I soak and scrub the pads, rinse them well and using the machine, spin then inside of a 5 gallon pail (carefully).
You won't believe how much water spins out of the pads. They will be dry the next day.

 

[Punchline Cap]

I have the same Porter Cable as Fishtales. I would highly recommend it to you for a few reasons. We both are the same age and the weight of the machine and the ease of use are very important. I have a bad shoulder and holding the buffer over my head is the worst part of buffing the hull. The random orbital’s are also better if you are inexperienced with buffers, they aren’t as aggressive as a regular orbital buffer. Using the right amount of product, reading the directions on the product and letting the machine do the work without any additional pressure seems to work the best for me. Good luck.

 

[Chessie246G]

Something with the HF must have changed. I bought one about 6 years ago and it has never stalled. How long and what size is your extension cord?
The HF was pretty inexpensive, I paid a lot more for my Presto pads. The HF pads are junk.
The bad news is that the HF is a heavy tool and your arms will take a beating.
Using the correct pad for specific applications is important as is cleaning the pads. If they get gummed up with dried up compound or polishes, they can damage the surface.
One trick I learned was that after washing the pads, they can take days to dry, especially the fluffy wool polishing pads so now I soak and scrub the pads, rinse them well and using the machine, spin then inside of a 5 gallon pail (carefully).
You won't believe how much water spins out of the pads. They will be dry the next day.

Didn't stall just slowed way down with moderate pressure. Extension cord was only 15-20ft. I start compound on a slow speed Maybe (800rpms) with pretty mod/heavy pressure on the edge of the pad... then as it buffs in/dries I turn up the speed (1500-1800rpms) and lighten up the pressure and turn the pad flat to finish it off.
The HF unit I couldn't keep that 800 rpms range it would slow to a crawl. Then I would have to turn it way up 2500rpm to try to get 1500rpms with light pressure. Then randomly it would randomly change speeds with no pressure at all. I could shake it around or smack it and then it would act normal for a few minutes. I think it was an issue with the trigger, but for the 50-60$ I paid for it... It wasn't worth the time to mess with it.

 

[ROBERTH]

I have gone through 3 HF polishers. The last 2 I still have but got tired of them not managing the slow speed. After starting and they run a minute or so as they warm up, then the speed increases too much.
Went for the Dewalt and what a difference. Speed management is stellar and that with the 3M dual sided pad is just amazing results. Very happy with it.
Yes, the HF's do work as I used them for several years. At $27ea at the time with coupon, who could go wrong. But, the money was well worth the DeWalt.
In comparison apples to apples, the Flex vs Dewalt, the Flex is over $400 for the same power model. So the DeWalt was a deal. I could not find the Makita at the time as I am sure they are just as good.
I now use Graphene Spray to finalize the coat and have great results. Easy to apply and quick so helps me get through the summer months and not have to do the heavy polishing in off season as much.

 

[Hookup1]

Dewalt DWP849W. 6.7lbs. You could buy 6 Harbor Freight Warrior's for the price of the Dewalt but it is light enough and gets the job done.

Repurposed the old Milwaukee I had for heavy sanding/grinding jobs.

 

[ROBERTH]

Agree, but smoothness and operation of the Dewalt over the HF is night and day. The weight has not bothered me and I am an old guy doing the 25' boat myself. However, lighter would be nice, but investment is done for now. Speed control has been very important and the HF does not handle that well.

 

[james0831]

Mighty impressive results James. That picture of the sky reflection in the bow flare is super.

I appreciate that! It took some work to get it to look like that, but she turned out really nice!

 

[drbatts]

I have both a harbor freight variable speed and a porter cable random orbital both going on 15 or so years. I agree the HF is heavy and a bit awkward, but does the job.
Whatever rotary buffer you get. It's also a good idea to get the smaller backing plate and smaller pads to get into the tight spaces.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I learned some stuff here . I was deciding between Makita and DeWalt ,but I wanted cordless. Yah I know the machines can eat up batteries . I chose the Dewalt 20V XR 6 inch random orbit in large part because I have several 4,5 and 6 amp XR DeWalt batteries. I wanted to go a little smaller to compound interior, the subtle curves of the cabin roof area and the part of the gunnel that rolls off the nonskid to the rub rail. A big polisher seems to be too big .

I need to go back in this thread and find some good pads . I plan to compound the gunnel area, some of the interior especially the edges of the fishbox lids and cabin roof. I will be using 3M compound. Then I will go over it with Finesse it2 and then wax with Collinites .

 

[mikesne]

There a number of option. I would suggest the you visit auto geek Online. Mike the owner has multiple videos that show you the pros and cons.
I personally like the flex random orbital, I’ve been detailing cars for years and love this machine but it is pricy. im just about to pull the trigger on the new Milwaukee 15 mm throw random orbital 18 volt battery powered machine. No more cords!
your next decision is the pad selection. I like lake country products, orange to take off any oxidation, black to apply polish or wax.

 

[seasick]

I made a typo in an earlier post. The buffing pads I use are made by Presta and not Presto who make incontinence pads