Hey guys. I have a quick question. The wife has a black trailblazer and last night I spent the better part of an hour polishing the hood and top half of the left rear door panel (McGuire's #9 swirl remover) to deepen the paint close to how it came from the factory. My truck doesn't need the polish as much, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt. My question is, I was polishing by hand using swirling motions and it worked pretty good, if that's the type of polishing I'm looking for, a random orbital polisher should be what I want right(read Porter cable 7336/7224 were good ones)? Not a rotary polisher, that I'm afraid would be too aggressive. I'm not looking to get a professional level one, just one I can break out every few months to bring back the luster Old Man Winter tries to take away up here in the North.

New to the power tool detailing aside from my random buffer so I appreciate the help ahead of time.

Andrew

 

I use a random orbital with terry cloth bonnets and follow up with a foam bonnet. Easy to use, works fine for me.

 

random orbital with the approaite pads and compounds will work best for an amatuer..rotary buffer will get you into trouble.

 

random orbital ! If you use a rotary, your more likely to "BURN" the paint.

 

i would stick with the porter cable. i heard many horror stories of people burning their paint, thinking they know what there doing with a rotoary. i myself will be getting a porter cable.

 

Ok, thanks guys. I use a large 9" craftsman random orbit to put on wax, but the one time I tried a small spot with that vs the hand method, it really didn't do a whole lot in terms of polishing. These little angle grinder looking random orbit polishers must have more finite motions that allows it to actually cut through the haze.

 

The Porter Cable will be your best bet. You will need a backing plate, some pads, and some compound and polish. Check out Ebay for the best price on PCs. Autogeek.net has alot to offer as far as pads, polishes, microfiber towels and such. I just got a PC and it works absolutely awesome!!! I use to use a Craftsman polisher but it did next to nothing. The PC is waaay more powerfull. And with the selection of pads it can cut through the clear easily.