Purchasing an orbital polisher..

[Gary07110]

Unfortunately My Z is my daily drive. We had a pretty bad winter in the northeast. I purchased this 2008 in November of 2010 and at the time it was immaculate, not a scratch on it. Currently my front surrounding my grill on both sides is covered in paint chips. I was astonished and sick by how quick my paint chipped. Luckily it didn't make it's way to my hood. So I'm saving up for some good body work and a clear bra for that area. Meanwhile, I'm washing, claying and polishing like nothing ever happened.

[CobraR1339]

OK, I'll bite. What makes the Makita better than the PC.

Always willing to add to my collection. Which BTW sounds a lot like yours. Your sig pic shows you know your stuff.

[Jumbosock]

Just purchased the Flex XC 3401 vrg. Getting rid of the Porter Cable 7424 (non XP).

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by CobraR1339

OK, I'll bite. What makes the Makita better than the PC.

Always willing to add to my collection. Which BTW sounds a lot like yours. Your sig pic shows you know your stuff.

Makita is a rotary versus a dual action polisher.

The dual action polisher doesn't have forced rotation. Biggest difference right now

[mikeinsf]

Agreed about car washing as therapy. That and tennis are the only two things in which I can completely lose sense of time and focus on just what's in front of me.

[ricanbandit]

Originally Posted by Shipkiller

No, it's not about money.

I find that washing and detailing are a form of therapy. It's the only time I can allow my mind to go blank.

+1 - Last weekend I facebooked and tweeted that I was making love to my car, lmao. But for real, I have a VERY stressfull job and detailing simply destresses me like nothing else.

Music, focus, beer and the results... Oh man the Results. I bought a Griots kit

[z4mnyc]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Makita is a rotary versus a dual action polisher.

The dual action polisher doesn't have forced rotation. Biggest difference right now

Which is better & why.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by z4mnyc

Which is better & why.

The rotary hands down...but it comes with more learning; and more attention while doing it.

The PC is great for someone that just wants to do their car once a year...at most. You can remove about 80-90% of the defects.

A rotary can remove around 98% of defects, but the risks are much greater. They come with burning through your paint and completely ruining the finish on your car.

[tman53]

If this is your first purchase then go with an orbital like a PC. You will be able to correct the paint (with a lot of work) but without the worry of destroying it. With a rotary there is a learning curve and learning on a Z4M is not the way to go.

[z4mnyc]

Thanks. I have a PC random orbital & have been using it for 3+ years on my cars so I am very familiar with it. I'm thinking of getting a rotary polisher this year but like you said I have also heard from others that it is possible to burn the clearcoat if you are not careful.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by z4mnyc

Thanks. I have a PC random orbital & have been using it for 3+ years on my cars so I am very familiar with it. I'm thinking of getting a rotary polisher this year but like you said I have also heard from others that it is possible to burn the clearcoat if you are not careful.

It is, but you gotta be careless or just not paying attention.

I ripped paint off a 325i rear bumper. The bumper was re-painted and the owner never told me...so when I hit it with an aggressive combo the paint literally peeled off. Now I just use a PC on plastic parts.

Too scared

[CobraR1339]

Thanks for the insights.

I have used a rotary style many times, I thought maybe Makita had found a new trick. I used to color sand quite a few muscle cars after the paint was done. Never really trusted anyone else with it. I have a guy I have been using for 20 years to do the final finish after the sand. But we always knew how much paint or clear was on the cars. He also found a unique rotary about the size of a dental drill with pad sizes of 1"-3". I used that to buff the tight areas the big buffer could never reach.

He had me play with the big rotary on one of the race cars that was not all that special. The thing would fling the compound all over the place until you got the hang of it. I borrowed it a couple times for different projects. He actually bought me the PC for Xmas as he said I was too dangerous with his buffer. If I screwed it up with the rotary he said he could not fix it. But if I couldn't get it right with the PC that he could.

So my routine with any car new to me or one that sits outside is.

Dawn wash to strip the wax
Clay the car 2X per upper surfaces

Zaino PC fusion with the PC to clean up light scratches. Takes awhile, but at least the Zaino smells good. . If it still sucks call Dean.

3-4 coats of Zaino Z5 , spritz in- between with Z6
a Final wipe with Grand Finale Z7
It's like glass.. and so slick a fly will break his neck if he trys to land in it.

He has all kinds of magic formulas I have tried. They all work great and got me several best paint awards. Then he gave me some Zaino saying he did not like it that much. I agree his recipe on a laquer or Pure Black with Clear is deeper than Zaino. But for all other metallic colors I like it. Some Pure Reds also come out better with his recipe. I don't know why. Something about glow vs. reflection comes to mind. He does agree the Zaino looks brilliant on most other colors, Whites, Silvers, Medium blues, Coppers, Metallic Blacks, etc.

[krnnerdboy]

So since there is so much interest in detailing and a lot of newbs who would like to try their hand at it....here is my .0000001 cent

I've owned my makita for about 4 years now and have detailed in total about 15 cars since then(full 3 step polishing). I had originally g
ot into detailing b/c I offroaded my daily drivers that happened to be less than a year old at most, and desert pin stripes weren't appealing to the wife.

The learning curve was tremendous with the rotary and the infinite combination of pads and polishes was daunting. Not to to mention every polish and pad combination reacted differently with speed, pressure, and time to every different car manufacturer, to the color of paint the car was, and the differences between paints even the same color and make. Luckily today the technology is so far advanced that even newbs can get professional results with an orbital(pc, griots, flex) with very little risk. And I have proof of that. This past weekend I thought I'd get one last detail in before my kid arrives(today actually!) But it wouldn't be one of my cars that are easily polished in one step. I took on my moms car that was washed religously every week with dawn and a scouring pad it seems!

This car would truly test my skills and tools. Over the course of a month I was testing on a test panel to see what would work on this paint effectively and efficiently. here was my regimen

Just to let you know, I had no intention on making this a DIY so I didn't take many images, let alone use my iphone....sorry

this is after being washed and clayed



to this after just purple wool and orange.... the green pad cleaned up the minor marring seen in this pic


tools
Makita rotary
PCXP

pads
purple foamed wool
HD UNO orange, green, red

Polishe(s)
HD UNO

protectant
HD UNO poly

First i made a couple passes on with the purple wool/makita

Then I hit it with the orange pad/pc

then the green pad/pc

and then I applied the poly with the red pad/pc
NOTE-the only thing different I would do w/ my non daily driver is use the red pad with the polish and then finish w/ red pad and poly


LOL it really was that easy. This setup made what seemed like black magic and tricks of the trade, easy. I'm waiting on my surbuff pads to use w/ my pc, which will most likely have even better results than my wool/makita combination. I'm going to have most of my supplies up for sale soon.

some of what is going on sale soon...

lake country pads from yellow to black
chemical guys jet seal
chemical guys m seal
zaino(the whole lineup)
menzerna polishes SIP, 106ff,106fa 85
makita rotary
souveran pinnacle wax
klasse AIO
blah blah blah

[Artsontop]

Amazon has the PC 7424XP at $117.99 plus $20.00 off PC products this month...$97.99 + tax, free shipping...Ordered Thursday, tracking says arriving tomorrow (Monday)

[marksbmw]

I have the cyclo, Porter Cable and the Flex 3401, if money is a issue get the porter cable, but you get what you paid for. By far the Flex is does a much better job. The one thing I did not like with the porter cable is it's under power and you can easly stop the rotation when your removing wax or sealant. You will not stop the Flex, its much faster. Both the cyclo and the flex have alot less vibration. I have my son detailing cars for a side job. We use the cyclo to put on the sealant and the Flex to remove it. Porter cable is a backup.

[Taylorguy74]

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Taylorguy74

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

Yeah. On the other hand, it's the holiday season.

[Huz-Z]

Previous discussions here consistently identified the Porter Cable as the best, bar none. Were they all wrong about that?

[Taylorguy74]

I ended up getting the Griots Garage set up. Couldn't be happier with it.

[jdoublehcubed]

The PC is the best Dual Action buffer. However, you can buy the Porter Cable at Harbor Freight sold under their Chicago Electric for all of $46. I took apart both the PC and the HF one next to each other, they are the same, from the same factory. Same castings, gear, electric parts, etc. The Meguiars g110v2 is also made in the same factory. The Griots Garage version is very similar, but not quite 100% the same.

Best option: buy 2 HF ones, put a 3 inch backing plate on one so you've got both sizes ready to go. I would also recommend replacing the fairly short cort with a longer one. You can buy a 50' extension cord, cut the end off, and replace the factory cord while retaining the factory cord's strain relief thingy. No extension cord to bang against the paint, and it still looks factory.

If you do buy the HF one though, replace the grease in the head. The grease from the factory is very poor, and it will run smoother once replaced. I used standard black axle grease from my grease gun and it gave me a big improvement.

Grease mod: http://www.autopia.org/forums/polish...weak-mods.html

[Sterling Roadster]

I just wanted to add that despite what many videos state, orbital polishers CAN cause damage if used improperly. Of course it will not create damage anything close to the level of rotary polisher not being used properly. But if you use an orbital on a hot day and leave the edge of the pad rubbing on the pad there may be some light clear coat damage. In any case it's really easy to use if you're paying attention. I used to wax by hand. For some spots I still do but for the most part i'll never go back.

[NickyC]

Griot's Garage for me, works wonderfully.