Orbital Polisher verus by hand?

[autobonrun]

I've decided to detail my car today, including polishing.

I've always hand polished and waxed my car but I'm wondering

1) what polish you have found to work

2) do you polish by hand or with an orbital polisher

I've been afraid to use anything other than hand polish for fear of damaging the paint. Have the new polishers eliminated this issue?

[scottb]

Griot's Garage swears by their orbital polishers. They claim it's virtually impossible to damage the paint. Go to www.griotsgarage.com and search for "random." You'll get descriptions for the electric version and the pneumatic version. I'm probably going to get the electric version.

[ThumbsUp]

The absolute best (IMHO) surface protectant on this planet is Zaino. Go to the web site zainobros.com and check it out. I have used this stuff for years and it is fantastic. Extreme gloss and extreme protection. Busted bugs simply rinse off. If you work up a sweat applying it, you're doing something wrong. It's super easy. It's applied by hand. You can cover the car in the time it would take you to unpack and set up an orbital. The trick is to apply it very thin and build up several coats.

I switched to Zaino after years as a three step Meguiar's user. No comparison - Zaino outshines, out protects, and outlast everything else.

BTW. if anyone wants to buy a Porter Cable random orbital polisher, complete with an assortment of polishing pads and a hard case, everything used only once, contact me. I don't need it. I use Zaino.

Greg@ThumbsUpRacing.com

[island911]

orbitals quite simpley knock the surface down faster. This is great on big flat surfaces, where controlling the rate is easy; but every "high-spot" or edge will get taken down faster than the rest. after a few years you will see very thin paint on these areas.
I would suggest keeping the orbital away from edges, and do those spots by hand.

[Sean Hamilton]

IMHO - Depends on paint colour - if it's dark, say blue or black, don't use the mechanical buff. It'll leave buff swirl marks all over the duco and very difficult to remove. Just today I collected my daughters navy blue car from the body shop and sure enough - they'd gleefully ripped into the duco with a mechanical buff. Buff swirl marks gleaming in the sunlight and they could understand why I was annoyed. Just lazy on their part and you'd reckon they'd know better.

[Joeaksa]

If you want the best, the one we use to polish airplanes with no marks or swirls, look at the Cyclo orbital polisher. Its not cheap but then quality never is...

Various places sell it but here is a link to one:

http://www.topoftheline.com/cycorpol.html

This link shows a gent who took an oxidized Airstream and now you can shave in it. He used a cyclo and the pictures show the transformation...

http://www.perfectpolish.com/AirstreamProject.htm

Noticed that you are in Kansas and you see them all over Wichita due to Boeing and the other airplane people. Might find one used if you look.

Joe

[Porsche911NYC]

Take it from someone who has 2 First Place Trophies from the Porsche-on-View Concours d'Elegance at Old Westbury, get the Cyclo Dual-Head Orbital Polisher.

The best price can be found at www.topoftheline.com

[MarkY]

Originally posted by scottb
Griot's Garage swears by their orbital polishers. They claim it's virtually impossible to damage the paint. Go to www.griotsgarage.com and search for "random." You'll get descriptions for the electric version and the pneumatic version. I'm probably going to get the electric version.

Would you expect anything else from Griot's? Just like everything else in their catalog, they're waaaaay over priced. The electric Porter Cable buffer they advertise can be had all over the place for a lot less, most notably at Lowe's for $119.

Griot's is a ripoff, stay away from this place.

[MarkY]

Originally posted by ThumbsUp
BTW. if anyone wants to buy a Porter Cable random orbital polisher, complete with an assortment of polishing pads and a hard case, everything used only once, contact me. I don't need it. I use Zaino.

Just because someone uses Zaino doesn't mean they don't have a need for a Porter Cable. As with any wax or polish, surface preparation is the key. Without proper surface prep, it doesn't matter what you use as a topper. This is where the Porter Cable is very useful.

[MarkY]

Originally posted by Sean Hamilton
IMHO - Depends on paint colour - if it's dark, say blue or black, don't use the mechanical buff. It'll leave buff swirl marks all over the duco and very difficult to remove.

I respectfully disagree. Using a random orbital buffer PROPERLY on dark colored cars will NOT leave swirl marks. In fact, it will remove them.

[autobonrun]

I just finished polishing my bimmer. It is black and the Porsche is also dark colored. Haven't even started on the waxing yet. The older I get, the larger this car gets so I think I will try one of the orbital polishers. I had not heard of the Cyclo but it seems like a good choice. Don't want to get cheap when it comes to one of these things. I think MarkY has the key in saying
to "properly" use it. If I can find an old hood, I'll practice on it.

The problem with the 911 is that it has more curves than a full figure model and from what's said in this thread, the orbitals are better on flat surfaces. But at this point, I'll try anything. While I'm at it, I'll buy some Zaino also. My garage already looks like a Pep Boys so one more wax and another tool won't hurt.

[MarkY]

Head on over to Autopia and do a search on Porter Cable. You'll find everything you wanted to know about using a Porter Cable.

One great advantage of using the Porter Cable is that it is almost fool proof. It doesn't generate enough heat to cause damage to the paint. Now I'm not saying you CAN'T, but you would almost have to try. I was really scared about using this for the first time on my black 911, but I assure you, you'll wish you had purchased one long ago.

[scottb]

MarkY: Where did you get yours?

[Langers]

I used the Meguairs polishing pad with an electric drill on my Citroen and it has ruined the paint. I went back over it yesterday by hand, using straight strokes, and it seems to be a little better. But I couldn't remove the Gold Class wax very easily

[MarkY]

Originally posted by scottb
MarkY: Where did you get yours?

I got mine at Lowe's for $119. If you don't have a Lowe's in your area, go to the Autopia site I mentioned above and do a search, you'll find some places that sell them online for the same price. You really want model 7336 as it comes with the counter weight you will need for the velcro backing plate which I highly recommend.

[Doug Zielke]

Originally posted by autobonrun
............ I'll buy some Zaino also. My garage already looks like a Pep Boys so one more wax and another tool won't hurt.

That's a good one! I look at the shelves in my garage a feel the same way. I've tried damn near everything on the market.

I really like the (expensive) Zaino products, but I feel their #5 polish is *not* as good at hiding swirls as Mothers "California Gold" Sealer/Glaze.

[scottb]

I've used Mother's products for years. They're first rate!

I pulled up the definitive Autopia thread on Porter Cable:

http://autopia.ws/forums/showthread.php?threadid=14421

This guy did his homework, that's for sure. One thing I'm unclear about, and maybe someone here has info, is the statement in this thread that "Griot's Garage backing pad for their 7336 is actually Porter Cable 18001 6" sanding pad." Griot's told me their backing paid is "special" in that it doesn't transfer heat through the pad to the paint. Does anyone know if Griot's is just blowing hot air, so to speak, or is there any merit to what they said?

Thanks.

[MarkY]

Griot's is blowing smoke up your a$$. This type of stuff that Griot's pulls pisses me off more than their high prices. They have to try and justify their ripoff prices by spewing bull*****.

Go over to Proper Auto Care (CMA) and get the velcro backing plate and any other Porter Cable assessories you need.

[autobonrun]

Five hours, 1 coat of Meguiars cleaner, 1 coat of Meguiars polish, 1 coat of Zymol and a worn rotator cuff later here's the result. Not a single swirl mark on a black 93. I hope I'm making the right decision by going with the orbital. I start on the 911 tomorrow.

[Red911t]

I purchased a PC this spring to detail my guards red 911. If you look in the Griots catalog you will see that the backing plate they are using is the PC 18001 that can be purchase through a porter cable dealer. I bought mine from Costal tools for $119.00 and the backing plate for 15.75 + Shipping.