Looking at orbital polishers...

[BR-549]

Can anybody give some direction on important features (or non-important features), recommended brands, etc?

Thanks.

Ken

[962porsche]

are you looking for air or electric?
I have a bunch of both types.
with air I like Dynabrade for electric I like Dewalt.
I do uses the hell out of all my sanders and some work well for some things and not so good for some things.
I like 6" pads on my sanders simply because they are the size paper body shop supply stores haven stock. if your looking to buy your sand paper at a home store than they tend to have 5" paper.
with DA or orbit sanders things to look for is the orbiting size of the pad. the bigger the orbit the more aggressive it will sand but when it comes to finish sanding a big orbit is not all to good and will leave big sanding marks.
I also have an electric and air sander for color sanding before buffing the orbit on them is very small and tight so it gives no sanding marks at all but they don't work very well for even doing finish sanding.

[BR-549]

Thanks 962, as always. I'm looking at electric only and expect to do exclusively polishing, likely no sanding. Unlike you, I'll prolly use mine 3-4 times a year, so don't need commercial quality.

[962porsche]

back in 2016 when we got our new Ferrari 458 I was given the Torqx random orbit polishing kit I kind of liked it. I used the polisher in the kit a few times but now I use my large orbit Dewalt palm sander with the pads from the kit on it. personally I don't like the polishers they are just to big plus with a car like the Ferrari with getting into the air intake areas it's just way to big and cumbersome. our 458 is Daytona black metallic and it shows every imperfection so being able to get into all the tight areas makes things easier then doing it by hand.
a polisher is nothing more that a sander with a different pad on it just about all use a hook and loop system ( aka velcro is a brand name not the type of fastening ) for attaching the polishing pads or sandpaper.

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by BR-549

Thanks 962, as always. I'm looking at electric only and expect to do exclusively polishing, likely no sanding. Unlike you, I'll prolly use mine 3-4 times a year, so don't need commercial quality.

You can spend $60 or you can spend $350 on one. Auto geek.net is a good place for detailer info, Their prices on stuff can be a little high but a lot of good information.
I’ve detailed a few cars with a HF $60 one and foam pads which worked fine, I wouldn’t want to use it everyday but it gets the job done.

[fizeus]

i suggest strongly suggest Rupes.

https://www.rupes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Bigfoot-9.Z826-2019.pdf

here is a brochure of their models

[cabmandone]

Didn't know this thread existed. There's a lengthy thread in OT about RO polishers. I bought a Griots G8 and G9 and have been really pleased with both. I went back and forth between the Torqx from Chemical Guys and the Griots product but settled on the Griots.

Here's the thread in OT
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1092951-da-polisher-recommendations.html

Word of warning! If you're like me you'll end up doing a deep dive into these things and looking at "long throw" polishers vs the standard throw models and the benefits of both. Then you'll end up looking at the different pads available. Then the different compounds. By that time your head will be sufficiently spinning that you'll just press buy.

The "go to" for a lot of guys seems to be the Porter Cable random orbital. I guess they pretty much last forever. The Braun from Harbor Freight seem to be solid but have a lot of vibration. You'll see talk of "pad stall" where the pad stops rotating as you hit a body line on different models. From my research this isn't really a thing since rotation is only part of what these polishers do. The primary movement is the "random orbit" but many say you do want to maintain pad rotation or you risk overheating the foam pad which causes separation of the foam and hook and loop material.

[pkabush]

I used fab stone countertops and one of the go to polishers was Flex. Metabo was another.
I bought a Flex years after I got out of that trade. Unfortunately, it was junk.
It failed within a few hours of use. The rep I called at was super responsive and sent out a new unit with no questions asked.
It failed within a hour. Turned out to be a switch. Not sure what the first failure was. Likely the same thing.
I’ve owned allot of Porter Cable tools over the years with limited positive experience.
That said, I’ve not had a P.C. polisher.
I’ve used em and they work fine. I’m just not sure how they hold up to hard use over time.
Given my extensive experience with the brand, I’m not optimistic
In the 30+ years I’ve been in the trades there’s never been one brand that has all the best hand held power tools.
At least until recently. Milwaukee seems to have monopolized the market. Dewalt is certainly a player as well. I still have several of there tools. Personally I’m not a huge fan.
But, some are very well designed and have been in use for years.
P. C. Not so much.
Most tradespeople I know myself included, now use Milwaukee almost exclusively.
I think, largely due to to the fact that almost all hand held power tools are now battery op.
We don’t have the luxury to mix and match like we used to.
Milwaukee has been very aggressive with both marketing and design. And, they make good tools.
One of the few 18V Milwaukee tools I don’t have is a orbital sander. It’s on the short list.
Another contractor friend has one and loves it. Not sure if they make polishers ? Probably.
I own more HF tools than I’m comfortable admitting to. They’ve done there job and then some.
I’d never consider buying a polisher there though.
Spend my lousy $ .2 as you see fit. Let us know what works.

[dustim04]

Not sure if it is the best, but I like my flex 3401.