well guess that last post was i lie, i'm back! saw the DA from Meguire's. all it is is an angle grinder with a buff disk on it correct? or is the DA rated at lower RPM's? if it is an angle grinder, would my dewalt do the trick? willie

 

Willie-

No, it is NOT an angle grinder!!

It is a Dual Action sander/polisher (more orbital than rotary, but a combo of both motions, hence, Dual Action, or DA...)

Many threads on here regarding its use...very popular tool...

Matt

 

so are you saying that i should not whip out my dewalt or what! i mean that just sounds harsh! a dewalt on a truck, ouch! oh, worth a try i guess! how 'bout the one they sell at wally world for like 2o or 30 bucks? anyone got that one?

 

It's far from an angle grinder like Matt mentioned.... It's a dual-action polisher. That means that it has two motions of movement; one circular, another up and down. This, in turn, makes it difficult for someone to really screw up their paint. It's somewhat failproof.

As for the ones that are sold at Wal-mart and similar, from my experience, I've only seen what is known as Orbital polishers there. These are still commonly used in the detailing industry but, honestly, outside of that, i don't know a heck of a lot about orbitals. My hunch is that the units sold at WallyWorld for very little money are okay for a very occasional use but, outside of that, I bet they're pretty low quality. But, like i said, I have no experience with a Wal-Mart orbital...

My next power goody might be a Cyclo Polisher... I have a used one on the line fairly cheap... Still not sure if I want to go that route though...

RP

 

If you're not interested in going for that deal... there are several Meguiar's PC's on ebay right now for $100... pretty darn good deal...

 

i thought that's was orbital meant. up and down and all around! so what's the diff?

 

Dual-Action Polisher (AKA: DA or PC): This unit moves randomly side to side and up and down along with spinning.

Rotary Polisher (AKA:Rotary): Spins in circles and is VERY powerful. Should only be used by someone who is trained on the machine as it can cause VERY serious damage to paint in the wrong hands.

Orbital Polisher (AKA: Orbital): Spins in circles however; doesn't have the 'oompah' that a Rotary brings to the table. This unit, as I'm told, is much more user friendly but still poses the risk of causing swirls and such if not used correctly.

Cyclo Polisher: (AKA: Cyclo) is a dual-head pnuematic tool that was originally used to polish airplanes I'm told. It's used in the detailing industry frequently but, beyond that, not used much anymore. This, again, should only be used by a trained professional as it can inflict some serious problems in the wrong hands.

All four of these products can cause problems if you're being careless and, as I mentioned, a rotary probably isn't anywhere near what you're wanting as it is a VERY powerful tool that can thrash paint in short order when in the wrong hands. Overall, the PC (short for Porter Cable 7424 or 7336) is probably the best and safest method. While the product can remove most surface blemishes, it isn't a rotary and shouldn't be treated as such.

RP

 

hey Don RP Vito! are you placed here by meguires alien force team or what? you have so much good info. thanks for the help again, i am going to research the PC today and see what santa brings me! Willie

 

I'm told that Lowe's sells the PC 7336 which is generally the same thing as the 7424... Not sure on the price but, might be worth looking in to...

 

ewww, you said a bad word!! lowe's! yuck, i'm a home depot guy myself, used to work there part time while i was on shore duty here in san dog, and we were brought up to not say bad words in the work place!!! but, i might look, just to see, you know! willie

 

checked out the 7424 and the 7336, what's the diff on those, without getting into the amps and voltage and what have you. tell you what, which one do you prefer? that was prolly a set up question, you got both huh?

 

I got mine at Lowes...$124 i think...early spring. Doesn't come with a velcro backer, but does come with a cheap, white polishing pad...and the sticky backer for self adhesive sandpaper...(I will use it for sanding, too)

 

PC 7424 here... purchased at coastaltool.com

 

They are both the same. I think the 7424 has the 5" counterweight, while the 7336 has the 6" counterweight, and is packaged with the polishing pad accessory. But the tool itself is the same, just how it is packaged. (The counterweights are interchangeable...)

Matt

 

sounds good bro, think i will go with the 7424 and hit up the local body shop. they have so much fun toys and stuff there! thanks again! and let me say thanks to you here for the mech info on the other thread we got going on!