I know this post will kick up some dust, but truth is truth.

I have been waxing my rigs for 35+ years using an El Cheapo Sears orbital-circular polishers. I use carnuba waxes. Reading many posts that cited the Porter-Cable 7424 polisher I bought one. I took two days to double wax my rig and I was very disappointed with the PC7424.

Price makes no difference to me. i.e. Sears approx $40.00. PC 7424 approx $130.00, plus another $40.00+ dollars in pads and covers.

Compared to the Sears polisher I found the 7424 heavy to handle, especially on the lower sections of my rig. I found it easier to grasp the 7424 by the lower end, away from the polisher end. There was no dead-man kill switch like on the Sears model, but rather I had to either use both hands to turn off the 7424 or take it from my paint and work my fingers up to the off/on switch. The weight of the 7424 and the lack of a kill switch was my biggest complaint. I did like the speed adjustment of the 7424, but I found the static speed of the Sears model acceptable.

I first used a sheep skin backing with my microfiber (similar to terry cloth) cover for my finishing pass. The sheep skin did not offer the resistance needed to remove all the wax. With this pass I found the foam pad backing with the microfiber cover almost effective. What I actually finished my waxing pass with to eliminate the swirls and difficult wax was my very old method of using a terry cloth towel and hand buffing the paint. This pass removed the swirls and wax, giving me a clear reflection of the items within reflection distance of my paint.

Also I had a new microfiber cover come apart where the seams meet on the elastic trim that holds the microfiber in place on the foam backing. Before I knew it the thread and fiber contained in the elastic trim parted and the centrifical force cause the cloth/thread to wrap around the axle of the 7424. The thread/cloth was wrapped so tight I could not pull it out with my fingers, and I could not fit my wrench over the hex nut to unscrew the foam backing. I took 20 minutes with a pair of needle nose and a knife to get the thread/cloth down to a diameter that I could fit my hex wrench over the hex nut. So much for a new microfiber pad. As I was removing the waste cloth/thread I erroneously allowed some of the waste cloth/thread to touch the velcro like surface of my Backing Plate that was sitting nearby. It took another 15 minutes to remove the small amount of thread/cloth from the Backing Plate.

Too, I found the small surface of the 7424 pads much smaller than surface of the Sears model. Thus taking more passes and more time to do a surface.

Sorry guys, but fact is fact. Remember I own them both and have been waxing my rigs for a long, long time.

 

I put some wax on my butt and rubbed it on the truck, that works great too!

I personally cant tell a difference in a hand waxed car and an orbital waxed car...

 

I just waxed mine by hand yesterday---the same way I have been doing all of my vehicles since forever. You can spend $$ on a Sears or anything else---whatever works for you...simple is best for me.

TSC

 

I imagine a Sears brand OP would do the trick if you were only waxing.

 

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

 

I just did my whole, eh hem, "other" truck with the PC today. It don't get any better than this, IMHO of course. That's a 1996 for the old dogs.

 

Oh yeah...... I used 4" pads on the side panels too.

 

Nice work rustyzipper

 

Req,

remember there is a HUGE difference between waxing something, and removing paint defects .. Using the Sears 10" to apply wax is definately quicker than applying with a PC .. but quicker is not always better ..

simple facts are that the Sears 10" does not have enough speed or torque to properly break down the chemicals that most of us use for removing paint defects..

for example .. your 10" wouldn't touch this hood:



And removing wax by machine greatly increases than chances of marring the paint during removal, due to bonnet loading ..

a lot of it is personal preference .. and the rest of it is that the PC is better at removing defects .. period.

We all have our opinions .. (as RP is fond of saying)

I would say one thing .. if you were having trouble removing wax with the PC and a microfiber bonnet .. then you are either trying to remove it too soon, or applied the wax too heavily, which is another hazard of using the 10" orbitals to apply wax..

 

Everyone has an opinion... thank goodness we can all have one, correct?

Sorry you didn't feel that the 7424 stood up to the test. I can say, that I, too, have used the bulky 'orbital' polishers of yesteryear but, my opinion is the other end of the spectrum after seeing the results that I am able to achieve with one versus the other.

Again, opinions are fine... stick with what you know and make it work!

There's always ebay for that 7424 -- or, if the price is right, let me know. I maybe could use a backup.

 

Gipraw
You underestimate my experience of 35 years of polishing & waxing. Your quote:

"I would say one thing .. if you were having trouble removing wax with the PC and a microfiber bonnet .. then you are either trying to remove it too soon, or applied the wax too heavily, which is another hazard of using the 10" orbitals to apply wax.."

You're guessing. I found the best solution to avoid wax build up on the removal bonnet was to use terry cloth swatches cut from terry cloth towels . I place the loose, 12"X12" terry cloth swatch between the bonnet and the paint, and when the swatch loaded up with wax I would just start again with a fresh clean terry cloth swatch. You have never watched my polishing and waxing routine, therefore you are guessing at how long I do or do not leave my wax on the surface before buffing off. FYI: I leave it on until it is dry to the touch of my finger. That way more wax remains upon the paint when buffing off.

Remember, I have both the old clunky Sears orbital and the PC7424. And you can only put so much wax on a paint surface. I have never heard of putting too much wax on a paint surface.

Both the Sears and the PC7424 go round and round in an orbital fashion. But the 7424 is more difficult to handle and removes less of an area per pass. I know.

 

I agree, I don't see how you could do any king of polishing or defect removal with one of those things. I've used one a couple to times a few years ago and found it too bulky and underpowered.

To each his own. If you've been using it for decades that's great. Sure, the PC is a whole different animal and is different that the Sears unit. It's heavier because it's got a powerful motor on it and that's going to weigh something. But again, it's meant for heavier duty professional use polishing and waxing. I like to follow the pros and that's what I see them using (along with rotary's too). I would imagine that they've got a good grasp on the products that are available and what works best.

But hey, that's just my opinion.

 

Not really .. I was just mentioning that in MY 30+ years of doing this .. those are the two most common causes of removal difficulty that I see in other people's work.. Wasn't trying to attack you, or speak in absolutes. .. sorry you took it that way.

different people have different expectations, and different processes to achieve those expectations. if it works for you, then that is all that really matters.

this comment confuses me though ..

I was talking about applying the wax too thickly, which is quite easy to do, especially with a carnauba.

 

I've used the cheap orbitals with polish and is saves time over doing it by hand although clearly it does not cut like a regular high speed rotary. I went to buy a PC but the guy at the shop told me it was only good for waxing not polishing.

 

The guy at your shop was misinformed. While a rotary *will* cut faster, the PC is very capable of handling most paint problems (swirls, light scratching, etc).

The big difference in those two machines is the safety factor. It's very difficult to screw up your paint with the PC ... the rotary, on the other hand, can thrash paint in a JIFFY.... the orbital, in my opinion, falls below both of these from a functionality standpoint.

For example - from the Mustang thread...

Dog scratches on side of a 2000 Mustang



After using the PC w/ #80 and a Polishing Pad...