Just bought a HF DA

swanicyouth said:
Piece of junk? Really? Maybe you should tell that to like the zillion and one people who have perfected their paint with it. The PC is one of the oldest and most reliable detailing tools around that still is relevant .

It may not be the most powerful DA on the market - but it's no "piece of junk". It's quite powerful and capable... The caveat is the user has to know what he or she is doing - like everything else... It's just easier to say "it's a piece of junk" than to learn how to use it to it's maximum potential.
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I agree with this. Both will work but I agree that calling the pc junk and underpowered..... it's just not true.
 
Personally, I prefer the 5" backing plate over the 6". Little easier to handle (mobile) and can use the less expensive 5.5" pads. You might want to try a 7.5" pad on your 6" backing plate just to see how you like it before buying though. A smaller 3" or 3.5" pad is useful also.

I'd go with Lake Country plates but don't know about other options.
 
the hf das are awesome! i just bought a 3rd one for use as a 3" polisher/backup polisher.

you should pick up the following if you wanna be cheap but super effective

5" lc da backing plate (ag, $18)
2x 5" meguiars mf cutting discs (ag, $20)
6x 5" lc flat polishing pads (ag, 4x white, 2x black, $35)

meguiars ultimate compound (under $10, walmart)
meguiars ultimate polish (under $8, walmart)

i feel that this is the cheapest, most effective way to get started and put out excellent results. as for the pad cleaner and conditioner... just clean out your pads often while working and clean em out really good and let em air dry after you're done.

if you don't think you'll be doing any cutting AT ALL, ditch the mf discs. otherwise, the meguiars mf discs and good compound make the hf da a relevant tool that can get through anything you throw at it. we have a detailing business, and we barely just upgraded after nearly a year from essentially that list of stuff
 
Btw, anyone still wondering why I switched to HF.. It was mainly money I was being cheap.

I purchased the $250 kit and that was not including products. I thought to my self, i'm just starting out and I shouldn't blow this much money.

That in mind, I returned it. I got the HF DA.... $70 -$10 with coupon.
So $60 DA.
I got 2 backing plates. Less than $30 for a 5" and a 3.5" backing plates.
Then I got 8 pads. 6 being 5-1/2'' and 2 being 4''.
Compound
Polish
Sealant.
( Pretty good brands, don't want to discuss. )
All for $100 using the Steal15 Coupon.

So Overall I spent. $160

I think I did a good job.

I also bought clay, but I splurged with the WolfGang kit so I don't want to add that to the price.
 
I can tell you that I have both a PC and the HF DA. The PC is now destined for 3 inch pad use because the HF easily out powers/cuts the PC with the same pad and product.
 
sounds like you are proud of yourself.

My dad would have told me that is like stealing and unethical. Autogeeks time = money
Then you want to get free advice on their forum and buy elsewhere. Nobody says you have to buy everything here but man find some integrity!

It costs AG money to package ship and re stock and then somebody else gets the unit after it has been shipped two additional times and maybe damaged. But hey at least you saved a buck.

Grow up
 
BrandonS said:
sounds like you are proud of yourself.

My dad would have told me that is like stealing and unethical. Autogeeks time = money
Then you want to get free advice on their forum and buy elsewhere. Nobody says you have to buy everything here but man find some integrity!

It costs AG money to package ship and re stock and then somebody else gets the unit after it has been shipped two additional times and maybe damaged. But hey at least you saved a buck.

Grow up
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I did not receive the item I returned before they shipped. If you were following my other post, you would have saw this all occurred over one day.

As for purchasing something on other sites. I bought all my supplies from Auto Geek. I Bought $150 worth of stuff from them. I also recommended them to my friends.. So.. Yeap. :xyxthumbs:
 
BrandonS said:
sounds like you are proud of yourself.

My dad would have told me that is like stealing and unethical. Autogeeks time = money
Then you want to get free advice on their forum and buy elsewhere. Nobody says you have to buy everything here but man find some integrity!

It costs AG money to package ship and re stock and then somebody else gets the unit after it has been shipped two additional times and maybe damaged. But hey at least you saved a buck.

Grow up
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What are you talking about? Why are you being so aggressive towards the OP? He still spent money here, and returned the PC because he felt his money was better spent elsewhere on the machine aspect of his purchase. Returns are a cost of doing business(even though this happened over the span of a day). The information-sharing aspect of your rant is irrelevant to the discussion as well.

On-topic: Let us know how that polisher works out for you. I thought about getting one @ 50 bucks for 3'' work rather than buying the rupes or the griots.
 
Heisenberg said:
What are you talking about? Why are you being so aggressive towards the OP? He still spent money here, and returned the PC because he felt his money was better spent elsewhere on the machine aspect of his purchase. Returns are a cost of doing business(even though this happened over the span of a day). The information-sharing aspect of your rant is irrelevant to the discussion as well.

On-topic: Let us know how that polisher works out for you. I thought about getting one @ 50 bucks for 3'' work rather than buying the rupes or the griots.
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if i were to buy a new traditional style DA, the porter cable 7424xp would be my last choice (not saying it won't get the job done, but the others have more features). the GG6, megs G110v2, HF DA (i think there's another one i'm forgetting) would easily be my choice over that...
 
VISITOR said:
if i were to buy a new traditional style DA, the porter cable 7424xp would be my last choice (not saying it won't get the job done, but the others have more features). the GG6, megs G110v2, HF DA (i think there's another one i'm forgetting) would easily be my choice over that...
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I own the GG6 and like it quite a bit. Good to know that the HF DA would work well above the PC, so I won't feel bad about buying it and using 3 inch BP on it.
 
VISITOR said:
if i were to buy a new traditional style DA, the porter cable 7424xp would be my last choice (not saying it won't get the job done, but the others have more features). the GG6, megs G110v2, HF DA (i think there's another one i'm forgetting) would easily be my choice over that...
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One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is the size of the shroud around the dual action mechanism. When using a 5" or 6" BP, it is irrelevant but when using a 3" BP, the shroud can have a big effect on the usability in tight spots. The GG6 and megs G110v2 have an oversized shroud when compared to the 7424xp and HF DA which makes the latter 2 much more usable in tight areas.

If you want more correcting power for tight spots than the GG mini can produce (or if it's not available which is our issue down here), then the DA's with the smaller shroud are a better choice.

BTW Shouldn't this thread be in the DA forum?
 
kaanage said:
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is the size of the shroud around the dual action mechanism. When using a 5" or 6" BP, it is irrelevant but when using a 3" BP, the shroud can have a big effect on the usability in tight spots. The GG6 and megs G110v2 have an oversized shroud when compared to the 7424xp and HF DA which makes the latter 2 much more usable in tight areas.

If you want more correcting power for tight spots than the GG mini can produce (or if it's not available which is our issue down here), then the DA's with the smaller shroud are a better choice.

BTW Shouldn't this thread be in the DA forum?
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I agree

My old PC works great with 3" pads and has decent visibility around the shroud

My FLEX would be much more difficult to use 3" pads, as the larger mechanism would block the view

One solution to the visibility issue with the other DA's is adding an extension, like the Hernandez Polisher or using a DA to Rotary adapter and a taller rotary BP
 
Guns Don't kill people. People like this person kill people.
 
have a question: can it be used in Europe, it's 220-230V here
 
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