Cordless Buffing/Detailing What's the deal?

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Tsquare86

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My question here is not only for Mike, but also anyone who has worked in the realm of the 12V cordless spot polisher.

On the market now, I found two units. The AC Delco ARS1207 and the Matco MUC108MPKIT as seen below.
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The other alternative I see, (which is a lot cheaper) is to use my cordless drill and spot polish that way. Considering all I would need to buy is the adapter sold here and away I go.

On to my question, who uses a cordless spot polisher like this, and why did you chose the method you did?
 
Ive used many tools with batteries and they all go dead very quickly when put to any kind of serious work. The only value i see here is like Mike said...spot or headlight polishing. Certainly not for a large job.Not even 18v????
 
Mike,

Definitely Headlights and Spot Repair on paint. I can't see any other application where I'd use such a small unit instead of a rotary.
 
Tsquare86 said:
Mike,

Definitely Headlights and Spot Repair on paint. I can't see any other application where I'd use such a small unit instead of a rotary.
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That's what I figured but I had to ask because there's always someone looking for a cordless buffer that they can use to buff out entire cars including correction work and it ain't going to happen.


For spot repair and headlights a cordless could work as long as you do any of the heavy lifting or initial work by hand first, for example if working on severely neglected headlights, sand them first and finish out with a high grit paper or disc and this will make removing the sanding marks fast and easy, even for a cordless tool.

I've also had great luck using Flitz Mini ScuffPads instead of sandpaper. These pads are impregnated with a #1500 Grit Abrasive plus the cutting and abrading action of the synthetic fibers that make up the pad.

The Flitz Mini ScuffPad is made of resin-coated non-woven abrasives in cut fiber strands. The flexible, durable sanding pads are perfect for contoured surfaces. Use the pads wet or dry.

The Flitz Mini ScuffPad is the equivalent to 1500 grit sandpaper. On scratched headlight lenses, plastics, wood, composite, and metal, the Mini ScuffPad sands down the scratched surface to create a more uniform surface. When you begin polishing, the entire surface is being leveled at the same rate. The results are uniform and smooth.
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Updated this thread if you get one of the above tools and let us know how it works for you.


:xyxthumbs:
 
I've been eyeing the new Meguiar's DA drill attachment; I think it might be more effective on a 19.2v cordless drill in a pinch.

yhst-41771694353694_2189_224379887
 
I use my 18 volt on wheels with a Mothers mini ball, but got a wheel cone for Christmas. I think the polisher you have pictured would be a better set up.
 
Until battery technology improves, cordless polishers aren't practical. For construction use, its quick on and off, not constant use like a polisher gets. My guess is a battery large enough to have enough juice to run a polisher long enough would be so heavy as to make the polisher a bear to use. But at some point, some company will come up with a battery that is light enough, powerful enough, will last long enough, and not be outrageously expensive and I am sure we will jump all over it!
 
vet said:
I use my 18 volt on wheels with a Mothers mini ball,
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I do the same thing for polishing piano black plastic trim and for aluminum trim/roof rails. My 18V will barely get me though 2 roof rails on a full charge. It is quicker and easier than haulling an extension cord around the car and I don't have to worry about marring the paint.

There are a few cases where it's very useful and since I already own it, it's a no-brainer. I don't think I'd spend the coin on a tool for that purpose only - I'm not that obsessed, not just yet anyway.
 
Quoted from Michael Stoops over at MOL:



yhst-41771694353694_2189_224379887



This little tool is very cool. Keep in mind that it's a forced rotation tool and not a true dual action (it moves the pad more like a Flex 3401 than a G110v2) and while it may seem a bit odd to do this with a drill, I can tell you from personal experience it works beautifully. One of the most surprising things is just how ergonomic it is. You'd think holding a drill and the stick handle would be a bit odd, but it really feels very natural and the stick handle can freely rotate to any position "around the clock" that works for you, whether you're right handed or left handed. And since it uses the same Wx204 pads that you can use on a traditional DA it can do much the same sort of correction. Obviously it would be more time consuming to do an entire car with this compared to using full sized pads on a DA, but for tighter areas or spot repair it's great. And you can do some pretty serious correction with it, too.
 
Guys,

I appreciate your feedback!

I run all Milwaukee 18V LI drills, saws, etc at home and compared to anything NiCd they destroy it. (obviously) Among other LI cordless tools, I'm very happy with my choice in manufacturer. And dang they have a lot of cordless products to choose from.

My big dilemma is what would drive me to buy a smaller polisher like one of these "micro" units for little on the fly jobs when I could do it with a cordless drill and get longer run time. I do wonder about speed control?.... Sure you can feather the trigger, but what about a dial like my rotary? hmm...

I like my toys and am trying to find a reason why I need to buy one of these. Odds are I'll end up getting both and returning one or the other after I become frustrated.
 
I have both of the 12V tools in my hands.

1st Comment: I received two batteries with the AC Delco for 150 and ONE Battery with the Matco for 300. I think based on that alone I'm ready to declare a winner.

2nd Comment: The AC Delco tool feels much lighter than the Matco

3rd Comment: The AC Delco tool has a variable speed trigger where the Matco tool only has only an on off trigger.

4th Comment: The AC Delco tool uses an M6 thread which I'm annoyed about where as the Matco uses a 5/16 thread.


Overall, before using, the AC Delco is the winner, lighter, cheaper, and has a variable speed trigger.
 
That polisher looks like a spot machine for doing small corrections or plastic headlamp assemblies.
Bobby Geco
 
Go with the new Porter Cable DA you will not be disappointed. Those other ones are toys. I have one I purchased from Snap -On but when it comes to the paint and corrections on my cars. I want a true tor and a machine that will put the power to the paint. Also I am interested in up dating my old Nikita to a Flex LE4033-VG6 light weight polisher I don't do production work anymore so with a combination of these to machines I doubt thier is any thing I could not handle.
Bobby Geco
 
I use a drill to do headlights. But even for just spot compound/polishing...I don't think it's much more difficult to just pick up my DA or rotary.

I think we are quite a ways from cordless polishing. As close as we got is using an orbital air sander. But, then you're just replacing the cord with a hose, ha.

Even, steady power is crucial. Cordless units will never be able to supply that IMO. Might be cool for a little while...but when you have to keep recharging, or buying batteries...what's the point.

I even use a cord drill for headlights. I don't mind plugging in, cause I know I can use it till I'm done. Batteries are not an issue.
 
Lets get real for a moment. The people who have this service done to restore thier headlights are looking for a deal!!!. They most likely never even washed the car.
now when it comes to me I rather replace the hole headlight unite OEM more costly but brand spanking new. Who ever thought of pinching pennies to save on the cost of building an automobile by putting in plastic lens should be strung up by his B!!!!!!!S
Bob Geco
 
robert1955 said:
Lets get real for a moment. The people who have this service done to restore thier headlights are looking for a deal!!!. They most likely never even washed the car.
now when it comes to me I rather replace the hole headlight unite OEM more costly but brand spanking new. Who ever thought of pinching pennies to save on the cost of building an automobile by putting in plastic lens should be strung up by his B!!!!!!!S
Bob Geco
Click to expand...

I agree with you to an extent. But, a headlight restore (when done correctly) looks just as good, if not better than factory new.

I did one last week where the guy was in an accident, and had to replace just one headlight. The other was dull, oxidized, and faded. I performed a headlight restore on just that one...and it matched the other perfectly.

Why should he have bought a new headlight, when it was perfectly fine after a restore that only costed him $25? He actually gave me $50 cause he was so impressed and relieved that he didn't have to buy a new one!

Obviously...if they were not made of plastic in the first place, this service would not be needed. But, like you said..."let's get real", lol. Manufacturers will use as much plastic as they possibly can to cut costs.
 
About battery life.

I just did a really terrible set of headlights on an older Volvo.
I used my Milwaukee 18volt Li-Ion drill to sand and polish the lenses.
I drained both batteries twice while doing the job. And I had to wear leather gloves to keep from burning my hand the drill motor got so hot. (I measured the temps and they got up to 145 degrees). But the batteries barely got warm, just the motor got hot.
So from now on I will use my Makita rotary to sand and pollsh headlight lenses.
I can't imagine any battery powered polisher that could do an entire car. You would need four batteries and two chargers just to keep up. And as I have shown a motor running at a low voltage is just not efficient enough. Too much of it's "work" goes into heat.
 
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