Cutting with HF DA?

[BellyUpFish]

So, I haven't purchased as DA for detailing yet, but I'm pretty convinced I'd like to try the Harbor Freight unit. If it dies/is garbage, I'll chock it up to a life lesson and grab the Porter Cable 7424.

One of the first things I'd like to tackle when I pick it up, is bringing some oxidized gelcoat back to life. The gelcoat on my boat actually isn't that bad, but it could be a better.

The product I'll be using, Smoove Pro-Cut 1000, : Smoove Pro-Cut 1000 Professional Polishing Compound Quart : Sports & Outdoors[/url]) recommends a "white wool pad" to cut with.

So, I'm looking at picking up the following:

Lake Country 6" backer plate (Dual-Action Hook & Loop Flexible Backing Plate 6")
6.5" Wool pads (6.5 inch Marine 31 4 Ply 100% Twisted Wool Compounding Pad (3 Pack))

Will this be sufficient?

I'd also like to pick up some other basic pads for automotive detailing, but I haven't 100% tackled that decision yet as to what a basic setup might run me..

Anyone?

 

[Eldorado2k]

One of the first things I'd like to tackle when I pick it up, is bringing some oxidized gelcoat back to life.

Anyone?

Even before I began reading your post I said to myself “well as long as he’s not going to try to restore some gelcoat or Ceramiclear he should be alright”
And the 1st thing you said was gelcoat.lol.

...Well it’s possible, but depending on what pads & product you decide to use and the actual condition of the gelcoat it can range from PITA lotta work to easy maintenance once you’ve taken care of the initial restoration.

I know it makes sense to use the bigger 6” backing plate & pads due to the size of a boat, but that polisher really works to it’s maximum potential using a 5” backing plate & pads. So keep in mind that it’ll have more power for rotating the pads with the 5” setup.


When I did the initial cutting and restoration I did it with the HF using many many foam pads and Meguiars M67 One Step Compound, I also tried Marine 21 Heavy Oxidation Remover with mediocre results. I ended up getting rid of alot of the oxidation with the Megs M67 and terry towels by hand. The gelcoat I was dealing with was in rough shape, yours may not be as bad.

Once the grunt work/Heavy oxidation was taken care of, I ended up having some pretty good results with Griots Garage Boss FAST Correcting Cream. [by then I had upgraded to the G21 Boss Polisher and was using 7” Lake Country HD Orbital Blue Foam Cutting Pads]

When it was all said & done the gelcoat went from not being able to see your own reflection to this.

BTW, those wool pads you’re interested in are for rotary polishers and will not work with the HF DA or any other DA polisher.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Man, that thing shines!

My gel coat isn’t that bad really, it’s still got reflection ability, it’s just not been cleaned and polished like it should and I’d like to bring it back to life.

Does anyone make a 5” or 5.5” wool pad that would work with the HF DA? It may make more sense to just pick up a HF rotary as well, since they're cheap. Use it for the boat and then use the DA for upkeep on the boat..

I appreciate you’re help.

Here’s my current situation.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dlc95]

One of my friends did a boat with a PC, Megs M100, and Lake Country Purple Foamed Wool pads. Not the thin pads, but the long hair pads. Tore through the oxidation with ease. We also used them on a 32' Trailer.

 

[SWETM]

This maybe?

5 1/2 Inch Thin Foamed Wool Pad (2-Pack)

With this compound.

SONAX CutMax Cutting Compound

Gelcoat is hard work for the polisher so a quality one you will benefit from the start. Gear driven orbital polisher like Flex 3401vrg is great or a Flex pe14 rotary polisher. If you need to do a finishing polish a free spinning DA would work when the oxidized is off.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

So, I haven't purchased as DA for detailing yet, but I'm pretty convinced I'd like to try the Harbor Freight unit.

If it dies/is garbage, I'll chock it up to a life lesson and grab the Porter Cable 7424.

If it dies or you can't maintain pad rotation under pressure get the Griot's Garage 6" ROP instead of the PC and then get the job done right and the fastest the second time.


Here's what you need to get into machine polishing - Recommendations for a beginner by Mike Phillips


I've been typing out articles on how-to remove swirls and scratches documented since 1994. That's 23 years. And that's just typing how to do. Been teaching people in person even longer. So please take my word for it... you need at a minimum what I call as simple or entry level orbital polisher.

My recommendation?

Get the Griot's Garage 6" DA Orbital Polisher. This one,

Griot's Garage 6" ROP - Standard cord

Griots Garage 6 Inch Heavy Duty Random Orbital Polisher - HD Cord - 25' Heavy Duty Cord already pre-wired

Why?

Because it's the best bang for the buck. There are cheaper polishers on the market but not better polishers for the value of your dollar plus Griot's backs this tool with a lifetime warranty. It also has all the power you'll need to take care of your own car or cars and for some of you, you could even detail cars for money with this tool.



Also - I don't really like playing the part of Forum Moderator, it's simply not fun. I like playing the part of "How-to Guy". But we don't have a lot of moderating that takes place on this forum so when I have to I do.

Here's the link to the forum rules, and below it the first rule. Note the part in red.

Forum Rules


The purpose of Autogeekonline.com is for detailing discussion, providing a place for likeminded auto "Geeks" to share knowledge and partake in fellowship.

1. The AutogeekOnline discussion forum is exclusively sponsored by Autogeek.com. Product discussion should be limited to products that are available from Autogeek.com and PBMA's family of websites.

Links, videos or recommendations to competing products and companies that are not available through Autogeek.com will be moved to the Moderators forum and offenders will be warned or simply placed into the SELF-BANNED category of member groups on this forum.

Repeated linking and recommendations of products not available through Autogeek.com may result in a permanent ban. Moderators have the right to edit any posts that contain links, recommendations or other information pertaining to competing companies that are not associated with Autogeek.com



Thanks for understanding, I know you're just trying to buff stuff out but there is a company that pays the bills around here and it's no Amazon, or eBay or Harbor Freight.

Last time I checked these three companies offered ZERO support for the junk they sell.

 

[Desertnate]

As a current HF polisher owner, I'd say go with the Griot's. You'll need to upgrade the backing plate and pads anyway, so you might as well start with a good platform from the beginning.

The HF has decent power, but it isn't very smooth, it's loud, and the ergonomics aren't as good. Even though I use earplugs for hearing protection, I can't help but wonder if the vibrations and and lesser ergonomics make me more fatigued when I'm done doing a vehicle. I wish now I had bit the bullet and gone with the Griots years ago when I got into this hobby. It's much more expensive, but worth it in my book.

 

[Eldorado2k]

As a current HF polisher owner, I'd say go with the Griot's. You'll need to upgrade the backing plate and pads anyway, so you might as well start with a good platform from the beginning.

He’ll have to upgrade the backing plate on the GG6 as well... Unless he’s the 1% who plans on using it with 6” setup.

And neither polisher comes with pads, so there’s no need to upgrade what you don’t have to begin with.lol.

Just sayin.

 

[Desertnate]

He’ll have to upgrade the backing plate on the GG6 as well... Unless he’s the 1% who plans on using it with 6” setup.

And neither polisher comes with pads, so there’s no need to upgrade what you don’t have to begin with.lol.

Just sayin.

I wasn't sure if anyone would use a 6" on a boat. I've never cared for a boat and wasn't going to advise on something I didn't know anything about. Even with the 6" plate on the HF's, they are rarely balanced properly or not warped, so a new one would be in order most likely. As for the pads, some people may buy the pads hanging on the rack right next to the polishers. They are garbage, and if you don't know better like I didn't at the time, you might be tempted to go with what is readily at hand.

You never know a person's background or experience. I was just providing advice from the standpoint of someone whose been in a similar position.

 

[SWETM]

You can go with a polisher and pad kit and get a good bang for the buck too. Then you can chose the HD version in the adding part of the the kit. This way you get some discount on the polisher and the pads. Then ad the polishes and the pads you like. The Griots Garage has some great polishes and pads to ad and I would get the LC purple wool pads also for your boat.

Griot?s Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Correct & Finish Combo LIMITED TIME ONLY!

 

[Paint Correction God]

You can have the best polishers money can buy, but if you do not have a good system in place to work with that tool then your not going to get good results, The difference from a quality polisher and a low end polisher is going to be in the amount of passes need to make before removing defects in the finish. A harbor freight require 3-4 cycles before achieve the defect removal your looking to reach before finishing to where a quality machine would only take 3 passes and 1 cycle.

 

[Eldorado2k]

A harbor freight require 3-4 cycles before achieve the defect removal your looking to reach before finishing to where a quality machine would only take 3 passes and 1 cycle.

So I’m guessing you consider the GG6, Meguiars MT300, Porter Cable, and every other 8mm polisher to be low quality and basically inadequate for any kind of actual defect removal eh? Because I know for a fact from having used all those polishers and then some that they’re all more alike than not.

 

[Paint Correction God]

So I’m guessing you consider the GG6, Meguiars MT300, Porter Cable, and every other 8mm polisher to be low quality and basically inadequate for any kind of actual defect removal eh? Because I know for a fact from having used all those polishers and then some that they’re all more alike than not.

Well if you read my post correctly you will see that I’m stating that you can get the job done with any polisher out there, it’s just going to take longer and be less comfortable.


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[Eldorado2k]

Well if you read my post correctly you will see that I’m stating that you can get the job done with any polisher out there, it’s just going to take longer and be less comfortable.


Crystal Clear Detailing
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In the 4yrs of owning the HF polisher I’ve never not once experienced a time when I had to do 3-4 polishing cycles to remove defects and something like the GG6 could’ve done it in 1. And no it doesn’t vibrate more either...

I know that mentioning, let alone praising the HF polisher is frowned upon here, but that’s such a bogus statement.

 

[Paint Correction God]

In the 4yrs of owning the HF polisher I’ve never not once experienced a time when I had to do 3-4 polishing cycles to remove defects and something like the GG6 could’ve done it in 1. And no it doesn’t vibrate more either...

I know that mentioning, let alone praising the HF polisher is frowned upon here, but that’s such a bogus statement.

No point in moving forward with this conversation, obviously your not getting the point... and how did any of the Griot’s line of polishers come into this lol? Anyway good night sir.


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[Eldorado2k]

No point in moving forward with this conversation, obviously your not getting the point... and how did any of the Griot’s line of polishers come into this lol? Anyway good night sir.


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- Email: [email protected]

I’ll admit that I was wrong to bring the GG6 into this... It’s just not everyday that I see someone makes a blanket statement of basically calling all 8mm polishers “low end” vs. large throw polishers being “high quality”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s basically what you’re saying, is it not?

 

[dlc95]

I’ll admit that I was wrong to bring the GG6 into this... It’s just not everyday that I see someone makes a blanket statement of basically calling all 8mm polishers “low end” vs. large throw polishers being “high quality”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s basically what you’re saying, is it not?

It's because the whole statement regarding having a good system contradicts the part about "low end" polishers needing more passes.

 

[BellyUpFish]

This maybe?

5 1/2 Inch Thin Foamed Wool Pad (2-Pack)

I don't know much, but those might work well.

Repeated linking and recommendations of products not available through Autogeek.com may result in a permanent ban.



Thanks for understanding, I know you're just trying to buff stuff out but there is a company that pays the bills around here and it's no Amazon, or eBay or Harbor Freight.

I appreciate you not giving me the axe just yet.. I actually reread my post, after I made it and hoped it didn't sound like an advertisement. I have no knowledge nor have I ever used their product. Ran across a YouTube video and thought I'd give it a shot.

I appreciate your suggestions about the GG6. I'll consider it.

You can have the best polishers money can buy, but if you do not have a good system in place to work with that tool then your not going to get good results, The difference from a quality polisher and a low end polisher is going to be in the amount of passes need to make before removing defects in the finish. A harbor freight require 3-4 cycles before achieve the defect removal your looking to reach before finishing to where a quality machine would only take 3 passes and 1 cycle.

Lots of choices out there.. I really don't have a budget in terms of affordability, but it seems counter productive to go buy the best when I may only use it a couple times a year. Also seems silly to buy the worst if it's a clear failure in the making.

I unfortunately have a 1,500' gravel driveway, so uber detailing sometimes goes by the wayside on my daily drivers. I do have a couple weekend toys that would enjoy the treatment though..