Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
DA Polishers - Stick Handle - Hoop Handle - Or no handle at all?
Just posted a thread on the same subject here
Rotary Buffers - Stick Handle - Hoop Handle - Or no handle at all
but wanted to start a dedicated thread for the PC style polishers too...
The Porter Cable unit comes with stick handles, the G110 comes with a Hoop Handle and the Griot's Garage comes with a Hoop handle,
Anyone have any preferences?
I never use the handles myself and in the case of the stick handle, on some cars if you're buffing some curves you an actually put yourself in a position where the handle could touch and scar the paint.
For Newbies, the hoop handle helps them to keep their pad flat because the handle positions their hand directly over the head of the polisher. Newbies to machine polishing will tend to buff crooked when first starting out because they'll place more pressure on the handle side of the polisher and this ends up with their pad on edge. This leads to a lack of rotating of the buffing pad, so I've found it's better to remove the stick handle when teaching someone new to polishing how to use the PC style polishers.
So my personal preference is to take the handle off use it without it, I think most people that try this never look back...
What say you?
Just posted a thread on the same subject here
Rotary Buffers - Stick Handle - Hoop Handle - Or no handle at all
but wanted to start a dedicated thread for the PC style polishers too...
The Porter Cable unit comes with stick handles, the G110 comes with a Hoop Handle and the Griot's Garage comes with a Hoop handle,
Anyone have any preferences?
I never use the handles myself and in the case of the stick handle, on some cars if you're buffing some curves you an actually put yourself in a position where the handle could touch and scar the paint.
For Newbies, the hoop handle helps them to keep their pad flat because the handle positions their hand directly over the head of the polisher. Newbies to machine polishing will tend to buff crooked when first starting out because they'll place more pressure on the handle side of the polisher and this ends up with their pad on edge. This leads to a lack of rotating of the buffing pad, so I've found it's better to remove the stick handle when teaching someone new to polishing how to use the PC style polishers.
Taken from 2008 Lexus IS 250 - Pinnacle Detail - August 14th, 2009
Using the handle is an option, the new PC 7424XP has new body design that's smaller and more rounded making the head of the unit easier to grasp and hold onto for extended periods of time. Most people that I've met that have tried their polisher without the handle never look back. If you use the handle be careful as on some cars when buffing out an angled panel you may find the handle coming precariously close to an adjacent panel where it could possibly mar or scratch the paint. My personal preference is to use this polisher without the handle.
So my personal preference is to take the handle off use it without it, I think most people that try this never look back...
What say you?
