I have a Porter Cable knockoff from HF.
It's not a PC knock off. It certainly deserves better than to be mentioned in such a way, especially since you haven't even given it a fair shot to do it's job. I didn't read every word in this thread, but I heard you mention 1 pad. If you expect "dazzling" results, you're going to have to invest a bit more than your efforts so far. You expect to be dazzled, yet you only managed to polish half the hood? Are you even motivated? No offense but it doesn't sound like it.
That "knock off" happens to have a noticable upgrade in speed, torque, and power vs. the PC... In no way am I suggesting you outta be an instant fanboy just because you bought it, I just don't understand the instant disrespect towards it. Why even mention or compare it to a PC when the PC is inferior to it? But whatever, if you truly believe it's below certain standards then you'll probably wind up with below standard results.
Another thing is you are using a DA, not a rotary. A DA has it's limits, especially if it's not forced rotation.
A DA has is limits, yes, but that really only applies to certain things and not necessarily as a whole. Yea it has its limits vs. a rotary if you're talking time and effort.. But in the end they're both going to wind up at the same destination.
As the Junkman would say "Destination Shineville" HF DA did the job. You're telling me a rotary or any other polishers end result would look significantly better than 100% correction? On this paint? Keep in mind this is a daily driven 2003 Toyota Tacoma. It is what it is, meaning it's not perfect.. And no amount of $ that you can pay for a "worthy" polisher is going to change that. You can polish a turd, but certain defects can't be polished out [i.e. small chips, cracks, whatever you want to call them] because you can't make those bits that make it a turd magically disappear and expect perfection unless you repaint the panel. In this case it's not the DA that's limiting the results, it's the paint that's holding back perfection.
It doesn't matter if I used my HF DA or my $400 Griots Boss 21 to polish this paint, as long as the defects were able to be removed by both machines without any significant issues [i.e. crazy hard paint that the 8mm couldn't handle] then they both would've ended up with this same end result. I think we can agree on that.
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Your machine, your pads, your polish - none of these would make anyone's top 10 list.
So the PC was a workhorse and a starter machine for a whole generation of detailers and has stood the test of time to have earned its honorable mention and respect..
But a totally different tool company comes along and manufacturers a polisher that's actually more powerful than the PC, but all of a sudden there's no way it would ever make anyone's "top ten list"... Who are these people? I'd love to see a real life Pepsi challenge between these entry level polishers 1 day so we could have a good laugh at everyones real unbiased opinions based on performance and results, instead of a brand name on a label.
