Need a polisher!

slickooz

slickooz

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I'm trying to get into the detailing business and want to buy my first DA polisher. Been reading a lot and have seen a lot of good results with the PCXP. Also seen some good reviews for GG6. So far I had narrow it down to these two polisher, now I just need to decide which will work best for starting a detailing gig. I want something that is very versatile and that can fix heavy oxidation and can also be very gentle on car when apply wax. And should I get the 5.5 inch pads? People been saying it works real well with DA. Any help is appreciated, I want to buy one asap.
 
IF you're new to "machine" polishing, the DA Polisher is the easiest to learn and master from start to finish.

5.5" pads work best because they offer the optimum surface area for getting some work done without bogging down the tool.

If all you're doing is your cars and/or customers cars and "detailing" them then a PC 7424XP is a great choice.

If you want to do show car work, or you want to do some wetsanding, then you're going to want a rotary buffer. Sanding marks and deeper defects can be removed with other tools but the rotary buffer is the fastest and most efficient way to tackle these kinds of projects.

A good path and a popular path is to start with a PC and then move up to either a Flex 3401 and/or a rotary buffer.

The PC can,

  • Remove defects
  • Polish paint to a high gloss
  • Machine apply wax or paint sealant
  • Machine remove a wax or paint sealant
  • It's lightweight, easy to hold and operate even with one hand
  • It's really easy to get some successful projects under your belt the first time out

See this article,

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project



And these two articles,

Proof You Can Do It! - Joe The Detailer - Black Porsche Turned into Black Pearl!

Proof the Average Guy can get Professional Results their first time Machine Polishing


Here's another good read...

WG TSR/FG & PC 7335 Technique


And another...

What am I doing wrong - Holograms after using the rotary buffer


And another one...

4 part process still has swirls?


All the above have one thing in common... success was obtained using a Porter Cable DA Polisher or a version of it.


Porter Cable has a time-proven history of building quality tools that will often times outlast you...


:)
 
Thanks Mike for all the information. Great stuff!!
 
Might keep studying for a couple weeks. I'd love to see a polisher go on sale Thanksgiving weekend or leading up to Christmas. GG vs PC might come down to $$ for me. Off-season money is tight!

I know nothing specific, but do recall nice one-day sales around Memorial Day or July 4th.
 
Nope I just got into detailing. What was the lowest price on these DA before? I hope they have a huge sale on Black Friday. I been using all my money on detailing stuff and for paying my car. Don't have any extra cash to wait 12+ hours at Best Buy this year. :xyxthumbs: Going to really focus on this career because I want to get good and one day open a business. Mike is one hell of a guy, probably answered these questions so many times. Only if I had an 1/10 of his knowledge I would be happy.
 
slickooz said:
Nope I just got into detailing. What was the lowest price on these DA before? I hope they have a huge sale on Black Friday. I been using all my money on detailing stuff and for paying my car. Don't have any extra cash to wait 12+ hours at Best Buy this year. :xyxthumbs: Going to really focus on this career because I want to get good and one day open a business. Mike is one hell of a guy, probably answered these questions so many times. Only if I had an 1/10 of his knowledge I would be happy.
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Im in the same boat as you just starting out . Again! I worked in a body shop 30 years ago as "pp" ( polish person) mostly wet sanding and buffing and polishing and i think the rotory buffer we had weighed like 100lbs back then....you will gain a lot of knowlegde here with Mike. The internet has created a wealth of how to! It takes time to learn it all.Just Remember Mike had to start somewhere just as you. Take your time and OJT is the greatest way to learn. Only if we had the internet 30 years ago? who knows where we would all be today!:dblthumb2:
 
My friend who use to detailed has bunch of unused products. I think I'm going buy well most of his stuff. He playing poker full time now and is making much more then he was detailing. So his plan fell through. He has no need for all the stuff, how much discount you think I can ask since he not going need all that stuff. He also let me burrow his Dewalt buffer, going mess around with it tomorrow on my dad junk car. :buffing:
 
dad07 said:
Im in the same boat as you just starting out . Again! I worked in a body shop 30 years ago as "pp" ( polish person) mostly wet sanding and buffing and polishing and i think the rotory buffer we had weighed like 100lbs back then....you will gain a lot of knowlegde here with Mike. The internet has created a wealth of how to! It takes time to learn it all.Just Remember Mike had to start somewhere just as you. Take your time and OJT is the greatest way to learn. Only if we had the internet 30 years ago? who knows where we would all be today!:dblthumb2:
Click to expand...


I wished I had that much experience, time will tell. It just suck that it going be winter soon, so there going be a huge gap of no clients. I guess I'll have everything ready for spring. Good luck with finding your DA. I'm mostly likely pick the PC, going read more and watch more vids.
 
What do people mean by burning paint? I was practicing with Dewalt buffer on my dad old caravan on highest setting and there was no burn paint. Why do people say its not safe and not recommend to use for newbs? I had it on 1k and it was slow and doesn't look like it can damage paint. Is rotatory really dangerous?
 
it will take too much clear off if used incorrectly and if you aren't a painter and cant blend panels then you are going to be sol. look through the forum and search you will find more in depth articles on this site.
 
slickooz said:
What do people mean by burning paint? I was practicing with Dewalt buffer on my dad old caravan on highest setting and there was no burn paint.
Click to expand...

From my experience, which is limited, it is actually hard to burn paint. I had a used panel pulled from a scrap yard that i practiced on and I used a rotary set on high as well. I let it sit in one spot for like 2 minutes and there was no burn. The paint was very dull and the panel was scorching hot to the touch and smoking, yes there was some smoke rising off the panel but the paint was still there. So I now use my rotary 1st then the RO.

it's easier now but not easy.
 
IMO...with all the new technology out, between the newer DAs and the pad/product technology rotaries may become a thing of the past. The sufbuf pads, from what I have read are already changing the game. And it seems like there is only going to be more improvements in pads that will be similiar to surfbufs

Mike has a ton of articles about this topic. read up and play around.
 
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