Will be buying my first polisher, a few questions for all-->

[imported_Quailer]

local tool show in NJ this upcoming weekend.

There are a few polishers that are listed for sale, I'm wondering which is the best.



1. Milwaukee#5460-6 7"/9" 0-1750 rpm Price $189

2. Porter Cable # 7428 1000-3000 rpm Price $179

3. Porter Cable #7424 2500-6000 opm Price $129



Now for the big question. Which will be better for me to use. My car is in pristine condition. My wife's car has pretty heavy swirls, just about every other car that I will use it on will have pretty heavy swirls. (people who have never had their cars detailed in any way)



I'm pretty new to detailing witha buffer/polisher, but have two or three cars to practice on.



Any thoughts would be appreciated.



Thanks

 

[crooper]

you can't go wrong with the 7424. it's hard to damage your paint with that. also check out the pads at cma and meguiars.

 

[shaf]

Welcome to the forum! (welcome again? )



So I take it you're faced with the decision of getting rotary or orbital? If you haven't already, perform a few searches about rotary polishers and you should find some comparisons between that and the PC.



Basically it boils down to this: Rotaries have more polishing ability and will work better/faster when used right, but also have that much less room for user error. Jasonc8301 once illustrated how a spinning rotary can whack off a mirror in a moment of inattention. It can also do serious damage very quickly. PCs by comparison are (supposedly) mindlessly safe to use, but have correspondingly less polishing ability, so you will have to work surfaces longer. I was told you'll need a few months to learn good rotary usage, while the PC has very little learning curve. It would take me a while before felt confident enough to use a rotary on my own car.



It's interesting that you have both perfect and seriously neglected vehicles to work on - it makes your choices tougher because rotaries work best on neglected finishes. I had the chance to buy a rotary for cheap (super cheap, actually) once, but passed because I felt that a PC was safer in the long run.



PS, the "hot" tip nowadays is to get the 7336 model instead at Lowes for about $110. It has the better 6" counterweight.

 

[BradE]

If you are truly a beginner I would stick with a random orbital like the Porter Cable. Rotary buffers are not for beginners and can cause extensive damage in untrained hands.

 

[Redcar GUY]

If you are truly a beginner I would stick with a random orbital like the Porter Cable. Rotary buffers are not for beginners and can cause extensive damage in untrained hands.

what he said:nono