Random Orbital Polishers

Onchy

Onchy

Well-Known Member
Getting organized to give the boat a polish DIY style, and looking at options for a polisher. Somewhat leaning towards the Porter Cable 7424 but prior to pulling pin wondering if I should be looking another direction. Any preferred polishing pad recommendations? Using 3M perfect it polish as gelcoat is still pretty clean
 
Onchy said:
Getting organized to give the boat a polish DIY style, and looking at options for a polisher. Somewhat leaning towards the Porter Cable 7424 but prior to pulling pin wondering if I should be looking another direction. Any preferred polishing pad recommendations? Using 3M perfect it polish as gelcoat is still pretty clean
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@Sir Reel had a nice one.
 
The Porter cable 7424XP is the only one you need to look at. Just buy it. Fantastic tool!
I have lakeshore pads. orange is good for compound then black for polish and gold for sealer/wax
 
Any quality variable speed polisher will work period, I own 3 of them all different brand and price and they all work fine,watch video and do some research before you put a pad on your gel coat lol. It’s pretty simple but it takes time to do a good job, don’t rush and try do do big sections all at once, slow and steady, not sure how big your boat is. I have done multiple boats to 28ft over the years, some of them very oxidize. 3m product are overpriced and hard to work with IMO. Try to do it when it’s not to hot outside too, less time to work when it’s hot out
 
Rain City said:
@Sir Reel had a nice one.
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You have a really good memory Jon!
I bought the Shurhold 3100 Dual Action Polisher after reading about it on another boating thread. I really like it. Its light weight and has a 20' power cord with GFCI included. I use it on my vehicles as well.


It seems to work pretty good :)

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Sir Reel said:
You have a really good memory Jon!
I bought the Shurhold 3100 Dual Action Polisher after reading about it on another boating thread. I really like it. Its light weight and has a 20' power cord with GFCI included. I use it on my vehicles as well.


It seems to work pretty good :)

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Cant forget that polish job.
 
I should mention that I am using this orbital polisher for maintenance. We used a large buffer with 3M products when I first got the boat. It was a lot of work to get this shine but now is a much simpler annual polish. Last year I used a Starbrite marine polish with PTEF and have been really impressed. I used Mequiars premium wax for years and it is really good too.
 
I bought this kit a few years ago. The polisher has been used and abused, on my second set of brushes.

It’s lighter than the Mikita one and when you spend a few hours with it a pound or two is a big deal.
 

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CBsqrd said:
This, you want to use a proper polisher (rotary only) not a random orbit. A random orbit will not generate enough friction for gel coat unless it’s only a light polish you are after.
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Lol I don’t even know what an orbit polisher is, had to google it, the ones I have are variable speed rotary only and 7”. Not to sure about the orbital never tried one, will let the ones that have used them comment. Mine are Milwaukee,maximum, and Titan, I just hate switching pads and papers when working, use mine for all kinds of sanding and buffing and polish
 
A detail company told me to get the one that spins at 6000 rpm, not 3000. You can also do aluminum to a mirror polish this way. Any thoughts on this being too fast for fiberglass?
 
I use this on the boat each year. It gets easier each time. Use 3m polish post the compound process. Compound and polish is a breeze with the orbital
 

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Aquaholic said:
A detail company told me to get the one that spins at 6000 rpm, not 3000. You can also do aluminum to a mirror polish this way. Any thoughts on this being too fast for fiberglass?
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Not sure of Rpm, mines have 6 speed, 1to6 slow to hold on for dear life kind of thing lol, but yes for me the higher setting are way to fast for fiberglass, great on wood if your need to take off lots of materials quick
 
pescador said:
I use this on the boat each year. It gets easier each time. Use 3m polish post the compound process. Compound and polish is a breeze with the orbital
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That 3M product is what I orginally used on my boat. First time was a lot of work to get the shine, second time not so much and now just need to have wax applied annually to the hull and twice yearly to topsides
 
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As mentioned by other posters here, a random orbital is geared a little more towards automotive paint finishes that require less friction/cutting. You’ll want to get a variable speed polisher. This polisher from Dewalt is outstanding, it has a soft start function that doesn’t sling the product and it also maintains your set RPM with more/less pressure. For example, most polishers I’ve used, you have to set your RPM dial to say 3000-4000 rpm, so that when even moderate pressure is applied you end up polishing at the products recommended speed. A lot of the 3m compounds and polishes I believe are 2000-2500 RPM. The Dewalt maintains your set RPM and takes the guess work out of it. If you want to take it a step further, 3m makes a very slick quick change adaptor for the pads, it makes swapping from a compounding pad to a polishing pad a couple seconds. Bonus is the quick change pads are double sided and cost the same as the hook and loop single side pads, so twice the pad life, and you can polisher longer without having to dress your pad as often. Keep in mind you’ll need one “compounding” pad and a separate “polishing” pad, used with the appropriate compounds/polishes.

Polisher- https://www.amazon.ca/DEWALT-DWP849...=1649703419&sprefix=dewalt+dwp,aps,245&sr=8-1

Quick connect- https://www.amazon.ca/3M-05752-Thre...prefix=3m+quick+change+polishe,aps,187&sr=8-3

Double sided pad- https://www.amazon.ca/05753-Perfect...id=1649704203&sprefix=3m+wool+,aps,224&sr=8-4
 
Thanks everyone! Much appreciated! I’m sure I’ll turn up some more questions, bit more research to do.I’ll post up finished product in a few weeks once sorted.
 
Captain PartyMarty said:
I am in the market as well for a polisher. I always thought makita was the top of the line buffer to buy. Why would you choose the porter cable over a makita?
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The random orbital polisher cannot hurt paint on a car. The rotary style can take the paint right off if you don’t know what you’re doing.
This is the results of the porter cable with McGuire’s products.
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