Just bought the Porter Cable 7424 orbital buffer and curious if anyone on the board uses it on their f-body. My black Z was painted about 4 years back and is super glossy with just some light to medium swirl marks. Any tips on compound of choice or technique would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

 

I havent used an orbital polisher.....but my paint is fresh on my formula.....bout 6-7 months old.....and i had a few little swirl marks on mine. I washed it really good....then used 3&M Ultra fine cut rubbing compound....took a small amount on a soft cloth and started to rub it in. After that i took some meguires 3 step wax formula and it came out awsome. It was really worth it. It was a little time consuming but when i was done you couldnt see the swirl marks anymore.
I wouldnt use an orbital polisher on fresh paint.....even if you went with a really fine fine cut compound like i did....the fastness and motion of the polisher might cause more damage....especially seeing the paint is new. just my opinion though. Hope this helps.

 

has anyone ever used the craftsman professional 11 inch one?? i was thinkin of buyin one but is it a good one?

 

i work at Sears in power tools for 9 months now and still havent sold an 11" professional buffer yet. i dont think its worth the $200 bucks.

 

200!!?? i was just at sears today lookin at it and it was 40!

 

it must not be the professional one then. There is a grey one that i thought you were talking about that runs 200. the one you are thinking of is prolly the stock number 10626. that's the one for 39.99.

 

yeah thats the price but the box said craftsman professional 11 in buffer/polisher....

 

hmm...possibly sumthing that the the sears by you carries but the sears i work at doesnt...

 

maybe.....but to get to the point....do craftsman make a good buffer?

 

my dad has a craftsman buffer and it works great, however, we have only had it for a couple months. I have never returned a craftsman buffer, but i have returned many many craftsman drills. so all-in-all, i would say...yes...thay make a good buffer.

 

ok thanks.....maybe ill have to use some of my xmas money and go buy a buffer

 

Joshp14: Sorry to get off topic, but I wanted to pick your brain. I got a 1/2" drive Craftsman Pro impact wrench for Xmas. I asked for a Chicago Pneumatic or Ingersoll-Rand but got the Craftsman. Is it worth keeping? It's got 350lb of torque which is probably more than I'll ever need. I just wondered if you get a lot of those back or if they're reliable? Thanks.

 

if my mind serves me that is the $90 impact wrench. You get a good amount of torque for your money. I have had i think one return on that particular impact wrench. The good thing about the craftsman air tools is that most of them carry a 2 year warranty. As far as the ingersol rand brand, or chicago pneumatic, i rarely sell the IR, prolly cuz there kinda expensive, and we dont carry CP. i have not had any returns on an IR, but like i said i havent sold very many at all cuz of the price. i dont remember what the warranty is on the IR. all-in-all i think that the craftsman air tools are good tools, but the IR brand seems to know a little more when it comes to air tools. its like craftsman vs. dewalt, craftsman is a good tool, but doesnt compare to dewalt, just my o2 after working at sears for 10 months......and remember that you get what you pay for.

 

oh hey bubbakutz, i found what buffer you were talking about. its an 11" professional buffer and it runs just over $100. the stock # is 27098, they are brand new, we just got them in. As far as the $40 one, i think you were mistaken, the one you are prolly thinkin of is the 10" standard buffer that comes with like 5 bonnets and 3 terry clothes and some other stuff. its prolly the best deal that sears has for a buffer right now. the stock # on that one is 10626.

 

yeah maybe...not too sure which one now......but i wanna take a ride back up to sears to look.....i really want one bad.....to make some cash i am going to wax my aunts mustang (c'mon guys dont hate me, im just doin it for the money ) this week and i really want to use one....

 

i work in a body shop, so heres a few tips on polishing. To remove the swirl marks, which show up very badly with a black car, theres a compound you can buy called swirl remover 3M makes it, its not cheap for the professional stuff but it werks great. Theres also a spray on clear liquid 3M makes that you apply by hand with a cloth to remove the finer swirls and markings left by the polisher. I would suggest using caution when using the polisher as to not burn throught the clear or the paint, this is bad and somthing you dont want to do unless you like getting your car painted. Polishers build up alot of heat with all the friction from the buffing pad so dont be afraid to use the polish. Also use it at high speed not very slow, and do not use alot of pressure, let the poisher do all the work.

 

where do you get this 3M swirl remover and clear spray? and about how much is each?

 

Im not sure where to buy it in the US, I live in canada and the body shop just orders everything direct from 3M. goto 3Ms website and check there dealer locations, find one near you.

http://www.hawg-wash.com/3mswirlremover.html

http://www.carcrazy.net/find/p/391/mcms.html

http://www.properautocare.com/3mperswirmar.html

http://www.d-angelopbe.com/3mcarcare.htm

heres a couple of websites with the swirl remover, Ill try to find what the clear spray was called I dont remember off hand.