Which Polisher Should You Use?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2024
- Choosing the right machine to polish a car's paint is essential to getting the best results. Yet there are so many different machines on the market - random orbital, forced rotation, rotary - it can be hard to know what to use and when.
Our Chief Education Officer Mike Phillips recently covered this topic in a livestream on our TH-cam, Facebook and Instagram pages, breaking down the different types of polishers and the brands that make them so you can make an informed decision when polishing a vehicle's paint.
Check out this edited and condensed reel from the class and learn the ins and outs of all the different polishers available today!
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Good Morning, great topic with loads of information for both the beginner and intermediate. Your Vids walked me through my first purchase, a Porter cable 7424 back in 1998. Then the Beast, the Flex 3401 VRG around 2005. A Christmas gift to myself last year was the Lake Country UDOS 51E. Im 62 years old and still learning from your videos. Thanks for the journey of detailing.
Sounds like you're doing great at 62! I'm 63 and still very thankful I'm in good shape and can continue to so the things I love. -Mike Phillips
Damn cyclo havnt heard that name in years!! Still have 5. 3 of them still in rotation!! Also have the buff pro!! Never truly learned how to work it but just had to have it!! 😆 great video
Thanks for watching. The Cyclo is a well-built tool. It's kind of one of those tools that you either love it or you like something with a single spinning pad. As for the BuffPro, I tested this polisher when it was brand new and while it worked, I figured it was best for doing production detailing on large flat things like RVs and Boats. -Mike Phillips
Mike Where is your Trusty MAKITA rotary Super Duper machine ?
I use the FLEX XCE 10-8 forced rotation, i love it, great correction power and doesnt stalh on curved areas. I used rotary, free speinning da's 8 and 21 mm, forced rotation is the perfect balance bettween the rotaries and da's. You have good control, precision, fast correction and great finish. Also the FLEX seems like a reliable machine, with low vibrations, not too loud, it doesnt overheat and doesnt stahl. For someone who only buffs now and then it would be too much in terms of the price, but you cant have it all. To be honest, all you could want from a polisher as a detailer, if you work at a body shop.
Nice summary of your tools and experience. I agree with everything. Thank you for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips
Great idea about using a magic marker to center the pad on a rotary!
It definitely helps. The circular line on the backing of the pad will wear off, especially if you machine wash your wool cutting pads. BUT - it still helps and even as it fades, it still helps you to recenter and then RE-MARK. One of the MOST important techniques I can share when it comes to using a rotary polisher is to take the time to perfectly CENTER you pad onto the backing plate.
It makes the buffing smoother and more effective. When the pad is not centered, it feels like you're driving in a car with a completely flat tire. (yeah, been there done that). So take the time to center your pad.
-Mike Phillips
Love this video. Great information. Thanks for the tip on sanding. I was using a rotary to sand my healdlights but next time ill use an 8mm DA. Thanks Mike!
I use rotary to sand headlights and teach this in our classes. The key is to use 3" sanding discs and 2-3 interface pads. Thanks for watching and commenting! -Mike Phillips
Thanks for the video, Mike! Fantastic as always. Which backing plate and pads are you using? It has been too long since I used my 3401 and I'm pretty sure the backing plate, which is falling apart ,is made by Lake Country. At least I still have the two Flex backing plates which are in tact.
Hi 70fastback94, thank you for watching. The backing plates are what are called *Wear Items* or *Wear Components*. Due to wear-n-tear, the backing plates simply wear out. The first thing to go is the hook, which is part of the hook-n-loop system to hold pads onto the backing plate. Each time you remove a pad, you stretch-out the hooks and over time, they simply don't return to their original shape. You see this as your buffing pads not sticking or attaching to the backing plate with any strength.
Next, the adhesive that holds the hook material to the backing plate gives-up. At this point, you really want to swap to a new backing plate. In a worst case scenario, the hook and pad will fly off the backing plate and you could potentially run the now bare backing plate into the paint.
The other most common failure for these backing plates is OVER TIME - the foam interface between the hard plastic and the hook material simply disintegrates. This is just something that happens to all type of FOAM over time.
Most reputable detailing supply stores carry replacements. And here's a tip, for all you people that use a BEAST polisher for your business, you should have a back-up backing plate so if the backing plate on your tool does wear-out, you can continue working. Over the years, I've had people tell me the backing plate wore out and left them stranded on a job.
Thanks for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips
Nice!!!!👌👌👌
Thanks for watching! -Mike Phillips
Ioke the new UDOS 3 in 1 but the issue with that machine and LC even advertised the new model where they were supposed to offer siffernt size backing plates. That was one of the main reasons why I bought UT. Hiwever, after I found out this was not true . I returned it back to them. This would have been the "Ultimate Tool" had they actually did that.
Great vid. Can someone get Mike some better lighting or better cam ? Looks like one of his Autogeek vids from 12 years ago.....
Working on it. Thanks for watching and commenting! -Mike Phillips
Mike....Burn through caused by improper use of a rotary aside, some well respected detailers advise against using machines and/or techniques that spike paint temperatures more than 30° over the baseline temp. Gear driven machines, especially when applying pressure, will exceed this range. One, do you agreed with the concern, and two, have you ever seen any problems because of this?
You're conducted this experiment yourself?
I've used the Flex 3401 a lot. It DOES get the paint pretty hot. Not burning hot to the touch, but definitely spikes the temps. I've never burned through paint using the 3401, but the heat spiking is always in the back of my mind.
Mike, what’s your opinion of the small hand held battery powered polishers? Are they good for anything other than applying wax?
Great question and in my opinion, most small hand-held battery powered polishers are only good for spreading out a coat of car wax or a synthetic paint sealant.
We WISH they could do more, but alas, they just don't have the power to remove swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation. At least not in a time-efficient manner.
Thank you for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips
Is it worth investing in a 3" or smaller polisher? I have a nice 5.5" and sometimes when dealing with a small scratch feel like I shouod be using a micro polisher. I've been looking on Amazon for a decent one for home use not commercial.
There are no GREAT random orbital polishers. BUT - my criteria for "good" is different than 99.9% of the population. I'm not a big fan of free spinning random orbital polishers because they stall out too easy for my personal preference. This includes all the micro-tools that you're looking at. I do like the RUPES Nano Long Neck for use with the ROTARY DRIVE UNIT and 1" pads for doing paint correction for thin panels. And I do like the FLEX PiXiE for machine sanding with the optional 6mm drive unit.
Besides that, if you want to buff with small pads, spoil yourself and purchase the cordless FLEX PE-150 Rotary Polisher and then get some 1", 2" and 3" backing plate. This is my preferred micro-tool. LOL
-Mike Phillips
Any thoughts on the Makita XOPO22 cordless polisher? It has the ability to mimic random orbital or forced rotation movement at the switch of the knob. Is it too gimmicky?
I haven't used this tool yet so I don't have a real-world opinion. I did the ORIGINAL prototype testing for Makita for the PO5000C Polisher, before it went into production. It's useless in free spinning mode. And I personally do not like short orbit stroke GEAR-DRIVEN orbital polishers because they tend to jerk you around too much when moving over the different planes on a body panel. I MUCH prefer 8mm gear-driven orbital polishers for most paint correction work when not using a rotary polisher.
Because I was so disappointed in the PO5000C, I'm probably not ever going to buy anything that's 5mm orbit stroke or smaller. Hope that helps. You can see the picture of the Makita Engineers from the prototype testing I put together for Makita by clicking the link below. The Engineers have a cartoon character face over their real faces - these are the Makita Engineers. I asked them for the prototype we were testing for my personal collection of prototype tools and I'm sorry to say the never took me seriously. Their mistake.
themikephillipsforum.com/media/makitaengineersmikephillips-jpg.4577/full
-Mike Phillips
Mike will be the best one to answer since Makita reached out to him to test the unit before it reached final production but the Makita has a smaller orbit (5.5mm) compared to the Flex Beast tools at 8 mm. Makita has a top OPM speed of 6800 vs the Flex BEAST at 9600. And the random orbit on the Makita is stall city but then again that’s pretty much any random orbital. To sum up, just get the Flex BEAST 3401 or the Flex Supa BEAST. There’s a reason why they dominate as the tool of choice amongst professionals.
Shinemate EX620 PRO & Griots G8
Both are respected free spinning random orbital polishers. Thanks for watching and commenting. -Mike Phillips
Great video. But please record and upload videos in 4k.
Thanks for the feedback! This clip was recorded from our live broadcast which is limited to 1080p.
Why did you leave Autogeek?
Not only did I leave, so did at least half of all the key staff. Let's just say, companies change.
-Mike Phillips
Rupes 3401?😂
Not sure what you mean? I'm guessing you're referring to the FLEX XC 3401 VRG which is nicknamed the BEAST.
-Mike Phillips
☕🇵🇷💚🇺🇸
Thanks for watching! -Mike Phillips