Polishers for hull waxing

Black_Diamond

What polisher are people using out there for buffing/waxing?  I was looking at a Rupes...

raybo3

BD I have never seen a "professional" detail a boat using a orbital buffer. Most us Dewalt or Mikita. You wax should tell you what RPM works best for their product.  

06Rinker270

I tried a random orbital and was a complete fail.  Then I bought a Dewalt and success! 

LaRea

I have the Dewalt.  It's a rotary, whereas the Rupes is random orbital.   However, the Dewalt is 2.2 pounds lighter than the Rupes (6.6 vs. 8.8).  That's significant.  

Maybe somebody else can comment on rotary vs. random orbital for gelcoat.  I've never tried a random orbital.

Chrisvr6

Yeah, get a high speed rotary. Random orbital for car paint. 

Black_Diamond

Thanks guys. I had been looking at a Dewalt rotary too. Plus it is way cheaper. I'll borrow the Rupes for the car. 

aero3113

I bought this from Harbor Freight works great and you can't beet the price.

http://m.harborfreight.com/power-tools/polishers/6-in-57-amp-heavy-duty-dual-action-variable-speed-polisher-69924.html

rmrstlmo

Has anyone used a battery powered rotary?  My guess is they wouldn't last very long.  I don't like have the 110V around the water unless I have to.

mattie

Finally found a good one Dewalt DWP849X. 12 amp polisher/buffer. I went through buffers like underwear. The 'X' is the higher amp model. Soft start, maintains speed under load. Dewalt velcro wool pads are A1 as well. Meguiars Flagship wax too. (wrecked 5 buffers in 8 years).

LaRea

Cordless would be too slow for a large hull.  The Dewalt is rated for 1250 watts.  That's probably twice the power available from a battery-powered unit.  

But a cordless might be useful for a smaller boat, or small areas above the rub rail.

duane.mosley

I do auto paint reconditioning for a living and I use a dewalt. I've never used a random orbit buffer for a car, seems like that would take for ever to buff a scratch. Wool pad for compound, foam pad for polish. Like Al, I too still have my Milwaukee buffer which is about 20 years old. Still works like a charm but for everyday use, the dewalt is perfect and MUCH lighter.