RO sander/polisher vs “regular” polisher
I am doing some repair work on my fiberglass boat, and a good polisher would be nice. I have used my Porter Cable palm sander before, but it does not do a very good job. I think it needs more power.
This got me looking at polishers, and then random orbital sander/polishers. I would like to get one which I could also use for my woodworking which is base primarily around furniture and one that would compliment the palm sanders that I already have. I am looking at the new Bosch 1250 DVES because it was rated the best in the recent “Fine Homebuilding” This reference was based on sanding, not polishing. It has a small orbit 3/32, and lower opm than some of the other similar sander/polishers.
I realize that this is a new machine, however, does anyone have any experience with this machine? I would appreciate your comments on this or recommendations for a similar machine for use in woodworking and polishing/finishing.
Thanks
Allen
Replies
Allen,
I will take a stab at this question.. It seems to me that a variable speed polisher (as used by the body and fender folks) is quite a different animal than a random orbit sander with a foam polishing pad. The ROS is many times more forgivening than the polisher..
In fact I have a Porter Cable 335 right angle ROS that I have outfitted with a Meguairs soft touch foam pad that I use to detail my cars, it does a fabulous job and most importantly it is VERY gentile on the finish, since it can not generate enough heat to burn the finish. But I think if you need to polish out a paint job after painting the surface (especially with a high tech urethane), I think you will find the ROS will be painfully slow (or totally non-effective) as compared to the high speed polisher.
Good luck.
I agree with the previous post. I currently work for a boat dealership and for buffing/waxing we use a Makita 9227C. http://www.makita.com/tools_Item_View.asp?id=257 It takes a little practice but it's far more effective and faster. We do have a random orbit waxer/buffer but it collects dust on the shelf. It's slower than molasses and it doesn't do much when it comes feathering in gel repairs. The Makita does a far better job. I consider the Makita the best buffer/ polisher. It's lighter than the Milwaukee and it has electronic variable speed. For buffing we use Buff Magic- it works well with either hand or machine application. http://yachtbrite.com/ I'd practice in unobtrusive area till you get the hang of it. Watch out for dirt; make sure the hull is clean and be careful how and where you set the buffer down when you're using it. Pick up a few grains of sand and you'll make more work for yourself. Stay away from decals too; if you're too aggressive with the buffer you'll tear up the decals.
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