Quandary
Well-Known Member
The dog was in the back barking mad so I scraped the rear door of the car on the gate pillar and by the time I had filled, primed and painted it I had coated the bottom half of the door, steep learning curve but apparently the final shade of metallics is a consequence of the amount of sanding you do to the flakes before applying clear coat, and then later you have to buff the 'orange peel' off the clearcoat. So I decided I should buy a buffer/ polisher which then can be put to good use every year polishing the topsides. In the process using Google and Utube I discovered the massive world of 'detailing' inhabited by hordes of experts and obsessives which make boat owners with their epoxy habit look like rank amateurs.
Apparently, straightforward rotary polishers with 1200w. motors should only be handled by folk with massive experience, so my plan to buy one from Silverline or Sealey had to change, beginner 'detailers' like me should only use DA machines (dual action, or in our world random orbital) much harder, apparently, to do damage with these and they are about half the weight of a Silverline which will be an advantage for the boat job.
Of course the price of these little rotary motors varies enormously and the recommended models retail for up to £400, no way am I spending that.
In the cheaper category there is a Katsu sold by Amazon and a Challenge Extreme sold by Argos £50 and £60 respectively, then there is a Duren for about £80. all 600w. variable speed and similar in spec and warranty. The 'cheapy' that the experts condescendingly deign to mention is Deltalyo Kestrel DAS6 sold under a host of badges in a variety of models rising from 500w to 900w the latter with a 15mm. throw compared to the normal 8mm. but costing £160.
Does anyone use a cheap 600 watt dual action polisher to do their topsides, how does it cope? Mine hopefully will only be out once a year so reliability is not going to be a major issue but performance is. I can also use it to sand the keel when I need to.
£50 or £60 can go on my list for Santa but £160 might be greedy and have to be reciprocated.
Apparently, straightforward rotary polishers with 1200w. motors should only be handled by folk with massive experience, so my plan to buy one from Silverline or Sealey had to change, beginner 'detailers' like me should only use DA machines (dual action, or in our world random orbital) much harder, apparently, to do damage with these and they are about half the weight of a Silverline which will be an advantage for the boat job.
Of course the price of these little rotary motors varies enormously and the recommended models retail for up to £400, no way am I spending that.
In the cheaper category there is a Katsu sold by Amazon and a Challenge Extreme sold by Argos £50 and £60 respectively, then there is a Duren for about £80. all 600w. variable speed and similar in spec and warranty. The 'cheapy' that the experts condescendingly deign to mention is Deltalyo Kestrel DAS6 sold under a host of badges in a variety of models rising from 500w to 900w the latter with a 15mm. throw compared to the normal 8mm. but costing £160.
Does anyone use a cheap 600 watt dual action polisher to do their topsides, how does it cope? Mine hopefully will only be out once a year so reliability is not going to be a major issue but performance is. I can also use it to sand the keel when I need to.
£50 or £60 can go on my list for Santa but £160 might be greedy and have to be reciprocated.
