Dual action polisher?

[Quandary]

I do not want to hi-jack the other thread as my need is a bit different and my experience less though I have borrowed polishers in the past with varying satisfaction.
My son has a Laser 2000 in dark colours with a faded gelcoat that he has asked me to restore over the winter, my own Moody is white and reasonably shiny despite only ever being polished and waxed by hand. If we buy a polisher it will have some intensive work to do on the dinghy and I will probably go over the Moody topsides with it but after that it probably will not get a lot of use, unless we find it is easier than hand waxing. It might get occasional use on a car
I did researh this a bit a few years back and my recollection was that 7" Silverline or similar needed some skill and experience and dual action was better forbeginners but slower, but then gelcoat is thicker than car paint. Rupes and similar were recommended but seemed expensive for what I planned to do. There seems to be a big variation in speed ranges with some going as slow as 300rpm and some 2000, slow is good, right? Weight is probably greater in the budget range but for the limited use I think we might put up with that. I have read some car detailing posts in the past but some of those guys seem to be a bit obsessive, I am expecting a more down to earth response here.
So my question is really this, if we buy a 'budget' range polisher should it be dual action or straight rotary, are there other important criteria such as pad size and minimum speed, any recommendations as to model, pads and polishes?

 

[Bobc]

Go for the Silverline polisher, and buy some 3M wool bonnets for it.

For the faded Laser, you'll probably be best to give it a go over with 600, then 1,000 wet & dry to get the oxidised top surface off, then you can cut it in with something like 3M fastcut, then polish it with 3M Finesse-it, then wax it with a good quality wax. The Laser will be an excellent student for you to learn on.

 

[TernVI]

Dual action polisher = a piece of wet sand paper in each hand.

These days, wet&dry is available in 2000, 4000 grit and beyond, I only use my polisher for final going over with G10.
It would be different if I was trying to make a living at it, I'm sure.

 

[PCUK]

Personally I wouldn't cut it, I would use Farecla G3 first an then finish off with 3M Fineese-it. Also, a variable speed polisher is essential and definitely do not get a sander/polisher.

 

[RJJ]

Hi, is it this one? I am pondering the same:

Silverline 110W 240mm Polisher 240V

Or this one:

Silverline Electric 180mm Polisher/Sander | Force 4 Chandlery

 

[FlyingGoose]

I went for an expense polisher with different speed settings , this allowed to get the cutting polish on, and slowly increase the speed so the stuff did not fly off,
the speed also allowed for long cutting in without burn , then a faster speed for final polish
This was on a bad 42 ft hull. so I went for the best spec for the Job as I will use it more than once or twice,
3m wool heads yellow and white
As said above wet and dry 600 grit to 1000 grit by hand will give you an excellent surface to work off from , I did my whole hull this way , then polished with cutting compound then finally polish and wax
But the argument to spend a lot of money on a tool that you will use not often ,ways into the factor , I would assume the silver line will work but be careful for burn.

 

[Bobc]

Hi, is it this one? I am pondering the same:

Silverline 110W 240mm Polisher 240V

Or this one:

Silverline Electric 180mm Polisher/Sander | Force 4 Chandlery

The second one (Force 4). You can buy it cheaper from Toolstation though. BTW, it has variable speed, so the same as FG above suggests. I have one and have used it on my hull for many years now with excellent results, and also use it to machine polish the Porsche (but with different mops).

 

[Bobc]

Personally I wouldn't cut it, I would use Farecla G3 first an then finish off with 3M Fineese-it. Also, a variable speed polisher is essential and definitely do not get a sander/polisher.

G3 is a cutting compound, pretty much the same as 3M Fastcut.

 

[Quandary]

Hi, is it this one? I am pondering the same:

Silverline 110W 240mm Polisher 240V

Or this one:

Silverline Electric 180mm Polisher/Sander | Force 4 Chandlery

I have had one of the very cheap two handed type similar to the one at the top for donkeys years, rarely used as I can do the job better by hand, my son went and bought another one without consultation, part of the reason why I am looking for something effective for polishing rather than just waxing. Force 4 do not seem to give much technical info re things like speed, weight etc but I suppose this data is available elsewhere. Would like to hear from someone who has used a dual action one , they seem to be cheaper than straight rotary but go at a higher speed. I notice most of the cheapies Siverline, Draper etc seem to look remarkably similar I suppose the factory in China will put any badge on them? I have packs of wet and dry from 600-2000 grit which I got for polishing acrylic and repairing minor gelcoat scratches and dinks, not sure I want to hand polish all of the Laser that way though.

 

[Bobc]

The dual action ones are ok for sticking a bit of wax onto a car, but close to useless for polishing a boat.

This is the same as the Silverline one, just with a different brand sticker on

 

[VicS]

+1 for the Silverline sander-polisher

 

[Deleted member 36384]

My Rival has old, faded, "Seagull Grey" colour gel coat. I used the product International Marine Polish "Restore", orange band, as opposed to a green band.

Marine Polish for Boatcare | International

It worked very well, just rubbing with a cloth in the usual rotary motion by hand. I only prepped by washing the surface with fresh water, then set about polishing. The surface discolouration went away and the coaming polished up very well. I would imagine that Laser hull on a pair of trestles would be very easy and quick to do by hand. If you have time to wait, I can drop off a bottle sometime early November to try.

 

[Caer Urfa]

You gets what you pay for in polishers but few people read how to use them properly, I have had a Meguiars MT 320 for 15 years and one of the best bits of kit I have bought, light in weight (a big plus) , robust, dual action good, cheap no but does the job and lasts

 

[richardbrennan]

These polishers should hopefully last for years, so spending more, when averaged out over time, is not exactly extravagant.

The critical thing for me is the weight, and I have a Rupes polisher which weighs just 2 kg, (I believe the Meguiars ones are similar), which is about half of the Silverline and similar models. This makes an enormous difference on a larger yacht, I have seen here suggestions that you can suspend the heavier polishers on a piece of bungee, but do you really want to fuff about like that? On the other hand, you may be an 18 stone weightlifter and the heavier ones will not be a problem!

 

[Quandary]

Thanks, Boots, my son lives in Glasgow and the dinghy stays at Helensburgh, they have a club rule requiring their yard to be completely cleared for a week or so around the turn of the year so I suspect (Covid permitting) it will be coming down here then. He has already invested in a pack of International products and hopefully your recommendation is among them. I have always polished my own boats by hand (using 3M polishes) but these have always been white hulls so keep their gloss fairly well and are easy to shine.
I take the point about weight, Richard, the Silverline/Draper/ Clarke basic rotary polisher is around 3.2 kgs. with a 7" pad, part of the attraction of the dual action models is they are lighter, 1200 w. seems a lot of power to do a not very heavy job?
My sailing (and boat polishing) days are drawing to a close, so on the assumption these things are only done every couple of years. I may only do it once hence my parsimony, my son as a city dweller does not collect power tools like I do. I am tempted to hold off until I see the dinghy, meantime I can go round the Moody with Cif and 3M cleaner wax as usual.

 

[richardbrennan]

I really don't think the dual action models will cut it, if you will excuse the pun!

 

[Ian_Edwards]

I bought a Meguiars dual action about 10 years ago, It's light and doesn't get hot or burn the gelcoat, using 3M foam pads which you can wash easily, and Meguiars 67 one step I can cut and polish a 46ft boat in a day, quite easily. I bought 4 pads, 2 yellow, 2 black, and I'm still using them.
I beleave in buying good tools that are easy to use and last. In general I found that more expensive tool are expensive for a reason, and that's not just excessive profit, in general they work better and last. Each to his own

 

[Quandary]

I have seen and Mr Edwards 46 footer, if he can get those results in a day with a dual action polisher I think they must be capable of getting a result on a 31' Moody, I will ask my son if he wants to make a lifetime investment here though I suspect I already know the answer. Like most busy young folk these days working all the hours God sends he has no ambition to own a yacht, he gets all the sailing he wants racing on other peoples Sigmas.

My thanks for all those that took time to give me advice, it is appreciated.