Mains polisher v cordless

Thepipdoc

Thepipdoc

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After 3 seasons of polishing by hand I'm looking to buy a proper polisher.
The question is:
Is it worth considering a cordless polisher or is mains 240v the way to go?
Are there any good cordless polishers that are better than others? (I'm leaning towards the cordless jobbie for convenience sake)
Cheers
 
The mains "polishers" that are available are not a lot of use anyway. A cordless would be even more useless. The normally available mains ones stall if you press even slightly hard.

The guys in the yard who do the polishing use a powerful angle grinder with a polishing head on.
 
Thepipdoc said:
After 3 seasons of polishing by hand I'm looking to buy a proper polisher.
The question is:
Is it worth considering a cordless polisher or is mains 240v the way to go?
Are there any good cordless polishers that are better than others? (I'm leaning towards the cordless jobbie for convenience sake)
Cheers
Click to expand...

For componding/restoration I bought and am pleased with the Silverline polisher from Toolstation

84532.jpg
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+Tools/Polishers/Sander+Polisher+180mm+230V/d40/sd3309/p84532




For light buffing this one will do the trick

52526.jpg
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+Tools/Polishers/Polisher+240V/d40/sd3309/p52526

Cordless / 12volt for very light work only based on what people have said on here in the past.


:)
 
Ostell, angle grinders and proper polishers are quite different designs in terms of motor speed and torque. They may look similar, but they are not.

A cordless one is unlikely to have enough power reserve to do more than an hour or so before needing a recharge.

FWIW I Have a Metabo polisher PE12, bought about eight years ago on the recommendation of a forunite with a cleaning company. Excellent long-lasting tool, with a wide variety of heads. Easily attached to a bungee cord for taking the weight of your arms.
 
It's the "light buffing" ones I find almost useless. The one shaped like an angle grinder is what I would think is the best and must be what the professionals in the yard are using.
 
this is the latest version of the Metabo. They do come up on ebay from time time at good BIN prices.

Whilst I like the look and spec of the variable action polisher in the previous post, I prefere the variable speed of the Metabo, as it can cope with many different surfaces and treatment protocols.
 
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Use a mains polisher, a proper one, not a modified angle grinder or a rechargable. To make the job easier - these things get heavier every minute they are in use! - rig up a counterbalance - I use a plastic 2-litre milk container filled with water. Tie a long cord to it, and pass it over the boat and tie it to the polisher. You'll have to move the cord position from time to time, but the job is much easier as you don't have to hold up the weight of the polisher.
 
Polisher

As said and to reiterate an angle grinder might run at 13000RPM and is far too fast and not enough torque. It will burn and destroy the mop. A polisher might run at several hundred RPM with corresponding torque. No I don't think a battery polisher would be much use. Just not enough power. olewill
 
I use a Porter Cable 7424 dual action polisher, its one of the best you can get with a huge orbit, so polishes faster than most and its rated for continuous use which is important when your polishing something as big as a boat !

i've had it 8 years now and its still going strong
 
VicS said:
For componding/restoration I bought and am pleased with the Silverline polisher from Toolstation

84532.jpg
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+Tools/Polishers/Sander+Polisher+180mm+230V/d40/sd3309/p84532


:)
Click to expand...

+1
I used this bad boy onboard a 64 ft yacht, so some serious amount of hull to get through. Still going strong. Bargain that can easily be replaced without breaking the bank. I looked at others from the big brands like 3M and at £250 I was shocked. It might have a nice handle but I would buy three of the cheaper ones, invite a couple of mates around for BBQ and Beers to do the hull. :-)) I did the hull on my own "£$%^" it took me all week 3 part system.

I bought mine on Amazon.co.uk
 
TopDonkey said:
I use a Porter Cable 7424 dual action polisher, its one of the best you can get with a huge orbit, so polishes faster than most and its rated for continuous use which is important when your polishing something as big as a boat !
Click to expand...

The PC 7424 is the original dual action polisher, and is what I have. The only drawback is that it runs on 110V, so you need a transformer in most parts of the world.
 
It's unlikely that even electric tools described as "professional" are actually used by many professionals. Most of them will use air powered tools because they are lighter, more powerful and variable speed. Of course most of us don't own a compressor!
 
If you have access to 240V then a mains one will be much cheaper and more effective. As others have said, there is a big difference between a polishing machine and an angle grinder.

What you want is a rotary polisher that has low RPMs. You'll be using about 600-1500rpm max for polishing. Many angle grinders start at 3000rpm, which is way too fast. You can get polishing machines really cheaply that will work just fine for years.

Just as important is to use the right compounds for the job. Farecla or 3M(the automotive stuff not the marine) are great.

Finally you must wax with a good UV resistant product after polishing if you dont want it to chalk up again, you can either do that by hand or with one of the light buffing machines VicS linked.
 
Thepipdoc said:
http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/images/upload/BO5041-web_280x280.jpg

It just occurred to me - I have one of the above sanders which accepts polishing pads.
It's described s "random orbital" which I assume is the same a "dual action".
Would this do the job?
Click to expand...

Although Nigel claims it's not the same thing, the article on dual action polishers which he gave a link to states "By dual action, it means that the pad not only spins in a circle, but it also oscillates. This results in a random orbit movement of the pad – sometimes such polishes are referred to as “Random-Orbit” polishers (RO polishers) for this reason."
 
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