Mains polisher v cordless

Thepipdoc said:
Now some of you are saying a rotary is what I need and others are saying a dual action...
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A rotary is the fastest, but can lead to swirls in the finish; a dual action reduces this risk. The other problem with the rotary type is they are bulky, and not ideal for manoeuvring around; they are generally designed to be used horizontally, with their not inconsiderable weight maintaining the pressure.

If you decide on a rotary, do not use the lambs wool pads that come with it, nor the thick foam pads; get some proper polishing pads in various grades. Never use the device at more than 2 or 3 on the speed dial.

The best place for advice on this is the Detailing World forum; mainly aimed at car paintwork, but there is much good info on GRP.
 
nigelmercier said:
The DAS-6 is 2.6kg, not a great deal less I agree, but perhaps it feels easier because it is more compact.
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That is significantly less I would say . For just buffing, perfect, but rather expensive

I bought the Silverline one principally for compounding so a random orbit one would not have been suitable.
I note that there are some lightweight rotary machines on the same website but rather more expensive than the Silverline one
 
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Thepipdoc said:
Would you advise going for this specific polisher Nigel?
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I personally don't have a DAS-6, but I do plan to get one as taking a 110V transformer to the boat is a PITA, my polisher is a US model.

If you ask on the Detailing World forum, you will probably find out who has the DAS-6 cheapest at the moment, and if it is still the best buy. They are very friendly, and if you tell them you want to polish GRP they will suggest what pads and liquids to use. Note that it is worth getting both small and large pads.

[Later] I've asked the question on your behalf.
 
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nigelmercier said:
I personally don't have a DAS-6, but I do plan to get one as taking a 110V transformer to the boat is a PITA.

If you ask on the Detailing World forum, you will probably find out who has the DAS-6 cheapest at the moment, and if it is still the best buy. They are very friendly, and if you tell them you want to polish GRP they will suggest what pads and liquids to use. Note that it is worth getting both small and large pads.
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Thanks.

According to the spec its 240v.
 
The DA machines mentioned above are all very decent bits of kit. However, my honest view, if you are a weekend polisher of your gelcoat to spruce the boat up, would be to buy one of the cheaper dedicated rotaries, the Silverlines are decent enough or that one on Cleanyourcar which looks nice and light but I haven't seen any users views on it. If you use a rotary sensibly, stick to the lower speeds and keep the pad moving over the work area you are not really very likely to inflict any damage.

DAs do also work perfectly well but the rotaries offer a bit more cut in most circumstances.

There are also plenty of pads available in all grades of aggresiveness as well as different compounds specifically for gel coat.
 
I have the DAS 6 Pro but don't find it very good for the boat. It has a clutch and so stops turning on anything other than a relatively flat surface. Having said that, I used it on my sons car and the results were very impressive. From my limited experience, removing light scratches and swirls from lacquer on a car requires a lot less effort than light scratches and general fading in the gel coat of a boat. Whilst doing my boat with the DAS 6 Pro earlier this year, a friend brought along a cheaper single action polisher which doesn't have a clutch and it was significantly more efficient and gave much better results in less time, the down side was that it was a good bit heavier and chewed polishing pads if it got too close to something like a stainless window surround as it just keeps on spinning and doesn't use velcro backed pads.
 
MikeA said:
I have the DAS 6 Pro but don't find it very good for the boat. It has a clutch and so stops turning on anything other than a relatively flat surface. Having said that, I used it on my sons car and the results were very impressive. From my limited experience, removing light scratches and swirls from lacquer on a car requires a lot less effort than light scratches and general fading in the gel coat of a boat. Whilst doing my boat with the DAS 6 Pro earlier this year, a friend brought along a cheaper single action polisher which doesn't have a clutch and it was significantly more efficient and gave much better results in less time, the down side was that it was a good bit heavier and chewed polishing pads if it got too close to something like a stainless window surround as it just keeps on spinning and doesn't use velcro backed pads.
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Its not a clutch, its just the type of drive that the random orbitals use, generally, if it stops spinning, its a sign that you are pressing too hard and your in danger of destroying the foam pad due to pressure and overheating.

And different makes of car have different hardness of paint, try polishing a BMW or an Audi, then you'll know what hard paint is like ! its like polishing stone lol whereas Vauxhall paint is very soft and care has to be taken when polishing it not to actually damage the paint, you wouldnt generally use a rotary on a Vauxhall

A Dual action machine is fine for using on a boat and can produce very good results, but a rotary generally needs an experienced person to get a similar finish to the DA, but is faster, so to sum up, DA is slow but very safe, rotary is fast buy dangerous in unskilled hands, both produce very good results, but in a different way
 
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TopDonkey said:
A Dual action machine is fine for using on a boat and can produce very good results, but a rotary generally needs an experienced person to get a similar finish to the DA, but is faster, so to sum up, DA is slow but very safe, rotary is fast buy dangerous in unskilled hands, both produce very good results, but in a different way
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An excellent summary.
 
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