Polishing Machine...... Don't worry it's not the usual polishing thread :)

paultallett

paultallett

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Started on getting the boat ready for 2015 yesterday. Great to be back by the sea and tinkering. I normal polish our boat by hand, she's in great condition so I never think a power polisher is worth spending on.

This winter santa delivered a silverline under the tree so I had my first outting with it yesterday......... Why have I not bought one of these years ago??

I wouldn't say it speeded up the process as it took me about an hour to get to grips with the techniques I'd read about, but firstly I don't have gorilla arms this morning and I can still open and close my fingers...... Big bonus :)

Secondly it's got a more deeper shine in to the hull. She is never heavily oxidised and I'm proud of the shine I normally get, this just appears a little more deeper.

I found the polisher really easy to get on with, so all in all, polishing has gone from a dread in to a real pleasure.
 
paultallett said:
Started on getting the boat ready for 2015 yesterday. Great to be back by the sea and tinkering. I normal polish our boat by hand, she's in great condition so I never think a power polisher is worth spending on.

This winter santa delivered a silverline under the tree so I had my first outting with it yesterday......... Why have I not bought one of these years ago??

I wouldn't say it speeded up the process as it took me about an hour to get to grips with the techniques I'd read about, but firstly I don't have gorilla arms this morning and I can still open and close my fingers...... Big bonus :)

Secondly it's got a more deeper shine in to the hull. She is never heavily oxidised and I'm proud of the shine I normally get, this just appears a little more deeper.

I found the polisher really easy to get on with, so all in all, polishing has gone from a dread in to a real pleasure.
Click to expand...

I have a Silverline polisher too, bought it quite a few years back and its still going strong, usually does at least 5 boats every spring, always lending it out.
 
paultallett said:
Started on getting the boat ready for 2015 yesterday. Great to be back by the sea and tinkering. I normal polish our boat by hand, she's in great condition so I never think a power polisher is worth spending on.

This winter santa delivered a silverline under the tree so I had my first outting with it yesterday......... Why have I not bought one of these years ago??

I wouldn't say it speeded up the process as it took me about an hour to get to grips with the techniques I'd read about, but firstly I don't have gorilla arms this morning and I can still open and close my fingers...... Big bonus :)


Secondly it's got a more deeper shine in to the hull. She is never heavily oxidised and I'm proud of the shine I normally get, this just appears a little more deeper.

I found the polisher really easy to get on with, so all in all, polishing has gone from a dread in to a real pleasure.
Click to expand...
Just do remember to immediately bin any bonnet and backing plates and get some real ones!
 
gjgm said:
Just do remember to immediately bin any bonnet and backing plates and get some real ones!
Click to expand...

What would you recommend. Have to say I started with the blue pad, then on to red. Finally the wool for the final wax and buff. Really impressed with the result considering the low cost of it. The hull literally looks new.
 
paultallett said:
What would you recommend. Have to say I started with the blue pad, then on to red. Finally the wool for the final wax and buff. Really impressed with the result considering the low cost of it. The hull literally looks new.
Click to expand...
Are you using foam pads ?
Difficult to go on colour as there are lots of manufacturers who use all sorts of foams,colours,pad faces etc.
I use 3M wool bonnets (yellow and white) and a 3M backing pad. These are 9 inch or so, so alot larger than a normal foam pad.Wax is just the protective finish- you should have built up the shine with the polish, so I do the wax on/off by hand. I think that is actually quicker !
Have fun here : !
http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-marine-supplies?gclid=COmUirynscMCFYENcwodajkAgA

However, if you are pleased and it is shiny, maybe all is fine. If it lasts, sounds good; if it doesn't last then you probably haven't got the gel back to good shape and have just got a "surface" shine, as it were.
 
gjgm said:
Are you using foam pads ?
Difficult to go on colour as there are lots of manufacturers who use all sorts of foams,colours,pad faces etc.
I use 3M wool bonnets (yellow and white) and a 3M backing pad. These are 9 inch or so, so alot larger than a normal foam pad.Wax is just the protective finish- you should have built up the shine with the polish, so I do the wax on/off by hand. I think that is actually quicker !
Have fun here : !
http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-marine-supplies?gclid=COmUirynscMCFYENcwodajkAgA

However, if you are pleased and it is shiny, maybe all is fine. If it lasts, sounds good; if it doesn't last then you probably haven't got the gel back to good shape and have just got a "surface" shine, as it were.
Click to expand...

Sorry I should have been clearer, I cut using the blue silverline pads till shine was there. Then polished with reds to make it really shine. Then final wax coat to seal the shine. Same as I always do each year, just normally by hand....... and aching arms!!
 
A tip to prevent aching arms is to suspend the polisher by a bungee from a guard rail or halyard so all you have to do is move it about.
The weight is taken by the bungee.
No aching arms.
 
20150125_114732.jpg

20150125_125329.jpg

A couple of pictures from yesterday. On the first you can see how I've just got passed the shore power lead, nice change on shine. Other picture a total mirror finish, you can even see my pink marigolds :)
 
SAMYL said:
A tip to prevent aching arms is to suspend the polisher by a bungee from a guard rail or halyard so all you have to do is move it about.
The weight is taken by the bungee.
No aching arms.
Click to expand...

That's such a great idea. Wonder if the op would have enjoyed reading that on Friday...:D

PS Looks like a fab job has been done
 
benjenbav said:
That's such a great idea. Wonder if the op would have enjoyed reading that on Friday...:D
Click to expand...
Tying a polisher to the boat does not sound a good idea to me ! Lose your grip and you are going to have a hell of a mess on your gel.
You should be using the polisher at around shoulder/chest width, I reckon, 60cm*60cm which is not tiring. You have little control against it gabbing if you go outside that, never mind your own balance.
 
My polisher is about to die, time for a new one.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it may help others :)

My main issue I found was the weight of the unit being an issue after a few hours. I'm looking for a lightweight polisher, which I know won't be the cheapest.

When Googling I found an old YBW thread and someone recommended this as it's lightweight: http://www.powertoolsalesuk.com/lh18ens.html

Wonder if anyone found anything else, maybe even cheaper? I'm after a rotary, not random orbital.
 
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I have the Silverline which is a bit heavy, and the Makita which is a bit lighter.. seems a bit lighter in use than the weight difference suggests. Still, I would say that your technique has something to do with it. If I use the machine in front of me, the weight is fine. If I start to try to polish a bit further outside that, then the weight becomes more obvious. Of course having a platform means you can move your body, whereas if you are on a ladder you can only lean. Maybe it is how you use it is something also to consider ?
 
lanerboy said:
sorry for the slight thread drift but I have just put a duel action polisher in the for sale section if anyone is interested as I ended up with 2
Click to expand...


Yes, and I'm putting a Rupes polisher on next week (supposedly the dogs danglies of polishers)

Just need to get down the boat this weekend and strip off all the equipment and decide what to ask for it

May
Xx
 
alt said:
My polisher is about to die, time for a new one.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it may help others :)

My main issue I found was the weight of the unit being an issue after a few hours. I'm looking for a lightweight polisher, which I know won't be the cheapest.

When Googling I found an old YBW thread and someone recommended this as it's lightweight: http://www.powertoolsalesuk.com/lh18ens.html

Wonder if anyone found anything else, maybe even cheaper? I'm after a rotary, not random orbital.
Click to expand...

Quite a few years back we replaced all our valeters mops with lightweight Sealey units, have been good products, slightly noisier that the previous units they used but apart from that the guys prefer them as less tiring to use, especially if you are using them 5 days a week!

I will have a look at models numbers, there were around £75 each from memory.

Edited bit, I'm pretty sure this is them! http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/121185...1=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0
 
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SAMYL said:
A tip to prevent aching arms is to suspend the polisher by a bungee from a guard rail or halyard so all you have to do is move it about.
The weight is taken by the bungee.
No aching arms.
Click to expand...

This seems to come up often, very often, granted it could be a possible wind up, the pun is unfortunate!

This is of course just one mans opinion, I use a polisher virtually every day and have nearly 30 years experience.
I offer a simple warning -
If you had any common sense whatsoever you would not tie a bungee to something that has serious torque and certainly when it is spinning at 2000 rpm.
When it catches the bungee (and it will) please have a video recording of the event so i can post a video warning to save anyone making this mistake.


The weight of a polisher plays a factor certainly, but it is the technique you use that will save your back and arms, the weight of the machine is nothing compared to the difference between fighting the spin rather than utilising it.

The amount of product you use for the worked area, the pad v product choice, even the working angle of contact are all more important than the weight of the machine.
 
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