Polishing machine

J

JIM_TEAL

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I want (need) to acquire a rotoray polisher to clean up my faded hull. On here I have seen posts about the process, and from memory the reccommendations were for "angle grinder" style machines with variable low speed control. Please can I be pointed to suitable machines and some idea of cost. I know that rotoray car polishers are no good.
Regards
Jim
 
Metabo. I've had one for about 8 years for cars, metalwork, and boats. Heavy, but balanced; good range of speeds (essential)
 
I've got an old Rupes industrial one. Mains electric. Will run all day with a couple of people sitting on it and not even get warm. Been sharing it with a mate who also has a boat for 10 years now.
 
They are all quite heavy so become difficult to hold for any length of time , especially above your head.

One tip is to use a bungee cord and hook the polisher to a guard rail or whatever and if adjusted right it will take the weight off your arms.

You can then move it up and down and sideways without much effort.
 
If the mast is still up, I find a longer bungee tied to a halyard works well in that respect. You can do more boat before having to move it, and with a longer bungee, the difference in "pull" between having the polisher up at the toe rail or down at the waterline is negligible.
 
Do the two handed rotary car polishers not work as well? If not is it because of the lack of variable speed?

I polished a painted finish with one years ago with rubbing compound (and very little knowledge) and it worked well. Bit fussier now though, so should I chuck the old car polisher out?
 
Avocet said:
If the mast is still up, I find a longer bungee tied to a halyard works well in that respect. You can do more boat before having to move it, and with a longer bungee, the difference in "pull" between having the polisher up at the toe rail or down at the waterline is negligible.
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Great idea, like that!

+1 for the Silverline machine...
 
Just my 2p's worth to the drift, I wouldn't attach anything to a polisher if I were you.
Unless the polisher was from toys-r-us there is some serious torque at play here. Keep all leads well clear.

Polisher I use is a Flex pe-14-2-150, have several others that don't see daylight anymore.
 
There seems to be a bit of a significant step up in price from the Silverline (~£50) to anything better which people recommend. I found working with the silverline foam and wool heads rather thankless but things became a whole different ballgame after switching to the 3M heads which Marine Reflections generously sent me. I don't have pro tools to compare it with but I was blaming my technique and the compound I'd been using rather than the polisher for bits I was less happy with.

I think I'd invest in a bigger ladder rather than dangle things from above near the polisher and keep the thing no higher than head height. I always make sure the lead goes behind me and keeps away from the head. I had a bad experience 4 years ago that I don't want to repeat...
 
I've not used my silverline yet.
What technique , pads & consumables do people use? eg size of working area etc
I have 40yr old cream gelcoat in resonable nickbut tired
....
 
chewi said:
I've not used my silverline yet.
What technique , pads & consumables do people use? eg size of working area etc
I have 40yr old cream gelcoat in resonable nickbut tired
....
Click to expand...
IN THE PAST
I have alwys used a foam compounding mop and, apart from the first time when i used a Farecla rubbing compound, whatever compound the chandlers i was visiting hd on the shelf.

Experince has shown thar decent qulity mops are worth the extra they cost.

NOW i would suggest that you shpuld follow Marine Reflections advice ....... see the link in post #6 above.

Work on a manageable area. Say a squre metre at a time. Be sure you have a decent platform to work from unless you have a boat small enough to acsee from the ground.
 
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Vics:
Thanks for the ref. to marine reflections...

Laika:
Did you ever resolve how to get the stuff marine reflections recommended? I can see the pads on the 3m website, but not the backing pads... most of itsays professional only.. doe that exclude the lies of us?
 
No. They didn't reply to the initial customer support form I filled in. Then I filled in another and they mailed me back to say they were "chasing" the people responsible. Never heard back. Maybe the people responsible were cheetahs and chasing was futile. That was 3M direct. I also asked 3M's corporate site a question about the grade of scratches FastCut would take out. No reply to their contact form. Very unimpressed.

I'm pretty sure I saw them for sale in YouBoat in Gosport though (I'll check in a few days). There was also a mail order supplier in the north of England mentioned in the thread that VicS that seemed to sell most of the 3M stuff which another forumite was recommending.
 
Back to the original post. An angle grinder is designed with gear ratios to revolve at high speed. You need low speed for polishing to avoid over heating and sending polish everywhere. Unfortunately redicing the speed of an angle grinder reduces the power so with a decent low speed off the job the speed will drag down quickly once you get it working. A proper polisher might look like an angle grinder but has low speed from low (high) gear ratio so more torque less speed just what you want. good luck olewill
 
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