First DA orbital polisher

Looking to buy my first orbital polisher. Looking to stay in the $150 range plus pads polish etc. Of course I did some google research, but would like some forum member real-world advice. Thanks

At it's price point the porter cable is a good polisher/sander. That'e what I use

I 2nd what [emoji115] said

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I have at least 100 hours of actual running time on my PC, never had a single issue. I've ran it for about 18 hours straight before (minus quick food breaks.) It is a long proven great machine for the money.

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Griot's Garage with their BOSS pads and polishes

Get the PC "HD" from Autogeek. I bought the Heavy Duty version with the longer & higher rated cord. Has performed great for several years. Autogeek has regular sales.

If you want to go "high end" buy a Flex. I never could justify the cost as I've used both.

I have an older Griot's Garage random orbital polisher with the longer and heavier cord. The handle system is a little different then the current models. No issues with it and it serves me well.

The Porter Cable 7424XP is probably the most purchased 'first' DA on the market. It's an excellent, durable, machine that has a pretty high safety margin for a beginner. I have several PCs (different backing plate sizes for different size pads) and in my experience, the most universal pad size will be the 5 1/2". With the PC, I also prefer thinner pads and find the 7/8" thick Lake Country flat pads to be ideal.

The thinner the pad, the more efficient the PC will operate. If the pad is too thick, you'll actually lose some correcting capability because thick foam won't allow all of the action being imparted at the backing plate to transfer all the way to face of the pad against the paint. You should be able to pick up an entire kit (PC, backing plate, pads) from one of the larger online detailing companies for roughly around your budget.

After you've mastered the PC, if you choose, you can step up to one of the FLEX or Rupes DA machines. 9 times out of 10 I reach for my FLEX XC3401 forced-rotation DA, but I wouldn't recommend them for a beginner because the forced-rotation (think rotary polisher) doesn't offer as much of a safety margin as a traditional DA polisher. Having said that, the PC can do everything that the more expensive machines can do, it will just require the right pad/speed combination and take more time. Otherwise, it's a fine machine.

For a beginner, the Porter Cable cannot be beat! I still own and regularly use one of the originals even! Gotta be 20 or so years old now with a thousand or more hours! The PC will probably be the only DA you'll ever need as a DIYer coupled with the right pads and the right products!

Thanks for all of the feedback. Found the PC 7424xp for $120 and the Griots G9 for $150.
Are all pads compatible with all polishers?

As far as the velcro pads go they all work on all of them as long as you have the correct diameter backing plate for the selected pad

You can't go wrong with the PC.

A couple of pointers if you are new to DA's.

- Get a good 12 gauge extension cord and probably keep it under 20 feet. Don't skimp here, too much load will burn the tool up.

- It is really easy to use too much pressure. You won't do any damage to anything by having too much pressure but you also aren't getting any work done. So, on your backing plate draw a little line with a sharpie. If the line isn't going around then you are using too much pressure.

Todd thanks for the tips......any help/advice is appreciated.

While I'm not the OP I've also never used a DA to polish and correct. And this will be my first attempt in december when I get it for Christmas. I was going to go with the boss g9 from griots. I looked into the PC and found the 7424xp for 120 on amazon. However, I can get the g9 with 2 6.5" correcting pads and 2 6.5" polishing pads with a bottle of correcting cream and finishing sealant for 200 bucks.. it's called their essentials kit. This way all I have to add is wax. Currently I'm looking at adding their liquid gloss poly wax. If the OP hasn't purchased yet, might be worth a look. You can also call griots for recommendations.

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I havent purchased yet. Mines a b-day present couple weeks

18ram18 said:

I havent purchased yet. Mines a b-day present couple weeks

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Let me know what you think about griots. Adam's also has a mystery box that includes a 15mm orbital and 200 bucks worth of product for a total of 300 bucks. It I didnt already have my stuff started with griots I'd have done this. But the mystery bags dont last long supposedly...

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Im in the market for a new polisher as well. Rocking my HF da and it works but it takes a while (IMHO) to fix small imperfections.

Im just a DIY-er but value my time enough that Id like something that works faster, but I dont need pro-level.

The Adams deal seems pretty decent, but you can get the same polisher off Alibaba it seems, for less money. I was looking at 15mm throw orbitals, relegating my HF to 3" work (or leaving it with a 5" backing pad like it has now), so Griots Boss 15, the Alibaba special, used Rupes 15. Also thinking about stretching to a Flex if I can find a deal, but not sure about the forced rotation thing....I want the job to be fun, not a chore.

Finally, Griot's had to throw a wrench in the works with the G9. I know its not 15mm but the price is outstanding and of course the lifetime warranty.

chrisbh17 said:

Im in the market for a new polisher as well. Rocking my HF da and it works but it takes a while (IMHO) to fix small imperfections.

Im just a DIY-er but value my time enough that Id like something that works faster, but I dont need pro-level.

The Adams deal seems pretty decent, but you can get the same polisher off Alibaba it seems, for less money. I was looking at 15mm throw orbitals, relegating my HF to 3" work (or leaving it with a 5" backing pad like it has now), so Griots Boss 15, the Alibaba special, used Rupes 15. Also thinking about stretching to a Flex if I can find a deal, but not sure about the forced rotation thing....I want the job to be fun, not a chore.

Finally, Griot's had to throw a wrench in the works with the G9. I know its not 15mm but the price is outstanding and of course the lifetime warranty.

Click to expand...

I'm more than likely going to get the g9 essentials pack since I already have mainly griots products..

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I like the Griots, just polished and waxed mine for the winter, and wow that tool made it way easier. First picture shows the wilderness pin stripes from many back road adventures this past summer. The recast are after shots

Nice job LarryA, the truck looks great. That is the same Griot's polisher I have, but with the optional longer cord.