Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

[Tinkerer]

A while back I snapped up a 10" auto polisher at a sale for $25, which is half the best price I'd ever seen. Just saw the price and didn't even check the specs. Thought I'd got a bargain.<br /><br />Was useless when I tried it. No guts. My power drill kills it as a polisher.<br /><br />The thread on "Restoring Sanded Gelcoat" http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=26;t=002678 got me looking at some polishing machines today. Then it got me looking at the one I bought.<br /><br />The 7" sanders like the one in the gelcoat thread are generally rated from about 1200 to 1600 watts. If the one in the gelcoat thread is meant for 110V it's a 1200 watt machine.<br /><br />In case you don't use watts in the US, 1 horsepower = about 750 watts.<br /><br />Then I checked my bargain. No watts or horsepower stated. Just 240v and .33 (that's point 33) amps. It's a real powerhouse with all of 80 watts, or less than one tenth of a horsepower. Not to mention driving a pad with maybe twice the surface area of a 7" pad. Not hard to work out why the maker didn't state the power conventionally in watts or horsepower. So that suckers like me wouldn't realise what a useless piece of junk it is.<br /><br />Not surprising that my power drill is better. It has 8 times the power. Not surprising that real polishers, like the one in the gelcoat thread, are even better. They have at least twice the power of my drill. Or up to 20 times the power of my useless polisher.<br /><br />I must write out 100 times: Always check the power ratings before buying. Just because the tool looks like the other ones doesn't mean it'll do the same job.

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

I would have to say, if you know what you are doing, and won't "burn through" the gellcoat, the propper equipment is very important. If you want to get professional results, you have to have professional tools. Just remember, a pro polisher, with a wool pad turning 3000 rpms with agressive compound will go through gellcoat quite a bit faster than a foam pad, on a drill at 600 rpms. If you change tools durring a project.....the results will be different.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

yeah, all the 'red flags' were there.. no 'specs' label & price.. but the high of the bargin rush overtook you..( it happens to the best of us )..<br /><br />now go spank yourself .. lets not have that happen again .. especially an iboats member..

 

[Mark42]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Tinkerer,<br /><br />Yep, we use watts here all the time... Watts up? <br /><br />Yeah, 88 watts does not sound like much. So you run on a 240V? Is it 240 like we have here where two 120 circuits are combined to make the 240, or is it that you run a higher voltage? Are high amp appliances like a stove a 480V?<br /><br />Anyway, I wonder if that machine is really intended to buff/polish WAX, not for abrasive compounds. Could be. Especially with the 10" bonnet.<br /><br />My Makita Chinese 'knock off' is about 1200 to 1800 watts. But when running on low speeds, say 1000 - 2000 rpm, it probably only pulls 300 - 400 watts. <br /><br />You might want to check out how thick the gel coat is on your boat. Maybe remove some piece of deck hardware and look at the screw hole, or drill a fresh clean hole with 1/8" bit to see the thickness. <br /><br />Good luck looking for a new machine.<br /><br />Mark

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Originally posted by crab bait:<br /> yeah, all the 'red flags' were there.. no 'specs' label & price.. but the high of the bargin rush overtook you..( it happens to the best of us )..<br /><br />now go spank yourself .. lets not have that happen again .. especially an iboats member..

No red flags this time.<br /><br />I didn't see or read anything except the sign that said "$25".<br /><br />DOH!

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Mark<br /><br />Electricity supply is one of the many fields in which my ignorance is of world beating standard.<br /><br />As far as I know we have 240v AC here. Touch it and you die.<br /><br />No idea what an electric stove runs at. If my wife cooks something on one, eat it and you die!<br /><br />I thought that the US ran on 110v which was less dangerous than our supply. I thought you had unswitched outlets where we have switched ones becuase an arc can be nasty here, although it's largely a theoretical risk.<br /><br />My cheap polisher is flat out turning around, never mind getting a shine on anything. I've polished things by hand and then had a go with the machine to see if it could put the final gloss on it. It can't.<br /><br />I'm inclined to stick with hand work, especially as boats have lots of curved surfaces. More tedious but better results.

 

[BillP]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Good point. In the states its easier to checks amps when buying power tools. The Harborfreight $25 variable speed cheapo I bought is is 11 amps. For comparision, my old Miller Falls 2 speed industrial is 10 amps but all the parts heavy duty and weight 2x as much @ 14lbs. Its already done a couple dozen major boat rebuilds and needed only brush changes and one trigger switch. When you compare parts the HF's are about 1/2 the size so I doubt the life is near as long. The lightweight and variable speed is NICE.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Originally posted by BillP:<br /> When you compare parts the HF's are about 1/2 the size so I doubt the life is near as long. The lightweight and variable speed is NICE.

I decided a while ago to go with the cheapies that come in from who knows where in Asia unless serious precision is required.<br /><br />They're crappo stuff with harsh brush motors and questionable tolerances but they work for 99% of the work I do. They're also better than some of my older quality Skil etc drills from 35 years ago. They also come out of the same factories that are making today's "quality" tools.<br /><br />My good 25 y.o. drill died a while back. I could have taken it to a repairer who'd charge me $45 to $65 just to tell me what was wrong with it. Plus another $50 upwards to fix it. Or I could buy the current equivalent for about $160.<br /><br />I bought a $24.99 piece of crappo from China. When it breaks I'll buy another one. It's done some serious work but it's still going strong, although it's a noisy, harsh beast like I expected it would be when I bought it.<br /><br />If I was in a trade with heavy use I might take a different view, but from blokes I know in trades a lot of them take the same view. Especially as their tools get left on sites or stolen.

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

it think the poorer quality stuff just has less torqe for when you realy lean into it,it will just slow down to much .......i buy all makita or contractor grade stuff now ...i got a realy trick orbital sandar with a forced rotation switch on the side ,so i can make it just orbit or orbit and rotate at the same time ,way cool.

 

[jimmythekid]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

check and see but i would be willing to bet that somewhere on it it says "made in China" I try to stay away from anything that says that on it. In fact I am not a big fan of Makita either, but thats just me. Seems like the major players in the power tool world, are having a price war lately, and when that happens quality inevitably suffers. I prefer Milwaukee Power tools, although I do have a $25 el cheapo circular saw, that doesnt owe me anything.

 

[bigbad4cyl]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

i like milwakee and dewalt hd stuff ,even snap on ,,,but they are to bulky and heavy,,,,,you can get the same power and quality out of a makita with a lot less weight...alot like the porter cable stuff to.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

<br /><br /><br />As far as I know we have 240v AC here. Touch it and you die.<br /><br />No idea what an electric stove runs at. If my wife cooks something on one, eat it and you die!<br /><br />.........................................<br /><br />that's a good one.. ..

 

[BillP]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Originally posted by Tinkerer:<br />

Originally posted by BillP:<br /> When you compare parts the HF's are about 1/2 the size so I doubt the life is near as long. The lightweight and variable speed is NICE.

I decided a while ago to go with the cheapies that come in from who knows where in Asia unless serious precision is required.<br /><br />They're crappo stuff with harsh brush motors and questionable tolerances but they work for 99% of the work I do. They're also better than some of my older quality Skil etc drills from 35 years ago. They also come out of the same factories that are making today's "quality" tools.<br /><br />My good 25 y.o. drill died a while back. I could have taken it to a repairer who'd charge me $45 to $65 just to tell me what was wrong with it. Plus another $50 upwards to fix it. Or I could buy the current equivalent for about $160.<br /><br />I bought a $24.99 piece of crappo from China. When it breaks I'll buy another one. It's done some serious work but it's still going strong, although it's a noisy, harsh beast like I expected it would be when I bought it.<br /><br />If I was in a trade with heavy use I might take a different view, but from blokes I know in trades a lot of them take the same view. Especially as their tools get left on sites or stolen.

Your right about repair costs. Just brushes and switch for my old Miller Falls were about the same ($25) as the HarborFreight sander/polisher ($29.99). I bought the HF tool to use because the MF parts were on order and not expected for 2-3 weeks. Now I pull it off the shelf first to use due to the light weight and variable speed.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Originally posted by crab bait:<br />

<br /><br /><br />As far as I know we have 240v AC here. Touch it and you die.<br /><br />No idea what an electric stove runs at. If my wife cooks something on one, eat it and you die!<br /><br />.........................................<br /><br />that's a good one.. ..

Or she sees this and I die!

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Those little Harbor frieght polishers are a bargain, I have one and I have abused the crap out of it. Its noisy as heck, but I grease it after every use as there is only one bearing in there, but as a throw away tool, it works fine.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Originally posted by LubeDude:<br /> Those little Harbor frieght polishers are a bargain, I have one and I have abused the crap out of it. Its noisy as heck, but I grease it after every use as there is only one bearing in there, but as a throw away tool, it works fine.

LubeDude, I bought one of those last summer. I'm chicken to use it tho. I'm afraid of burning through the paint. I got three questions for ya. How do you grease the bearing?, did your unit come with a tie on pad and do you use it or did you get a larger conventional pad? And what is a good cutting compound? I'm not going to try to do a mirror finish, I just want to shine up a little haze on my son's Pontiac Sunbird repaint.<br /><br />and yes the label is still coming.

 

[kesso]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Tink,<br /><br /> I know the machine you have purchased...i have one and your right, it is crap! It's not a real polisher, that thing you have is the two handed vibrating/oscillating (Auto Orbital Buffer) unit.<br /> <br />What you should get is a sander/polisher that resembles an angle grinder in appearance. The down side is that it is difficult to get a cheap brand sander/polisher; however, you can get a 7inch switcheable grinder/sander/polisher GMC unit, model POL1450, try Bunnings (and support WA farmers) its GMC so should be the cheapest of all the brands and quality is not too bad. My new unit is a makita variable speed sander/polisher, i recommend it, but it isnt cheap @ $400.

 

[lark2004]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

um, 240v is the standard for single phase wireing here. Stoves run on 20amp circuit, all other house circuits are rated at 10amps. The wiring behind is usually 15 to 20amps, but never more than 10amps load at the outlet.<br /><br />Three phase power (415vac/per phase) is usually only found in comercial buildings. Not many people need three phase in the house.

 

[BillP]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Bonnets that come with the HF sander/polisher are junk. Go to you local autobody supply and buy a good foam pad and bonnet. Use 3m contact glue for using sandpaper with the foam pad. Use the foam pad under the bonnet.

 

[SeaKaye12]

Re: Don't get suckered on polishing machines and other power tools

Hi All,<br /><br />What happened to the $25.00 Rotary Polisher at Harbor Freight?<br /><br />I looked at their site ready to buy...but it seems that the price has doubled to $49.99....or even to $59.99 if you want the electronic speed control.<br /><br />Is this the same model you guys are talking about that was $24.99??? Was it on sale or something?<br /><br /> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90820 <br /><br />Maybe all the promotion the tool got on iboats caused HF to raise their price???<br /><br />Thanks for reading, Chuck