I found a sander/polisher in my father-in-laws' garage. It's made by Craftsman and has a 6" wheel on it. Is it safe for me to use for detailing? Here's a link to the product:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...&sName=Sanders

 

Can you use it? sure. I'm running a Porter Cable Orbital also. (not a random type). The amps looks strong and the LOW speed is okay. The 1400 low rpm is a touch high but it's okay with Optimum products. Problem is that it's not a random. So you had better be careful. I've already put a burn mark on my roof trying to polish out tree sap (no no) and fubared the clear on my door trim when I should have taped it up. It's really not too mistake friendly.

To use the pads(edge)that I have (from Hai) you will need to get an adaptor for your unit. I think Autogeeks has it. The one for obitals is diff than for the random types.

Here's my stuff:

 

Random units are the easiest. But finding one used is rare. I used an old Craftsmen unit too. It was loud as hell. That's what earplugs are for.

 

I think im going to practice on my wifes altima.. it's pretty beat up already anyways

 

I need to buy those sponges though. this one came with a sucky "wheel condom"

 

There are more than a few choices for pads. Hai sold me these and the optimum stuff for a good deal. It turns out these edge pads seem to work better for orbitals vs random. So for me, they are great. Also turns out the optimum products are more tolerate to higher rpm speeds. If you are considering a random orbital, these edge pads might not be the choice.

Meguires makes some pads that look like the red thing in my pic. I'm not too familar with the roughness grade of their pads though. Again Autogeeks has a bunch of stuff. It's sorta expensive to intially get into this detailing game. I was fortunate to get a deal from Hai so I could start out cheap and if I decided I didn't like detailing, I woudln't be into it for that much. It turns out, it's okay. I've worked on my, dad's, wife's and bro's car.

My pads are 6" I believe. I wished they were a bit larger when I polish the larger flat areas but they are nice when there are alot of contoured sections.

 

Tito:
Edge pad discussion.
https://g35driver.com/forums/care-detailing/167536-rotary-polishing-question-pad-attachments.html

Another great read for usage
https://g35driver.com/forums/care-detailing/171607-ne1-use-both-rotary-random-orbital-w-same-pads-products.html

 

Thats a rotary. I heard not much good thing about it. The said the Cheap harbor frieght one was better then it. But you should start out with a rotary unless you have some knowledge either buffing a car or what a rotary can do if you don't know how to use it ( burns)

 

You can do more harm than good with a high speed buffer if you don't know
what you're doing, swirls and burnt paint. Practice a lot before you tackle
your G!

 

Not too sure why one would be better than the other. Maybe if the HF unit has an adjustable rpm dial. That might make the diff.

 

The Hf has more torque and does have a adjustable rpm speed dial (300-3000)

 

Information you guys are all saying is good, except your terminology of polishers is a little out of spectrum.

Random Orbit and Orbital polishers are easy to use safe alternatives for the weekwarrior detailers. They do not follow a constant rotation, therefor do not creat a lot of friction, therefor not creating heat, therefor not being able to burn paint or cause swirling and halograms. The downside to these is that since they do not do either of the things mentioned, they are slower in correction and at time unable to correct heavier more severe defects.

Rotory polishers spin on one axis in one direction. They are considered advanced tools because one needs to know how to operate them in order to produce good results without damaging a surface. The heat and constant friction combined with the right aggresiveness in buffing pad allow polishes to break down better and faster.

A new alternative in machine polishing is the Flex Random Orbital Polisher. It is still a random orbital machine so it is safe for most new users in the sense it will not cause damage to the paint, but it has a higher OPM (orbits per minute), constant rotation, and a strong motor that does not bog down. It is faster and more capable than any other Random Orbital polsiher on the marker, but still not as fast and effecient as a rotory polisher.

For more info, search autopia.org.