Buffer suggestion

Can anyone suggest a decent buffer to use with 3M Rubbing compound and Finishing Polish to get a good amount of scuffs and light scratches off the transom of our boat? I tried to do it by hand before we put the boat away for the winter but did not have much success.
Thanks in advance

Yep. Get a quality, variable speed polisher. I have a Makita, but really prefer my Dewalt DW849. It's gonna set you back about $300 for a new one though. Depending on the scratches, you may not want to use compound and use FinesseIt II instead. You should probably do some reading online about scratches, cutting and buffing if you haven't done it on a boat before.

Dave, thanks for the input. The exact products I have to work with are 3M Marine Rubbing Compound and 3M Marine Finesse It II Finishing Compound.

Hey Rod. You might find that just using the FII w/o the compound will take care of most of it. Good luck.

Dave, what speed (rpms) do you use with the FII? What is your take on this buffer?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92623

I would only be using this maybe once or twice per year, nothing heavy duty. I like the fact that you can go as slow as 300 rpms.

Sorry for the hijack

I use the Dewalt 849.

Hey Allen. My buffers only go down to 1,000 rpm, so that's what I generally use. A speed below that seems way too slow. For $24.99 it might be ok if you're on a budget ... not like you're going to lose the farm on that one! Not really a hijack, no worries.

Rod: Btw, you might have to wet sand, pound and polish depending on the depth of your scratches. But I would probably start with FII and work back from there if that doesn't handle it.

While buffers are pretty common, you can do some serious damage with one if you don't know what you are doing. Another option would be a PC, or also known as a Porter Cable, random orbital polisher. The advantage is that it does not spin in fast circles, but instead vibrates in concentric circles, while rotating slowly. The result is a surface free of swirl marks that can occur with a rotary polisher. With the right pad and compound combination, you can take care of just about anything. Check with most other detailers, and you will find that almost all of them use the PC as their main tool, but use the buffer as an occasional option. I have seen a couple cases where someone does not know what they are doing with a polisher, and buffed right through the paint/gel coat.

Just an idea/option to a regular polisher.

The habor freight buffer works but you really get what you pay for with them. When you start to use it you realize it just doesn't have any a$$. As soon as you start putting any pressure on it the motor just slows right down rather than working harder on the particular spot. It can work it just doesn't work nearly as well as the dewalt.

I've had the Harbor Freight one for a couple years now, and I'm totally satisfied with it. I've done my boat a couple times, and our 72' houseboat with it just recently, and it's still going strong.

I've used the Dewalt ones too and didn't really notice much power difference, but their slowest speed is way faster than the HF offering, which I didn't want to use with a foam pad.

The velcro backed wool bonnets work great, BTW.

If you're trying to get rid of oxidation, a random orbital will take a LONG time to do the job. I tried that once, too. You do need to be careful with the rotary polishers, though, because they can be very effective at removing gelcoat.

my craftman orbital works great!

Porter Cable FTW, dollar for dollar it's the best choice out there.

Flex Orbital, Best hands down

I was going to hit my boat with some 3M Finesse It and wanted to get some info before I did it.

Can anyone tell me what pad I need to use as well as speed of my polisher. I assume that I will need to wax after this step.

I don't think the Harbor Freight unit is probably the greatest for $24.99, but I know some members on here are on a budget! An R.O.? The guys that I know that own fiberglass/gelcoat repair shops and their employees all use a rotary polisher like the DeWalt and they don't even have an R.O. Yes, you can do damage with a rotary polisher on automotive finishes if you don't know what you're doing. Murphy: You didn't say what you're doing, but I assume you want to bring the finish up. I'd go at 1,000 rpm with the FII and yes you're going to need to polish or wax.

Porter cable 7424.....

I used the harbor freight special on my gel coat. No point in spending big bucks on something you are only going to use a couple of times (what is it with people on here enjoying giving away money so much?). No point in getting the elliptical polishers either. You aren't buffing clear coat. Make sure you get the one that is adjustable.

http://www.wakeboatworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemi d=60

not trying to give anyone's money away just offering opinions and options. Me personally I have both the HF and the Dewalt and honestly wish I hadn't wasted my money on the HF one. That being said I have no problem paying more for tools to get higher quality even if I'm not going to use it often, I'd rather pay a little more to get a quality tool than a cheaper one that will just get by. If you're not a tool guy and just want a buffer that will get the job done maybe the HF one is the way to go just don't expect it to work the same way.

(Message edited by mlb75 on February 05, 2008)

It does work the same way.

I bought the Makita 9227 polisher years ago for upwards of $200. I'm not a professional, so I've probabaly used it 10 times total. I know it will last me for many years, but for the money I paid and the number of uses, I wish I had bought the HF polisher. As a non-professional, I'm not using anywhere in the upper half of the RPM range on the Makita, so the HF would be fine. I buffed out a ton of oxidation on the back of my 205V, but I did it at super low RPM's, a job that the HF could have handled without much stress.