which electrical polisher?

[hvisser4]

this post mostly applies to those here who live in the UK.

I suffer from serious OCD (obsessive car detailing) and decided to get an elictrical polisher to ease the pain of my monthly 3 stage polishing marathon.

because of limited availability in the UK and the 110V issue, I have ruled out getting a Porter Cable.

I've looked around on a few other detailing boards and have so far seen 3 options mentioned most, but I thought I'd ask the question here.


Festool-RO-125-FEQ-Plus-Sander
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-F...der-377688.htm

Festool-RO-150-FEQ-Plus-Rotex-Sander
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-F...der-481227.htm

Bosch-GEX-150-Turbo-Sander
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-B...nder-22175.htm

DeWalt-D26410-Dual-Orbit-Random-Orbit-Sander
http://www.axminster.co.uk/recno/4/p...der-577114.htm

Dewalt DW443 230V Var Right Angle Sander 150MM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0001IWEWS

So the questions are:

1. Has anyone in the UK used any of these and what are your opinions (positive and negatives please)?

2. Does anyone in the UK use something different with very good results (available with ease in the UK using 240V & less than 350GBP please)?

3. Any other suggestions welcomed

Thanks

[klnteg]

I am not sure what you are looking for... a sander or a polisher? They are two different tools..

[hvisser4]

if you looked at their specs they all say they can be used as polishers as well.

http://www.matey-matey.com/auto-detailing.shtml

look halfway down page for use of the DeWalt

[klnteg]

I personally wouldn't use anything that can be used as a sander for a polisher, even if they say it is a polisher. The orbital speed is way to high and you will burn your paint! polisher's are designed to spin or rotate at around 3000-5000ish RPM but you be the judge

[detailersdomain]

I'll just chime in here real quick.

If you are going 3000 plus rpm on a hi speed rotary you will burn your paint right off.

I typically use my Metabo 12-175 and Dewalt 849 at no higher than 1800 rpms.

You might be talking about the PC 7335/7336/7424 that will be 1000-6000 opms (oscillations per minute)

Hvisser4, I've heard really good things about the Festool, as for the Dewalt 443 I have one and I'm not to thrilled about it, I will probably throw that up on Ebay.

Let me know what else I can try to answer.

[hvisser4]

None of these are high speed rotary exclusively. They are all random orbit capable

klnteg Now I now you CAN burn your paint, but using that logic it's the same as saying you CAN crash your car every time you get into it. However, you DON'T NEED TO if you apply due care and attention. Have you used any of these, or are you just speculating?

Phil thanks for your constructive & informative comments. I'm looking for more of the same from other members please (i.e. what do you use and how have you found it, not just speculation). You are a detailing GOD. I've seen your work in the pics here and WOW!

May I ask what the biggest problem/s is you have with the DeWalt?

As I said I've ruled out the PC for 2 reasons.
Only 110V and in the UK we use 240V so I would have to fork out another £60 ($120+) for a transformer and
there aren't anyone in the UK I could find anyway that stock these, so I would most likely have to pay import duty as well.

The Festool looks good. They also have a dedicated polisher, but I am concerned about getting a single use machine, then if I need to do more heavy duty work it's not up to the task.

http://www.festool.co.uk/mediandoweb...=1&PARENT=3666

On one of the other forums I checked out one of the guys says the Festool FEQ150 Rotex is great because it is dual mode so you can use it as a normal rotary for more serious scratches, etc and it can also be used as a random orbit for normal everyday use.

[detailersdomain]

The dewalt I'm not too sure why I don't like it....

Maybe I can't switch between pads because there is no adapter for the E2K pads.

It's nice /solid/no vibrations but I just couldn't really get the hang of it, in fact for an orbital I would go Cyclo over most units including the PC.