A good Rotary polisher?

I'm somewhat torn between the Makita 9227 and the Hitachi. I'm ruling out the Metabo because its controls reminds me a lot like the PC's and without having felt/used any rotory polisher in my own hands, from the looks of it I have a feeling I would prefer the trigger handle that the Makita and Hitachi has.



If the price was close to $100 like some of you were able to get on the Hitachi, there would be no question as to which I would buy in an instance. But at the moment, the price difference between the Hitachi and the Makita isn't much. I've been wanting the Makita for awhile now, but the 5 year warranty on the Hitachi is soo tempting. I bought a Hyundai for a reason afterall lol.



For those with experience using both the Makita and Hitachi, which would you rather own and why? For those that have a Makita, has it been in use for more than 5 years without any major servicing?
 
SpoiledMan said:
Not a knock on those that bought a Metabo but *I* just couldn't see spending that kind of money on that machine with a ONE year warranty.
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$231.99 is not significantly more that $150-ish is so I didn't have a problem.



When it comes to warranty, it is not one year, it is three years. all you have to do is register it. Even if it is one year I still would get it because I have seen products that sucked with 5 year warranties and products that had one year warranty but just keep plugging away (and not as an exception, but as a rule with certain brand).
 
I have had a few makita's 15 years ago, a dewalt, a hitachi, about 5 black and deckers, a snap on (was my favorite). The Snap-on was a great machine other than the price, The dewalts are the new version of the new style black and deckers, the very old black and deckers were bullet proof (I still have one and use it) and the makita. The newer black and deckers suck and I know they are now dewalt. I fried 3 of them and will not buy another. The hitachi was very powerful and worked nice with no problems for 3 years and after 1300 cars and boats it quit. My makita's worked and worked and were very balanced machines. Easy to rebuild the brushes also and easy to get parts for too. If I had to purchase one, it would be the makita. Not too heavy and not too light, perfectly balanced, built to last, very durable, trigger control speed also. The metabo seems very nice other than the speed control, but could get use to it. But the 2200 rpm max is my downfall. On very hard severely beat clear coats I use wool and I need 3000 cranking rpm to bring out a dazzling gloss. I also do not like light machines and I like heavier machines. But I do like the fact that it is german made. I guess the only thing holding me back from the metabo is the rpm speed, but I do have some older machines to do that and only need that speed once in a while. It might be the makita as I have tried them all except for the metabo. German tools are my favorite though... Decisions suck!
 
rydawg said:
...The dewalts are the new version of the new style black and deckers, the very old black and deckers were bullet proof (I still have one and use it) and the makita...
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I still have one of those old Black & Deckers. Nice machine just heavy as all he...





ZoranC, I stand corrected on the warranty but please note that I emphasized *I* and *I* still wouldn't spend the cash for it. The price/warranty is just one of my dislikes. I don't care for the ON/OFF switch either. It's one of those what you're used to things I guess.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
I'm somewhat torn between the Makita 9227 and the Hitachi. I'm ruling out the Metabo because its controls reminds me a lot like the PC's and without having felt/used any rotory polisher in my own hands, from the looks of it I have a feeling I would prefer the trigger handle that the Makita and Hitachi has...
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Good point- I have both the Metabo and the Makita, and IMO the Metabo's lack of a trigger is quite significant. There are situations where I simply wouldn't consider using it instead of the Makita for this reason, so if I could only have one I'd want it to be the Makita.



COncerning reliablilty, my Makita hasn't been used all that much, but a painter I know has used his for over a dozen years with no problems at all. He says his co-workers' Makitas have held up equally well. Mike Phillips sure gives his a workout and it's holding up well.



rydawg- Another painter I know (my "good" painter ;) ) has an ancient Black & Decker that he just *loves*.



And the Milwaukees I used back in the day were built like tanks...heavy but I never heard of one breaking down.
 
Thanks for the info accumulator. I forgot to mention the milwaukee I had too. It is built like a tank, but was on the noisy side. Had some serious rpm's though. My old black and decker is embarrasing. It looks like it has been through world war 1 and 2. Keeps on going though, but lacks speed control. I am just gonna pick up another makita and for the prices they are well worth it.
 
rydawg said:
But the 2200 rpm max is my downfall. On very hard severely beat clear coats I use wool and I need 3000 cranking rpm to bring out a dazzling gloss. ... I guess the only thing holding me back from the metabo is the rpm speed, but I do have some older machines to do that and only need that speed once in a while.
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I wonder is it torque or RPMs what is actually needed to deal with very hard surfaces?
 
SpoiledMan said:
ZoranC, I stand corrected on the warranty but please note that I emphasized *I* and *I* still wouldn't spend the cash for it. The price/warranty is just one of my dislikes.
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Of course, personal preference is the ultimate weighing factor in decision making progress. Neither one of us is knocking other's personal preferences down, we are just explaining factors that drive our own. I felt it is important to give an actual scale of price difference involved and actual warranty so that future casual reader of the thread doesn't end up missing the facts (like gentleman in few posts above did on warranty even after correction) and ends up making their own decisions solely based on personal preferences of others without knowing the facts.
 
Both. I will sometimes do some boats and you need all the torque you can get and you also need the high rpm. On some bad hard clear coat cars I need the rpm and not so much the torque but it is nice to have it cause the machine will not work as hard. I remember I had a customer with an older mazda 626 that some detail shop did and did not take all the wax on the hood off fully and it cured in the hot sun. They tried to get it off, but had no chance and blamed it on bad paint and said it needed to be painted. I took the car and wetsanded it and I used a rotory with a wool pad and it was such a pain in the butt to do. My buffer at the time was at a friends house and I only had this cheap buffer with only 2000 rpm and it could not produce the gloss or accomplish the job. I needed all the torque and the highest rpm to restore the gloss. I got my buffer and used 3000 rpm and it finally turned into an extreme high gloss surface. It was a nightmare job and thank god it was only the hood that needed it. So the 3000 rpm saved the day and it put $100 in my pocket. I do not reccomend this speed for anyone and will NOT work with foam pads!
 
rydawg said:
Both.
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I enjoy to learn new thing every day and I am thankful when I am given opportunity to, so thank you. Until now I was thinking (based on responses I got around when asking would one need more than 2200 Metabo gives) that one wouldn't need anything more than 1500. Good thing is I personally probably won't ever need to do something like that. For those that do need it it makes decision making lil more complicated (unless they can have both and make it a win-win).
 
No problem ZoranC. I hate to do jobs like that, but sometimes you never know. Like I said, if the metabo had more rpm's I would buy it, cause I always get stuck with the worst jobs. Plus the extra weight of the machine is better to my benefit. I let the weight of the machine work and I do not work the machine into it. Still sounds like a great machine for my average jobs though,plus I love new style toys.
 
DennisH said:
Will the Metabo take the Edge Pad Adapter? I would like to use Edge Pads on the PC and Cyclo.
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I don't know does Edge make adapters with rotary thread size (rotaries don't have same thread size as PC and Cyclo do; funny thing is Cyclo is unique in a way, it uses PC thread size, but rotary nut size, but I digress) and Metabo is rotary.



Personally (and I don't mean to start thread drift and heated disucssion here) I have strong aversion toward designs that put piece of metal pointing downward with not much between it and paint.
 
rydawg said:
Still sounds like a great machine for my average jobs though ...
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That might be an answer to your dilemma. Personally I practice and preach two rules: "80/20" (that I modify to 95/5) and "best tool for the job", which to me means I try to optimize, if finding perfect is impossible (which it often is) and "settling down" for tool that will cover 95% of the tasks 95% of the time will make it easier on me 95% of the time then I get that and I get different tool optimized for remaining 5% of the tasks. Light machinery has it's place. Heavy machinery has it's too. You said you already have heavy machinery that doesn't need replacement. Why not get light machinery as an addition, not replacement?
 
ZoranC said:
I don't know does Edge make adapters with rotary thread size (rotaries don't have same thread size as PC and Cyclo do; funny thing is Cyclo is unique in a way, it uses PC thread size, but rotary nut size, but I digress) and Metabo is rotary.



Personally (and I don't mean to start thread drift and heated disucssion here) I have strong aversion toward designs that put piece of metal pointing downward with not much between it and paint.
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Edge users (Me hah! :cool: ) will really tell you it's impossible for the adapter to hit the paint. I find it RIDICULOUS if the adapter were to somehow break the plastic middle plate and break the surrounding foam. Of course, you have to see it and get a handle. It's what you prefer however, :nana:
 
ZoranC said:
I don't know does Edge make adapters with rotary thread size (rotaries don't have same thread size as PC and Cyclo do; funny thing is Cyclo is unique in a way, it uses PC thread size, but rotary nut size, but I digress) and Metabo is rotary.



Personally (and I don't mean to start thread drift and heated disucssion here) I have strong aversion toward designs that put piece of metal pointing downward with not much between it and paint.
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EDGE makes a rotary adapter. 15.00 I think. I have two. The new EDGE Cyclo pads are supposed to be awesome. Perfectly balanced. I've had a few users tell me you can even tell it's on! Cyclo and EDGE have actually struct a deal. EDGE pads will be coming with a Cyclo at purchase.



I've used the EDGE system for a year now on over 500+ cars with not a single problem. It's a very good system.
 
I know that the Presta pads are the same design and I think they are made by Edge. If they are the edge pads system then they are top notch then and built like a tank.
 
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