About to place order from Harbor Freight and CMA; looking for input...

C

CRXSi90

New member
I'm going to make an order tomorrow and wanted to check and make sure everything added up.



I'm going to get the Chicago Electric Polisher from Harbor Freight and the 6" velcro backing plate from CMA to go with my 6" [Buff & Shine] and 7.5" w/ 6" velcro back [Lake Country MFG.] pads from Top Of The Line. That'll all work out right?



In some of my looking, I found a bunch of 6.5" velcro backing plates, but they wouldn't fit either of my pads because they are absolutely 6", no more.



I know everybody loves CMA, and I'll probably be ordering anywhere, but does anyone know of a place to get a 6" velcro backing plate for a rotary for less than $16.95?



The loving CMA part sounded kinda strange; I was thinking about Harbor Freight in the back of my mind...I haven't heard the same affection for them, but nothing bad here either. Is there any reason why I should hesitate to buy from them?



BTW, TOL is great, these are the pads and product I got from them...oh, and a nice little box I got from Menards for $2.50!



Thanks a bunch, I'll be checking back in the morning if not sooner.....I really gotta go do my homework now. :)

[AP English....making my own inferno...I'm being guided by an English teacher...yep, its a suck-up!]
 

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I think you have a good plan.



Is there a Harborfreight retail store close to you? Their ground/regular shipping has a reputation for being quite slow... I bought from them online on at two occasions - seemed ok.



Jim
 
Harbor Freight's reply to my "where's my order" type inquiry (I still don't have it)...



"Your order was shipped to you via UPS on 12/09/03. Please allow up to 14

business days for delivery from the ship date.

The items 34136 and 34137 are on back order until approximately 01/01/04.

They will be shipped to you once they come into stock. Back order dates are

only estimate dates and are not guaranteed."



I guess as long as you don't need anything for Christmas, huh?





Tom
 
APPLETON,WI 3325 WEST COLLEGE AVE 920-733-8424

GREEN BAY,WI 1301 BROSIG ST 920-465-6871

MADISON,WI 4617 VERONA ROAD 608-276-7934

MILWAUKEE,WI 4698 S. WHITNALL RD 414-744-0955



The above are the WI retail stores in WI as posted on the Harbor Freight site. If interested go to their site and see if there are others in areas that you may be visiting.

Doc
 
Harbor Freight's shipping worked okay for me. I ordered the DeWalt from them earlier this month and had it in about a week.



Unlike most other retailers, Harbor Freight does not email you wiht updates on the status of your order. No automatic "your order shipped today, the tracking number is..." email is sent. A package just shows up at your door.
 
Last time I checked, TOL should have everything you are looking for. I would go with TOL over CMA, better service, better prices. I always felt CMA didn't appreciate my patronage especially after they charged an 85 cent difference on my credit card when I redeemed a gift certificate. :mad:
 
Thanks for the replies, I was worried I wouldn't get any help here. :eek:



Since there's not a retail store close to me, I guess I'll be ordering by phone or net. I'm glad to hear reports of what ordering from them is like so I won't be too surprised when it isn't as quick as other places.



The polisher is for a Christmas present, but it is for me, so I don't mind waiting. ;)



Bill D, I'd order from TOL if I could, but it seems that they don't have a 6" velcro backing plate for a rotary. I just got the pads in the picture from them which are 6", so I figured I'll start there so I can use them on both my PC and rotary, then upgrade if I see the need later.



Did I miss the 6" backing plate on their site? :confused:



Thanks again,

Kevin
 
Hi there Kevin,



I see what you mean about the site. I should have mentioned I ordered by phone with TOL, I think I spoke with Irene personally. Seems to me the 6" rotary backing plate should be a comon item.Because I had such a pleasant expereince speaking to TOL by phone, I'll order that way again. This was the only site I ever called.



I would give them a call, 1-800-533-5743.



I'm sure they will go out of their way to help you out. Let us know how it turns out. :)
 
Thanks a bunch, I'll call monday. (tried earlier today, but apparently not open saturday ;)...no prob.)



I'll let you know how it turns out!



Kevin
 
Well, I haven't gotten the chance to call yet, but I'm wondering if this is what they intend for use with 6" type pads...

http://www.topoftheline.com/5velbacplat.html

The plate measures 5.5" in diameter and they say it is for use with their "7.5" Lake Country DuraFoam, Wool, and DuraStrand pads." I'm thinking this might be what I need, but I'll probably call just to make sure.

It has a centering tool and the hole for that which is nice.

The cost is $12.95 and their shipping seems to be pretty honest, so I'm not disappointed here.



Also, I thought I'd give an update, I ordered the polisher on the 20th of December. I can't wait until it arrives!



Kevin
 
I thought I'd knock this back to the top with an update...



I just ordered the 5.5" backing plate and Hi-Temp's Terminator Paint Sealant - 16oz. I had been curious about that, and I've promised myself that I'll use it up so I don't have a ton of stuff that I don't use lying around.



The polisher was ordered on the 20th of december and still isn't here as of the 1st of Jan., but I'm not surprised and will be patient. I wouldn't be surprised if the TOL order and HF order got here at about the same time. :rolleyes:



It looks like they recieved the order 12-22 and was shipped 12-23 via Parcel Post, so I'm counting on it coming sometime before the 6th of january. [10-14 days shipping]



blah, it'll arrive when it does, I'm just giddy. :)
 
I agree about their shippign being very very very slow. I am talking like 4 weeks to get anything. I am lucky enough to have a new Harbor Freight Retail store 2 minutes form my house now though.
 
Sounds like that guy's trouble was with not being patient. I can't really use the polisher much until spring, so I'm in no hurry. Good thing, too. It is on backorder until January 19, 2004 and shipping will be 10-14 days more after that!
 
Good thing I don't need it right away, I used H-F's chat feature and found out that it is now backordered until 1-21-04. Ouch. It is the only polisher that would cost me $34.89 w/ shipping and handling, though, so since I don't need it until spring, I'll wait it out.



Good news, though; the order of Hi-Temp Terminator and the rotary backing plate arrived. Funny thing, I made that order after I ordered the polisher.



A couple initial observations...



1. The H-T Term smells like mineral spirits, or whatever solvent they use. I don't mind it, I took a big whiff out of the bottle. I'm sure it isn't as much as some other products that have coverup scents.



2. The backing plate looks an awful lot like the backing plates that Meguiars makes, doesn't it?



I have pictures here of how the plate fits on the pads...look OK to everyone?
 

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above: both pictures also show centering tool

~top picture- backing plate on 6" Buff and Shine pad

~bottom picture-backing plate on 6.5" Lake Country pad





Looks like there is plenty of room for error [bumping the car with sides of pad and not hitting backing plate]...I think it looks like it is an OK match. Any disagreement?



Thanks for looking,

Kevin





below:

~top picture- Dang, doesn't it look a lot like Meguiars backing plates?

~bottom picture- So we all know what velcro looks like.....I thought I'd show you again, though. Also, look at the self-centering hole. I tried to get a pict of how the backing plate and pad line up, but the focus didn't turn out right.
 

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Yay, it arrived today! It seems good enough for me, and unlike the Coleman Powermate polisher that Gladfly tried, this one seems to have enough power.



I tried the polisher out on the counter in the bathroom because it wasn't in really good shape. I don't have a panel yet to try it out on, and this probably isn't a good representation of how it will work, but I tried it just the same.



Before I get to that, here is a picture of what arrived....

Harbor-Freight shipped a catalogue with this order

They also included a packet of other “money saving� offers

Inside the polisher’s box…

-the polisher

-7� [haven’t verified that] Velcro backing plate

-7� [same…] rubber backing plate…I bet this would work for sanding [adhesive backed sandpapers]

-real wool pad…I’m betting it would be hard to polish with a bonnet on a rotary

-side handle and “arbor wrench� I think it was called

-parts list/brief manual
 

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Right before I put it away, I snapped a picture next to the PC. Minus the handle business, they seem to be about the same size [although the rotary is “fatter�].



Anyway, I let it warm up a little before I ran it in case it gathered some condensation. I’m not certain if that is necessary for simple electronics like this, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt.



When it arrived, the speed dial was on “6�, and turning it down was the first thing I did. I was surprised to find that it didn’t “click�, but just spun smoothly between numbers. While briefly going over the manual, I saw that it said to change the number on the dial while the machine is off. I suppose there would be less arcing in the switching business that way. I intend to follow those instructions, but I found it kinda odd. It also said to start and stop it while it is not resting on the surface.



Before I could do any polishing, I had to get a pad on. I had previously ordered ]TOL’s 5.5� backing plate in anticipation of the polisher coming. It spun on really easily, and I didn’t need the lock button except for the last bit of tightening. It is nice not to have to need a wrench. I used this plate with 6� Buff & Shine pads. I also have Lake Country’s 6.5� pads, so I’m sure I’ll be using them eventually.



So I took it into the bathroom and plugged it in. I gave the trigger a squeeze and I could immediately notice the “soft start� feature in action. I guess it is a good thing, I like it, but it could make “feathering� the trigger a difficult task. IMO [from someone with no rotary experience], the lowest setting, “1� should be sufficient for most low-speed situations. Initially, I didn’t think it was really noisy, but by the end of this polishing session, my ears were ringing. I’m positive it was because of the small size of the room, however. When I had it in the basement and was drying the pad by spinning it, it was pretty quiet.



I played with it for 15-30 min, and the head did get pretty warm. I was using it without the handle as suggested in a few threads, so every bit of heat was noticeable. I’m betting that better lubrication might help that problem some. Maybe in a while I’ll take it apart and lubricate it. I’m not sure what to lubricate it with…the manual says lubricate all moving parts with a light oil, but I’m not sure what that is.



I had seen some things about picking up a bead of product, so I gave that a shot instead of smearing it around. I just tipped the pad a little bit, and placed it close to the beginning of the bead. I turned it on and moved it across the bead. It worked really slick. I have more practice to do with that, as I think more product got on the middle part of the pad as opposed to the edges.



I ran it on “1� for a while, and just ran it back and forth, up and down. I never really had any problems, but I can see how there is a trick to controlling this thing. At the end I turned it up to “2� and tried that with one hand. I did OK and it seemed to wander less than when I used both hands. A flawed part of my two-handed opporation might be lifting up on the back of the polisher too much, or just not keeping it really level.



Anyway, that’s about it, I think countertop is a pretty safe place to practice using a rotary. They are abused quite a bit, and I didn’t even get close to removing all the scratches, but the gloss does seem to have improved.



Ok, a few questions…



1. Should I mist the pad with water or QD before starting? I was using Hi-Temp’s Light Cut, and although I didn’t have any problems without misting, I probably could have used less product if the pad was moistened.



2. One problem I had was with the polisher having a mind of it’s own. How do I control it? One thing I figured out was if I tipped it a little so it would roll in the direction I want it to go, that would help, but I don’t know how acceptable that is. [I tried to keep the pad very flat, except for edges where I tipped it so I could “buff off the panel�]



3. What lubricant do you suggest. It says a light oil, so is that something like motor oil. Does grease go anywhere in the machine? I’m really at a loss here.



Thanks for reading, I'll be sure to get back with more results once I begin to use this in context and when I draw more conclusions.



Oh yeah, any questions are welcome!
 

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