Another HF DA polisher happy camper!

B

Batt4Christ

New member
After reading several posts here about DA Polishers as opposed to the older RO machines I've been using for decades... I ran over to Harbor Freight and picked up one if their Chicago Electric "Platinum" DA Polisher and a few pads.



So far, I am very happy with it. Much quicker than my RO units.



As gas as pads and backer plate- the 6" pads they sell @ Harbor freight seem to be good. I've not experienced any issues with Velcro rubbing or tearing anything up. The Velcro backing plate is only about 1/8 of an inch smaller than the marching Velcro on the pads.



Now- just looking for some Warmer/drier weather!
 
Going to order backing plate.



Started seeing blue foam "dust" everywhere about half-way through polishing my truck. Pad held together, but it won't be long for this world.



I took a box cutter and rough-trimmed the backing plate before I started applying my sealant (Fk1000P). Didn't have black foam fuzz... And it didn't vibrate any more than before.
 
Batt4Christ- How did that go, applying FK1000P by machine?



I really like machine-LSPing, but I do FK1000P (and all the other sealants I can think of :think: ) by hand as I can't get as thin an application as I'd like doing it by machine.



Wonder what was chewing up that blue pad :confused: :nixweiss
 
Blue pad was being "chewed" by the excess velcro, because of the well-known issue of HF's 6" backing plate - overhangs the pad's velcro by about 1/8 inch... when applying pressure while polishing, the "hook" part of the velcro (on the backing plate) chews at the back of the pad.



As far as applying the FK1000P with the DA - it worked great. I had read many posts about making sure you put it on THIN -and that wasn't difficult at all. I used very little, applied directly to a black pad - and wiped off after each body panel. I had no trouble at all.



I like to apply the final step by machine (life-long orbital user), as it seems to give a more even coating. I do use hand application in the couple of tight spots the machine just won't fit.
 
Well - had my orange HF pad "blow up" on me - started shedding chips and chunks and finally it literally came apart, leaving the velcro and a bit of pad remaining attached to the backing plate. Yikes!
 
Batt4Christ- Heh heh...see why it pays to buy good pads? ;)



BTW, I hear the Lake Country Gold pad is *great* for applying the LSP.
 
After my new Meguiars G110 v2 went through the original brushes in 2 months, and 1 car into the replacement brushes it was already acting up (really slow start, or had to turn it on, off, then back on), I can't rely on it. The latest issue of Motor Trend (May 2013) had a coupon for the Harbor Freight DA for $49.99, the one on the south end of Fort Worth had 5 in stock so I picked one up today. Based on some of the comments I'll just switch over to one of my 5" backing plates and save the included 6" BP for whenever I am using larger pads.



Motor is more powerful, 5.7 amps vs 4.8 for the G110 v2 or PC 7424 XP, I have to push pretty hard on it to get it to slow down and that was with an old 7" foam pad and a varnished wood counter top (raining and my car is Opti-Coated anyway), so with 5" MF pads, it ought to buzz along just fine.



Meguiars G110 v2 will be regulated to carpet cleaning duty until it dies, then I'm sending it back under warranty. If the HF DA holds up well, I'll get a second one as back-up, so whenever I finally get a Rupes, I'll have ample DAs on hand for anything I might face.
 
Scottwax--it will be interesting to hear your thoughts after using it for awhile and how it holds up under heavy use. Under the product discussion heading there is a thread re the HF that either Ron K or Charles posted a procedure to replenish the grease in the gear area which seems to make it run cooler and quieter.
 
So far, so good. Using my 5" backing plate, very smooth. Not quite rotary smooth but I'm impressed how low the vibration is for a DA. And its pretty light. Didn't correct anything so I can't comment on that, it was just a 1 polishing step exterior detail.
 
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