Dewalt rotary

Regarding polishers. There are a few real professional polishers and many hobby style polishers. Makita falls under hobby. Look at the weight, gear head noise, spindle locks, speed control, govenor to set top speed. Ability to run at low speed keeping torque and steady speed.

If you are truly professional detailers you lnow that cost is the least concern when buying the right tool to make a living. Longevity, durabilty, quality and serviceability are what to look at. Light weight toys are just that. When you have to use a wrench or slotted spanner in order to change backing plates then you have a home use polisher that has little business in professionals inventory.

Milwaukee 5540 is a Caddilac among polishers. It has a quiet gear head, quick change power cord, smooth and total speed control, and great spindle lock. The unit is very serviceable although using it 10 hours day for the last five years has little effect on this truly professional polisher. It weighs more but that has advantages too. We do not have to push down trying to get more cutting action as with a light wieght model. These units normally cost around $340.00 but can be purchased for closer to $200.00. Almost every major city has service centers that can supply parts or service if needed. This is important if you have only one. We normally keep 15 polishers on hand.

We were a test center for Black & Decker polishers for 7 years which is the same as a Dewalt. B&D bought Dewalt to improve their image since they were losing market share due to B&D becoming a heavily discounted item and quality dropping. The new Dewalt polishers are simply Black and Deckers with a yellow casing. Insides are exactly the same. They have good speed control, but weak triggers, the governors controlling speed limits are prone to failure. The spindle lock is positive and easy to use, but they have one of the noisiest gear heads made. These units sound levels are extremely annoying and possibly could cause hearing problems if used daily.

Buying from mail order saves money but has drawbacks when you need to wait for parts or they want you to repackage and ship the unit somewhere for service or warranty work.

Seems to be a mystery with all the professional detailers here as to where to look when purchasing professioanl tools. With over 30 years in the business I find this curious. Does anyone remeber how to use the yellow pages? Look under "car washing & detailing supplies" for local vendors or under "tools hand or electric". You will find true professionals that can assist in selection and explain warranties plus service options.

I have tried to be as cordial as possible but I truly feel that most posts here are from newbies or enthusiasts. Reading the posts has made it obvious that professionals are rare. I apologize for my grumpiness. I just take this stuff too serious.
 
Well I know someone that has over 30 years expierence and runs one of the biggest car-care supply companies in the world that would disagree with you about DeWalt's being a bad buffer. In fact their main shop runs 45 of them everyday. They train people for 8 of the largest 15 car makers in the world, they use DeWalt buffers. The Milwaukee is a good machine, but it's also a very "dated" machine and is far too heavy.



The DeWalt 849 is by far the professional machine of choice.
 
My personal opinion. Lots of people love B&D or the Dewalt. Actually the Milwaukee model I use is only about 7 years old the Dewalt version has been around with little to no updates since the late 80's. Having tested rebuilt and replaced all the parts inside of those I have come to truly appreciate my milwaukee now. I still have 14 of the Black And Deckers in my cabinet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top