First Orbital experience and a few questions

Hemi57 said:
The Hitachi is FSV13Y. Cost me A$140 which equates to about US$105. Seems like a nice unit..
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I did some browsing of Hitachi's catalog and the FSV13Y is not what I would have expected. I saw the other threads where the FSV13Y was recommended by a number of other Autopians, but I would have expected people to have recommended the SAY150A instead. Based on the specs at least, it seems more similar to the PC both in form factor, power and capability. The specs on the SAY150A indicate it is a 380W unit (vs 270W for the FSV13y) and has a 7mm (vs 5mm) orbit which would give it a better bite when polishing out defects.



Also, I thought I read a while back that the PC is sold as either a DeWalt or as a Black & Decker in other countries (they are all owned by B&D from my understanding). Maybe the PC 7424 is available with a different name? Just wondering...



EDIT: My mistake. I got Delta and DeWalt mixed up -- Porter Cable/FLEX/Delta are one company. B&D/DeWalt are part of a different company...
 
Yes, I saw that thread earlier. Don't get me wrong -- I am not trying to question your purchase. If the FSV13Y meets your needs, thats all that counts :dance



I was just being nosy as to how you picked that particular unit. Don't mind me! :D
 
toyemp said:
Yes, I saw that thread earlier. Don't get me wrong -- I am not trying to question your purchase. If the FSV13Y meets your needs, thats all that counts :dance



I was just being nosy as to how you picked that particular unit. Don't mind me! :D
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toyemp, no worries. I am just eager to get all the advice I can and hey, as this is now the only device I have I have nothing to compare it to.



I bought the old Ute (pickup) a couple of months back just to get around in for a while. It is a 1982 model and best described as a "Work Ute", ie. it is quite rough with some dings, irregular paint and some surface rust spots on areas where paint should be. It is my test bench for the Orbital. I figure whatever I do will be an improvement. I don't intend to even think about hitting the Audi or soon to be delivered 300C until I have mastered Machine Polishing.
 
If the Hitachi is anything like the PC, then you should have no problems. I know the first couple times, one tends to be a little over-cautious, but in reality, with a PC, it is pretty difficult to do any real damage to your paint that can't be corrected. (I won't say impossible to do damage, but you would have to REALLY work at it to do any serious damage).



After the first couple times, I think you will be confident enough to do more serious experimenting with your tool to find the right pad/polish/pressure combo that works for you.
 
In my experience with Random Orbital Machines, there seem be two distinct styles.



i. 'Upright' design like the Hitachi FSV13Y. Generally rated < 500W. Rotates heavily, quoted in RPM rather than OPM. 5 inch hook'loop backing plate.



ii. 'Elongated' design like the PC. Generally rated 500+W. Heavy jitter, seems to jitter more than it rotates. Quoted in OPM rather than RPM. 6 inch hook'loop backing plate.



Hemi: sounds like your ute is pretty heavily oxidised -- maybe go over it with paint cleaner and a cheap sponge/applicator first? I would anyway, and save my pads for polishing after clay.
 
colche, in the Australian Random Buffer Question thread it sounded like you were about to take the step to Machine polishing. Have you? and what unit did you end up getting, the Hitachi or GMC?



I got the FSV13Y from Just Tools South Melbourne. They had to order in and gave me a small discount, ie. A$140 (instead of 149 on their web site), which is way cheaper than Bunnings at around $169.
 
Hi Hemi -- Yes I got a GMC unit shortly after that thread. It was a good unit, especially for the price -- My only complaint was that it seemed to bog down too easily, especially when working in thicker polishes. More recently I did a bit more research and decided to go with a Ryobi/Ozito machine from Bunnings. http://www.ozito.com.au/productinfo.aspx?prodid=ROG-190 -- The Ryobi is the same machine but it comes with a case. I've noticed its more powerful and effective at removing swirls -- but also very noisy and heavy, and also jitters a lot more than my GMC.
 
Sullybob said:
It is almost the weekend and time for another round with the orbital, let us know how it goes :)
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Shawn, I spent yesterday gutting the interior and fitting new carpets and soundproofing. That along with the crap weather forecast and off to the movies today means no polishing this weekend. Next weekend I am taking a Mercedes Benz E350 for a weekend test drive so will not be doing anything then either. The MB dealer sent us an invitation to a cocktail party to release the R Class people mover and were offering no obligation weekend test drives in a range of a few MB models so I thought, why not :D.



Colche, nice to hear that you have machine polishing experience under your belt now.
 
Hemi57 said:
The MB dealer sent us an invitation to a cocktail party to release the R Class people mover and were offering no obligation weekend test drives in a range of a few MB models so I thought, why not :D.
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Why not indeed :werd: Sounds like a fun way to spend the weekend, driving some one elses MB :D

You replaced the carpet and sound proffing in your UTE? That must have been alot of work.
 
Well I gave the Hitachi it's second work out on the weekend. I did some spray painting on the old Ute and did a pretty poor job as I got a textured effect and a paint run. The paint is "single stage".



First I tried the Orbital with the coarsest pad I have (M Arnold Yellow pad) and 3M extra cut, but the blemishes were too great and the contour on the areas needing work too pronounced. I turned to 1200 Wet sandpaper and started to see a vast improvement and then tried the Orbital again with the same pad and polish combo.



While the finish is not quite there yet, due to time limitations, I am very pleased with the progress and confident I can recover from the lousy spray paint job.



The first time I used the Orbital I wet the pad and didn't increase the speed over 2. This time I started with a dry pad, as per all the above recommendations, and cranked the speed right up to the max. It really started to do it's work once the polish was drying off.
 
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