GS300Rich

I am going to purchase the porter cable random orbit polisher #7424. I have called a few of the local home depots and Lowes and they dont carry them and dont seem interested in ordering them for me Can anyone recommend the cheapest place to get this online. I looked at a website coastaltools.com and they had it for $119.00 and they added an extra 6" pad for free. Is this the going rate for these?

Also what pads should I use for waxing, polishing etc? Do you apply the wax by hand and then buff it off or do you do it in one step? Basically I need a guide to get the job done right. I know there will be some getting used to using it but I would like some advice/tips to make it easier. Thanks for the help

Rich

jfelbab

I purchased mine in 1995 and it is by far the best tool I ever added to my detailing kit. You will love it. I think you probably should buy it wherever you can find it the cheapest. It is a very rugged tool and will last a long long time. Pads are a different story. The pad's that come with it are totally crap. I'd suggest looking to properautocare or meguiar's for pads.

I use Meguiars pads exclusively. They have some kits available that you should consider.
W-DAV99 includes three 6.5" pads (2 polishing and 1 finishing) and a backing plate for $32.95.
This is a velcro backing plate and the pads attach via velcro for quick change. I seem to recall they have a set of the pads without the backing plate for around $25 but I didn't find it on their web site. you might need to call their 800# to find out. You probably should have about 4 polishing pads and 2 finishing pads.

I use the PC for application of paint cleaners and polishes. I prefer to manually apply and remove my wax product but a lot of detailers use the PC to apply and remove wax. If you do decide to use the PC for application of wax I'd suggest a finishing pad at 3.5 speed and remove with an Ultimate Bonnet also at 3.5 speed

GS300Rich

Thanks for the tips and help. Anyone else have any tips or tricks? Is there a good website that has writeups on using this polisher? Im sure Dan has some great info to add here

jfelbab

Some web references you might find useful.

http://www.meguiars.com/howtocenter/
http://www.bettercarcare.com/topics.php?topicId=17
http://properautocare.com/porcabpolac.html

yESman

I found that the online prices were not such great savings and I wound up going to my local Lowes and getting the 7336 for $109 which is the same thing but with different size plate.

I would recommend you look closely at the Lake Country Variable Contour pads which many consider to be the best. I have had great luck using these pads. I use the regular Megs pads from time to time which are also good.

yESman

One more resource for you is the Machine Polishing forum on www.autopia.org

Check it out!

Guitarman

Rich, if your local Lowes carrys it, that's indeed your best bet, if for no other reason than zero shipping. My Lowes here doesn't currently stock the tool though (last I checked for someone else).

The next best price is probably Coastal tool. Good luck.

GS300Rich

The lowes did have the 7336 but I thought that was the sander? Would that still be ok to use?

GS300Rich

Thanks for the great sites. Looks like I have a lot of reading and researching ahead of me

GS300Rich

Where is a good place to get some pads for it? Where can I get the pads you recommended yesman and how much are they?

superpats

Check here for all your Porter Cable needs . http://www.properautocare.com/index.html i buy all my pads here. They are the ones from Lake Country that Yesman was talking about . Get yourself some snappy clean cleaning powder for your pads, its cheap and worth it. What I'll usually do is when a pad becomes caked with polish I'll toss it in a bucket mixed with warm water and Snappy Clean let it soak for like 5 mins then rinse it out really well and let dry in the sun, while its drying in the sun I continue to use a seperate pad. That way I always have a pad "on deck".

GS300Rich

Thanks for the great advice superpats. It looks like the lake country pads are the way to go. Thanks for the great website link

GS300Rich

I think for me I am going to go with the White polishing pad and the Red concours pad from Lake Country. Do these sound like the right pads? How many of each should I get?

SoCalSC4

I just bought the Porter Cable sander/polisher from Lowe's ($99.95)
and it comes with a 6" foam polishing pad.
Additional foam pads can be sourced from:

Adam's Polishes

Adam's detail products ROCK!

superpats

Rich I currently have 3 white pads, 2 yellow 1 black and 1 red. I started w/2 white and 1 yellow but decided on buying another one of each. The yellow I use with Menzerna Intensive polish, then white for final polish, the black pad I use with Menzerna finishing touch Glaze then apply Menzerna FMJ with the red pad. I know it sounds like alot, because it is. I'm an obsessive detailer (my cars black I have to be) and I always love to try different products (thinking of getting some Klasse AIO & SG) but this method has worked beautifully for me the car really looks like black glass when i'm finished. Make sure you clay your vehicle before applying any polish or wax, It definitely makes a difference. A reminder to grab some snappy clean it's well worth it.