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Suggestions for a buffer?

TiCoyote

Ready to race!
I'm looking for a buffer/polisher to speed up and take the shoulder pain out of the wax-on/wax-off process. It's just for buffing and waxing, and I'm pretty much a rank-amateur. I'm looking for low-cost, easy to use, and no chance of damaging my paint job. Suggestions?
 

riceburner

Autocross Champion
Long as its random orbital, and you use a high quality pad (look on chemical guys for a waxing pad) you should be good for wax on/wax off.

More importantly, as more of a professional level, i can tell you the days of wax are over. Look into spray sealants. they give you more protection than wax and leave as much smoothness to the finish as wax. last longer and are SUPER easy to lay on and buff off by hand (or machine), but whether you use true carnauba wax or a simpler/easier spray sealant,i think you will always need to get your hands and some cloths involved.

One last important takeway is using high quality microfiber only on the surface of the paint and keeping the surface protected. you'll never add gloss with waxes, just protection. The key is to not damage the paint while giving it some love.

If you feel like looking into my methodology a little more (From a washing/detailing perspective), here's a writeup i made a while back of proper car care. It incorporates using a spray sealant simply as a drying aid which means you can wash and protect your car at the same time to keep things simple.
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27410

Cheers.
 

1ashchuckton

Autocross Champion
I've got random orbital buffer from Griots Garage. It works well for light paint correction & waxing. Although once my car had its paint looking good I find the careful washing & using spray polymer as a drying agent has keep it looking good. The buffer sits on the shelf & is hardly used anymore.
 

TiCoyote

Ready to race!
I'm currently using NuFinish. I only wash and wax the car about 1 per month at the most. And that's only during the warm months. I like how the NuFinish protects the paint for several months between washes and applications.

I was going to get a buffer to speed up the process, but I'd be happy to switch to a different product if that would make it quicker without sacrificing the durability. Which one do you recommend? V07?
 

riceburner

Autocross Champion
v07 honestly works very well for ease of use and finish/durability. as i noted, works well as a drying agent to boot.
 

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
I've had a porter cable 7424xp for 5-6 years now. I think it's impossible to ruin the paint with that thing. I did some polishing with it about a month ago for the first time in a while, and it made a big difference, but there was still a bunch of water spots on the roof if you looked at it in the right angle.
 

riceburner

Autocross Champion
^ I would also recommend the 7424XP; it's what i have. Although not very effective for paint CORRECTION, it works well for waxing.

Again, would simply recommend spray sealants at this point both for ease of use (easier than lugging around a polisher for something that doesn't require the use of such a tool) but if you are hellbent on using a polisher, sure one of the first two option you posted (OP) would work fine. the key is random orbital.

Just make sure you use a high quality pad that won't mar the paint in the process. Use it on low speed if it allows speed selections.
 
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