anyone use a HF orbital buffer..

 

Which one? Had a pretty cheap Pittsburg DA polisher years ago, only lasted 2 vehicles and by that time the warranty was up. As cheap as it was, no big deal

 

hoggy, what do you want to use it for?

I see some 6" ones at HF that are in the $100 range, you can use 6" or smaller 5" pads on bikes, but because bike parts and surfaces are pretty curvy, a smaller diameter wheel makes it easier to keep those pads spinning

for a little more ($150) , you can get a really reliable and well built polisher from Griot....I think the G8 is the perfect size for bikes but would not be a good option for cars or trucks...too small

 

On bikes you may not come across concave surfaces but they are difficult to do with a DA. One with forced rotation would be a better all round machine. Failing that a rotary.

 

have you not seen the batwing fairing? Lol

 

In that case the choice becomes much easier to discount a normal DA for a forced rotation one.

 

a geared or rotary buffer can leave holograms, so from what I'm seeing, if you have to do one, take your time and use a gearless polisher....I've seen some guys use a rotary to start and finish with a DA because it's really hard to leave holograms when finishing with a DA

 

With the concave surface I found it hard to impossible to get the pad in the right position but still have it spin effectively to polish.

I switched to using a rotary (although I haven't used it for sometime) and holograms are part and parcel of the process. I am using Scholl polishes and S40 on a finishing pad gets rid of holograms in just a couple of passes plus the finishing polish enhances the gloss.

 

it's not easy for sure, it's been one of my biggest frustrations, the amount of finesse and concentration needed to hit some spots, if the pad is stalled, nothing is happening and that is easy to do in those concave spots using a DA

I've been looking at rotary polishers for that reason

 

It's certainly not one machine is right or wrong just what is found easiest to use overall. One thing with the rotary I can do an edge without worry of the DA randomly going on to another panel or part so the amount of masking up is reduced.