Wi | 7424 is a great polisher to start out with, but you will be worn out after doing a grain cart. Thats a lot of acreage to cover. I suggest something with a bit more speed.
If you want to stay dual action to avoid burning paint and holograms/buffer trails, look into the Rupe's Big Foot random orbital polishers, or the Flex 3401 Forced rotation DA polishers. I suggest the Flex 3401 for what you want to do and most farm equipment in general. The Rupes can get some serious work done with its huge throw but its still a free floating spindle machine meaning with enough resistance you will stop the rotation which stops the paint correction. The 3401 is a forced rotation machine, the rotation of the head is gear driven and cannot be stopped. However it is still dual action so you dramatically reduce the risk of buffer trails and burning through paint. However on something like a grain cart, those may not be as big of a concern and speed may be what you are after. In that case don't be afraid of a rotary buffer. Something like a grain cart is a great place to practice and get a feel for a rotary before moving onto your cars, semis and tractors.
If you go the rotary route, you will still want the 7424 or some other dual action type machine for finish polishing, especially on clear coats. Its also very handy for applying wax/sealant. No one tool will do it all. The 7424 wont get you the results of a rotary but a rotary is tough to finish down hologram free on most paints. The 3401 is a compromise between them, fast quality results with a good finish. Both the 3401 and the Rupes tools are spendy though compared to the 7424. Flex tools are made in Germany, Rupes are made in Italy.
If you want a simple solution to a lot of your faded equipment needs, get the Flex 3401 with the Lake Country interchangeable backing plate. You can also opt for the 25' cord which is nice when working on large equipment. Then get some lake country orange hybrid 5" cutting pads. For a compound, pick up some Menzerna FG400. This combo will cut very well, but finish beautifully to the point that over 90% of the people who will see the results will be very pleased. The best part is the simple approach. However these products are not the cheapest you can buy. The 3401 with cord and backing plate system is $440. Menzerna FG400 is close to $50 for a quart, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed with these products and they are very beginner friendly as well.
If you decide you want to try a rotary, the Flex PE14-2 is very nice but once again spendy. The DeWalt 849x is half the money and is a very nice buffer as well with a bit more power that can be nice when working on some heavily oxidized gel coats and such. I have the Flex for paint and the 849x for polishing metal.
The like Five Lock posted will take you to a thread with more info in it. Click the search link in that thread for even more info if you want. Most questions you have about technique and products can be answered with a google search, lots of helpful people out there using this stuff. Keep in mind though most are using it on cars with clear coat paint which acts different than the stuff you run into on farm equipment. A lot of them also have 40hr jobs and are very anal about how their car looks, remember you don't have to be as crazy as some of them. Just make it what you want.
Here's some links and such. I like to Autogeek for simplicity but some of the products you can find at other stores for better prices, other products are kind of limited in where you can get them.
Flex 3401
Rupes 21ES BigFoot (If you choose rupes, you can opt to just go with their entire pad/polish system)
DeWalt DWP849X
Flex PE14-2
Lake Country Hybrid Pad's
Lake Country CCS Pads (Use these on the Rotary if you choose to go that route, also great for the 7424, just remember there are different pads for rotary and DA)
TufBuf wool pads (If you choose to go rotary I like these better than other wool pads, less mess)
Menzerna FG400
The rest of the Menzerna Lineup
Here's Some Videos you may like as well.
Rupes vs. 7424
3401 vs 7424
Rupes vs 3401
The Ultimate Combo IMO (3401+Hybrid+FG400) |
Wi | Justin ArkMo - 9/8/2014 21:58 Do you recommend any meguiars? It will probably be easier to find locally, the 2 step is a compound then polish right? Stay off decals? Always hand waxed before.
Yes but not the stuff you can find locally. Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish are the two I would reccommend that you might find locally. Personally I find ordering online easier than chasing around local stores at the end of the day. You get something you know works without the hassle and wasted time.
Two steps would be compounding and then polishing. Some compounds finish down very hazy, others like FG400 finish to the point they do not necessarily need to be followed up with a polish. I certainly would only want to do a single step on a grain cart. Unless you have a lot of time and popeyes forearms.
You can polish the decals if you want but be gentle with them. I wouldn't use a rotary with wool and heavy compound on them unless you run at a low speed with light pressure.
These pictures will be in the other threads, but they show how well FG400 works.
Edited by durallymax 9/8/2014 23:27
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North Central Iowa | Just be careful. After you polish one piece of equipment you'll start thinking about doing another, and another, and pretty soon you'll wonder if you have time to go the the field! All kidding aside, Durallymax's posts have helped to improve the appearance of several of my tractors. I just bought the Porter Cable and the Menzerna FG400 along with a sealer. The results are incredible. I was hoping to get the combine and cart done before fall, but I'm thinking I'm going to be lucky to wash the combine, let alone polish it. Might have to be a winter project now. |
Buffing farm equipment?
