Porter Cable 7424

Jon:

I had to laugh at your post.....I tried putting some "parts" in the dishwasher once........ONCE.... :smt021

I have a single friend who is just finishing up a winter project.....a GM Small Block rebuild....in his living room......

Oops....I went off topic.....

I was going to buy the PC7424 for this spring, but the marina did my spring launch and waxing this year. I usually only wax the hull at launch time.....I do the topsides by hand a few times throughout the season......I'll put the PC on my Christmas list for next year....or maybe Father's Day..... :smt017 ....
 
I ordered the PC setup from Coastal Tool on Saturday and it arrived yesterday. Below is the initial setup that I went with. I ordered two of each of the pads so that I wouldn't have to stop and wash out the pads in the middle of waxing. Looks like this weekend will be a wax on/wax off weekend!! :cool:

QTY________Part Number________________________________ Each____________Total

2__________BRITBX3PD-RW#3 WHITE BUFFING PAD__________ $17.50__________ $ 35.00

2__________BRITBX5PD-RBU#5 BLUE BUFFING PAD __________ $ 17.50__________ $ 35.00

1__________PORT7424-KIT 6" POLISHER W/6" PAD+ 6" WEIGHT__$119.00__________$119.00


SubTotal $ 189.00
Shipping: $ 8.50
TotalTax: $ 0.00
FinalTot: $ 197.50
 
You forgot to include your credit card number :lol:
 
When I do the cleaning, polsihing, and waxing of the 420 i keep a bucket of water handy to toss the used pads into. This way they don't dry out...yet another timeless classic tip from fwebster. Once done, I put all the wet pads, microfiber towels, etc. into a pillow case and wash them in the Admiral's absurdly expensive washing machine. They come out great. I also did all my dock lines this way. I had five 35' x 3/4 triple braid lines. I shoved them inside a pillowcase, and washed them in the washing machine with tide and downy fabric softener. They came out great. So--now I have a good set of pliable travel lines.

regards
Skip
 
Skip said:
So--now I have a good set of pliable travel lines.
Click to expand...
And a clean Downy soft pillow case to boot.
 
Wow, I ordered mine from Coastal yesterday at around Noon and it just showed up using the UPS ground shipping option. Nice.
 
Thanks to all the great advice on this site; my PC 7424, hook and tool kit, and pads arrived today from Coastal Tool.

I can't wait to give it try Friday afternoon! :cool:
 
I am gonna revive this thread and say wow ....I am sold and I am gonna be buying one of these bad chickens to add a blinding shine to the new deck.:wow:.....I do have a question though..
Do you guys with fiberglass on the inside buff/polish this too?:huh:
 
Good question. Since the cockpit is always under the bimini, eisenglass, and aft cover, I just use cleaner and wax (or a cleaner/wax) by hand.
 
I need to buy one as well and found this site last night.
Tools-plus 7424
for $99 and $7 shipping I don't think I can go wrong. I always give the local guys an opportunity to match, but this is a great price. Now I need to do more research on the pads so I get the right ones.
Skip or anyone else; to remove heavy oxidation are you recommending a circular polishhing wheel? It's been years since I had to remove oxidation with compound

thanks in advance for your advice
 
Todd,
The PC just has not got the chops to get serious oxidation off the hull or gunnel's. You really need to use a circular but then you need to be careful not to burn the fiberglass. I am keeping Impulse III in a covered shed this winter and on days where it is warm enough I will be spending the days getting rid of several years worth of oxidation and my nights eating Advil's or some other product to relieve the aches and pains that are sure to appear. Where are my kids and boating "friends" when I need them ????????
 
Todd

Ordering the PC orbital buffer will not get you everything you need (more on the circular unit in a minute). You also need a flexible backing plate with a velcro back for use with your pads. I am going to give you a few more links so you can do some more reading. Look at this in regard to the backing plate http://www.properautocare.com/flbaplfordup.html As far as pads go, you should order foam pads. They come in various "grades" depending on what you are trying to do. Here is another link that will expalin that. http://www.properautocare.com/oeccste65inf.html

There is so much information on this site that it's probably best if you peruse thru it yourself. You will get a good education even if you don't buy anything from these folks. http://properboatcare.stores.yahoo.net/

With regard to the orbital versus the circular, get a circular if you have serious oxidation. It will save you so much time. But once you use it to bring that shine back, the orbital will be the way to go from there. So I would look for a cheap circular buffer from Northern Tool or Harbor Freight.

Dave
 
I totally agree with Dave S. in his recommendations to go to the proper auto care and proper boat care websites. That's how I learned about the product and eventually bought my 7424 from them. The nice thing is with the proper pads and products, you can use the PC on your car and you'll be amazed how well it works.

Dave S. is also right about the using of a circular buffer when it comes to oxidation. I purchased a cheap (Chinese) one online ($40) and used the (boat) pads from the PC on it with very good results. The thing to remember is not to use a very high rotational speed because it can "burn" the fiberglass, but also, the use of heavy duty rubbing compounds with high speed can also reduce the fiberglass layers so it won't shine at all. I use the PC (after the rotary) to do the polishing, but prefer to remove the residue by hand.
 
ok, when I was in High school and shortly after I deatiled boats for spare $$$. Thousands of feet of Stainless railing and tons of sq feet of hand buffing the oxidation later, I'll be honest, I haven't run into cleaning oxidation the likes of what the new boat I'm going through purchasing has. I'm confident it will come out, but I think before I order the Porter Cable and a Harbor Freight Circular polisher, I should go to Costco and have them throw a pallet of Advil in the back 'o the truck. Since I bought my first boat when I was 24, brand new 1991 180BR SeaRay I have worked tirelessly to keep my boats well polished to the scrutiny of my wife always commenting: Why are you so anal?

I think I'll let her make the first pass......


Thanks for the input, links and advice guys. Once I get the new Wessel here at home, I'll have a cold beer and a blender for Advil cocktails if anyone want's to test out the new polisher.
 
Last edited:
Nehalennia said:
I need to buy one as well and found this site last night.
Tools-plus 7424
for $99 and $7 shipping I don't think I can go wrong. I always give the local guys an opportunity to match, but this is a great price. Now I need to do more research on the pads so I get the right ones.
Skip or anyone else; to remove heavy oxidation are you recommending a circular polishhing wheel? It's been years since I had to remove oxidation with compound

thanks in advance for your advice
Click to expand...

I went to your link and the price is $89.10 because of a sale! Have to buy before sunday.
 
Does the sale include the 6" accessory kit??? gonna order one!
 
When I bought my 340, it had a lot of dock rash. I have begun to clean it up. I wet-sanded several areas on the blue gel coat with 400, 600, 800 and finally 1000. Now, when I go to put the shine back, I'm having a tough time. I'm using the PC with the appropriate pads (I think), and 3M Marine Compound followed by Meguir's wax. I've also tried some Meguir's cleaning compound, polish...

There are still scratch marks from the sanding, and the shine isn't coming back (yet?). I've tried going back to 1000 grit wet thinking that I hadn't taken the scratches down yet, but that completely removes the shine and puts new scratches (fine ones) back on the gel.

I had a neighbor come by and tell me that I need to keep going with the 3M Compound. Should I go to a circular with compound? The boat is in the water so it's a big deal to turn it around in the slip to access the affected areas, so I'd like to get it right before going back to work. Any suggestions?

How do you go from wet sanding to shine?
 
Hampton said:
When I bought my 340, it had a lot of dock rash. I have begun to clean it up. I wet-sanded several areas on the blue gel coat with 400, 600, 800 and finally 1000. Now, when I go to put the shine back, I'm having a tough time. I'm using the PC with the appropriate pads (I think), and 3M Marine Compound followed by Meguir's wax. I've also tried some Meguir's cleaning compound, polish...

There are still scratch marks from the sanding, and the shine isn't coming back (yet?). I've tried going back to 1000 grit wet thinking that I hadn't taken the scratches down yet, but that completely removes the shine and puts new scratches (fine ones) back on the gel.

I had a neighbor come by and tell me that I need to keep going with the 3M Compound. Should I go to a circular with compound? The boat is in the water so it's a big deal to turn it around in the slip to access the affected areas, so I'd like to get it right before going back to work. Any suggestions?

How do you go from wet sanding to shine?
Click to expand...

John

I just wet sanded a few spots on my blue hull. 1000 grit is not fine enough for the final sanding. Get yourself some 1500 grit and go to 2000 grit if you have to for the final wet sanding. I found the 1500 was as far as I had to go. Then I used Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish (by hand in straight back and forth strokes) on the sanding marks on the gelcoat.
Motorcycle-Polish-Mothers-Mag-And-Aluminum-Polish.jpg

I have found over the last several years that Mothers works well to get rid of any of those final sanding marks. I then followed that up using Meguairs Flagship Wax using an "enhance" pad on my PC Orbital. The Meguairs Flagship has some cleaner in it and that seems just right to bring out the final shine.
 
1500! 2000! Wow, Thanks - I knew there had to be something to go in between, but I just couldn't imagine what it would be.

While sanding with the 1000, it looked like glass. Perfect color, perfectly smooth... Once it dries, you can see you're far from it.
 
Dave S said:
John

I just wet sanded a few spots on my blue hull. 1000 grit is not fine enough for the final sanding. Get yourself some 1500 grit and go to 2000 grit if you have to for the final wet sanding. I found the 1500 was as far as I had to go. Then I used Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish (by hand in straight back and forth strokes) on the sanding marks on the gelcoat.
Motorcycle-Polish-Mothers-Mag-And-Aluminum-Polish.jpg

I have found over the last several years that Mothers works well to get rid of any of those final sanding marks. I then followed that up using Meguairs Flagship Wax using an "enhance" pad on my PC Orbital. The Meguairs Flagship has some cleaner in it and that seems just right to bring out the final shine.
Click to expand...

Ok I'd like to know what brand the "extra" pads are? Some of you have mentioned colors, etc, but are there brands and part numbers anyone can share?
 
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