Rotary vs Random orbit

northshore

northshore

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2011
2,089
Cleveland, OH
Boat Info
1989 340 Sundancer
Raymarine E90W Radar/Chartplotter
Engines
Twin 454 Mercruiser 340's
Question: from the rub rail up, our boat could really use some help, the oxidation is pretty heavy - rub rail down is in good shape.
What I'm contemplating is renting a rotary for what I hope is one time use to get through the heavy oxidation with something like Presta Supercut and then purchase a good Porter Cable (or other) random orbit unit and stay on top of the gelcoat with that wax/polish and going forward.

So if I were to use something like Presta Supercut to deal with the heavy oxidation, can I use the random orbit (expecting it to take more time) or does the heavy work require the rotary?

I'll be honest, I'm a bit concerned about using an aggressive compound and the rotary and possibly doing some damage, but this year, I bought a really oxidized dock box that I can practice on if I go the rotary route.

Thanks,

-Mike
 
I use rotary for all. I only use the random orbit to apply Polish and now I just apply by hand and use the rotary to take it off much faster than the random. If your topside is chalky to the touch than even using the rotary will be/might be temporary. You may need to wet sand to fully remove the oxidation. Mine is in similar shape and I used mequiars 91 on it followed by mequiars 67 and Polish. The oxidation came back in one season.

Sent from my AT&T LG3
 
You need a rotary to get a deep clean of oxidation.

I too now apply the polish by hand and take it off with the rotary.

MM
 
I had never used a rotary until this spring. It sounds like you need a rotary and some wool pads. It that doesn't get it, then it will be wet sanding. The rotary was easy to learn and amazing the difference between it and an orbital. Rather then rent, go buy one at Habor Freight. Get the one with the digital readout. I got mine last December for like $40 with a 20% off coupon. So far, has paid for itself. Like you said, practice on your dockbox.

Bennett
 
-1 for Harbor Freight. Had three from two different stores in about ten days. None worked. Dewalt polisher works great. Use a rotary once and you will never touch an orbital again. When you have a blue boat a rotary is your best friend. After I get the boat looking good with the polish I do as Algeria does. I put wax on by hand then come back with a gentle pad to remove it. Looks great for a few days.
 
-1 on the HF buffer. I went through two of them before the third one had enough "oomph" to stay running even with just a light pressure.

Do yourself a favor and buy a Makita. If your boat is that badly oxidized you'll save a lot of time and aggravation by buying a good one the first time around.
 
A random orbit buffer is useless except to put on or take off wax. Rotary is the way to go. If you are very chalky wet sand with a rubber block with 800 then 1000 first. Straight strokes up and down or left and right. NO circular motion. Then use Presta cut and a wool bonnet. Continue until you can easily read news print in the finish. Buy a Flex PE14-2-150 buffer. You won't be disappointed and your arms won't fall off.

Pete
 
by accident while cleaning a previous boat I discovered that using a 'Scotch Brite' general scrubber pad (see pic) pad with an abrasive cleaner like Ajax or Comet and water does a surprisingly good job of removing heavy oxidation without a lot of hard scrubbing...the swirl marks left in the gelcoat are shallow and can be easily removed with a cleaner wax.....then apply a long lasting wax or liquid sealer....

cliff

shopping
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for the input. The random orbit option is now off the table.
The only issue now is the harbor freight model or a brand known to be a bit more robust.
I tend to by top end tools but hell for $40 bucks.....:grin:
 
My HF buffer finally died, switch went bad.
It did work for several years and paid for itself over and over again....I'll buy another one for the price :)
 
northshore said:
Thanks all for the input. The random orbit option is now off the table.
The only issue now is the harbor freight model or a brand known to be a bit more robust.
I tend to by top end tools but hell for $40 bucks.....:grin:
Click to expand...

I normally buy higher-end myself. However, it only gets used 1/yr really and maybe a spot of two otherwise. Like you say, for $40 vs a couple of hundred, it works for me.

Bennett
 
A great cleaner before you buff is The Works toilet bowl cleaner with the blue cap. It is basically muratic acid pre-diluted and gets off all the water deposits before you buff. A 30 year pro taught me that trick.

Also cleans the stainless for polishing.

MM
 
Mike, i have a HF and a dewalt rotary and a dewalt random orbital that isnt available any more.Last winter just befor finishing the compounding i caught the cord of the HF in the wheel and killed it after 6 seasons.My dewalt has been in my tool box since 2002 but i do use it on my cars and used it daily for a few years when it was new,i also use it on the topsides of the boat usually.The dewalt orbital is for waxing only,it would take a month to get compound to work with it even though it is heavy duty(i used it to strip bottom paint off a 26 and 40 ft boat).The HF is light ,the dewalt is light compared to other brands like black and decker or milwaukee but about the same as makita.I think the new model is even lighter than mine though.No matter what you buy get a warranty!Good luck ,have fun ,take advil.Glen
 
Greetings Glen! - Hope you had a great season!

I think I'm headed the Makita (really good reviews everywhere) direction for the rotary, but in addition to that, I've got the 20% off coupon for Harbor Freight and they have their random orbit on sale.
I'll use the HF for wax removal and the Makita for everything else.
 
Mike ,great season.Do not forget the advil.
 
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