Random Orbital Buffer

[soonercruiser]

Candyman,
I've got a Porter-Cable 7424 ROB. The first time I used it on soonercruier, the motor would get really hot quickly, and pretty soon loose power & speed. A local "authorized" repair shop repaired it, saying that some gear was bad. The next time "I'm using it, sure enough, after about 20 minutes of intermittant use, it's doing it again! Motor gets really hot, and pretty soon only runs when turned all the way up!
A lemon?

[Candyman]

Hey Frank,

The good old Porter Cable 7424 has been around for a long time, and two of the most common mechanical failures are related to overheating, and the motor seizing up. The problem is the way the shaft connects to the drive motor. It is a poor design to which you can very easily either tighten the shaft too much at which point the motor is working so hard that it will burn the either burn the motor, or kick a circuit breaker, or you can go to the opposite end of the spectrum and loosen it too much and the shaft wont do much of anything.

Now from a detailers point of view, to be totally honest the 7424 is just not a very productive tool. Basically their are two different types of buffers that are most commonly used in the Detailing Process. One is the High Speed Rotary Buffer which utilizes a high speed rotation, and a mildly abrasive compound to remove small scratches, defects, brake dust, and other related types of surface contaminants found on cars today. Now many people tend to back away from the thought of a rotary buffer out of fear they might burn, or damage the paint, which can happen, but by you keep the speed down to 1000 - 1200 rpm, you can do a great job and you will not create enough friction to cause any damage, even with little to no experience.

The other type of buffer is the Orbital, which is designed to oisolate
or mimicking the movement of a hand. This type of buffer is most commonly known for applying wax, and doing light finishing work, which does not need the high speed of the Rotary Buffer to do an effective job.

So the Porter Cable 7424 has too much speed (2400-3300 RPM) but since it is a Random Orbital Buffer, it is only really effective as a glorified expensive wax applicator on Steroids.


To be honest, if you could return it, and get your money back, that would be my personal recomendation. In its place I like the
Dewalt 849. It is a great rotary buffer with a setting for 1000 RPM built in so you can practice, and learn without fear of damaging your paint. Dewalt makes a very good commercial product that is designed, and built to work, and if something ever breaks, Dewalt is always their. Cost wise, the PC 7424 runs right around $174, and the Dewalt runs around $199, so the cast is close, and you get a better tool that willl do a whole lot more than the Orbital!

Here is a link:

www.autogeek.net/dw849.html

I hope this helps with your question, and gives a basic understanding of Buffers. As always, if you need more information, or have any questions, I am here, and ready to help anytime! ;D

Candyman

[soonercruiser]

Thanks a million Candyman!
I'll start out by calling and complaining about the reappearance of the problem.