10inch Buffer BS

I while ago i bought my dad a Sears 10 inch buffer for fathers day. I bought the "kit" for him, but with the intention of me using it to detail "his" cars. (what a nice son huh)

Well, the time has come where all the bonnets are toast/ ripped.

buffer in question

When looking to replace the terry cloth and applicator bonnets i saw the expense of them. $8.99 a piece! your kidding me. I checked harbor freight and bought their 10inch bonnet pads but they just dont fit.

So here is my question:

1) Is there a cheaper source for these bonnets? (terry/ applicator)

2) Should i just sell the buffer i have now and buy the harbor freight version? Cheaper buy in, cheaper consumables, slightly smaller though. My buddy has one and uses it to wax his boat, said it works fine.

Thoughts?

First off when I read the bonnets were toast I thought you'd burnt through the paint on the bonnet, sorry hood for this continent!

I don't konw about the Sears, but I have the same sort of thing and I just bought new pads, towels (now we sound like feminine hygine proiducts!) OK Bonnets, at the local O'Reilly's auto factors.

$8.99 sounds about right, if they were $20 I'd pass.

looking at that kit, you get 3 terry bonnets and 3 applicator bonnets.

6 bonnets x 8 bucks a piece= $48 bucks and they throw in a free buffer.

Might be cheaper to just buy another buffer kit and sell off the buffer.

Wow.

Has anybody seen the price of inkjet printer ink lately? Oy!

I was more of a fan of the foam bonnets, but even those were pretty delicate.

Eventually, I ended up going with a Griot's buffer and Lake Country foam pads. I do enough cars to make it worthwhile. Plus, the results are stellar.

I'm not sure of costs, but what I do know is that the guys at the body shop I used to work at treated those like they were gold. They would hide them from each other and use them until they were worn out.

gamby wrote: Eventually, I ended up going with a Griot's buffer and Lake Country foam pads. I do enough cars to make it worthwhile. Plus, the results are stellar.

I do probably ten cars a year plus my own cars/bikes.

Might it be time to step up to the major leagues and invest in a "professional grade" unit? Ill have to price things out

In reply to CarKid1989:

I couldn't see why not. I probably only do 10-15 a year (that might change this season) and I think it's worth the money. The Griot's buffer is the same price as the Porter Cable, but Griot's has a lifetime warranty on theirs.

Griot's is always running deals on their stuff, too.

I order my Lake Country pads through Autogeek and they last a LONG time. The Griot's pads do not. They produce great results, but they fall apart way quicker than the LC ones.

Detailers domain is where I typically pick up my detailing supplies. My local auto stores are stocking Griots products but at a much higher price. Amazon also does a lot of bundling so you can sometimes find good deals on multiples of pads and polishes.

I have the same buffer, no issues with tearing.

kevin,

i've probably got the same craftsman one. i saw the price on the terry pads, went home, and got out a terry towel and electrical tape. tape towel tight around the circumference of the buffing pad and wrap a few times.

i've been using it that way for 8 years.

Can I suggest you ditch the terrycloth and wool bonnets, and switch to foam ones? They work so much better, and don't burn through the paint.

After a detailing thread here on the forum I went wild and bought a set of lake country foam pads. I highly recommend them. They make the job so much easier I figured it worth the expense on the very first job and now I have used them enough I am pretty sure they have saved me money over the cheaper stuff. Not to mention countless hours.

ok i am close to throwing money down for a polisher. got two jobs lined up and that will pay for all my expenses.

Griots Garage or Poor Boys polishes?

And Porter cable orbital buffer or Griots buffer?

Thoughts inputs? Any "kits" that are worthy to get?

The lake county foam pads seem alright from my research so thats set.

Thanks guys

Where the OPs link now goes somehow seem more accurate.

I take old sweatshirts and cut them into 10" x 10" squares to use as buffer pads. Just leave an old bonnet on the buffer and put the sweatshirt piece on it. Works great and sweatshirts are dirt cheap (or free).

CarKid1989 wrote: ok i am close to throwing money down for a polisher. got two jobs lined up and that will pay for all my expenses. Griots Garage or Poor Boys polishes? And Porter cable orbital buffer or Griots buffer? Thoughts inputs? Any "kits" that are worthy to get? The lake county foam pads seem alright from my research so thats set. Thanks guys

I'm REALLY not a fan of Griot's polishes. Their One Step Sealant is decent, but lasts nowhere near the 1 year they claim.

I just ordered some 3D polish because supposedly it dusts less than most. Menzerna Super Intensive Polish is pricey, but works amazingly--but with a ton of dust.

I will say--Meguiar's Ultimate Compound is cheap and works pretty damn well on cars that don't have rock-hard clearcoat. Barely dusts at all, too.

Did anyone else get this instead of a buffer?