Waxing with an Electric Random Orbiting Buffer

Jay Honeck

Jay Honeck

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Jay Honeck
So I bought one of these tonight:

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$20 bucks at WallyWorld.

Holy crap -- this thing is AMAZING. Using Henning's super-dooper Insulator wax (applied by hand), and buffing it off with this random orbitor gizmo, gives Amelia the deepest shine I've ever seen on any airplane.

More importantly, it does it in, like, 10% the time it takes buffing by hand. Tonight I did in 20 minutes what took me all afternoon to do a couple of weeks ago.

I've always resisted buying one, after hearing all the horror stories about putting "swirls" in your paint, etc., but I'm here to tell ya that it works easily and great. (And the replacement buffing covers are just a couple of bucks. And they're washable.)
 
I agree, they do work very well with no swirls (if used with reasonable care, that is). I used one similar to yours before a friend gave me a pneumatic Cyclo polisher (the $350 type!). It works great but probably not much better than the one you just bought.
 
Chris Mitchell said:
I agree, they do work very well with no swirls (if used with reasonable care, that is). I used one similar to yours before a friend gave me a pneumatic Cyclo polisher (the $350 type!). It works great but probably not much better than the one you just bought.
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I was surprised how cheap it was. And how well it worked.

Hell, I would have paid $100 to some poor sap to wax the plane that well. Instead, I paid $20 for the gizmo, and enjoyed an evening of Shiner Bock beers at the hangar whilst accomplishing same.

And I get to do it again tomorrow. Waxing doesn't suck anymore! :yesnod:
 
downside: less physical exercise...

"wax on, wax off...."

:-)
 
Lol, if it's easier to drag this thing around, you're still putting on too much product. :rofl:
 
Still wax by hand, figure it's a labor of love.
 
Is it messing with the compass at all? I've heard of some problems in the past when using these.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
What's a "compass"? lol

The hard part of waxing is the buffing. Basically, you're trying to generate enough friction to melt the wax into a shiny, homogenous layer.

Doing that by hand, in a 90-degree, 80%-humidity hangar totally sucks.

The buffer makes it suck less, and does a WAY better job. I've never seen a shine like this before, except on show planes.
 
JB1842 said:
He flies an experimental. The required equipment on them are less strict than on a certified plane.
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We had a vertical card compass on top of the glare shield like a big gunsight. When we redid the panel in February, that came out, and our view forward improved by about 30%.

We now have a magnetometer in the tail, far from any electronic interference, feeding our EFIS.
 
Been using one for years on the Free Bird, can't believe you did that Pathfinder without. Saves a lot of time and elbow grease. Of course, I wouldn't stoop to drinking swill like Shiner Bock.
 
Jay Honeck said:
We had a vertical card compass on top of the glare shield like a big gunsight. When we redid the panel in February, that came out, and our view forward improved by about 30%.

We now have a magnetometer in the tail, far from any electronic interference, feeding our EFIS.
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You redid your panel? What did you do? Did you find a good infrared camera/ipad set up?
 
Man, this would be a useful thread if only the PRODUCT INFO was listed.
 
steingar said:
Been using one for years on the Free Bird, can't believe you did that Pathfinder without. Saves a lot of time and elbow grease. Of course, I wouldn't stoop to drinking swill like Shiner Bock.
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Augh! You have assailed tpShiner Bock, the Texas Nectar of the Gods?

You shall be smited (smote?) at OSH this year. lol

With Atlas, we had a (mostly) white airplane that was pretty easy to keep shiny with spray/wipe wax. Amelia's Ferrari-red paint is much harder to keep looking good. The buffer is going to be a Godsend.
 
docmirror said:
Man, this would be a useful thread if only the PRODUCT INFO was listed.
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Walmart sells precisely two automotive buffers. One big, one small. This is the small one. $20 bucks!

If it lasts three wax jobs, it paid for itself.
 
You guys have to check if the item is a store item or from a 3rd party. Those buffers you all found aren't sold in the stores themselves. And from being a former Wal-Mart employee, I know that not all stores stock the same merchandise as others. And Wal-Mart doesn't price match other Wal-Mart stores in the same area (at least they didn't in 2000 in San Diego).
 
Jay Honeck said:
Augh! You have assailed tpShiner Bock, the Texas Nectar of the Gods?
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Tastes like what I would expect of horse ****.

Jay Honeck said:
You shall be smited (smote?) at OSH this year. lol
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The Gods and what army?

Jay Honeck said:
With Atlas, we had a (mostly) white airplane that was pretty easy to keep shiny with spray/wipe wax. Amelia's Ferrari-red paint is much harder to keep looking good. The buffer is going to be a Godsend.
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I've always washed and waxed the Free bird, and she's past due. Every time I want to go and wash the thing it rains.
 
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I'm pretty sure one orbital buffer is the same as another, but here's the one I bought from Wal-Mart for $20:

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Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
 
Learned a trick from John Stahr who just completed my paint job. Use 1/4" masking tape on the rivet lines so the wax doesn't get into those little buggers, otherwise you might be giving individual attention to some rivets. Thought I would pass it along.
 
I just had to share this remarkable photo with y'all. This is my reflection in the UNDERside of Amelia's pretty wing. You know, the side that no one ever waxes?

This Collinite Insulator wax, when buffed with my $20 Wal-Mart orbital buffer; simply produces showplane results, without effort! I've rarely been so pleased with any product (s).

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retpd2001 said:
Learned a trick from John Stahr who just completed my paint job. Use 1/4" masking tape on the rivet lines so the wax doesn't get into those little buggers, otherwise you might be giving individual attention to some rivets. Thought I would pass it along.
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You don't have to worry about it with this wax, it doesn't leave white crap in the cracks if you just wipe away the excess when applying. It dries to a transparent haze.
 
So the worst job in the world -- cleaning/waxing the bottom of an airplane -- has been made almost fun.

What you're seeing in this pic was an opaque, brown mass of baked-on exhaust stain mixed with oil and dirt. Suffice it to say that Amelia's bottomside hasn't looked this good since the day she was painted.
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