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Vector Professional Circular Polisher Circular Polisher
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Reviews
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Date product posted
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0
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5895
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Tue May 24, 2005
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No recommendations
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None indicated
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None indicated
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Description:
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If you're looking at circular polishers, there's a good chance you already own an orbital or dual-action machine like the Porter Cable 7424. Like many of you, the 7424 was my first machine polisher and remains a great tool for basic detailing.
What dual-action and orbital machines can't do, at least not easily, is remove swirls, scratches, water spots and paint blemishes. It can make these paint defects less noticeable but it can't remove them. Actually removing paint defects requires you to remove the layer of paint that contains the defect. This is done by abrading away the surrounding paint to the lowest part of the swirl or scratch. Dual-action polishers can't do this because the pads don't rotate or "cut". They oscillate or "jiggle".
Circular, high speed, polishers on the other hand are designed to remove paint. These machines are powered by high amperage, high torque motors which rotate the pads between 1000 and 3000 rpm. When used with an abrasive compound and a cutting pad, circular polishers can easily remove swirls, scratches, water spots and all manner of paint defects. This is the type of machine used at body shops and by automotive manufacturers world wide.
If you're serious about removing swirls, scratches and paint defects, sooner or later you'll end up owning a circular polisher. Unfortunately this is a big step for most enthusiasts as circular machines are pricey, usually $200. or more.
That's about to change. We found this Vector WaxxPro Circular polisher at the NACE show in December of 2002. NACE, the International Autobody Congress and Exposition, is the trade organization for the collision, paint and body shop industry. Vector manufacturers this machine in China to keep the price down but make no mistake about it, the Vector Waxxpro is a professional grade, circular polisher. This machine is being sold to collision, paint and body shops where it is likely to see more use in a week than you or I would accumulate in a year. When I saw the Vector's selling price of $119.95, I was knocked over! This will allow a large number of enthusiasts to step-up to a professional, circular polisher without breaking the bank. It also made me skeptical of the machine's quality. I ordered a sample for evaluation and I've been using it for the last four months.
So, how is it? Aside from a few nit-picks, this is one sweetheart of a polisher. It has a German-like feel of quality and craftsmanship. The molded housing is very comfortable to grip and the oversize trigger features a "soft start" which builds speed gradually to the speed limit set on the speed control. This greatly reduces turn-on splatter. The Vector weighs in at a manageable 7 lbs and is the quietest polisher I have ever used. I can be polishing away and still hear my workbench radio!
This is not a toy. The Vector has a hefty, 11 amp. motor. I've used it quite aggressively and never had the motor overheat or slow down.
I do have two nit-picks with this polisher. One, it comes with a flat, back-up plate for sanding. This plate is not hook and loop backed. You will need to purchase either a 6 inch or 7 inch Hook and Loop Backing Plate (listed below) to use our foam pads and wool discs. It does not come with any foam pads but a wool compounding bonnet is included that is supposed to be used over the flat, sanding back-up plate. It's worthless. Throw it away.
My second nit-pick is the speed limit control. On every polisher I've used before, the speed limit control is calibrated to match the machine's rpm (i.e. 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500). The Vector's speed control goes from 1 to 6. Vector's technical support told me that each number is approximately 500 rpm. This means a setting of "2" on the dial is 1000 rpm and "3" would be 1500 rpm. This is stupid but once I knew the relationship between the numbers on the dial and the machine's speed, it didn't cause me any problems.
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Keywords:
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Circular Polisher
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