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61 Posts
A 6" DA is all the rage, and they work super well, but sometimes I get lazy. Yup, I forget to tape off everything I should have once in a while when making my car shiny, or I often see a small spot of a fender that the 6" DA's don't quite reach into, so I skip it(eek!). But I had a ton of cash built up on my AZ rewards, so I bought the Meguiar's DA Power System($59.99) as well as a pack of their medium (brown) compounding pads($14.99), as it comes with 2(yellow) fine/polishing pads. The best part is I got a $10 mail in rebate on top of buying the products for free!
But the premise of the product is that you can attach the system to any 3/8" or 1/2" VS chuck drill, and make a mini DA buffer/polisher. The pros: smaller diameter(3") that allows you to get into smaller spaces with the face of the pad instead of the edge. Seems to be well made; holds up to any rpm range I've run it in. Pad change is quick and easy. The foams Meguiar's uses for the pads take to cleanup very easily. If you're a user of the Mother's power ball or a similar product for rim polishing, this can be used as a decent alternative. The price point is very attractive when compared to a full size Flex DA or Porter cable(roughly half!). It seems like it's almost impossible to apply too much pressure to the pad when running.
The cons: Can't really expect great results with any cordless drill; the battery just can't hold up to a long usage cycle(RPM fade). Most of us have a corded 3/8" drill around somewhere, but very few have variable speed settings, except with the amount of pressure applied to the trigger. Unless you've got an angled drill similar to a Bosch 1132VSR, the handling of it takes about 5 minutes to get used to when compared to a true DA.
All in all though, I'd rate this product a B+. I was able to use the polishing (yellow) pads with a bit of Plastix on my headlights with impressive results, and though I did tape off, there was no spall or splatter of product at max rpm. The tight radius of the edge allowed me to get into some areas I've been meaning to machine compound on the paint that I wasn't excited about attempting previously with my full size Flex. I tackled the chrome around the windows and doors(waterspots, what?) again with the fine pads, and wasn't concerned about draping tons of paper and tape everywhere to avoid overuse. For S&G I ended up applying a coat of wax to my entire Passat with this and it went well. So all in all YMMV, but if you've considered a DA and you're willing to learn the trigger of your existing drill I'd say go out and try this.
But the premise of the product is that you can attach the system to any 3/8" or 1/2" VS chuck drill, and make a mini DA buffer/polisher. The pros: smaller diameter(3") that allows you to get into smaller spaces with the face of the pad instead of the edge. Seems to be well made; holds up to any rpm range I've run it in. Pad change is quick and easy. The foams Meguiar's uses for the pads take to cleanup very easily. If you're a user of the Mother's power ball or a similar product for rim polishing, this can be used as a decent alternative. The price point is very attractive when compared to a full size Flex DA or Porter cable(roughly half!). It seems like it's almost impossible to apply too much pressure to the pad when running.
The cons: Can't really expect great results with any cordless drill; the battery just can't hold up to a long usage cycle(RPM fade). Most of us have a corded 3/8" drill around somewhere, but very few have variable speed settings, except with the amount of pressure applied to the trigger. Unless you've got an angled drill similar to a Bosch 1132VSR, the handling of it takes about 5 minutes to get used to when compared to a true DA.
All in all though, I'd rate this product a B+. I was able to use the polishing (yellow) pads with a bit of Plastix on my headlights with impressive results, and though I did tape off, there was no spall or splatter of product at max rpm. The tight radius of the edge allowed me to get into some areas I've been meaning to machine compound on the paint that I wasn't excited about attempting previously with my full size Flex. I tackled the chrome around the windows and doors(waterspots, what?) again with the fine pads, and wasn't concerned about draping tons of paper and tape everywhere to avoid overuse. For S&G I ended up applying a coat of wax to my entire Passat with this and it went well. So all in all YMMV, but if you've considered a DA and you're willing to learn the trigger of your existing drill I'd say go out and try this.
