Question about polishing features.

[Bill Wyko]

I thought I saw somewhere that festool had polishes. I was wondering if I can use my ROS150 to polish my truck. I was also wondering what kind of polishes were offered by Festool and if they were for automotive or just for wood finishes. My last question is if it can be used on my truck, which pads and other accessories are needed?
Thanks,

 

[Dan Clermont]

Hi Bill

I could be wrong here but I believe Festool sells the pads for the polishes and not polish.

Dan Clermont

 

[Bill Wyko]

I seem to rember a black tube with green writing and maby a black with orange writing. I just don't rember where I saw it.

 

[Forrest Anderson]

I thought I saw somewhere that festool had polishes. I was wondering if I can use my ROS150 to polish my truck. I was also wondering what kind of polishes were offered by Festool and if they were for automotive or just for wood finishes. My last question is if it can be used on my truck, which pads and other accessories are needed?

The Rotex can definitely be used for polishing vehicles! It's been discussed a few times before, so check out the Search feature at the top of the page to see if you can find some threads.

Festool kit is used quite a bit in the automotive world, and there's a magazine article about polishing a car with a RO150 athttp://www.festool.co.uk/images/download_press/MINI-magazine.pdf

There's also an 8-page Festool brochure about automotive polishing with the RO150 athttp://www.festool.co.uk/images/gb_downloads/brochure_ro150_auto.pdf

Forrest

 

[Dan Clermont]

I seem to rember a black tube with green writing and maby a black with orange writing. I just don't rember where I saw it.

Bill,

If you look at the brochure Forrest has so kindly linked you'll see products 493816, 492427 and 493066 listed on Page 7. I did a quick search on the FestoolUSA website and was unable to find any info so I'd expect they are NAINA and probably awaiting UL approval  ;D

Sorry, bad sense of humour.

Dan Clermont

 

[John Langevin]

This issue came up sometime ago in connection with a lengthy and very informative thread on auto detailing. I think it was Dan Clark who posted? I asked the same question and Bob Marino informed us NAINA

 

[Bill Wyko]

I'm getting robbed Back to Maguire's ;D Are the polishing pads available here in the U.S.?

 

[Brice Burrell]

I'm getting robbed Back to Maguire's ;D Are the polishing pads available here in the U.S.?

Yes, Festool offers felt and foam polishing pads. Check out this guy's PDF, he talks about the polishing process.

 

[Les]

This issue came up sometime ago in connection with a lengthy and very informative thread on auto detailing. I think it was Dan Clark who posted? I asked the same question and Bob Marinao informed us NAINA

Dan has a lot of info in his post. When you get down to it, any polish will work. It becomes a matter of us vs. them. I used to use Zaino Brothers. Have tried Mernenza and Mcguire's. All work as long as you use the same care as you would use on polishing out wood. Just don't be over aggressive at the start and you will soon learn what works. The RO sander are coveted by many detailers.

 

[Bill Wyko]

Do any of you dealers  have these in stock? Can I get a kit in a systainer?

 

[tbellemare]

There are several things used for polishing with the Rotex.

We have several of them in stock. It starts with the polishing pad, 493914.

There are polishing sponges; the coarse sponge 5-pack is 493846, the fine sponge 5-pack is 493874.

For polishing felt, we currently have only the hard felt 5-pack, which is 488348.

There are also sheepskins, we have the single - 484131.

I can package them in a Systainer though depending on how much you want to put in it, you might want a different size Sys. You could probably get everything you want in a Sys 2.

Tom

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I thought I saw somewhere that festool had polishes. I was wondering if I can use my ROS150 to polish my truck. I was also wondering what kind of polishes were offered by Festool and if they were for automotive or just for wood finishes. My last question is if it can be used on my truck, which pads and other accessories are needed?
Thanks,

Bill,

The answer is "yes."  I have been polishing/waxing my family's "fleet" of 5 cars for the past 3 years with my RO 125, and before that with an older Bosch 5" RO sander fitted with a foam pad.  There are many excellent posts here on FOG and elsewhere instructing you in technique and recommended materials.  My method is very simple and yields good results.  After washing and drying your vehicle, use a clay bar to remove embedded contaminants.  A clay bar is much more efficient at this than using a powered polisher/buffer.  Use a tar/sap removal solvent if you have any such contamination, e.g. on the rocker panels and the lower panels behind the wheels.  Then use your RO 150 with a foam pad and the polish of your choice.  I strongly recommend using a foam pad of a diameter that is larger than the backing pad, e.g use a 7 or 8 inch diameter pad on you RO 150 (6 inch diameter).  The oversize pad allows you to better reach into recessed areas such as under the mirrors and presents a soft edge to help prevent any damage to the finish and trim of your vehicle.  After use of the above treatment I have found that I do not need to use a polish (abrasive) for subsequent treatment.  Every 4 - 6 months I repeat the clay bar treatment, especially on the lower panels and then go straight to a wax/sealant and get excellent results no matter what brand of wax I use.  I have tried Meguiar's, Mother's, Zymol, Optima, and Griot's Garage.  Remember that only a little wax is needed on the foam pad!  Use of the RO with a foam pad and plain wax (without any polishing agents or abrasives) eliminates most of the fine scratches that occur through repeated wash/dry cycles.  Doing a medium sized sedan takes me about 2 hours.  Have fun.

Dave R.

 

[Dan Clermont]

I thought I saw somewhere that festool had polishes. I was wondering if I can use my ROS150 to polish my truck. I was also wondering what kind of polishes were offered by Festool and if they were for automotive or just for wood finishes. My last question is if it can be used on my truck, which pads and other accessories are needed?
Thanks,

Bill,

The answer is "yes."  I have been polishing/waxing my family's "fleet" of 5 cars for the past 3 years with my RO 125, and before that with an older Bosch 5" RO sander fitted with a foam pad.  There are many excellent posts here on FOG and elsewhere instructing you in technique and recommended materials.  My method is very simple and yields good results.  After washing and drying your vehicle, use a clay bar to remove embedded contaminants.  A clay bar is much more efficient at this than using a powered polisher/buffer.   Use a tar/sap removal solvent if you have any such contamination, e.g. on the rocker panels and the lower panels behind the wheels.  Then use your RO 150 with a foam pad and the polish of your choice.  I strongly recommend using a foam pad of a diameter that is larger than the backing pad, e.g use a 7 or 8 inch diameter pad on you RO 150 (6 inch diameter).  The oversize pad allows you to better reach into recessed areas such as under the mirrors and presents a soft edge to help prevent any damage to the finish and trim of your vehicle.   After use of the above treatment I have found that I do not need to use a polish (abrasive) for subsequent treatment.  Every 4 - 6 months I repeat the clay bar treatment, especially on the lower panels and then go straight to a wax/sealant and get excellent results no matter what brand of wax I use.  I have tried Meguiar's, Mother's, Zymol, Optima, and Griot's Garage.  Remember that only a little wax is needed on the foam pad!  Use of the RO with a foam pad and plain wax (without any polishing agents or abrasives) eliminates most of the fine scratches that occur through repeated wash/dry cycles.  Doing a medium sized sedan takes me about 2 hours.  Have fun.

Dave R.

Dave

Great two minute tutorial!

What speed are you running the Rotex at? I've been told to apply wax by hand as it is hard to remove if applied with a Rotex, have you had any issues with this?

Thanks
Dan Clermont

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I use a relatively low speed, 2 or 3 on the dial.  Using a higher speed increase the frictional heat generated.  A higher speed also means you're more likely to sling some of the polish / wax off the pad rather than keeping it where you want it.

One more point.  It's almost impossible (at least for me) to keep the pad from contacting the rubber/vinyl trim around the windows.  I've found that is not a problem if you wipe off any polish / wax very quickly after contacting that rubber / vinyl.  I've had no problems with ugly chalky streaks showing up on such black trim, certainly not with Meguiar's number 26 liquid yellow wax or Griot's Garage Best of Show wax or paint sealant.  Other people  frequently advise masking such trim before using power buffing tools, but I'm lazy and thus have learned a technique that doesn't require this additional work.  Be very careful if you use a common "cleaner wax" as many of these will dry to a highly visible haze on your rubber / vinyl if you don't wipe them off immediately.  (Don't ask how I know!  Those "dried wax remover" products do not work as well as advertised, at least not Griot's product on dried polish or wax on the vinyl trim of my wife's 1996 Saab - the black vinyl door guard stips are textured.)

Dave R.

 

[ForumMFG]

I'm about to do some buffing wiith my RO125.  Do I need the green polishing attachment for the RO to use the sheep skin? Is there any way around this?

Do they sell the sponge and felts in single units instead of 5 packs?

-Dave

 

[Brice Burrell]

I'm about to do some buffing wiith my RO125.  Do I need the green polishing attachment for the RO to use the sheep skin? Is there any way around this?

Do they sell the sponge and felts in single units instead of 5 packs?

-Dave

Dave, I believe the polishing ads are only sold in 5 packs, you may be able to find a dealer that is willing to sell them individually. The Rotex sanders have a pad made for polishing but you don't have to use it, I'm pretty sure the regular pad will work. I'll check it out and let you know.

 

[tbellemare]

I agree with you, Brice, but to me, it depends on what you're trying to polish.

The polishing pad is thinner and stiffer so it will work better on a flat surface. That's not to say a medium sanding pad won't work.

It's much like choosing sanding pads, if you're sanding stop signs, you want a nice, hard pad.

If I were polishing my car or a curvy wooden surface, I'd want more give.

Tom

 

[Brice Burrell]

Tom, the polishing pad would be a good idea for the felt polishing pads, which is why I bought it. The foam polishing pads and sheep skin pads I'd be willing to bet the regular pad would be fine. 

 

[tbellemare]

I think so also, Brice. I use the black pad to polish but not normally with felt.

Tom

 

[Bob Marino]

Tom, the polishing pad would be a good idea for the felt polishing pads, which is why I bought it. The foam polishing pads and sheep skin pads I'd be willing to bet the regular pad would be fine.  

I'm not Tom, but agree with you Brice. Where you can use a little more "give" the regular sanding pad works well - that's what use for polishing my cars. This is something I just recently started doing and would never go back to hand polishing again. And, like Dave I use the RO 125. For me and this is purely my opinion, the RO 125 is easier to use for car polishing - it's just he right size and weight...again, for my hands, on my cars.

Bob