Tool recommendation for polishing polyester finishes ...?

[Frank Weston]

Porter Cable makes the best hand held electric buffer/polisher available.
Don't make the mistake of getting something too small and not powerful
enough.  Polishing out a finish is a lot of work, and smaller polishers just
won't hold up at the primary tool (unless you're just fixing scratches).  If
you have a good compressed air supply, there are also a lot of good, and
less expensive polishers out there that run on air.  You might also
investigate the various polishes and compounds available from 3M as well at
the wide array of foam and foam/composite pads with Velcro backs.  These
accessories save a lot of time.  Don't hold up your nose at automotive or
marine products.  These people do a lot of finishing and polishing, and some
of the tools and techniques available through these channels are very good
and sometimes much less expensive than through woodworking supply houses.

Frank Weston

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanderhoofven <dkvander@clandjop.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Monday, November 01, 1999 8:19 PM
Subject: Tool recommendation for polishing polyester finishes ...?


>Greetings,
>
>I am in the market for a electric polisher for the final step in polishing
>out some scratches in a high gloss black polyester finish piano.  During
>the PTG convention in July, 1999, in Kansas City, I attended a class taught
>by Phil Glenn.  This hands on class  involved polishing out scratches in a
>high gloss black polyester finish.  The final steps involved a handheld
>electric polishing wheel with a soft buffing wheel and a bar of polishing
>compound.
>
>Today my quest for a handheld electric polishing tool took me to 6
>different hardware/discount stores.  The only polishers for sale in most of
>these places were designed for polishing car finishes.  Unfortunately, I
>couldn't find what I was looking for.
>
>Tool Requirements:
>*Heavy Duty
>*low RPMs (1000-1400)
>*accepts 6" or 8" bench grinder polishing wheels
>
>Does anyone know where such a tool can be purchased?
>
>If not, does anyone have experience (good or bad) with using one of the
>polishers designed for use on cars (the random orbiting polishers with a
>lamb's wool bonnet).
>
>Thanks for any and all responses!
>
>David Vanderhoofven
>