expireddugan661 posted Feb 11, 2025 03:33 PM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
expireddugan661 posted Feb 11, 2025 03:33 PM
M18 FUEL18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 15MM DA Polisher (Tool-Only) (Hack) - $187.03 - YMMV at Home Depot
$187
$299
37% offHome Depot
Visit Home DepotGood Deal
Bad Deal
Save
Share
Leave a Comment
22 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
https://www.homedepot.c
https://www.homedepot.c
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank _A2
A strictly rotary polisher is less forgiving. It's easier to overdo spots, burn surfaces, etc. By combining both Random Orbit and Rotary movements, the polisher maybe doesn't "cut" quite as hard, but that's the whole point. That's my understanding. Please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong, add more context, etc.
After years of acquiring Milwaukee tools, I've started gravitating towards Makita. Mainly as a result of the issues I've had with my M18 12.0A batteries becoming unbalanced with less than 50 cycles on them. I learned that f*cking Milwaukee doesn't even do CELL BALANCING, FFS. Even though the BMS board HAS balancing circuitry. What a joke. So I bought the Makita PO5000C polisher a few years ago.
I would argue that the PO5000C is better than this Milwaukee. But they're different, so I might not be making a fair comparison.
-The PO5000C is corded, the Milwaukee is cordless.
-They probably each have different "throw" (also known as "orbit diameter", which is basically the maximum distance that the polishing head moves while it's "random orbiting").
-The Makita can switch between forced rotation and free spinning modes, which I don't think the Milwaukee can.
-Makita assembled in the USA. Milwaukee no idea. China? Vietnam?-Milwaukee is just a subsidiary of TTI (Techtronic Industries). Makita is Makita. One of the few independent tool companies left (along with Fein and Hilti!).
ANYWAY! They're not quite in the same league. The PO5000C is $440 regular price. While the Milwaukee 2684-20 is $300. Although... if I didn't already have the PO5000C, I'd have a HARD time resisting the urge to buy this Milwaukee DA polisher!!
There are tons of YouTube videos about auto paint polishing. I would encourage you to go check them out. One of the suggestions I came across was to go buy a body panel or two from a junk yard, and use that to practice on!! I thought that was a fantastic idea. Also worth keeping in mind: the clear coat has a given thickness, and you can only take away from it. You can't put it back! So I would always err on the side of less cutting, less abrasion. Or better, the least amount of cutting/abrasion to get the outcome you're looking for. Depending on how far down the rabbit hole you end up going, you could even buy yourself a clear paint thickness gauge. Anyway! Hope this was helpful.
A quick follow-up to my mini rant: My first 1/2" impact was a Milwaukee. It worked well, and I still have it. Over the past ~12 years I've accumulated 4x6.0A, 2x12.0A, 4x3.0A, 2x8.0A batteries. Fuel packout vacuum, M18 Tower light (2136-20), Fuel 1/2" impact, Fuel 3/8" impact, a couple of headlamps, two of the "Gen-2" Rover 4,000 lumen lights, and a few more things. Oh and the M18 "Top-Off" inverter (genius). ALL of these tools/items have served me very, very well over the years. I used them while I had a rental property, and I've used them at home and on both cars. Gret tools. But, after my first 12.0A HO battery became unbalanced (only charged up to 3 out of 4 bars), I started reading more about the batteries. Long story short --> the BMS board for this battery has balancing ability, but Milwaukee decided not to implement it. So with less than 50-60 cycles on it, I had to open my 12.0A battery up and charge two of the five 3-cell groups back up to match the other three (5 groups of 3 cells). No big deal, but WHY? The average user shouldn't have to do this, especially when it's completely possible to implement on the charger or battery side. I think including cell balancing is an anti-consumer, *sshole move. Even Makita's older LXT batteries+chargers incorporate balancing. And their relatively new XGT 40V line does as well. So in 2022 I bought the Makita LXT mower (XML08), and a trimmer + blower. This year I picked up the XGT mower, two more 8.0A XGT batteries, and I'm going to be picking up an XGT hedge trimmer soon. Anyway, just some context. There's plenty of discussion about M18 batteries falling out of balance, even with very little use (particularly the 8.0A and 12.0A variants). And there are plenty of videos showing how to rebalance the pack. The 6.0A don't appear to suffer from this issue. The 6.0's are arguably the "best" batteries in terms of power output. Less capacity, but nigher maximum output than the 8.0A, because of the cells they use. LESS power and capacity than the 12.0A, buuuuut they don't fall out of balance. I bought two more 6.0A HO batteries. Great balance between weight and power output. I'm just going to keep the 12.0's for low draw things like the lights ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Leave a Comment