Harbor Freight Hercules Forced Rotation Polisher

F

farmerfred

Member
I just picked up a Harbor Freight Forced Rotation Polisher. I was looking at the Flex but just could not justify the cost. I have a Dewalt Rotary and Potor Cable dual action. Both have served me well, but I wanted to try a forced rotation after researching them. I hope to soon get my 57 Chevy in paint, and I will have a chance to test it out. Looking for advice on pads, compounds etc. Anybody here have one? Pros and cons? I have not tried it on paint yet, but it seems to run smooth.
 
i had to go see what this is..........seems to be just a slightly more powerful random orbit polisher? i cant see why though............
i used a random orbit polisher once, for about five minutes and then went back to the rotary. let us know what you think of it.
 
It's a random orbital polisher, usually not a good choice for buffing,
they are much less aggressive and much slower at buffing, but
great for finish sanding and polishing a final buff job.
I use a RO for dry sanding my clear coats before buffing,
it works great for that.
 
This polisher, like the few other forced rotation polishers on the market, is not like all the other random orbit polishers that people are used to. It’s like if a random orbit and a rotary has a child. It’s gear driven or “forced rotation.” You cannot stall these like you could a random orbit. They can be quite aggressive with the right pad and polish. I get the rotary can do it all. I grew up using a rotary as well. But sometimes a rotary is overkill for what you’re looking to do or possibly your skill level. It’s designed after the flex 3401 which is a pretty legendary polisher. But just like spray guns etc everyone has their preference. Different strokes for different folks.
 
Whitesnake said:
This polisher, like the few other forced rotation polishers on the market, is not like all the other random orbit polishers that people are used to. It’s like if a random orbit and a rotary has a child. It’s gear driven or “forced rotation.” You cannot stall these like you could a random orbit. They can be quite aggressive with the right pad and polish. I get the rotary can do it all. I grew up using a rotary as well. But sometimes a rotary is overkill for what you’re looking to do or possibly your skill level. It’s designed after the flex 3401 which is a pretty legendary polisher. But just like spray guns etc everyone has their preference. Different strokes for different folks.
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so it will "push" some thing like a mud hog? surely not, that would be too aggressive. i would have to see one used i guess.
 
Thanks for the replies, from my research it combines the best of a rotary and a dual action. I still plan on using my rotary for the initial buff then switch to the forced rotation for the step two polish. It should also do well when working close to edges and problem areas. I also have a 3-inch air powered polisher for real tight places. I will update when I get my car painted and I start on the cut and buff.
 
farmerfred said:
Thanks for the replies, from my research it combines the best of a rotary and a dual action. I still plan on using my rotary for the initial buff then switch to the forced rotation for the step two polish. It should also do well when working close to edges and problem areas. I also have a 3-inch air powered polisher for real tight places. I will update when I get my car painted and I start on the cut and buff.
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Basically what I do with my flex polisher. Use it after rotary. Also use it a lot on used cars that need a quick one step.
 
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