See full version: Can I use angle grinder to polish car
Angle Grinder. An angle grinder is a tool that is used for grinding, polishing, cutting and sharpening surfaces. Once you have an angle grinder machine, you can purchase different discs that you can keep changing depending on what you intend to do.
Secondly, what is the difference between grinding and polishing? Grinding uses fixed abrasives—the abrasive particles are bonded to the paper or platen—for fast stock removal. Polishing uses free abrasives on a cloth; that is, the abrasive particles are suspended in a lubricant and can roll or slide across the cloth and specimen.
You can polish a car with hand or you can use this technic. When polishing the car does not need to be stilted for a long time in one place, you can damage the lacquer coating. That's all the guys, after polishing the machine with a drill, shallow scratches, stains, bitumen and so on will disappear. more
PS: a lot of people had great success using the Meguiar’s G3500 Dual Action Power System Tool (you can find it on Amazon). Basically, it is a drill attachment that turns the drill rotation into orbital motion, and so it addresses the inertial forces successfully. Unfortunately, it is a bit expensive. [links]
For waxing and polishing, I would stick to a DA polisher: it’s just the safer and easier choice.
That’s the quick answer. Now, we are going to apply that to a specific case (we are going to compare a common angle grinder to a common polisher), and we are going to consider other tools you might want to use to polish your car. Finally, we will talk briefly about the proper tool to use to get the job done.
Finally, I want to give you a couple more things to consider: here
The rotational speed is the biggest problem when it comes to polishing with a grinder. A common polisher has variable speed: for example, the DEWALT’s DWP849X in the figure above ranges from 600 to 3500 rpm no load speed; the Avid Power AEP127 has variable speed from 1500 to 6800 rpm. Typically, an angle grinder works at a fixed speed, at around 9000 to 12000 rpm. The grinder in the picture above, which is a Bosch 1375A, works at 11000 rpm. In this case, you can forget to use that to polish: the speed will burn the attachment coat.
If you are here, reading this article, maybe your car got some scratches on the paint that you want to take care of. You read a bunch of stuff online, and you found that you need a polisher to do the job! Yeah, but those can get quite expensive, right? And you don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on a tool that you are going to use once or twice in a lifetime.
Well, you have the answer in the paragraph’s title: a sander is for sanding. If you are not planning to sand your car, then that’s not the tool for you. Now, jokes aside, here are the reason why you can’t use an orbital sander to polish:
Another thing you want to consider is the power output of your grinder. You need to make sure that your angle grinder power is somewhat comparable to a polisher power output ( for example, the DEWALT’s DWP849X delivers a max output of 1250 watts).
What you will need to get your buff n' grind on is a polishing and buffing kit that utilizes an M10 adaptor which is suitable for angle grinders with a 5/8-inch arbor. Now keep in mind, if you go with the larger surface area buffing pad, you'll have to remove the wheel guard to enable you to use the larger type pad.
One prevalent shortcut that most folks opt for is to make use of a standard hook and loop sanding pad. This type of sanding pad can be easily fitted to any angle grinder with a 5/8-11 spindle. Now, even your small angle grinder is equipped with a smaller size spindle/shaft, you'll be able to find an adapter to step down. [links]
Although, the only reason I recommend you eagerly pursue such a radical DIY endeavor wielding an angle grinder, is because no amount of buffing or polishing will ultimately help beautify such a gargantuan piece of "Pinto".