Side by Side Comparison of: Drill Master vs PORTER-CABLE

Great machine so far. Read the reviews and opted for this one. I've had no issues with it. Easy to handle; easy to control the speed; and it hasn't heated up on me. I used it on both a white vehicle and a black one and it gave me the confidence that I could control it and do what needed to be done without damaging the paint. The proper pads and products are very important as well, but my point is that it is not an unwieldy machine.

Used it for the first time this past weekend. After watching several youtube videos, I gave it a try. Do a lot of research on which color pads to use and you'll be fine. My Mustang came out perfect with no swirl or any other kind of marks. If I can do a perfect job with the Porter-Cable 7424XP anyone can.

NICE PRODUCT. I would think they would include and extra pad other than the one it comes with though. Do yourself a favor and order a 3 to 6 pack of assorted pads with Velcro be cause you will need at least 1 pad for each car and at least 2 or more for a 30 foot boat. You will also need this.... (Astro 4607 5" PU Velcro Backing Pad) to attach the new pads. The original isn't Velcro. The picture I added is from my 1993 Park Ave Ultra trunk. I spent about 2 minutes buffing it. The paint is original 24 years old and you can see the reflection of the sky etc. Below are 2 links of items you will need.....Astro 4607 5" PU Velcro Backing Padhttp://www.amazon.com/Waffle-Buffing-Polishing-Polisher-Detail/dp/B00CBG9JGM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

So one of the hardest decisions i have had to make to start auto detailing was what Dual Action Random Orbital should i get. Its tough getting started or even upgrading from a cheap one that you may learned on. Hopefully i can give you a little insight on this fine machine. With that said i do want to say i own this one and have around 6 months and have done some large time consuming jobs with it BUT i also do not own the other top brands like the flex, torque, ECT. To this day i have not looked back.
I will start with the things i love about it.
1) The size and weight - it is a very good size in the operational standpoint. I personally do not use the screw on handle mainly because i change hands to often for it, i just have one hand on the black and the other around the vent at the end. But its very accommodating and comfortable not to mention i can get in the smaller areas on cars like under the mirror because i do not have a long tail end. Just because its smaller does NOT mean it is less effective.
2) Porter Cable as a company is a well tested large backing company. If i remember right they came around in like 1905 or so. like i said i did a lot of research. There is no to minimal maintenance to it. The unit is factory lubricated with enough high quality lube that it will last the life of the unit under normal use (commercial grade unit keep that in mind) and they only recommend you take it to one of their certified shops (every 100 hours of use... long time) so they can take it apart clean it properly and check for worn parts to ensure your safety.
3) Having the speed setting as a wheel is wonderful. I have used my friends for a short time i did a 2x2 square like a month ago (i think he had the flex but could have been the torque) and it was nice but long i felt like i was reaching and it had a digital display with + - buttons. My personal opinion is that after i spread the product at a low speed i want to shut it off get in a good position set it to a functional speed and start it up, as his always starts on the lowest speed setting and while its on you have to crank it up. All in all i highly recommend this buffer and love using it and seeing the results i get out of it.

The bad
1) AS EXPECTED WITH EVERY UNIT NO MATTER THE BRAND is at low speeds it is a little tricky to control at first but its so slow its not a big deal or a deal breaker like i said its just the physics of these units.
2) the pad that comes with it is a cheap foam pad that i personally don't use at all and its just easier to buy pads and backing plate with a hook and loop (Velcro) connection so you don't have to use your wrench every time you change pads. Again a small detail and you can get these buffers with other packages and i'm sure the stock pad wont hurt anything its just your typical wax / sealant pad

If you want other video reviews i would recommend looking up Chemical Guys on you tube not only do they have extensive how to videos and great products but they have many reviews of the Porter Cable 7424xp and use it a good majority of the time in their shop / Class so you can see what this unit will do.
I want to say i have no affiliation with Porter Cable or Chemical guys and was not asked to review or given anything to review this is a REAL HONEST REVIEW. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Excellent product and tremendous value. The PC7424 is legendary in the world of paint correction for entry to moderate enthusiasts. It's durability and easy of use are well known. It's not a forced rotation unit but it's also not $400+ however it does a great job at correcting even heavy swirls and paint damage such as the one show in the photos of our van. The results can be outstanding as show in he reflection on the hood of my S4 too. Heavy corrections just mean you move a little slower but again, if your just an enthusiast doing your own vehicles, what's a little time relaxing as you work.

You will need to buy a velcro backing plate of your choice in sizes. Toss the white pad that comes with it out when you get it or use it for around the house, but not on your vehicle.

The polisher is great. The pad it comes with fell apart before I could use it. I had it in a cabinet a year before I needed it. Went to use it finally and the pad disintegrated in my hands. Luckily I had purchased other polishing pads to use and they were in good shape.

It's all you need in a buffer. Buy it.

best buffer in the industry for the money. That's why its been used by the pros for years. Some of these come with a 5 inch counter weight and some with a 6 inch. My advice would be to order your porter cable FIRST to see which counter weight it comes with, then order the hook and loop backing pad and your favorite brand of pads for your new tool. For those of you debating whether this is better than doing it by hand...there is no question that the porter cable will give you better results.

Great to buff and polish; however, if you are on the INITIAL cut and shine of aluminum i.e. Airstream trailer or aluminum boat, you will probably want to use a more aggressive tool like a variable speed angle grinder with a buffing wheel and whatever polish you choose. After you get it shined then this is the tool to keep it looking good along with some of "Chemical Guys Hex Logic pads" also sold at Amazon.

Easy and fun to use. Does NOT come with 5 inch counter weight for 5 inch buffing pads. It only comes with the 6 inch counter weight installed which seemed to work OK with 5.5 inch Lake County flat buffing pads. I did later order a 5 inch counter weight from a local Grainger shop; for $3). Not as loud as some people think. Settings #5 and #6 are the loudest, but not really that bad at all. You can do wax application on a #3 setting even late at night without disturbing your neighbors; #3 setting is fairly quiet. The Astro Pneumatic 4607 5" PU Velcro Backing Pad (also sold on Amazon) which you will need to attach "Hook and Loop" (i.e., Velcro compatible buffing pads) fits this machine and works well. While using, my hand which held the side bar handle did get painful after a while due to the vibrations. However, I put on a padded work glove, where the padding is in the palm, and it was totally fine after that. Never hurt my hand again. It is light and agile enough to use with one hand (though that is not recommended for safety reasons). UPDATE June 10, 2014: 1) Do not use the Astro backing pad on setting # 6 on the Porter Cable for more than 4 minutes or so or else you may melt off all the plastic hooks from the hook and loop backing pad or YOU MIGHT MELT OFF THE HOOKS FROM THE INNER CENTER OF THE BACKING PAD!!. 2) I find that using the Porter Cable WITHOUT the handle, reduces the vibrations to your hand considerably.

The head vibrates At speed 5 which makes it difficult to handle and polish , and really annoying vibration at speed 6. I was using the original pad that came with it .

This polisher is better for lighter jobs. Great for removing light swirls and light scratches. On water spots and heaver oxidation it takes way to long and the high speed has way to much vibration for prolonged use.

A little on the weak side. If your not polishing a flat surface the osilations stop. You have to use a heavy gauge extension so as to not over work the motor and burn it out. I'm not a true professional polisher, but I found this one to be a little too much of a beginner model. And, it was a little pricey.

Works well but a bit too much vibration through the T handle. I only did the hood of my car and my hand went a bit numb. Solidly built though with decent cord length.

The polisher is great (5 stars) but the pads are horrible (1 star).

No complaints about the polisher, it works well as a Porter-Cable polisher should, but the pads (one came with the polisher and I bought one extra) fell apart before I finished buffing/polishing one car. Pads are total junk! It's a shame that a great Porter-Cable polisher will only get 3 stars because of the garbage pad that comes with it. But it is what it is, Porter-Cable supplied the pad, I didn't buy it separately.

1st item. The factory failed to thread the polisher so that the provided handle could be attached. Both left and right sides threads were missing. Another annoying thing was the speed control is in a difficult area to reach while running the tool. It also had a poor quality 'feel' to it. The tool was heavy and clunky feeling while using. (Without the handle of course...)

Last on my complaint list is the lack of a spindle lock AND the lack of room to get the tool on the back nut to remove a backer pad.

Back to DeWalt I go....

After a few hours use the handle came off. It is stripped, there were barely any threads to begin with. Put the handle on the opposite side, it didn't even last 2 hours before it stripped. Very disappointed in the quality of this tool.

Its a ok machine (more of a wax on wax off machine), I think that it needs more spin and less wobble its like its will not create enough friction to remove final coat Pollish still have to use towel to remove residue, I sent back as it was not as I expected it to be, it would not remove acid rain or scratches but seemed to help on swirl marks

Worked well, but on the third use (well into a year of ownership) internal contacts separated from the motor and the unit no longer functioned. I loved it while it worked and loved the price but the reliability was terrible considering the minimal use.

Didn't notice until after my employee used several times I received a single speed. Other than that (pain in the ass) it works very well and I'll have to live with it. I would give it a five if variable.

I bought this item, but it did not come with the polishing pad

This doesn't correct paint.. No where near strong enough.. Really a disappointment. Only good to apply wax.

I used this product once and it worked really good. A few days later I started buffing another vehicle and after 5 mins of buffing, the buffing pad just stopped rotating although the motor was going and everything else was spinning.
I sent it back and Amazon gave me a full refund.
Thank you Amazon.

At first I thought it was one of the best.. But on my third time use the varible speed won't work.. Save your money

Bought this because I thought this would be a good buffer. Bought in September of 2010, only used a few times and its completely dead. Think something went in the motor. Hoping Amazon will stand by their products and replace it.