Rubout with a palm sander?

I have started experimenting with using Unger rubout to remove all sorts of streaks on windows and doors and am loving it so far.

I was talking to a house owner who has three 2x2 metre windows with concrete striping all over, and offered him to have a go at it. If not getting it perfekt, at least better.

Now, that would mean an enormous effort do to that by hand so I was thinking about why not use a buffing wheel?

A small Makita battery operated palm sander with a buffing pad on would be brilliant, wouldn't it?

Anyone tried that?

Sounds like it might work just be careful it doesn’t leave orbital marks on the sills , give it a go and try a test patch 

When I worked making PVC windows we used to sand out scratches and then buff out, just make sure you keep the buff wheel moving as it will burn the pvc. 

Pjj said:

Sounds like it might work just be careful it doesn’t leave orbital marks on the sills , give it a go and try a test patch 

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I intend to use a random orbital sander which should minimise the potential swirls. Will focus on the glass first before trying out on the sills.

Cleanteam South west said:

When I worked making PVC windows we used to sand out scratches and then buff out, just make sure you keep the buff wheel moving as it will burn the pvc. 

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Interesting. Did you use a dedicated polisher?

From what I understand the issue with a sander is the rpm can be too high, compared to a buffer machine which spins around at a more leisurely pace. The Makita 18v does have three speed settings, so could be feasible.

I'd like a battery operated one so it could easily be taken up ladders and such. But I don't think I can source the buffing pad accessory for sanders up here.

Then on the other hand, if the job is huge, it would mean little extra effort to pull up and extension lead and avoid having to deal with running out of battery.

I'll look into what machines I can find in the shops.

Thanks for the input!

It was an air orbital sander then to buff was a air driven buff wheel, the buff wheel was a soft ish. I think you are thinking of a buff wheel they use on boats to shine gelcoat ? from what I have seen these spin slower than the ones we used. also they have to be used with a polish, we just used to sand and buff out. I will look online now for a pic of what we used, but it was in the early 90s so fingers crossed.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-SA17-Ø180mm-Polisher-2500rpm/dp/B000RA104S/ref=asc_df_B000RA104S/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=258536951956&hvpos=1o27&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14308926573293309867&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007173&hvtargid=pla-434325922538&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

somthing like this

So you want to use rub out and a palm sander to remove concrete?  

When the damp sander pad picks up the concrete it's going to whirl it all over the glass at thousands of rpm.  

I see a recipe for a total disaster. 

Green Pro Clean Ltd said:

So you want to use rub out and a palm sander to remove concrete?  

When the damp sander pad picks up the concrete it's going to whirl it all over the glass at thousands of rpm.  

I see a recipe for a total disaster. 

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No, not concrete bits, of course, that would be absolutely bonkers. ?

Thinking about the stripes you get when water runs down a concrete house and onto the glass. Hard water stains might be the appropriate name? It's common here if the rain doesn't reach windows and they are not cleaned regularly.

Nudel said:

No, not concrete bits, of course, that would be absolutely bonkers. ?

Thinking about the stripes you get when water runs down a concrete house and onto the glass. Hard water stains might be the appropriate name? It's common here if the rain doesn't reach windows and they are not cleaned regularly.

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That's clearer

Maybe a flex polisher would be more suitable. Water fed.

solarpanelcleaningltd said:

Maybe a flex polisher would be more suitable. Water fed.

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Interesting, never seen a water fed one. That does sound safer. But I believe it might just flush away the rubout?

I use a Makita polisher (on low) on shower glass.  Critical points are to keep moving, do not rest on the glass, and check the glass temperature, do not let the temparature difference between where you are working and the coolest part of the glass get too great.

I would use some cerium oxide and  a 3 inch felt buffer/polishing pad on drill to remove very little imperfections, can be tedious though so I try not to do it too often. As mentioned above make sure the pad is damp/wet and doesn't get too hot. You have to be very wary of bits of grit getting stuck on the pad. Personally I would only use it on smaller, concentrated areas.

H MAN said:

Is this the one you talking about???

makita polisher 9227cb

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Mine says 9237CB it is 4 years old so probably isn't the current model. Always use on slowest speed for glass.

Just an update to the unger and palm sander question I had.

A huge new job had problems with staining from alu frames and salt water, and I removed it succesfully with some rubout and a cloth.

But it was too much work to do by hand, so I bought a makita battery powered palm sander and some wool polishing pads and went to town.

I buffed in a lift an entire day, and then had some ground work for the next day. Came out beautifully, and it is now a tool I use regurarly.

The customer in question, with the couple of large windows with concrete runners didn't work out though. The windows were too far gone for the rubout to do anything, and the palm sander didn't help.

Bottom line, a battery powered palm sander is brilliant for buffing with unger rubout, it won't remove more than what you can do by hand but it does it way faster. I of course clean the glas before polishing, thus had absolutely no scratching of the glass. I can highly recommend a palm sander for this.

Unger rub out and bronze wool, oh and a little bit of elbow grease. It works a treat and you'll get great results. Bronze wool isn't cheap but obviously that's covered with pricing the job correctly ??

Try "the pink stuff" from home bargains, a fraction of the price and works just as well... Just a tip