Power Car Polishing

[Pietre]

Have spoken to the importer for UK of Power Cable, they are bringing in a UK model of the polisher shortly. I have asked to be notified when and how much. I stated that a few of the members of this forum may be interested in a 240V polisher and if we can getenough orders we may get trade prices direct from supplier. Anyone interested? :bannana: :bannana:

 

[Sp!ke]

Porter cable - or Power Cable?

 

[Pietre]

Sorry for typo it is Porter Cable.

 

[altreed]

Count me in

 

[Aletank]

Have spoken to the importer for UK of Power Cable

Porter Cable seems to just sell to USA and Canada at the moment though.

Any idea how long ?

Really considerin gettin one - was thinkin about the next week or so really, But also was thinkin might leave it till after Xmas once i have my Garage built Not sure what to do.

Have you a copy of the e-mail or was it a phone call ?

Any more info would be great

 

[jimmy]

Personally I would just get one from the USA, I doubt they would be considering a 240Volt version and if they were, you can bet that it would cost twice as much in rip-off Britain than importing it.

You can get a air operated DA sander/polisher that uses the same foam pads from SIP, Clarke, Sealey etc, about £30-£50 but you do need a fairly decent compressor capable of supllying at least 8-10cfm. So unless you already have a compressor it's not worth spending £300 on one.

 

[Goldfish11]

Excellent News but dont get too excited.

This will be excellent if they do this, however I read in some threads that a few years ago a 240volt version was available in the UK before all this CE approval stuff became too difficult. Another issue for PorterCable was the size of the market so it sold for £250! Rather like the only other U.K. to the PC being the Makita which is still going for £230. So if Porter Cable has done its research which I am sure they have they will price it at a level that is a bit cheaper than all the competitors but not so cheap, this way they will make a massive margin.

So unless they bring it in at USA prices, which I doubt, we may still be worth importing from the USA. We always seem to get ripped off on these sorts of things. They always substitute £ for $. For example The Meguiars Cordless Orbital orbital polisher in the US retails for $89 ( which equals £50) and in the UK it retails for £99. So we are still probably better off paying postage and importing one!

The Porter Cable is so good its not worth the wait. I wish I had bought one sooner.

Did my Mums Silver A Class last night. Washed the car, dried it, applied a coat of swirl remover, a coat of Autoglym super resin and finally a coat of Extra Gloss protection. The last time I did this by hand it took me a day and with the PC just an evening. Looks fantastic, attached is a picture I took this morning. This car has done over 100,000 miles she never washes it and the last time it was polished was two years ago. Check out the reflections

 

[fgaffney]

I would be interested... definitely!!!

 

[stwat]

Im a stainles metal polisher by trade and we use a good polisher made by, Flex.(a us brand i think) It has a speed controler dial and can go from, very very slow, to bleedin quick with 6 stages so would be very good for both applying polish and buffing.. The trouble is, the ones we use are 110 volt so need a transformer. I am going to enquire if they make a 230v(as it is nowadays)one. Ifso, il get a price and see if i can get hold of some at trade price If i can, il offer some for sale here first :bannana:

OH Sorry....JUst noticed i might be treadin on your toes peitre Everyone please ignore me ifso




Cheers,Stu

 

[Pietre]

From the links and phone calls to the importer for Porter Cable, I am led to believe that Flex is the same company but a German subsidiary, so this could be a good avenue to explore.
I have only spoken to the importer by phone and they are chasing up the states to get a delivery schedule and ideas of price levels. If there is a Flex product already on the market it may be the way to go. I must admit to a preference for 240V as compared to 110V and a transformer. Purely as I have to polish my car in the roadway and its a lot simpler to just dig out an extension lead and stick it out the window. Unless of course someone here knows better and I am willing to be educated. In the meantime I will keep chasing for more info on the Porter Cable product and will post as soon as I get something from them.

 

[Goldfish11]

Good News and Bad News

From the links and phone calls to the importer for Porter Cable, I am led to believe that Flex is the same company but a German subsidiary, so this could be a good avenue to explore.
I have only spoken to the importer by phone and they are chasing up the states to get a delivery schedule and ideas of price levels. If there is a Flex product already on the market it may be the way to go. I must admit to a preference for 240V as compared to 110V and a transformer. Purely as I have to polish my car in the roadway and its a lot simpler to just dig out an extension lead and stick it out the window. Unless of course someone here knows better and I am willing to be educated. In the meantime I will keep chasing for more info on the Porter Cable product and will post as soon as I get something from them.

I have just had a 1hour chat with PorterCable UK a nice man called Rowland. Anyway the Bad News is that a 240volt version is not going to be available in the near future, it is not worth them doing this so what we have heard is a rumour. The Porter Cable has not got CE approval and the cost of doing this are not worth it unless they sell 100,000 which they dont think they will. Also the price will not be cheap by the time they have done all this they will need to charge well over £200!

They are however exploring the Flex option. HOWEVER Flex it seems does not do a Random Orbit it does a circular motion which as we know could give us problems. I have seen a number of posts on the web about Flex but no ones seems to be able to get them. Also the Flex equivalent prices are in the region well over £200.

Now for some possible Good News! Rowland and I started being creative. Rowland is going to see if he can import the 110Volt version into the UK, if it is to club members they may be able to sell it to us without the need for CE mark as long as we all accept this. I have given him the USA prices and the postage we pay and he is going to see if they can do a better deal. He said they may be able to package the transformer etc etc. or even sell us the pads (at great expense) and give us a free Porter Cable to use with them. The key will be to get some of the package sourced locally.

So if the club can get say 30 odd people wanting the unit it may be worth their while. There would not be much benefit in the overall price but at least we may be able to source them locally and claim VAT back and deal with a UK individual. But you still need a transformer.

He hopes to get back to me in the next 48 hours. So perhaps we can do a group purchase. I will keep you informed. In the meantime, good old Autopia is offering excellent service.

Pietre - Remember if you want an excellent 240volt machine there is the Makita BO4060, this is used by a few people and you can find discussions on this through this link

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showt...ighlight=makita

However the nice thing about the PorterCable is 1000's use them so it is easy to get help and advice as everyone know what they are talking about.

 

[Pietre]

Not all bad news. When I phoned Rowland was busy, hence the duff info, apologies if I misled anyone. I would import from the USA but each time I have, I always seem to get stuffed by HM Customs. Last time with all of the charges which came to £47 + £4.50 vat, it cost double the cost of the goods, so if they are prepared to import I would purchase, and I think my friend may have few in the Jag owners that would be willing. Many thanks for your efforts and trying to arrange a compromise with the importer.

 

[Goldfish11]

Not all bad news. When I phoned Rowland was busy, hence the duff info, apologies if I misled anyone. I would import from the USA but each time I have, I always seem to get stuffed by HM Customs. Last time with all of the charges which came to £47 + £4.50 vat, it cost double the cost of the goods, so if they are prepared to import I would purchase, and I think my friend may have few in the Jag owners that would be willing. Many thanks for your efforts and trying to arrange a compromise with the importer.

You have done a great job, you got the discussion going so you have not misled anyone.


PM me if you want to find out about the customs bit. You may be lucky.

 

[Goldfish11]

Porter Cable to be available in U.K.

The importer for Porter Cable has just contacted me, there is a possibility of getting some 110volt versions imported.

Please see the following thread.

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=8035