reo580
Well-known member
Hi everyone.
I have a question about buffing motors. I am redoing my recently acquired Kirby Classic Omega. I have a parts Kirby from 1975 and my main Omega that was rebuilt by Kirby in the past.
The Omega I am redoing was rebult circa 1996 but somewhere along that time some idiot got water splatters on it and couldn't be bothered to wipe them off which caused the dreaded "liver spots" all over the housings. It still has good color, but those awful "liver spots" have to go!
Recently I bought wheels and compound to buff out my Omega.
I used to do it often when I worked at the vacuum store and never had any problems. We had old repurposed motors attached to a bench with an arbor and buffing wheels. They sailed through it.
I have a 3/4 horse bench grinder I used with my buff wheels and it bogs down when I try to cut with black compound and a stitched, treated wheel. I got frustrated with it and really put some force into it, only to burn my finish- which made unlovely heat ripples that I had to wet-sand out. After I sanded, then wet-sanded I tried the black emery cut again, only to not be able to get the wet-sand satin effect out- I can see the marks. It really irritates me!
Do I need a 2HP?
I really don't want to monkey with 3 phase or anything like that.
I have priced out good buffers online and thought: for that kind of dough, Am I better off sending it off to Kirby and having them deal with it?
What kind of bench motor do you guys use? and recommend?
Funny, when I was a repairman, I never thought to write down the specs of the motors I used and that was just b4 camera phones (smart phones were 3 years away still). I wish I had written down the specs.
When I buff, I want something powerful enough to give me the mirror finish i got in the past from sanding, wet-sanding compounding etc. I don't think my 3/4 bench grinder is going to cut it :/
Anyhow, What sized bench motors do you guys use?
I have a question about buffing motors. I am redoing my recently acquired Kirby Classic Omega. I have a parts Kirby from 1975 and my main Omega that was rebuilt by Kirby in the past.
The Omega I am redoing was rebult circa 1996 but somewhere along that time some idiot got water splatters on it and couldn't be bothered to wipe them off which caused the dreaded "liver spots" all over the housings. It still has good color, but those awful "liver spots" have to go!
Recently I bought wheels and compound to buff out my Omega.
I used to do it often when I worked at the vacuum store and never had any problems. We had old repurposed motors attached to a bench with an arbor and buffing wheels. They sailed through it.
I have a 3/4 horse bench grinder I used with my buff wheels and it bogs down when I try to cut with black compound and a stitched, treated wheel. I got frustrated with it and really put some force into it, only to burn my finish- which made unlovely heat ripples that I had to wet-sand out. After I sanded, then wet-sanded I tried the black emery cut again, only to not be able to get the wet-sand satin effect out- I can see the marks. It really irritates me!
Do I need a 2HP?
I really don't want to monkey with 3 phase or anything like that.
I have priced out good buffers online and thought: for that kind of dough, Am I better off sending it off to Kirby and having them deal with it?
What kind of bench motor do you guys use? and recommend?
Funny, when I was a repairman, I never thought to write down the specs of the motors I used and that was just b4 camera phones (smart phones were 3 years away still). I wish I had written down the specs.
When I buff, I want something powerful enough to give me the mirror finish i got in the past from sanding, wet-sanding compounding etc. I don't think my 3/4 bench grinder is going to cut it :/
Anyhow, What sized bench motors do you guys use?
