12 Best Corded Dual Action Polishers (In-Depth Look)

Polishers come in two main categories: Dual Action Random Orbital and Rotary buffers.

If you’re looking for a machine polisher to speed up waxing your car or removing scratches from your paint then I recommend you look at dual action orbital polishers.

Unlike rotary polishers, which spin in a single direction forced rotation, dual action orbital polishers, which oscillate or wobble while spinning, are super safe to use. There is little to no risk of burning up or swirling your paint when using a dual action orbital buffer. They also finish out really nice!

I have written an article specifically about the differences between rotary and dual action random orbital polishers if you want to know more of the technical details behind their differences and use cases.

There is also a growing range of cordless polishers entering the scene. In general, the tradeoff between a corded and a modern cordless polisher is going to be runtime and the additional carrying weight from the battery (which is pretty much the same for every corded vs cordless tool these days). Given that a full paint correction on a car can take 8+ hours, I personally stick to corded buffers. They are cheaper, lighter, and have a near infinite runtime.

There are a lot of dual action polishers on the market these days, too many to be honest. A great majority are white-labeled, cheaply-made imported garbage being slung by fly-by-night pop up FBA companies on Amazon and the like. This has really muddied the waters on finding the polishers actually worth buying.

Fortunately, the are a few clear winners from respectable brands and I’ve listed them out for you below along with what is good and bad about them so it’s easy for you to find the right one for you.

My #1 recommendation for the best da polisher for most people is the Griot’s Garage G9, which is first on my list below, because it’s affordable, powerful, reliable, smooth, super safe to use, and is backed by a reputable company with a great warranty (lifetime). Other polishers may best the G9 in specific categories but none check most of the boxes at once.

Before we go on, I want to re-iterate that this list is for corded, full-size polishers (as in 5″ pads and larger). The amount of cordless and compact polishers on the market now necessitates their own articles, which I’ll get to shortly.

Best Dual Acton Polishers Worth Considering – Quick Look

	Product	Price
	Griot's Garage G9 Random Orbital...	Check Price at Amazon
	Griot's Garage 10915 G15 Long-Throw...	Check Price at Amazon
	Maxshine M8S V2 Dual Action Polisher Car...	Check Price at Amazon
	Maxshine M15 Pro Dual Action Polisher |...	Check Price at Amazon
	Adam's Polishes 9mm Dual Action Car...	Check Price at Amazon
	Adam's Polishes SK Pro 15mm Car Polisher...	Check Price at Amazon
	RUPES LHR12E BigFoot Duetto Random...	Check Price at Amazon
	RUPES LHR15 Mark III Bigfoot Random...	Check Price at Amazon
	Flex XCE 10-8 125 Random Orbital...	Check Price at Amazon

The Griot’s Garage G9 6″ Polisher, is one of my favorite automotive paint buffers, especially among the budget da polishers. It takes everything the Porter Cable 7424XP and GG6 were good at and improves upon it plus it has a lifetime guarantee against defects. It is made in China but was designed in the US by Griot’s Garage and they have a reputation for reliability and no BS warranty claims.

The polisher is one of the cheaper options for a proper dual action random orbital polisher. It comes with a 6″ backing plate and can use as small as a 3″ backing plate to ramp up its aggressiveness and get into really tight spaces for that fine detail work.

The motor is one of the most powerful in its class so you don’t have to worry about the pad stalling on you as much as you would with the Porter Cable or Bauer 6″ Polisher. However, it’s not too powerful that you risk hurting your paint. It will still stall before any damage is done from too much downward pressure on the machine.

I really enjoy the doubleshot rubber grip inserts at the head and tail of the tool. It greatly reduces the vibration felt and fatigue from using it. It’s not as smooth as the bigger (and more expensive) long throw polishers like the G15 or G21 below but it’s smoother than other buffers in the same class.

The release of this polisher has really made the Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiars MT300, and Chemical Guys TORQX obsolete.

The Griot’s Garage G15 and G21 polishers are long throw polishers. Their pad orbits around the spindle at 15mm or 21mm (depending on which one you buy, I compare the G15 vs G21 here). This longer throw helps remove material faster when polishing. It covers more area and requires less pressure. The longer throw also requires a larger more tuned counter balance which means the polisher is smoother.

The downside to the long throw is that the machine can’t polish smaller areas as well because the polishing path is wider. The pad also tends to stall (stop spinning) easier on heavily curved and angular surfaces.

Basically, this polisher is great for polishing larger vehicles such as large cars, trucks, boats, and even airplanes (especially the 21mm G21). It’s bar none the easiest polisher to use since it’s very smooth and doesn’t require down pressure to polish well.

The polisher is even designed as part of a full system of pads and polishes (BOSS stands for Best of Show System). This means you can buy the BOSS pads and polishes with the polisher in a fool proof kit. The previous gen BOSS 15 and BOSS 21 polishers were named as such because of how tightly they wanted to integrate the polisher with the pads and polishes. The updated models dropped the BOSS moniker so they could build a stand alone reputation as many people though you had to use the BOSS system to get good results and that’s simply not true.

Since the update, the prices have become much more appealing. You’ll spend mid to high $200s on this polisher and be in the $300s with accompanying pads and polishes. Though still highish, these prices are great compared the equivalent Flex and Rupes and you get a better warranty.

This is the polisher I recommend to newer detailers that want to try out a long-throw and want the peace of mind of a lifetime warranty and don’t want to break the bank on a Rupes or Flex.

The M82S is a short throw polisher released in the US by a company named MaxShine. MaxShine was originally started in China (see maxshine.cn) and has since expanded to the US including physical retail space.

Unlike most Chinese companies selling white labeled detailing products in the US, MaxShine operates like a name brand and actually stands behinds their products with local presence. They don’t just carpet bomb Amazon under dozens of obscure all-caps company names and then vanish when your cheap tool gives out.

Their products are made well for the price and that includes the M82S. The M82S is powerful and solidly built. It’s also one of the most affordable polishers on the market. Other than the warranty, most of the things said about the Griot’s G9 can be said about the M82S. There is also a lot of suspicion that at least a couple of the Adam’s SK polishers are from the same manufacture that MaxShine uses. The appearances and specs are uncanny.

In short, it’s a very beginner detailer friendly polisher from a more reputable brand that hits a great price point, though you give up some peace of mind on the warranty and slightly lower build quality over the G9.

The M15 Pro II is an updated version of the old M15 Pro. It has an upgraded motor, better milled counter-weight for better balance and smoother operation, and the trigger was updated with a soft-start, progressive trigger.

This is essentially the big brother of the M8S, geared more for professional detailers or people polishing very large, slab-sided vehicles like full-size trucks, boats, rvs, etc… Everything I said about the company for the M8S applies here.

In my experience, the soft-start feature of the new trigger tends to take an unreasonable amount of time to spin up to full speed, which can be annoying. The pad also has a higher tendency to stall than some other polishers. This partly due to the long-throw and partly because of clearance issues between the backing plate and shroud but tends to break in after a bit.

All that said, I personally feel this machine is still more for the beginner looking to try out a long-throw polisher without burning a lot of cash. If you’re a pro and time is literally money to you, just buy one of the Rupes or Flex and be done with it.

There is some merit in the fact that you could buy two M15 Pro for the price of one Rupes MKIII but that’s a decision only you can weigh on depending on how you prefer to manage assets and run your business.

The Adam’s SK 9mm is a cost effective and powerful short-throw polisher. I’m convinced it comes from the same Chinese factory that MaxShine uses to make the M8S. The main difference is the Adam’s was spec’d with a slightly longer 9mm throw, cord, and different branding. They both retail for strikingly similar prices though the Adam’s sometimes creeps up a bit. Their warranties are the same. Their COA is the same.

That said, the SK 9mm is sold by a company that has been in the detailing game in US for a long time. A true “name brand” in my personal opinion. I’ve never had big issues with Adam’s support stateside and their product ranges are constantly updated.

It’s a bit of a tossup between the M8S and the SK 9mm but I tend to lean towards Adam’s because of their history and feel more comfortable with their after purchase support.

The SK 15mm Pro is the bigger brother to the SK 9mm and older SK 15mm. It has been updated with a stronger motor, better ergonomics, an integrated led light, and a removable cord. Like all the long-throws above it a little harder to use in tight areas and contours due to the cutting path.

I don’t like that the speed adjustment is painted on the thumb wheel rather than etched into it. This causes the numbers to wear off if the dial is used a lot, especially by contaminated fingers or gloves. Considering polishing is a messy endeavor by nature, that’s pretty common.

I personally prefer the Griot’s G15 but I have to admit built in led light and removable, non-kinking 25′ foot cord on the SK 15mm Pro are nice touches and may sway some prosumers.

The Rupes LHR12E Duetto is right in the middle of the short throw polishers (G9, M8S, SK 9) and the long throw polishers (The G15 and LHR15 MKIII) on both throw and price. It’s has a 12mm throw which allows it to polish more at the same speed than the short throw 8mm polishers but not quite as much as the 15mm and larger throw polishers. This also means it’s a little less nimble than the short throw and a little more nimble than the long throw.

In summary, it’s a compromise between the two worlds of the short and long throw polishers. It’s a very smooth car buffing machine compared to the cheaper dual action buffers which means it’s more pleasant to use and easier on the body. Rupes is known for their build quality and, as of this writing, still produced most of their tools in Italy (the LHR15 and LHR21 are made in the USA) rather than jumping on the China COA bandwagon.

For many though, the price is hard to justify. It’s a nicer tool, more efficient than some for sure, but I’m not sure it’s enough to command the prices it commonly sells for now that the competition has updated their offerings with more powerful and ergonomic models in recent years. That said, it’s definitely one of the best car buffers and thus deserves mention.

Everything that can be said for the Griot’s Garage G15 and G21 buffers above can be said for the Rupes LHR 15 and LHR 21 MKIII polishers. Just like the Griot’s the Rupes MK III polishers are 15mm and 21mm long throw polishers.

The differences are the Rupes are designed in Italy and built in the USA (for the US market) whereas the Griot’s Garage are designed in the US and built in China. The Rupes also have a shorter warranty of only 1 year and cost a fair bit more.

That being said, Rupes has a solid reputation for extreme refinement and durability. It’s a brand trusted by many high end detail shops. It’s also easy to find replacement parts for the polishers, such as bearings and brushes, should you wear them out (something you won’t find for most other lower priced polishers).

Another option in the ring is the Flex XFE7-15-150. Its features, functions, and form are all similar to that of the G15 and LHR Mark III polishers, though it’s cutting power is bit diminished in practice.

The Flex XFE7-15-150 has been continually improved since it was first introduced but there is no hiding that it hasn’t kept up quite as well with the competition, namely Rupes. Lately the Rupes MKIII polishers have been priced more competitively with Flex and are overall more powerful and refined though the raw specs would lead you to believe otherwise. These days, the Flex XFE7-15-150 is affectionately nicknamed “The Finisher” because that’s really what it excels at. For fast correction, I prefer either the G15 or MKIII or stepping up to the forced-rotation Flex XCE 10-8 125 which I cover below.

Flex is also now owned and operated under the Chevron family of brands (owners of EGO, Skill, etc) so their manufacturing country of origin has become a little murkier as of late.

All that said, the XFE is still a reputable machine and worthy of consideration. Thus far the sale the Chevron hasn’t compromised the quality of the machines I’ve used. The added bonus of the new ownership is you can now find Flex tools in some big box stores like Lowes so you can poke at it in person before committing to such a large purchase.

The XCE 10-8 125 is the spiritual successor to the Flex XC3401 VRG and is in between a rotary and traditional free spinning DA polisher. It’s what is known as a forced rotation dual action polisher. The pad moves in an orbit like a DA but does not spin freely. Instead it’s driven by a gear so you cannot stop (stall) the pad.

The forced rotation makes it easier to polish curves and angles because it won’t stall. It also makes it a little more dangerous because you can cut through paint on sharp edges that would have stalled free spinning polishers. The 8mm throw and higher OPM make it faster and more aggressive at cutting than the competing Rupes Mille which can be a good or bad thing depending on your skill level with paint correction. The forced nature of the polisher also has a tendency to “walk” on you meaning you have to put more effort into guiding the machine where you want it to go.

Flex’s updated XCE 10-8 125 is smoother, lighter and quieter when polishing that the 3401 was. It’s still not as smooth as a free-spinning da so that’s still a tradeoff, especially for us older folks that are more sensitive to shakes and vibrations.

The LK900E Mille is a forced-rotation polisher similar to the Flex XCE 10-8 above. They share a lot of the same benefits, such as not stalling, ergonomics, high-end brand and build quality. They also share a lot of the same drawbacks, like higher risk of paint damage and more vibration.

Where the two differ is level of sound, vibration, throw, and COA. The Rupes Mille is (in my personal experience and opinion, quieter and smoother than the flex. The smaller 5mm throw is less aggressive at cutting than the 8mm on the Flex but it allows for a smaller correction path which gets into tighter spaces. The max OPM is also lower making the Mille less aggressive at full tilt. Rupes still, to my knowledge, designs and builds their machines in Italy. Flex, on the other hand, has begun to vary where they build their machines now that the US arm is under Chevron. They used to be built in Germany and imported, however some (especially some of the new cordless tools) are starting to be built in China and that list appears to be growing. So do your homework before buying if COA is important to you.

Oh, and I almost forgot, the Mille comes with a 5″ and a 6″ backing plate. That’s a nice perk as well and saves you a little scratch (pun fully intended).

The Harbor Freight Bauer Short-Throw polisher is definitely the cheapest proper dual action random orbital buffer polisher from a known brand/store front that you can go pickup in person. If you track down the (now once or twice a year) 20% off on anything coupon (the Bauer brand is excluded from the typical 20-25% off coupoons) that HF is known for you can snag this thing for under $60.

It does only come with a 90 warranty (though you can pay more to extend it, queue eye-roll), is quite loud, and vibrates quite a bit. It’s not a refined tool. Though some people have had luck repacking the machine with higher quality grease to smooth it out some (some have not been as lucky and just have to live with it). This goes for the larger Bauer Long-Throw polisher as well.

What it does do, though, is work. It’s functionally identically to the likes of the Porter Cable 7424xp, retired Chicago Electric 6″ polisher, etc… You can use all the same backing plates, pads, and polishes.

If you’re really not sure if you’re going to like machine polishing the HF da polisher is a cheap and easy way to find out. If you don’t like it you can return it or use it as a sander. If you do, you can keep it as a cheap backup when you move up to a nicer auto detail buffer.

Closing Thoughts

If you made it this far, wow and thank you. It took me several days to write all this out and there is so more I wish I could have included but I think it would become too cumbersome in regards to the whole point of this article. I hope you found it valuable.

If you’re at all familiar with detailing and polishers you’ll no doubt notice many popular options missing from my list. The name-brand polisher market has exploded over the last 5 years and many new and updated models have simply left other popular options behind. Honorable mentions would be the OG PorterCable 7424XP, Meguiar’s MT300, TorqX, etc… While these are still great polishers they just haven’t kept up with pace of time.

I’ll also readily admit that I have a bias towards tools sold by long standing, reputable brands and personally chose not to include much of anything from the hundreds of white-labeled, imported FBA brands you commonly find sold on Amazon. I just don’t have confidence in the long term reliability and after sale support of most of those products and the “brands” that sell them.

I stand by recommendations above for most people. If something jumps out at you as being glaringly wrong, please drop me a message to let me know so I can update. The detailing landscape changes on a daily basis and most manufacturers are pretty bad at making it easy to find all the important specs.