You get a lot for your money with Draper’s Storm Force range of power tools. This mains-operated polisher looks promising, judging by its price. It is however, basic. The Draper Storm Force Dual Action Polisher has a brushed motor instead of a quieter and smoother brushless motor. It does however, come supplied in a bag. It has a long power cable that’s nearly 16.5ft (5m), so there’s often no need to use an extension reel. And the kit includes a 125mm-diameter sponge pad to get you started with your car polish.
RRP: £95.81, buy it here.
What’s in the box?
Supplied with a plastic D-shaped handle that’s secured with Hex screws. A fabric, zipped bag, is included. It’s slightly too small if the D-shaped handle remains fitted in the upright position. Slackening its Hex screws to fold the handle flat against the body helps to fit it in the bag.
The polisher is also supplied with a hook and loop backing pad pre-fitted. A spanner is included should you wish to remove it. The backing pad is required to fit the supplied sponge pad. There’s no polishing bonnet.
With a power cable that’s nearly 16.5ft (5m) long, this is the longest lead I have found on a polisher.
Tech spec
The 125mm diameter polisher’s lowest speed setting is 2,000rpm and its fastest is 6,400rpm. For polishing, it could do with being a little slower. There are six speed settings, selected via rotary dial. And a plastic slider to switch it on and off. Weighing in at 4.8lb (2.2kg), it’s quite light.
Using the Draper Storm Force dual action polisher
With six speed settings, the slowest at 2,000rpm is quite fast for polishing. For faded paintwork where a cutting compound or colour restorer is needed, this polisher seems suited. I gave it to a professional bodyshop. Of course, they found it wasn’t as controllable as their more expensive polishers. And they found that whilst it didn’t make a mess of the paintwork (swirl marks), it didn’t do much good.
I don’t do polishing for a job, so I found this polisher easy to operate. It made a difference when I applied a colour restorer to faded paintwork, then polished it afterwards.
I also like the smooth start-up of the motor, which doesn’t give a sudden burst of power. The slider switch isn’t as good as a trigger, but it can be locked, so you don’t need to keep it pressed.
There’s a small amount of variable speed built into the slider switch. Depending on how far it’s pushed forwards; it’s not simply an on/off switch. Even at the fastest setting, the motor spins slowly at first and builds up to its maximum speed.
There is of lot of vibration through the body at all speeds. I tried the fastest speed setting when dealing with faded paintwork. The amount of vibration was manageable and the maneuverability of the polisher was excellent. Remember, it’s quite light.
Verdict
If you’re new to polishing and unsure whether you’ll use such a tool once or every month, try this one. It’s cheap and easy to use. You may find you want more, but you won’t have spent much getting to that point.
Alternatively, check out my review of the Draper D20 Random Orbit Polisher instead.
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