Shine up Your Ride with the Best Car Buffers (2023)

This Porter-Cable product brings a happy medium between a pro-grade and consumer buffer, putting a variable-speed orbital motor into a compact but comfortable casing. Speed can be set anywhere between 2,500 and 6,800 OPM, with power supplied via an eight-foot cord.

The polishing head offers six inches of coverage, with only one wool bonnet included. Additional six-inch pads are fortunately easy to find. One grip is placed near the bottom of the buffer, with a supplemental foregrip at the top which can be screwed into either a right hand or left hand position.

This kit is about as affordable and easy as can be found, because it simply adds one or more buffing heads to any household electric drill. The bonnets are all about four inches in diameter, with a few scrub brushes also included for jobs like scrubbing brake dust off of rims.

The kits capabilities like RPM are going to be entirely dependent on the drill it’s attached to. You’re most likely not going to get any orbital rotation with this method, either. The lack of control and small pad size make this product most useful for quick spot correction. For detailing an entire vehicle, you’re better suited investing more for a dedicated buffer.

This is about the most affordable price to be found for an orbital buffer. The head is six inches wide, and includes a wax applicator pad as well as one polishing bonnet.

Power is provided by a six-foot power cable at the top of the device, which may drag on paint surfaces if you’re not careful. There’s only one speed setting, at about 4,800 oscillations per minute.

Grip is handled by the rounded “nub” on top of the motor, and we’ve found this method of control to grow increasingly awkward over extended use. It could possibly lead to hand cramps.

The design also means that basically all vibration coming from the motor is channeled directly into the user’s wrist and forearm.

This model is mechanically similar to the Ryobi, but comes with added convenience features. Two points of grip make it more comfortable to use long-term, and the ten-foot power cable is mounted further away from the buffing head.

The motor does provide slightly less power than the Ryobi, however, at 4,400 OPM. That’s also the only speed setting it has.

Three six-inch bonnets are included, with one applicator and two polishing pads.

The main selling point of this HART buffer is the cordless feature, meaning no need to fumble around with power cables as you work. One 20 volt battery is included with the kid, providing an estimated two-and-a-half hours of use on one charge. Additional batteries can also be purchased, and used to power a variety of tools in the HART system.

The large 10-inch head comes with one applicator and one buffing bonnet. The manufacturer rates the one speed setting at about 2,900 RPM, which should at least match the oscillations per minute of our previous entries.

The two hand grips are placed on either side of the motor, which doesn’t provide quite as much comfort and control as the Black & Decker tool.

This mini polishing tool has about the same footprint as an electric impact wrench, with a pistol grip and adjustable foregrip for maximum stability. Compact size means the coverage is only about three inches diameter. Multiple polishing bonnets and foam scrubbers are included, as well as some sandpaper pads if you happen to have any carpentry projects. It also lacks orbital rotation, so extra care will have to be taken while buffing.

The motor packs a lot of power for its size, and has two speed settings at 2,800 and 7,600 RPM. The high setting is more suited to coarse scrubbing and sanding than paint polishing, however. Power is supplied by a 12-volt rechargeable battery, two of which are included.

Reviews mention that the batteries charge quickly—but also drain quickly, lasting 30 minutes or less. The motor also heats up over sustained use and may require cool-down waiting time.

This handy DIY kit includes not only a TORQ random oscillating buffer, but also three 5.5-inch bonnets and four bottles of Chemical Guys liquid polish, ranging from coarse to gentle finishing compound. The TORQ buffing tool features six speed settings from 2,800 to 7,800 OPM, powered by a relatively short three-and-a-half-foot cable. Grips are located on the top and bottom of the device, and can easily be used right- or left-handed.

Also included are detailed instructions on how to use each Chemical Guys compound with corresponding speed settings, making it a great resource for amateur detailers looking for education on the buffing process.

This Makita buffer is a product pro detailers swear by, thanks to American-made reputation and long-term durability. The motor boasts variable speed from a low 600 RPM up to 3,200, with an eight-foot cable length. An analog trigger switch also gives further control over power delivery, and “soft start” features prevents polish spray as the motor spins up.

Built-in dust and fabric filters protects moving parts over hours of sustained use. It is however missing an orbital function, so oscillations will have to be done manually by a skilled hand.

A pistol grip surrounds the trigger mechanism, while a chainsaw-style handle provides stability up top. The buffer provides good coverage, with seven inches of diameter. However, no bonnets are included in the carrying case, and will have to be purchased separately.