I have a rotary polisher that I have used for years. I have never owned an orbital, It seems to be the popular thing here, and I would like to know what is considered a good one.
I will take for granted that the Porter Cable #7424 is the most popular, but what are other good choices?

 

I use the PC 7424 but not any others. It's not that I wouldn't want to, it's just I've never had the opportunity. You could always do it by hand?

 

Like you mentioned, the PC is the most popular machine and is probably one of the safer machines to utilize. A true rotary buffer is similar in appearance to an angle grinder and, in the right hands, can yield big time results but also poses much more of a risk when used as it's much more powerful. An orbital is the large scale 'spinning' that has two handles on both sides and can typically be bought at just about any store that sells any type of wax.

IMO, the PC is the best choice for a serious enthusiast to have but, like I mentioned, it may fall short of removing some problems in the paint as it's simply not as powerful.

As for other options, PC makes a few other machines that are nearly identical in performance and only vary slightly from the 7424 (mainly counterweights) but, Makita also makes a dual-action type of polisher.

As for rotaries, Makita, Dewalt, and a host of others make them. They're typically more in the $200 ballpark on price whereas the PCs are closer to $100. Orbitals, which I'd probably avoid as they're just about only good for application of a wax will run $50ish but are even less powerful than the PCs.

RP