1976 Corvette Stingray: Restore, Repair, Detail: Black & Decker 6-inch Random Orbit Waxer and Polisher

I own and have been using many Black & Decker tools over the years. They are of good quality and affordable. I even own a few B&D cordless battery-powered gardening tools, so I always have plenty of fully-charged batteries ready for duty.

So when the time came to choose an affordable waxer/polisher I was happy to see one manufactured by Black & Decker and available at Amazon.

It was not cordless, but for $25 it was just too enticing to pass.

The machine had excellent reviews and, although there were a couple of similar units offered for less money, the Black & Decker reputation, and glowing reviews, made the purchase an easy decision.

At this price-point, you will have to go without the convenience of hook-and-loop polishing and buffing pads, but by using Velcro® stick-on adhesive tape, you can easily convert it to work with 6-inch hook-and-loop pads.

Since—at the time—I wasn't sure I would like it, I just went with the basic unit and also bought a pack of polishing and buffing microfiber covers. This was a good idea since once you use a microfiber buffing cover for buffing or waxing, they are done!

Using the waxer/polisher is super easy, and if you follow the owner's manual instructions you will achieve great results.

The polishing pads that come with the unit are a very tight fit. However, the ones that came in the 20-pack I ordered along with the waxer fit a lot better.

The unit has a 10-foot cord, but in most cases, you will need an extension cord in order to comfortably reach panels you want to work on.

Since I had a bottle of 3M Perfect-It Show Car Liquid Wax, I decided to use that one for a change. The results were nothing short of amazing.

I applied the wax in approximately 2' x 2' sections and, as the manual recommends, I allowed the machine to do the work. I simply guided it in straight lines back and forth in a horizontal and then a vertical pattern.

When it came time to do the buffing, I opted to do this step by hand using a clean, soft microfiber towel. This allowed me to work faster since I did not feel like changing buffing pads over and over.

Needless to say, a 6-inch buffing surface will not allow you to reach every nook and cranny, and you don't want to try doing so, anyway. In these instances, I either polish or wax by hand or I use 3-inch drill polishing pads with my cordless drill.

These small 3-inch pads are great for polishing those hard-to-reach areas, and they can be washed which allows several uses.

Once you're finished waxing your Vette, the microfiber pad (shown below) is ready for the garbage can. I wouldn't attempt cleaning it, let alone reusing it. They are inexpensive enough when bought in 20-plus packs and they should be treated as a one-time-use-only item.

If you follow my Vette blog, then you are well aware that I like to keep my Corvette clean and polished. But online photos can be very forgiving and also help conceal the thousands of swirl marks that cover every panel of my Stingray.

Just a one-time waxing with the Black & Decker polisher helped diminish the swirl marks considerably, and I am sure that if I ever take the time to polish the paint, I can eliminate most if not all of them.