Polishing curved panels

Hello, I have a PC

$139 7424XP PORTER-CABLE Car Polisher and Buffer, 6", Orbital, Variable Speed (7424XP)

7424XP buffer and was wondering if I can use it on the curved surfaces (sides of truck) as welll as the flat hood. I have a 2018 Offroad Taco. I also have the 3M Film on the front end of the truck as was wondering if I should keep the polisher away from the film?
I only have a 5" backing plate on the polisher.Thanks

 

Take some masking tape or painters tape (one that does not have edge lock) and tape off the film. If you do not tape off seem, you will get polish under the film.

Depending upon the curve you may want to consider a smaller backing plate/ pad setup. This will allow you to work the curved panels better.

 

Yes, you can polish curved panels. It’s sharp edges/body lines you want to stay off of or pay attention to.

 

Another good idea is to put a line on the backing plate. This way you can keep an eye on pad rotation.

I seen people polish clear film to remove the yellowing from the sun UV, to remove wash induced marks. You just have to watch out for for the edge of the film so it doesn't lift. Taping is a good idea, as mentioned already.

 

The 7424 will work just fine on curved surfaces. Just keep an eye on the pad rotation...most DA polishers will "stall" (stop rotating) when they get to some curved surfaces, and that's when they are less effective. It's not the end of the world, just not ideal. You'd have to step up to something like a Flex 3401 if you don't want that to happen, but that's a steep jump in price, and I'm not sure anyone could really justify it unless they are really into detailing. Right now, I have 4 machines:

PC7424 (bought in 2004-2005, can't remember)
Griot's G8
Griot's G9
Flex 3401

The PC7424 worked great for me for years, but I wanted to try some others this year to see what else was out there. The Flex 3401 is nice, but isn't quite as user friendly as the PC7424, and it's very expensive. Very powerful machine though. The Griot's machines are smoother and quieter than the 7424, but I can't say they produce any better results. They do have some really nice features though, and are priced very competitively with the 7424.