Middle of Lidl

[wildebus]

Ideally you need a paint thickness gauge to help you determine if - and where - it is safe to polish. The good ones that tell you about different layers are very pricey and not a hobby tool. You can get more simple and cheaper ones for around £50 or so. Check out this link - https://amzn.to/4p2yAZc
(PS. The reason why you might want to know about different levels is for multicoat finishes. Nowadays you have primer, then the colour coat and then the clesar coat and you don't want to go past the clear coat when polishing. With a simple thickness gauge you have to made assumptions about the layers which could be dangerous!).

This is the one I have. It is a simple basic one and just tells you the distance between the top surface and the metal (that 115 - in micrometres - reading shown is the thickness of a piece of paper I put over a ruler ). Actually, as well as handy to check before polishing, a useful tool when purchasing a vehicle ... You can use one to check if a panel has been resprayed if you suspect a repair. paint re-work will be significantly thicker than original paint, which is laid incredibly thinly (and if you check places like the underside of a bonnet, dramatically so)

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I have used one David, I have a drill type one in the garage which I'll bin, basically no faster than it needs to be, keep it moving and keep it wet with polish but not too much.

 

[wildebus]

Here is a tool question ...
I am after a 12V Mini Angle Grinder. The type that use a 76mm cutting disc.
I already have a 240V Mains Grinder (think it is actually Parkside?!). I also have an 18V Ryobi Angle Grinder, but want a super-portable one. For this purpose I tend to use my Cordless Dremel but the cutting discs are very expensive and have a very short life being so small so ends up being an expensive tool to run

My preferred one would be the Bosch Professional model but they are very expensive (I don't know why they are so much as the other Bosch Professional 12V tools are much more reasonable). But the cheap ones that I see listed on Amazon have very mixed reviews, most of them reporting bits falling off and things lke "good for the price" - but when the price is that low, expectations start super-low as well. I have been unable to find one that is overall decent without going up to the realms of the premium brands and prices to match - in which case, I would just get the Bosch.

So anyone have one and would actually recommend the one they have and that it didn't shed parts (note, I want one that is decent value for money and if it falls apart, it is worthless).

The Parkside BLACK (in Parkside Terms, the Green Range is DIY and the Black Range is 'Professional') 12V Mini Angle Grinder tests very well in the various German YouTube Tool Videos against the more expensive alternatives, but there is the usual problem with Parkside Tools sold by LIDL that is a constant irritation ... you have to wait for the relavent week of the year for them to come up for sale! and if you miss that week (or more likely didn't decide you wanted to buy that tool that week) you have to wait for goodness knows how long until it comes back up in the shops for another week.
True of all the Parkside Tools and a rediculous way to sell things.
Now you do see various Parkside Tools on eBay, from people who have bought them when available specifically to resell at higher prices later on - and new Parkside Black 12V Mini Angle Grinder can be found on eBay for around £100 - which is a massive markup on the Shop Price and at that price not worth it.

So rant over on Parkside/LIDL and I decided to buy the Bosch 12V Mini Grinder direct from Bosch on a bit of a 'Black Friday' Deal. Their price was a little bit more than on Amazon (may a fiver?), however ... spend over £200, which I could as wanted to get some discs and blades and stuff, and you got a free Bosch Go Screwdriver which I don't really need (it is a good tool, but I already have a Bosch PushDrive I bought in 2019 which is essentially the same thing more of less) but can sell on Ebay for around £50.

PS. If I see the Parkside Black 12V Mini Grinder coming up in the Middle Aisle, I will probably get that to have a play with as I do have a Battery and Charger for one (got them to go with my Parkside 12V 'Dremel' Clone, which inevitably is not a patch on my real Dremel 12V I got nearly 20 years ago ).
If it is as good as the reviews say, a nice backup tool. And can always stick it on eBay for a profit anyway if I don't want to keep it

 

[Geek]

I have a 20v Parkside angle grinder, and have used it a fair bit. It's really good.
However, running at full tilt for more than about 20 minutes makes it overheat and cut out. Turn the speed down a little and it is good until the battery runs down, by which time it is best to have a rest anyway.

 

[wildebus]

I have a 20v Parkside angle grinder, and have used it a fair bit. It's really good.
However, running at full tilt for more than about 20 minutes makes it overheat and cut out. Turn the speed down a little and it is good until the battery runs down, by which time it is best to have a rest anyway.

Only 20V Parkside Tool I have is a Heat Gun. It is pretty crap to be frank, but then it only cost £15. My 18V Tools are all Ryobi, which is of course a popular DIY-orientated brand (from the same stable as Milwaukee, for example. Similar to Stanley B&D owning loads of brands, TTI own Ryobi, Milwaukee, AEG and others) and I would put Ryobi above Parkside any day TBH.
But having a 18V Ryobi Angle Grinder (which I do) or a 20V Parkside Grinfer (as you do) is totally irrelevant to my buying a 12V Mini Angle Grinder. Totally different tools for different roles.

PS. For anyone interested .... an 18V Tool Battery is IDENTICAL to a 20V Tool Battery EXCEPT for the label that says "18V" or "20V". In the same way a 12V Tool Battery is identical to a 10.8V Tool Battery and a 36V is same as a 40V Battery.

 

[Geek]

I have several 18v Makita tools and several 20v Parkside ones. And several batteries of either sort.

I also have an adapter that lets me fit an 18v Makita battery to a 20v Parkside tool and a an adapter that lets me fit a Parkside battery to a Makita tool.

However, the Makita battery connections have a third contact (presumably a temperature sensor) which the Parkside ones lack.