Searching for a Master Jedi

kenny1775 · 06-10-08, 05:35

Living in London, ON. and relatively new to the art.
Does anyone know of any place nearby that I could get some really good training on using a rotary?
I've worked in two dealerships and none of my "detailers" seemed to really know very much about detailing... Help!!!

salty · 06-11-08, 03:10

Welcome.

Not sure of your experience but picking one up and using finishing pads and polish is the best way to start. After that tape off all ridges and trim and compounding is less risky.

For the proper pad and product selection, it is discussed daily. Find something that works for you.

gregk · 06-11-08, 05:00

You live in the same city as me! I will send you a PM!

kenny1775 · 06-11-08, 08:51

I've been playing around with LSPs and hand applied polishes, glazes, etc. for about 6mths (if you only count serious obsession time) now. Just graduated to the dealership Makita after watching about a million videos/articles to build up my confidence about not destroying a paint job. Been using it for about 3 weeks now and it isn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. Better than I could ever do by hand, but I can't get that "perfect shine" on black paint that I've been dying to be able to do.

kenny1775 · 06-11-08, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by salty

Welcome.

Not sure of your experience but picking one up and using finishing pads and polish is the best way to start. After that tape off all ridges and trim and compounding is less risky.

For the proper pad and product selection, it is discussed daily. Find something that works for you.

I've been using a yellow cutting pad and either Workout 1500 (Car Brite) or Meguiars #9 Swirl Remover between 1-2 on the Makita (3-6 passes at a relatively low speed, just the weight of the machine as pressure), followed by either a glaze or finer polish on a blue polishing pad (lowest speed, lightest possible pressure) before LSP (sealant or wax) applied by hand and gently wiped with a microfiber cloth.
Always looks great to everyone else, but I'm insanely picky about my own work. Black cars with even the lighest swirls feel like they are impossible to get perfectly clear.

Holden_C04 · 06-11-08, 05:38

First check out someone by the username "Picus". He does fantastic rotary work and owns GTA in Detail. If he's unable to help, give me a call but try him first.

kenny1775 · 06-30-08, 03:05

GregK got me a sample of Optimum Hyper Compound. Man, that stuff rocks!!!
I finally got a black finish perfectly corrected!!!

richy · 07-02-08, 12:39

My suggestion would be to look at some videos (DB has a few good ones) and then get a hood from a scrapyard and go to town. Buffing with confidence is ok to learn with as well.