First time with a rotory tonight!!!

nbk12ul · 07-13-02, 07:49

I'm still not done, however, I just had to let you all know thanks for the advice, and I have seen the light!!!

A friend of ours came up from out of town with her 99 Nissan Quest. She had parked under a tree and got some sap on the hood and side panels. In what she calls a moment of not thinking, she proceeds to pull out an SOS pad to clean the sap!! I told her about a week ago if she came up I'd take a look and see if there was anything I could do to get rid of the scratches she had made. After the car was washed and clayed, there were a lot more problems than just 5 SOS scratch spots. There were MANY scratches all over the car (obviously been through lots of horrid car care).

I tried to use my PC with Megs #9, no good.

Borrowed my neighbors Makita rotory with a foam pad and Megs professional medium cut, no good.

Used the makita, foam pad, Megs Heavy cut, no good.

WET SANDED 1500 grit paper (very lightly), scratches gone, but of course dull from the paper.

Makita again with heavy cut over sanded area, back to a beautiful shine.

PC, wool pad, Megs Pro Medium cut (Dual Action Glaze), got rid of swirls from rotory.

PC, black pad with Megs #7.

Car looks great! I've still got a lot of work to do to it (inside as well), but overall, you cannot tell that there was every any SOS pad used on it at all.

I just wanted to thank you all for the advice I've read here for the past few months, it has saved another vechicle.

My main lesson learned was that a rotory rocks! It sure looks like it can fix it all! I was scared using it but glad I did!

Thanks again!

P.S. What would you guys have done differently in the same case?

Robert

caddyman · 07-13-02, 07:56

Yes, the rotary, when used correctly, is just fa superior than most anything else.

Ah Minivans..not fun to detail!

Wet sanding is out of my leauge!

Sounds like a good job

KCPreki11 · 07-13-02, 09:21

Quote:

Originally posted by nbk12ul
I'm still not done, however, I just had to let you all know thanks for the advice, and I have seen the light!!!

A friend of ours came up from out of town with her 99 Nissan Quest. She had parked under a tree and got some sap on the hood and side panels. In what she calls a moment of not thinking, she proceeds to pull out an SOS pad to clean the sap!! I told her about a week ago if she came up I'd take a look and see if there was anything I could do to get rid of the scratches she had made. After the car was washed and clayed, there were a lot more problems than just 5 SOS scratch spots. There were MANY scratches all over the car (obviously been through lots of horrid car care).

I tried to use my PC with Megs #9, no good.

Borrowed my neighbors Makita rotory with a foam pad and Megs professional medium cut, no good.

Used the makita, foam pad, Megs Heavy cut, no good.

WET SANDED 1500 grit paper (very lightly), scratches gone, but of course dull from the paper.

Makita again with heavy cut over sanded area, back to a beautiful shine.

PC, wool pad, Megs Pro Medium cut (Dual Action Glaze), got rid of swirls from rotory.

PC, black pad with Megs #7.

Car looks great! I've still got a lot of work to do to it (inside as well), but overall, you cannot tell that there was every any SOS pad used on it at all.

I just wanted to thank you all for the advice I've read here for the past few months, it has saved another vechicle.

My main lesson learned was that a rotory rocks! It sure looks like it can fix it all! I was scared using it but glad I did!

Thanks again!

P.S. What would you guys have done differently in the same case?

Robert

Wow, you learned to wetsand by just reading here for a few months, or did you have other background ecperience.

Intel486 · 07-13-02, 09:21

Just wait until you can polish a car with a rotary and not get any swirls! It is soo much faster than using that D*** 6" pad on the PC to polish with!

Sounds like you removed a lot of paint though...2000 grit sandpaper is a better choice. It removes paint more slowly and give you more control over the sanding. 2000 grit paper can remove less paint than a rotary w/ a compound. Also, did you use a backing for the sandpaper? Don't want to be putting fingerlines in the paint from sanding with just the paper. Not really anything to worry about on paint with orange peel though.

nbk12ul · 07-14-02, 06:11

KCPreki11: I have no real expierence with wet sanding. I've watched the videos online, and studied, but never been actually coached on how to do it. I never would have attempted it if I didn't think that I could make it look better. When i started with the rotory I noticed it removing a lot of the finer scratches and assumed (maybe to much assuming) that the rotory would remove the sanding marks quicker than getting down to the SOS pad marks.

Intel486: Yeah, I wanted to get some 2000 grit paper, but by the time I started the detailing, the stores were closed and I had some 1500 on hand from model airplane repairs. For backing, I used a retired piece of clay, put it behind the paper, pressed it once on the curved surface, and lightly (extremely lightly since I was kinda scared) sanded until the marks were gone, witch was about 15 to 20 light passes.

I'm not comfortable with the rotory or wet sanding by any means, but the "customer" was sick over what she did, and I went at it with everything I had to make her car look better for her, and in the long run it worked.

Just for an idea, it took me 6 hours to get it washed on the outside, clayed, and the SOS pads gone from the finish, and back to a better than new shine.

My only concern now is that I can't tell if I weakend the clear enough to have it possibly fail. Is there anyway to know? Will anything prevent it?

Thanks guys!

Robert

nbk12ul · 07-14-02, 04:00

Here are some pics of the completed free detail job (I'm such a nice guy, didn't even charge for materials, of course I experimented with it!)

Pictures

Wish I would have thought to get the befores.. Oh well, next time for sure!!!

Robert

caddyman · 07-14-02, 05:59

WOW! Looks brand new!

jrh382 · 07-14-02, 06:18

Beautiful job! Car looks great.

My friend has a 1994 Toyota Corolla that has never been washed. The car has a bad oxidation problem and the paint is dull and it feels rough. However, it comes off if you scrap it and there are sections where its ok. Washing don't do nothing and waxing just makes it worse...

So Im thinking rotary. I offered to do it for free (First trial on rotary...hehe) and this is the type of person wouldn't know if it got messed up or not. I have to read up on it more and now this wet sanding is intriguing was well.

nbk12ul · 07-15-02, 07:12

Thanks for the kind words! It really says something when Autopians like your work!

Oh! On the pictures, if you look at the second picture right about the middle is where there was a nice big + looking scratch pattern, with some sap still in the middle!

The hood also had 2 SOS +'s on the edge closest to the windshield.

jrh382: That 1994 toyota sounds like a good candidate to do some exploritory car care!

Do you already have the rotory polisher? I'm really thinking about getting one and doing some real practice with the 88 civic I gave my mom. Its in pretty bad shape, but I took pretty good care of it. If it didn't have the dear strike dents in the front, it would be really nice...

In the mean time, I've got to try to find away to have my neighbor just let me store the polisher at my house!

Thanks again to everyone here for all of the information!

Robert

jrh382 · 07-15-02, 07:39

nbk12ul: No, I don't have a rotary polisher. Do you know if places rent out those type of things? For example, I know Home Depot has a tool rental center....would they have something like this for rent. I want to see if it would be a wise investment before I go out and buy it. I have a power washer, so I can get ride of some of the deep dirt on it first. Also, what is the best brand as far as rotaries go?

Thanks.

BradE · 07-15-02, 07:49

Quote:

Also, what is the best brand as far as rotaries go?

Get a quality unit. I would get either the DeWalt DW849 or the Makita 9227c. Good machines don't come cheap, expect to spend around $200 for a good one. I own the DeWalt and love it.

Intel486 · 07-15-02, 02:03

Quote:

Originally posted by ShowroomLincoln

Get a quality unit. I would get either the DeWalt DW849 or the Makita 9227c. Good machines don't come cheap, expect to spend around $200 for a good one. I own the DeWalt and love it.

I've got to agree. DeWalt or Makita. I've got the Makita and love it. The loop handle that everyone complains about really isn't a problem. I've gotten use to it. It also acts as a great stand for the buffer.