I'm SOOO tempted to buy a rotary!!

[Chuckmotor]

As many of you know, I have griped and complained about my "faded" black '92 car. I have had a PC 7336, and sure, it's fine. It's basically a very very fast hand. It works great for most cars, but I really want a dark, wet looking finish on my ten year old baby. I need a rotary to get those results, I'm afraid.
So obviously I have a lot of questions. I'm sure I can sell my PC and all the pads to a buddy, so I'll have some money towards that rotary, if I decide to get one.
Exactly how easy is it to mess up with a rotary and do a really bad job? What does it take to get expierence using a rotary, and how much is needed for someone who has never used more than a random orbital? From what I have read, the Makita 9227, which sells on CMA, is a pretty good rotary. Is that right? Someone with a rotary, please help me! I'm very tempted!

[JayDub]

Funny you should mention this, I was just watching Crank & Chrome on TNN sunday, and they had a guy from Meguiars there looking at the paint on a classic hotrod they had built. He busts out the rotary and i thought to myself, "i could never do that to my car" since it was dull dull when he was done, then two more products later, the paint looked like it was wet.

I'd love to learn to use a rotary but i'm with you, afraid i'd mess something up even worse by not using it properly.

[DETAILKING]

Your car is clearcoated right? From what you have been explaining it seems to be that your paint suffers from UV fading, and since it is clearcoated, a rotary won't be of much help either.........

[Chuckmotor]

Yes, the car is clearcoated. But I am finding that after using FI-II a few times, the car is looking blacker and darker. Also, don't rotarys give better results, anyway? Even if I can't remove all of the oxidation, won't it look better, and won't other cars I do look better, as well? I'm just asking. I'm interested in getting a rotary, and I just want to know all that is involved.

[JeffBruce]

I have the makita 9227. Do not sell your PC yet. The Makita is a a monster. Masking Tape...all the trim. ......more things
1. Go to a autobody place..the good ones will give you instructions. Then they will say practice on junk pieces..
2. Get a car door trunk something from a junk yard and practice.
3. Its dangerous and feel dangerous doing it...
4. Just like PC has different types of Pads....
5. I only use for the difficult stuff...im not good enough yet for daily use.
6. PC will feel like a feather...makita much heavier
7. It has the speed adjustments in a much easier area than the Pc.
8. If your ever in MD I';ll go out and get a door or trunk and we can practice on it.....
9. My friend is bummed because i have one and he doesn';t..
ha
Jeff

[DETAILKING]

Originally posted by Chuckmotor
I'm interested in getting a rotary, and I just want to know all that is involved.

Lots....and lots of practice. Be careful, you have been using a lot of abrasives on that car....frequent use can break through your clear coat and then you will be SOL.

[Intermezzo]

As soon as I have a proper garage to work in, I'm getting a rotary. I probably won't ever need it on my cars, but a lot of my friends do.

Chuckmotor, I believe proficiency with a rotary really does bring a person to a whole new level of detailing. I may be wrong, but what I think DK was referring to was that if your car is clearcoated, a rotary will work wonders to completely remove swirls and smoothen your clearcoat. If the slight 'browning' that you're seeing is being caused by a faded basecoat, then no amount of rotary polishing on your clearcoat is going to fix that problem.

However, if you find that using FI-II is improving the way your car looks, then perhaps a good rotary treatment is just the ticket.

[Guess My Name]

Chuck do you have any pics in bright bright light of your paint???

Rotary's can do a lot of damage...I remember seeing that BMW hood with the 3d halo thing going a few months ago....SCARY tool.

[Every Little Detail]

Chuck,
A rotary is the only tool that can really make a difference on any serious paint defects. Before you invest in one you need to either try one by renting or a least watch a pro use one. I was given lessons by a master detailer who has been using rotaries for 25 years. Two hours later the way I did cars was changed forever. It takes 45min to 1hr to polish a car now as opposed to the endless hours by hand or even with the PC. The results can be breathtaking provided you know what your doing and are using the right bonnets or pads and the right combination of chemicals.

What is hardly ever discussed on this forum is that the rotary can be used aggressively with wool bonnets and compounds which can be dangerous if you are not experienced. Or it can be used with foam pads for light polishing and for final finishing with completely different polishes. It can even be used to apply sealents and waxes that are made for rotary application. Every serious detailer has and uses his rotary for the majority of his work.

However, having said all that if you ever get a new vehicle your PC will be more than adequate for any slight problems you might encounter. I still use my PC for applying waxes or sealents and polishing near perfect surfaces. Unless you are going to be detailing alot you could always take your vehicle to a reputable detail shop and have them do the compounding provided you have enough clear left. They would assess the problem differently than you and they have all the tools. Good luck

[Intel486]

Originally posted by JeffBruce
I have the makita 9227. Do not sell your PC yet. The Makita is a a monster. Masking Tape...all the trim. ......more things

I agree, keep the PC. The Makita is a beast and you can't really use it for stuff like you can the PC. Don't even think about using the Makita for applying wax.

[carguy]

Also, the most common mistake is burning an edge - two different scenarios:

1) convex edge - say, the edge where the trunk surface meets the side of the car. If you tilt the rotary so it only sees this edge, all of a sudden the pressure is distributed across hardly any surface area, raising the PSI significantly. Instant heat and burn.

example: Say you have an 8" pad. The surface area (flat) is pi*r squared, or about 50 square inches. Say you press down with 5 pounds of force - that yields a pressure of 1 tenth of a pound per square inch. Now, suppose you hold the pad at a 45 degree angle to the edge. Let's guess that the cushion in the pad allows the pad to contact 1/4 inch on either side of the corner. So you now have a 1/2" by 8" contact area - or 4 square inches. Now the same 5 lbs yields 1.25 PSI - more than ten times more pressure.

2) concave edge - the car you're working on has a concave curve, or right angle - say where the vertical part of the trunk meets the painted bumper. Now we are concerned with the edge of the pad, which you're not paying attention to as you polish the trunk. Circumference of this pad is about 25 inches - at 2000 RPM, that's going by at 838 inches per second. Notice that the pad speed in inches per second goes down as you go toward the center. So as you move the flat surface around, the fast part never stays in one place very long, nor is it being pushed down with much pressure (see #1 above.) But when you're polishing the vertical surface, and bump ito the fender with the side of the pad, say, with a pound or two of force, it won't take very much time to develop a huge amount of heat.

It is easy to say "just don't do that". It is harder to obey it. I'm not saying don't do this - I am thinking about it too - but if you practice on a junked body panel, realize that it won't present all of the problems a real car will - so keep all this stuff in mind.

[DeanZ]

Everyone mentions the "PC"....what is it??? It seems like a tool of some sort to help in wax application.

Someone please explain.

Thanks in advance.