Yet again, Makita 9227 of Flex 3401 RO? - Page 3

howareb · 04-29-08, 03:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Will the Flex DA be able to correct swirls/scratches to the same extent as a Rotary (or close)?

Well the main advantage of the rotary is the amount time needed to polish. However in the case of very hard clear coats a rotary is by far the best method. Although you can get an aggressive combo with a DA and do the same corrections with more time.

Basically the difference between the two is the balance of time vs. risk of damage. A rotary has faster correction time with a higher risk of damage, whereas a DA has a lower risk of damage but takes more time. Hope this helps.

Rob Tomlin · 04-29-08, 04:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by howareb

Well the main advantage of the rotary is the amount time needed to polish. However in the case of very hard clear coats a rotary is by far the best method. Although you can get an aggressive combo with a DA and do the same corrections with more time.

Basically the difference between the two is the balance of time vs. risk of damage. A rotary has faster correction time with a higher risk of damage, whereas a DA has a lower risk of damage but takes more time. Hope this helps.

Yes, that helps tremendously, and I appreciate it.

For someone like me who mostly maintains my own cars and will occasionally detail a friend and family members car, I probably prefer to go the more time with less risk of damage route!

TTWAGN · 04-29-08, 07:01

SuperBee364 may be able to answer this.

With the flex 3403 lightweight rotary, when you have it on the lowest speed setting it runs at 1100rpm if the trigger is held down flat.

Now this is a normal speed which is fine, however is the trigger variable, so u can effectively get the buffer to spin at 600rpm by pulsing the trigger on and off?

That would be good to spread the polish out to avoid slinging and then just pull the trigger down and go straight to 1100rpm which is normal speed. Is this the same for the Makita as well?

My Metabo cant do this which is frustrating at times as the on/off switch gives less control when spreading the polish out.

Also are you limiting the 3403 buffers to 6inch pads? I use 8inch pads with my metabo and people say its more likely to go into thermal protection than the flex 3403 ligthweight rotary. Anyone use 8inch pads?

charlesaferg · 04-29-08, 07:53

I've never had problems with my metabo going into thermal shutdown, I've only attempted it once on purpose to see what happens, even then it never shut off. I found out that pressing down on the machine too hard won't bog it down easily, but it will get hot.

Also, if you're using Menzerna, don't use water to prep the pads with these products.

Scottwax · 04-29-08, 08:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperBee364

There's also alot of people that say that you can't beat a DA for final finishing. I'm in the rotary camp, though. A zero-bite finishing pad on a rotary gives you the ability to reach a polish's maximum ability to jewel the finish by breaking down the abrasives in the polish to a higher degree (smaller abrasive size) than a DA can.

Same here. On softer black paint, the buffer haze from a DA/RO buffer is very hard to get rid of completely. With the rotary, no buffer haze at all.

JuneBug · 04-30-08, 03:48

The only thing I can add to this - (I have a PC and a Makita) is if you are using a rotary, you have to be careful with painted trim pieces like door moldings and bumpers. A rotary can (been there-done that) roll the paint off plastic. It was entirely my fault, I was trying to get too close to a piece of trim and was too stupid - should have taped it up. But, I learned from that and moved on. If you have a detail where the paint is in bad shape, you can do Megs 105 on wool, followed by Ultrafina on 3M blue foam and get fantastic results in much less time than you would spend with a PC, especially on black paint.

Most details I get lately can be polished up with just Ultrafina or Menzerna FFII, use a soft foam pad like 3M or LC gray-or white and you're done. Just tape up trim!

dirtdiggler · 04-30-08, 04:16

hello all,
I ordered a Makita rotarty and should arrive tomorrow 5-1-08. I bought 6.5 CCS lake county foam pads ( they are the pads with circle pockets imbedded ) from DetailersDomain initially for my PC, but found it too thick for the PC, Can I use these LC CCS pads for the rotory ?

Thanks you

howareb · 04-30-08, 05:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtdiggler

hello all,
I ordered a Makita rotarty and should arrive tomorrow 5-1-08. I bought 6.5 CCS lake county foam pads ( they are the pads with circle pockets imbedded ) from DetailersDomain initially for my PC, but found it too thick for the PC, Can I use these LC CCS pads for the rotory ?

Thanks you

Yes you can. I am not sure what Makita kit you got, but you most likely will have to buy a backing plate for the rotary to use the 6.5 pads.

dirtdiggler · 04-30-08, 05:48

Thanks Howareb,
i ordered the Makita for coastal tool. I will find out more as it arrives tomorrow. Thank you again for the reply.

JuneBug · 04-30-08, 09:03

Dirtdiggler - congrats on the Makita! One other thing, I started liking mine a lot more after I quit using the handles and just qrip the top of the spindle. Check out that pdf on rotary that Dave KG put together too.

dirtdiggler · 04-30-08, 11:06

Junebug
thank you - actually Dave KG's pdf is what made me pull the trigger to order the rotary and also members that replied to my post. I also read most of the sticky post which answered most of my questions. Thanks for the suggestion too.

dsms · 04-30-08, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtdiggler

hello all,
I ordered a Makita rotarty and should arrive tomorrow 5-1-08. I bought 6.5 CCS lake county foam pads ( they are the pads with circle pockets imbedded ) from DetailersDomain initially for my PC, but found it too thick for the PC, Can I use these LC CCS pads for the rotory ?

Thanks you

Just ordered my Makita from DD also. Im very exited!