System One review w/ Chicago Electric rotary

[Radian78]

I posted this one on the machine polishing group, but thought it`s actually more of a product review. So I`m reposting it here... especially since I have seen very little reviews on System One and the X3 polish.





So I`ve been wanting a rotary for a while... but was afraid to make the leap. I`ve been polishing with my 7424 using Green (medium) and Blue (polish) Edge pads. My polishes have been Poorboys SSR 1 and SSR 2.5.

I got pretty good results on the cars I did, but the PC just takes a long time! Also the vibration gets annoying after 5-6 hours of use.



I didn`t want to spend too much on a rotary in case I just didn`t like it. So... after reading various rotary posts on this site and watching Youtube videos (the Meguiars 5 parts series and more), I decided to start on the cheap and get a $20 Chicago Rotary at our local Harborfreight store. Pretty sturdy device, definitely worth $20 to start try out a rotary. No soft start, and it does bog down.



As for the polishes... my head was spinning as to what I should choose. Optimum, Menzerna, Meguiars... something else? I noticed the System One site. It really looked like snakeoil... the videos showed `noobs` with a rotary just going at it. Scary! The X3 polish did get some good reviews though, and the pad you get is a genuine Edge pad (blended wool on one side, white wave foam on the other).



So after $90 for the kit and $20 for the rotary, I`m ready to go! We have a $500 `95 Dodge Neon commuter we bought off Craigslist. The car definitely had swirls galore and looked very faded. Great car to try out a rotary! Here thus the results: (please keep in mind this is my first time using a rotary)



The paint is in pretty bad shape:



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6228.JPG





SWIRLS!



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6229.JPG





From this:



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6227.JPG





To this: (2 passes with the wool side, one pass with the foam side)



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6232.JPG





Reflection before:



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6238.JPG





Reflection after:



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6239.JPG





50/50: (some deeper scratches remain after 2 passes... and next time I`m gonna tape off the trim :grinno: )



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6235.JPG





After:





http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6249.JPG





For comparison, I also used my 7424. This was after a pass with SSR 2.5 on blue (not enough cut), then a pass with SSR 2.5 on green, and SSR 1 on blue to finish. It looked pretty good, but there were tiny scratches left that the Rotary was able to get rid of. This is the portion from the 7424:



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/IMG_6242.JPG





So what do I think of `System One`? Thoughts:



- It`s easy to work with. The wool side has quite a bit of cut, and the foam finishes off nicely.

- The paint didn`t get very hot. This must be due to the wool blend and the `Wave` foam side.

- The rotary is much smoother than the PC, however I can see that it likes to move, grab and skip around. The foam side more so than the wool. The PC is more forgiving.

- The polish finishes off very nicely, and is easy to wipe off. Trim cleans off easily with water.

- I believe that there are definitely compounds out there that have more cut than X3 with the wool. But as is, the rotary with X3 and wool was more effective than the PC with a green pad and SSR 2.5.

- I didn`t burn through any paint! System One claims that this system is `burn proof` but I`d rather err on the cautious side ;)

[Junebug]

Nice looking results. When( not if) you decide to upgrade to better rotary - catch AG when they have a sale on Makita or just use "ago" in the coupon code for free shipping.

[Radian78]

Thanks for the tip. I can definitely see where a Makita would make it an even better experience.



One thing I noticed from the Chicago Electric rotary was a real high-pitched wine (I only used speeds 1 and 2). Is the Makita pretty quiet?

[superstring]

I`d say that you, as a first time rotary user, deserve congratulations. Those are pretty impressive results!

[Radian78]

Thanks for the comment :)



I only just now read the 12-page discussion on System One and whether you could use any other polish the same way.



All I can say after trying it out, is that it worked well for me. I`m sure that on different paints, the combination of X3 and pad may behave differently. Different temperature, different hardness of paint etc. I`ll be sure to post more pics after using System One on the next car.