Inspired by the Rotary vrs PC thread. . .what`s the difference (ima PC/rotart n00b)

[Blue-Sun]

What`s the differnce between a rotary, a PC, a orbital sander/polisher/ and a buffer?



I looked briefly in the FAQ section, but didn`t know what to include in the seach box, pc AND rotary AND differnce AND orbital AND. . .I`d probably get about 10000 threads!



Just curious, since I see all of the above (well, maybe not the buffer) mentioned frequently. . .

[2k2blackWRX]

well a simple way to put it....



a Pc is a dual action polisher. It not only spins but it also oscilates. If look the pad spins and the whole assembely rotates in a small circle. By doing this it makes less friction on one point and therefore you can`t burn your paint as easy because of the oscillations.



A rotary on the other hand only spins, it does not rotate/oscilate the whole assembely so it keeps the friction on one point and causes more heat, this breaks down products quicker and make it alot easier to burn your paint.



Also rotarys generally spin slower than dual action polishers.



Thats it in a nutshell... correct me if im wrong.

[shaf]

WRXemALL you might want to reduce it to a Title Search. That`s what I do if I get a zillion hits on something. :up



DA polishers (the PC anyway) actually spin slower than rotaries. Attach a piece of tape to the pad as you work and you can see it doesn`t spin very fast. You can`t compare the speeds that DA`s and rotaries run at all because one is measured in RPM while the other is measured in OPM (orbits). Numerically the PC goes up to 6000 opm but you can`t relate that to any rpm number. Make sense? :)

[Blue-Sun]

thanks for the info guys!

[imported_chr9s]

As 4DSC said, it`s an apples to oranges comparison. They`re two completely different machines.