First Time rotary

[JoeK]

Rec`d a rotary for Dad`s Day and gave it a first time use on my guinea pig car, our 13 year old Galant which hasn`t rec`d any real attention in about 18 months.



Chicago Elec Rotary (aka Harbor freight)

double wash/clay



On hand--83, 4, 7, PIII

Megs pads W7000, W8000, W9000



I first tried the machine set at III, with the w7000 pad and #4 (going after some real nasty scratches) but found that it was really a bear to handle. It just seemed like a fight, the machine was jumpiong all over, like it was biting too much.



Reached some workability with w8000 pad and PIII; while everyone seems to like 83, I`ve just had really good luck with PIII; seems easier to handle and work with. Also started to control the machine with one hand on the handle and another on the head. This seemed to make it more controllable. Followed this with #7; about the same experience...certainly less time consuming and less effort than a PC for about the same relative result. The thing I did notice was in several instances, I `d finish an area and have a patch of product that seemed to be caked on to the paint. It came off with some MF and hand effort.



Followed this with Collinite IW; applied by PC/W9000 and taken off by hand/MF.



Any suggestions on rotary

[imported_Sullybob]

If your machine was jumping I would say that you either didn`t have enough product to lubricate the pad to paint contact or maybe you had the speed set to high. Are you trying to keep the pad perfectly flat? I found that if I tilt the pad at a very slight angle it really helps with buffer hop.

If you have caked on product then you might be using too much product. How warm or hot was the paint after you buffed a section?

[Spilchy]

Hey Joe :welcome to Autopia!



If you have the time, you may want to read this thread. It is very long, but filled with excellent information about the rotary usage.



http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12377



Also, you may want to browse the the "Machine Polishing" forum here as there are lots of threads on using the rotary.



I think you`ll find a lot of quailty information.



It takes learning the proper technique and an understanding of the proper pad / polish combination to achieve your results in a safe manner. Fortunately you have a car to work with.

[Asonyexec]

hey joe! I bought the same rotary - only recently making the jump from my PC DA to a rotary. At first it does seem like a fight using the rotary but a few of the things I did to ease that was (a) used the 6" pads that i use for my DA (b) keep a spray bottle of water handy to squirt down the pad now and then. Some say to use a QD spray but water is a lot less expensive and works just as well. The caking can be because of the heat producted by the rotary and you may want to ease up on the hand pressure and/or move the machine around a little faster.



Once you get the hang of it you will see that the rotary is a faster process and you can get more done with the rotary - although both have their place in every enthusiast`s bag of goodies

[buellwinkle]

Wow, I`m surprised you didn`t damage anything at those speeds with those pads. I run my rotary on 1, maybe 2 if it`s a deep scratch which translates to about 1,200-1,500 rpm . Also, I would never use those pads with a rotary, too big and develops too high a speed at the edge for a beginer, a 6" pad is much safer which is the opposite of a PC buffer. Also, don`t polish until dry, stop while it`s still moist as that will cause the buffer to be hard to handle.

[wannafbody]

not using enough product could make the buffer more difficult to work with

[JoeK]

Thanks guys---if I wasn`t so lazy. maybe I`d put a picture in--maybe tomorrow.

1-paint wasn`t hot, or even warm but it was also hot/humid conditions

2-should of wet the pad

3-really didn`t have much of a speed reference, glad to know 12-15 is 2 on the machine; although by the time I was done the machine was a bit warm and a little noisy

4-6" pads...definitely



Thanks again.