rotary vs PC..pc wins????

**Envious Eric** · 11-13-2006, 09:45 PM

I am not talking about which is better....but whats up with this....

situation: BLACK Ford Ranger, heavily swirled and scratched up!

products: excel pads, optimum polishes, hitachi rotray speed - 1500-1600, PC speed 6, yellow excel cutting pad

problem: My PC worked better and faster than the rotary....WHY???

I tried a section of the hood with both to compare....set myself a time limit of use/broken down product. I polished with the rotary until the OHC/yellow started to clear, then I polished with the PC with OHC/yellow from excel until I made about 12 overlapping passes until it went clear. The Pc results were about 5x better than the rotary. Can someone explain what I possibly was doing wrong?

**imported_paradigm** · 11-13-2006, 10:45 PM

my guess is that the black was marring easily and the PC`s less aggressive nature helped out this time?

**David Fermani** · 11-13-2006, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by paradigm

my guess is that the black was marring easily and the PC`s less aggressive nature helped out this time?

My guess too. Does the PC section look acceptable, or is it still in need of work?

**DSVWGLI** · 11-13-2006, 11:06 PM

Very strange indeed. I am new to rotary use but have used the PC for about 3 years now. I have the Hitachi as well and IMO it is a lot easier to use and more than twice as fast, at getting rid of swirls, as the PC in all my tests on a hand full of cars. How fast did you move the Hitachi per inch? If you move it to fast you will not heat up the paint which lets you know that you are doing things correctly. The paint should be toasty warm when your done, if not slow down. I move the Hitachi about 3" per second when removing swirls. If you are doing this and the PC is faster than I don`t understand whats happening.

**Envious Eric** · 11-13-2006, 11:25 PM

both are still in need of work obviously....cutting pad and OHC....but I achieved much better results with the PC...

moved the PC about 1" per second - made about 12 passes before going clear

and the rotary about 5" per second - made about 5 passes before clear

**David Fermani** · 11-13-2006, 11:37 PM

You might be surprised with the depth difference after you glaze it. I`ll bet the rotary cut through the finish deeper, thus swirling it up more, leaving you better results in the next step.

**DSVWGLI** · 11-13-2006, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by toyotaguy

both are still in need of work obviously....cutting pad and OHC....but I achieved much better results with the PC...

moved the PC about 1" per second - made about 12 passes before going clear

and the rotary about 5" per second - made about 5 passes before clear

Did you fell the surface to see if it was warm? 5" per second can sometimes be too fast, you really have to pay close attention, unlike a PC which you can almost do no wrong. Also I find a cutting pad with a rotary will leave swirls behind, and the PC leaves hazing, so that could have something to do with it.

**DSVWGLI** · 11-13-2006, 11:47 PM

Originally Posted by David Fermani

You might be surprised with the depth difference after you glaze it. I`ll bet the rotary cut through the finish deeper, thus swirling it up more, leaving you better results in the next step.

Absolutely.

**Envious Eric** · 11-14-2006, 12:05 AM

so i should have ran through the whole process to see the results??? compound, polish, glaze, canauba?

also, I tried OC on a orange via both....the PC didnt cut all right away, but the rotary did, but it also scratched and left behind more defects that were "new"

is there a general rule that a light polishing pad and a aggressive polish might work better than aggressive/aggressive???

**DSVWGLI** · 11-14-2006, 12:13 AM

I think you only have to use a cutting pad on really hard paints, the polishing pad will remove most swirls and leave a far better finish. On some paints you woun`t need a finishing pad even.

**Envious Eric** · 11-14-2006, 12:28 AM

i`ll keep that in mind...thanks

**01bluecls** · 11-14-2006, 12:41 AM

I started using the PC back in the day (about 2 years ago) and every since I got the hang of the rotary, my PC is collecting dust. Every once in a while I break the PC out to see what it can do on a vehicle im detailing and after a few passes I give up and go right back to the rotary. The rotary once you get used to it can produce a better finish and cut down working time.

**Junebug** · 11-14-2006, 09:23 AM

I`m in the stage where I used a PC, feel like I am good with it - then got a Makita 9227C, the post about the pads caught my eye. I use 6.5" Lake Country pads, so you`re saying for light swirls, I can use the white polishing pad instead of the orange pad and get better results?

**DSVWGLI** · 11-14-2006, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by JuneBug

I`m in the stage where I used a PC, feel like I am good with it - then got a Makita 9227C, the post about the pads caught my eye. I use 6.5" Lake Country pads, so you`re saying for light swirls, I can use the white polishing pad instead of the orange pad and get better results?

Yes, and even for moderate swirls your better off with a polishing pad. For light swirls start with a light polish then work your way up to a compound if needed. I just got a 4 3/4" backing plate fot my rotary so I can use my PC pads and I agree with most people who say they are easier to use. I like how they give you better control with no buffer hop.

**CERTAUTO** · 11-14-2006, 08:12 PM

i would use the rotary a little slower i did my black 03 4runner and it did not look how i wanted it to so re did it much slower and it came out much better