Question for PC users that switched to Rotary?

[Sam Funteas]

I feel a little guilty because I have a metabo rotary (12-175) which I never use. All of my cars are honda`s with soft paint so I`m able to get excellent correction with a PC and the finest of polishes.



I wanted to get a rotary after reading the posts here but I find the PC easier to use. All I seem to do with the rotary is create holograms so I figured why bother when the PC is doing its job. This is just my experience but for me the rotary was a waste.

[Accumulator]

sabirk- Don`t feel bad, you may well find the Metabo handy some day. I hardly ever use mine either but I don`t regret the purchase of it or the Makita- when I need them I have them.



And it sounds like your Honda is like my Mazda- sure no point in using a rotary if less aggressive machines do the job just fine.

[imported_agentf1]

Rotary is the ONLY way to got for a serious detailer that needs to do any real paint correction. You may want to consider a Makita BO6040 or Festool 150RQ for the best of both worlds.

[blue-sun]

I think I may have to get a proper rotary soon.



I took the PC to my Protege. I did a mini-detail on it right when I first got it and got some/most of the swirls out. I did another detail on it last night, did the DACP x2 on the entire car and while most of the swirls came out, there are sections where the PC didn`t faze the swirls. ugh!

[Accumulator]

I think I may have to get a proper rotary soon.



I took the PC to my Protege. I did a mini-detail on it right when I first got it and got some/most of the swirls out. I did another detail on it last night, did the DACP x2 on the entire car and while most of the swirls came out, there are sections where the PC didn`t faze the swirls. ugh!

Noting that the protege and my MPV come from different places, I`ll take a wild guess and say that "gee, they`re both Mazdas" anyhow. Try a 4" pad with the PC, that`s *always* enough for the MPV if I do numerous passes. I`d be just a little leery of taking the rotary to it, the clear is *VERY* thin.



It`ll take more than two passes though, but then it probably would by rotary too, if only because you`d need to be sorta gentle with that paint.

[blue-sun]

Noting that the protege and my MPV come from different places, I`ll take a wild guess and say that "gee, they`re both Mazdas" anyhow. Try a 4" pad with the PC, that`s *always* enough for the MPV if I do numerous passes. I`d be just a little leery of taking the rotary to it, the clear is *VERY* thin.



It`ll take more than two passes though, but then it probably would by rotary too, if only because you`d need to be sorta gentle with that paint.

Don`t get me wrong, the swirls come out, but not as easily and not as many came out.



Some did very easily, and some didn`t. . .



The car has 115k on it already, I drive 100 miles daily, so I`m not too worried about it actually. The car`s a trooper, that`s for sure!

[doc-rice]

Don`t get me wrong, the swirls come out, but not as easily and not as many came out.

And I thought I was the only one: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3398042

[imported_Aurora40]

I`m still having a tough time deciding if I should make the switch to the rotary or spend some more time with the pc. Does anyone that switched to a Rotary wish they wouldn`t of, or people who switched but still prefer the PC?



Thanks

I think the time you will wish you didn`t switch is the time you burn some paint or trim piece.



If the PC does the amount of correction you need, why switch? If you feel you want to make the jump to the rotary in order to see for yourself, it hardly matters what anyone else says.



My two cents, but things like rubber/plastic trim can pretty easily be burned by a foam pad. And paint on things like plastic bumpers can fairly easily be burned as well. But it`s a great tool and if you need one, you need one. But if you don`t, there`s nothing wrong with the PC.

[Junebug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jw

I`m still having a tough time deciding if I should make the switch to the rotary or spend some more time with the pc. Does anyone that switched to a Rotary wish they wouldn`t of, or people who switched but still prefer the PC?



Thanks



When I got my Makita- it was right up there with sliced bread! But like Aurora40 said - you`ll have that "oh my God" moment when you see the paint peel right off a plastic trim piece and then you`ll realize that you aren`t rotary master - time to respect the machine, learn from your mistake and move on. My situation is I detail part-time, I get a lot of my business from a friend that sells used (really used) cars. I`m scared to put the rotary on these, the few times I did, I felt like an elephant walking on eggshells. The clear was so thin already, I was nervous as hell that I would burn right through it. I`ve found some light polish (Malco Nano) or Poliseal - both used on a orange LC pad on the PC works good, and has a nice safety net. I want to move up to a Cyclo, if you`re on the fence about a rotary - consider a Cyclo, they`re around $263-265 and Danase offers free shipping.

[Accumulator]

I dunno...IMO it`s perfectly possible to not have that OMG moment with the rotary :think:

Takes a certain mindset, but IMO it`s like using a chainsaw- mistakes can be very serious but they don`t necessarily ever have to happen.



Tape/remove all trim; pay close attention to what you`re doing *every second* (consider taking breaks so you stay fresh and focused); err on the side of caution/resist the "just a little more..." temptation; give prior thought to what you`ll do if the pad skips or something otherwise goes wrong.



I`m no rotary-Meister, but I can honestly say I`ve only had two incidents of damage:



`84 Volvo- I put a lot of the blame on the panel`s having been badly repainted (burned a small area of clear in an instant at ~1200 rpms with polishing pad/3M 05937 while somehow not damaging the adjacent paint at all).



`97 M3- I took the paint off maybe 1/2" of a painted plastic trim panel`s edge. I knew I was being mighty aggressive for the piece in question but it was so scratched up I woulda had it repainted had the marring not come out. As it was I touched up the damage and it looks a lot better than before I started. Still, this is a perfect example of "just a little more" getting somebody in trouble. And there`s simply no way I could do that car`s clear with a PC/Cyclo; it`s taking *many* passes with the rotary/HT-EC/cutting pad/high rpms.

[Junebug]

Here`s the problem - everybody starts off with a lot of respect and maybe a little fear of the rotary. Then, you discover that hey, this ain`t so hard, I`m buffing and the paint ain`t flying off the car. After a few times you think you know all there is and maybe all the safety and respect talk was overdone, then it happens. Been there-done that, same thing with a chainsaw too - fortunitely my Levi`s took the worst of it and I just got a scratch - damn right scary though! Anybody that does get a rotary, get a scrap hood or fender - most junk yards or bodyshops would be more than happy to let you practice on a piece of scrap. When you do, try to burn through the clear and then you`ll have a good idea of what can happen, just remember - plastic is better left alone.

[Accumulator]

Here`s the problem - everybody starts off with a lot of respect and maybe a little fear of the rotary. Then, you discover that hey, this ain`t so hard, I`m .. you think you know all there is and maybe all the safety and respect talk was overdone...

Yeah, guess that`s where my broken-record caveat about "proper mindset" comes in. Whether we`re talking rotaries, chainsaws, or [any other serious tool], some people really oughta say "no thanks". Maybe *most* people, at least when it comes to certain tools, but at least with the rotary we`re just talking about cosmetic damage to cars.



Glad to hear your chainsaw mishap wasn`t tragic! I`ve yet to nick my protective gear, but I still put it on every time even after decades of using the thing. Lots of pros have an oops with those no matter how experienced and careful they are, and there`s a lesson in that.



I`m of two minds regarding the rotary on plastic: couldn`t realistically do the correction I (sometimes) need without it, but all too aware that it`s a risky proposition. You give it some thought and you take your chances :nixweiss

[SuperBee364]

Of course I have to add my controversial take on the "new guy on a rotary thing."...



Use wool.



I could do a four page rant on how I love wool, but I`ll keep it simple, and with a new guy slant:



Wool is *very* easy to use. It does not get nearly as hot as foam, it doesn`t skip as easily, is less sensitive to the amount of product you use, is easily cleaned with a spur and a brush as you go if you do over-do the product application, and is *much safer* for a new guy; the reduced heat gives you a better margin for error on plastic areas, as well as inadvertantly touching adjacent parts with the pad. It aslo cuts quicker. (Yeah, I think that`s a safety advantage. Kinda like using a sharp knife). It`s also available for every job you`d want to do: compounding, intermediate correction, final polish and even LSP application. It`s also easier to use in hard-to-get-to places.



Lot`s of people still say that you`ll never finish down as well with wool, and that you`ll end up with far more holograms, but I`ve converted a few peeps to "the dark side", and I`m still working on more. I`m only a part time guy. I do it cause I love to detail, not for money. I`ve only corrected a total of about 20 cars this year, but 15 of them have been with wool, and I`ve achieved the same results finishing with wool as I did with foam.



As Coupe`s signature says, "Wool Rules. Foam Drools."

[SpeedEuphoria]

whats a good finishing wool then

[SuperBee364]

Edge 2000 wool color guide:



Black - Heavy compounding

Yellow - Medium correction

Green - Light correction

Blue - Very light correction/final polish

White - Has no cut to it. You can use this pad to really put a high shine on a car with a high quality finishing polish like PO106FF. This combination is *wonderful*, but it *will not* produce any correction at all. It`s strictly to make the car shine, and OMG, it does a great job of it.



My favorite medium correction pad (my workhorse), is LC`s purple foamed wool.



My current sytem (unless the car is heavily swirled and has serious defects), is:



Purple foamed wool with Menz SIP, then either green or blue wool (green for hard clear coats, blue for softer clears) with 106FF, then White wool with 106FF.



I can often skip the last step on softer clears, but most of the time I do it anyway.



I`d substitute Menzerna Intensive Polish instead of SIP for a guy new to the rotary. Using the system above (with regular IP instead of SIP) is a very safe and easy process for someone new to the rotary. You`re not using very aggressive pads or polish (and not removing alot of clear coat), yet you`ll still get very good correction ability, and the shine you`ll end up with will knock your socks off.



Some basic safety rules:



Don`t go over 1,000 rpm until you`re very comfortable using the rotary.



Keep the buffer head moving over the paint the entire time that the head is turning.



Don`t push hard.



Don`t overwork (dry buff) the product



If you keep those simple rules in mind and try out the polishes/pads recommended above, I think you`ll have a good first experience, and it should be safe, as well.