Having a hell of a time with my rotary, any advice?

[-KGB-]

Well being that it hit 50 here today I decided to start dewinterizing my car today. I wanted to use the rotary because I hate the vibration of the PC. I was using a Megs polishing pad and some PBs SSR2.5 and the damn thing just wouldnt sit on the surface. I was all over the place, so I tilted it and just used the edge and that got working but I was thinknig I have a huge pad here why cant I use the whole thing. Any advice? Should I prime the pad first?

[bigron62]

heres what i do when using the rotary ... get a clean pad then make sure its centered and apply some product ... i put a thin bead in a swirl around the pad then set the buffer on a low speed.. and start buffing .. i usually start on the hood and work my way around the car .. if the product starts gumming i give the panel a few sprays with some water to break it up and keep going .. id say try another product to see if it works better .. that product might not work correctly in 50 degree weather .. hope that helps

[Brenton]

Bigron`s got it right, but with SSR2.5, Steve (Poorboy) recommends not using any water. I understand why, cause with water I get little specks of residue sometimes.
But do keep the pad clean. If you are just starting, I recommend smearing the product on the panel, not the pad. Takes a little longer, but on the lowest setting you get an even haze across the panel. Then slowly work it in--move slower than PC, left to right, even motion, until the hazing is mostly gone. Should take a coupla mins per panel.

[GregCavi]

try working at a slower speed at first and then move your way up to about 1250. I woudlnt push that speed if you are just starting out. If the buffer is taking you for a ride, see that you have enough polish, or see ifyou have to much. Check to see your pad is centered, and make sure the pad is clean (use a small brush to clean often). I try to keep my pads pretty flat but with some pads 5 degree tilt is needed.

Greg

[holland_patrick]

I second that.. too much speed with make your job MUCH harder.. it`s not the PC so you don`t need to crank it up..
Try keeping it nice and slow and work easy..

[joe.p]

heres what i do when using the rotary ... get a clean pad then make sure its centered and apply some product ... i put a thin bead in a swirl around the pad then set the buffer on a low speed.. and start buffing .. i usually start on the hood and work my way around the car .. if the product starts gumming i give the panel a few sprays with some water to break it up and keep going .. id say try another product to see if it works better .. that product might not work correctly in 50 degree weather .. hope that helps

Good thread, i am also starting to yse a rotorary.

Bigron whats up sent you a PM sometime ago..

[klnyc]

To me ssr2.5 dry out too fast, if you using a rotary, it work great on a PC.
Try out OP, it take abit longer to polish and it doesnt dry out or dust much like some other brand.

[-KGB-]

Well if I had to guess I am thinking that there is not enough product because it seems as the pad is gripping the surface and being that there is not a lubricant there, ie the product, its skipping.

[-KGB-]

To me ssr2.5 dry out too fast, if you using a rotary, it work great on a PC.
Try out OP, it take abit longer to polish and it doesnt dry out or dust much like some other brand.

You know I tried out OP last year and did not think it did a darn thing. Its not aggressive enough and I have enough product to kill a horse and will not be buying anything again soon. I think that I might go back to Menzerna IP for rotary, that I have had better luck with.

And I tried the Megs maroon pad also, good lord is that thing stiff!! I do not know how I would use that thing.

[LikeaRock]

When I first used a rotary I used the same pad as you. I had some difficulties with it too, And I was also using an old, heavy Craftsman/Black and Decker (?) buffer. I`ve been using a HF rotary for about 7 or 8 months now, it does OK but I really want an 849, I`m just too cheap to fork out the dough for one, even though I really should
I "learned" with wool pads though, and IMO it`s a hell of a lott easier. They don`t grab like foam and don`t make as much heat, but at the same time produce more heat in certain areas (or so I`ve been told)
My biggest mistake when I first started was that I didn`t do a consistant polish on each panel, as in I made more/less panels on each panel, I basically buffed the polish off and didn`t really work with it. After a couple months of "practice" I noticed that the more passes I made the better cut/finish I got in the end. I learned the basics ans then perfected my own technique from there. Hell, when I first started, it would take me about 4-5 hours to do a 2 step and wax on a sedan. Now I can do the same thing in about 2-2.5 hours, even some trucks too!
So basically keep practicing, it really helps!

Dolan