Rotary Finishing vs. PC Finishing

**Dave KG** · 09-16-2006, 02:37 PM

Decided to compare the finish achieved by the rotary and the PC suing a couple of finsihing polishes:

Tools: Makita 9227CB; Porter Cable 7424
Polishes: Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze; Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish

Meguiars #80
A light cutting polish, there are lighter abbrassive in the Meguiars range but the #80 makes a very nice finishing polish owing to the oils it also contains to leave a lovely wet look shine too.

By PC
This was applied using a Meguiars W8006 Polishing pad. Spread on speed 3 and then several passes on speed 5 until the residue went clear to indicate the product had fully broken down and was ready to remove. The results:

and in the sun:

While the finish is excellent by PC, very close examination of the Brinkmann shot above shows a very very slight micromarring, which very slightly detracts from the finish. In sunlight, this is hard to pick up, and under the Brinkmann the worst of this is masked by the metallic flake.

By Rotary
Again, applied with a Meguiars W8006 Polishing pad. Spread at 600rpm, then polished at 1200rpm to thoroughly work the polish with light to medium pressure... Two final passes made at 1500rpm, and tehn the rotary stepped back down to 600rpm for two final passes to refine the finish. The results:

and in the sun:

Here, very close examination of the finish reveals a cleaner finish, free of the slight micromarring left by the PC and allowing the finish to look just that little bit better... The difference is small, but under close scrutiny, its definitely noticeable using Meguiars #80... The rotary finish being just a little bit sharper and clearer than the PC IMO.

Menzerna Final Finish PO85RD
The finest polish for finishing in the Menzerna range, and IMHO, the best finishing polish on the market today.

By PC
Applied using a Meguiars W9006 finishing pad. Spread at speed 3 and then five passes were made at speed 5 with light to medium pressure. A pass on speed 6 was made, and then a final pass on speed 5 at which point the residue was clear. The results:

and in the sun:

Again, the finish left by he PC here is excellent with lovely reflections in the sunlight... However, close examination under the Brinkmann does reveal a very slight amount of micromarring again - very very slight, hardly noticeable in fairness but it is there. This isn`t ruining the finish at all, and in the sun it looks glossy and lovely, but it can be just ever so slightly better.....

By rotary
Again with a Meguiars W9006 finishing pad. Spread at 600rpm, then polish worked in at 1200rpm with light to medium pressure for several passes. Two final passes were made at 600rpm to refine the finish. The results:

and in the sun:

Under the Brinkmann light the micromarring visible in the PC finish is not there, allowing for a sharper reflection, a more crystal clear finish. This also lead to slightly clearer and sharper reflections in the sun shot. Now, as mentioned throughout, this difference is very small, but in my eyes, it is most definitely there.

To summarise - first of all, I am in no way saying that the finish left by PC is a bad one. It most certainly isn`t!! By PC, you can achieve an excellent finish and your car will be the talk of the show. However, with care and attention to finishing techniques, the finish by rotary is just that little bit better... Its a small amount, but its slightly better and for me this warrants perfecting the rotary finishing technique and finishing cars by rotary wherever I can.

**Jen@autogeek** · 09-16-2006, 04:38 PM

Thank you so much for taking your time to do this comparison and sharing your results with us.

**Dans Detailing** · 09-17-2006, 07:02 AM

I have the same results as you do. A rotary when used properly, is the ultimate tool! I sold my PC that I just bought because, although there was a place for a PC, it just sat there 99% of the time. Rotary Buffers are the professional way to go! In my opinion, if I go to a detail shop and see that there was no Rotary in sight I would walk out. A true detailer should be able to effectively use both machines, because they both had there place in this field, but a rotary is THE tool to use to achieve ultimate finishes.

**SVR** · 09-23-2006, 12:24 AM

Yes I agree. I have both and have done many black cars by rotary and 100% markless. 2004 subaru WRX STI was the latest one.

Lately I have totally changed my process, used to do the two - three step polishing including VM and RMG.
Now I do that plus werkstatt prime acrylic, strong or carnauba and the results are insane. It leaves behind a level protective coating that makes medium orange peel finishes look much flatter.

Absolutely hologram free. I hate those damn things.
XR6 VCT - in progress - Detail Addiction

**Bobcat** · 10-02-2006, 05:05 AM

DKKNE, I was wondering what pads you used with the rotary, brand and size?

**bigron62** · 10-03-2006, 07:07 PM

AMEN the rotary rules .... pc does a great job but the rotary in the right hands wins hands down everytime

**Bobcat** · 10-22-2006, 05:07 PM

OK rotary guys, I`m about to join the club, I have a boat load of LC pads - like 5 of every color and they`re all 6.5" - what backing plate do you use for that? I plan on getting the Makita 9227. And would the backing plate that goes on my PC work? I have 2, bought the mega PC accessory package from Autogeek a while back.

**GearHead_1** · 10-22-2006, 05:53 PM

Good choice on the rotary. I use the same machine.

**DieselMDX** · 10-22-2006, 07:45 PM

some day....... some day

**budman3** · 10-22-2006, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by Junebug

OK rotary guys, I`m about to join the club, I have a boat load of LC pads - like 5 of every color and they`re all 6.5" - what backing plate do you use for that? I plan on getting the Makita 9227. And would the backing plate that goes on my PC work? I have 2, bought the mega PC accessory package from Autogeek a while back.

No, you`d need to get separate BPs. If you plan correctly and get the same size for both you can use the same pads.

**LikeaRock** · 10-23-2006, 01:03 AM

Originally Posted by Junebug

OK rotary guys, I`m about to join the club, I have a boat load of LC pads - like 5 of every color and they`re all 6.5" - what backing plate do you use for that? I plan on getting the Makita 9227. And would the backing plate that goes on my PC work? I have 2, bought the mega PC accessory package from Autogeek a while back.

I`d invest in a few 7.5" or 8" pads (I don`t know if LC has 7.5" or 8" pads), but you`ll get less pad hop and have more control with the larger pads IMO.