Finishing with a Rotary

[Scottwax]

There is a trick that body shop guys have used in the past or may even do it nowadays.



Start with the pc and and finish with the rotary. Meaning instead of wiping off the polish after using the pc, continue buffing with the rotary to finish.

I actually did something like that with a black truck the customer already tried to buff. I wasn`t sure how much clear he may have removed from his repaint so I used Optimum Compound via PC and finished with Ultrafina. Turned out great.

[Thomas Dekany]

Wierd. I have started with a rotary and finished with PC (same product) but it would seem backwards to go the other way, no?

Not if you are trying to prevent micromarring.

[Driven Auto Detail]

Dont own a Flex, never will. But Im curious, why do you feel the Flex is harder to use then a rotary?

Well, now that I know how (I`m not expert though) to use a rotary, the Flex is harder to handle. Between a PC, Flex, and my Makita, the Flex is definitely the hardest to control.

[Thomas Dekany]

I actually did something like that with a black truck the customer already tried to buff. I wasn`t sure how much clear he may have removed from his repaint so I used Optimum Compound via PC and finished with Ultrafina. Turned out great.

I meant to continue polishing with the rotary the same polish.

[imported_DetailDan]

Well, now that I know how (I`m not expert though) to use a rotary, the Flex is harder to handle. Between a PC, Flex, and my Makita, the Flex is definitely the hardest to control.

Because of the shape, vibrations, or something else?

[Scottwax]

Scott do you find it takes longer to do two steps with a rotary vs. one step with a PC?

Since I *have* to tape off the car when using a rotary, it absolutely takes me longer. Not to mention two polishing steps vs one. Even though the rotary corrects faster, twice around the car is going to take longer.



When doing 1 polishing step with the PC, I do make the customer aware that the deeper defects will remain that a two step process with the rotary will probably remove. Kind of hard to convince a soccer mom whose kids are going to trash out the Suburban within a few weeks to really care all that much beyond just having shiny paint.

[Scottwax]

I meant to continue polishing with the rotary the same polish.

Which is why I clarified my post with "something like that"

[Thomas Dekany]

The Lotus picture shows marring, period. I can see it (RIDS, SWIRLS, and IMO pad abrasions) and so can anybody who looks at it.

While I don`t have the type of clients that you do, no car leaves with "RIDS, SWIRLS, and IMO pad abrasions" (as you so nicely put it) that I work on. Period!!!



Where do you see RIDS?????

[Thomas Dekany]

Because of the shape, vibrations, or something else?

Forced rotation??? it can glide fine for second and the next thing you know, it will pull on you.

[Thomas Dekany]

Which is why I clarified my post with "something like that"

I am sorry, I missed that.

[Lumadar]

I guess I am crazy, but I have always thought the FLEX was an absolute blast to use, mostly because I felt it was very smooth and easy to control.



Admittedly, I just took a class on the rotary and used it for the first (and only time, so far) last week, but I thought it was harder to control than my FLEX. (Granted, I only got to use heavy cutting wool and I was working on the rear pillar at an odd angle...)



My Makita arrives Friday so I will be trying it out this weekend and can`t wait to get the comparison.

[imported_d00t]

To do what?

To basically make the paint shiny! If they want something that gets rid of some swirls, and makes it a little more shiny then just a wash/wax. Would ZPC or ZAIO be a good product? Any other AIO?



Because mot of us can agree that while we wished every customer would want the perfect paint, a driving force for us is those maintenance washes where they just want decent looking paint that had relatively good shine.

[Thomas Dekany]

To basically make the paint shiny! If they want something that gets rid of some swirls, and makes it a little more shiny then just a wash/wax. Would ZPC or ZAIO be a good product? Any other AIO?



Because mot of us can agree that while we wished every customer would want the perfect paint, a driving force for us is those maintenance washes where they just want decent looking paint that had relatively good shine.

I don`t know how you can get rid of just "some" swirls, I would instead focus of polishing the paint to make it more shiny. This is where you come in and can educate the customer. :2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:



However Poli Seal from Optimum maybe the ticket for you. I feel it is the best AIO available. It will correct and looks fantastic.

[Todd@RUPES]

While I don`t have the type of clients that you do, no car leaves with "RIDS, SWIRLS, and IMO pad abrasions" (as you so nicely put it) that I work on. Period!!!



Where do you see RIDS?????

I am only answering your question honestly so that you can see the defects as I see them. I did not want to go into this Thomas and asked politely for you to remove your posts to help keep this thread on topic. However I do see some educational benefit to the question you asked so I will answer it.



I have highlighted the obvious RIDS with black arrows so that you can see them and learn to see them in light. They are easy to spot because of their infrequency. Traditional wash induced marring (which is caused by improper wash techniques and damage to the paint)is far more frequentin appearance because the damage is repeated more consistantly. To help you see the difference, think of it like this. If you are damaging the paint with your washing techniques then that damage will not be limited to several lines in the paint, but a more consistent pattern. Wash induced marring is often runs in all directions and is commonly referred to as swirl marks.



3 months after you polished the car there is no real swirl marks (again these would be consistent in nature and blanket the surface).







What I believe may have happened (as you did in this case) when you go from a compound to a finishing polish is that the compound can mask the defects slighty (M105 for example). As you can clearly see by the nature of the damage (I highlighted with a green arrow for ease of viewing) in this picture is very conistent but not typical swirl marks, rids. This damage is often hard to see after polishing (because of the filling nature of the products used) but often comes back several weeks to months later.



I also took the liberty to highlight a sun ray (in yellow) so you can clearly see the difference between pad abrasion marring (which occured when you went from a compound to a finishing polish) to a finishing polish.







RIDS are usually the severe forms of wash induced marring. It is impossible to just get RIDS, so this would lead me to believe (considering for the most part the paint is swirl free) that RIDS have always been there and where likey filled and not corrected the first time. My goal is of course to help you improve so maybe you can learn from my experience! I hope this helps!!



Todd

[Todd@RUPES]

I don`t know how you can get rid of just "some" swirls, I would instead focus of polishing the paint to make it more shiny. This is where you come in and can educate the customer. :2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:



However Poli Seal from Optimum maybe the ticket for you. I feel it is the best AIO available. It will correct and looks fantastic.

Becareful with Optimum Poli Seal, because in my experience, it fills more then it corrects. If you are looking for a filler (which can be a good thing) then you may want to try something with more aggressive filling properties and it can make the paint look better. I do use Poli Seal in between details on clients cars because it fills nicely and is very easy to use, and covers swirls very nicely.