Assistance w/PM from forum member on Makita 9227

[David Fermani]

I received the below PM from another member asking for some advice with his newly aquired rotarty polisher. Instead of giving him solely my opinion, I thought it would be great if the forum as a whole could lend their minds to the discussion.

Today I got to practice on a vehicle that will be junked next weekend and the owner let me practice on it before getting rid of it. This being the first time I really got to use the rotary w/out any fear of damaging the paint, I was actually quite impressed with the results! But afterwards it did leave me curious about a couple things:



1) at times the rotary will walk away from me at speeds 3 & 4, any reason for this?

2) I'll start at speed 3 then bump up to speed 4 then down to 3 and finish at 2 (at times with no halograms as I try my best to maintain control, the halograms left behind were taken care of via PC)

3) While correcting paint can be done using the Makita, can I switch to a softer pad like the Gold CCS pad and burnish the paint, or is the rotary something you do not burnish the paint with?

4) Is it possible to polish the paint without leaving halograms using the Makita or is because you are using the heavy cutting pads the rotary likes to walk away from you

5) what are the correct speeds to follow when correcting paint? For ex: do I start at 3 go ^ to 4 then back down to 3 and then 2 or ???

6) I've heard the term burnishing many times but is it the same as jeweling, if so what are the steps (speed wise)

7) last but not least are there any maintenance tips for the Makita?



Thanks for all your help Bud, I really appreciate it!

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Good idea David. I actually got the same PM but will post up my answers here as well....





""""""""""



I'll answer your questions to the best of my abilities, however I have honestly not used the Makita in anything less than a 3-step correction for about 1.5 years now, ever since I started using the Flex XC...



1. There are quite a few reasons for a rotary "walking away"... "dirty" paint (paint with wax on it, or something else where pad might not be simply polishing the paint), too much polish, too little polish, and obviously user error. I've found my main problem when it's walking away is too much polish, because it starts gumming up the pad and skipping/walking away. Ideally, you should be able to polish with one hand holding the handle, and easily control the rotary around the panel, obviously a horizontal panel haha. With some pads and polishes though, like the LC PFW mixed with M105 for example, I find it nearly impossible to do something like that, as the pad isn't as thick and polish as fine as others, so it tends to just slightly pull away here and there.



2. I honestly never go past speed 3, maybe 3.25-3.5 sometimes. I start at 1 to spread the polish, then 2 to start breaking it down, then 3 a couple times for maximum cutting, then I go down to 2 in increments of .25.... so for me the passes are generally 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2.75, 2.5, 2.25, 2. I've found that to work great for pretty much anything, but I will bump it up to 3.25-3.5 on some harder paints as I see fit.



3. Rotary is actually the best tool for burnishing paint from what I hear. I honestly don't do much burnishing as most of my work is a 2 step correction, leaving room only for 1 aggressive step (usually orange/M105) and then 1 step to clean it up and polish out the paint to a nice gloss, with no hazing, marks, etc. and I usually use M205/white for this.



4. Yes it's possible most of the time, but on some paints, like SOFTTT black Porsche paint or similar, I find it ALMOST impossible to do so. It's "impossible enough" on those paints that I won't even try to do it and just go with the Flex or PC. However, it is definitely possible to polish/finish paint using the Makita without leaving holograms and it simply takes practice, practice and more practice.



5. See #2 for speeds I use. As for "correct" steps, it's honestly up to the detailer and his/her experience. Some paints and/or processes call for high speeds while others don't handle well anything over 1200ish.



6. Yes burnishing is the same as jeweling as far as I know. The right way to do it is usually lower speeds 600-900 and many (10-15) passes. As I said above, I honestly don't do many 4-6 step polishing details where I can do some jeweling, but when I do I'm usually starting at 600 for 2-3 passes, then doing 5-7 passes at 900 and finishing up with 2-3 passes with 600.



7. Maintenance wise, you'll need to change the brushes on the sides every so often, but unless you use it almost every day it shouldn't need it more than once a year or less. Other than that, you want to keep up with all the dust and wipe/spray the machine after every 2-3 detailing jobs to keep it clean and dust free. I usually wipe it down and wipe down the whole power cord every detail, then every 2-4 details I'll get one of those dust blower cans and blow out every crevice I can see.



Hope that helps.



Ivan

 

[JCastro1085]

Great idea Dave. The person who sent David that email was me. I sent the PM to (IMO) the Top Professionals Autopia has to offer to get multiple opinions and ideas. I really appreciate all the helpful advice. I acquired the Makita last November but as I was warned, wait and test it out on a beater first. Well that opportunity came for me this weekend, my neighbor will be junking his 85 Chrysler LeBaron and let me practiced on it not caring if I burned the paint. So as patiently as I have been waiting to get ahold of a beater (not many around here, and I tried the local body shop(s) for scraps with no luck) I finally had the opportunity to test the Makita without fear.



Tolls used:

Makita 9227C

Meguiars Mirror Glaze W68 Rotary Backing Plate 6 inches

Meg's 105

7" Purple Kompressor Pad (harder to control the Makita with this pad compared to the CCS)

7" Yellow CCS pad

Meg's 205 on a 7" Blue CCS pad via PC

Meg's Quick Detailer

Meg's clay bar



I just did half the hood, front fender, and half of the side door, here are the results (note this is a first attempt and the sun was setting so no close up shots. These pics were taken from my Pre)

Like I said this was my first attempt using the rotary and to be quite honest I was impressed how much oxidation the rotary removed! It made short work of it thats for sure. Any opinions/advice is greatly appreciated.



Oh on another note (I got the owners permission to do this) I was very curious to see what would it take to actually burn a finish, well on speed 3 held in place for 3 seconds (add a mississppi in between) in burned right thru the clear coat. To all the beginners out there, please *LISTEN* when the Pro's tell you it does not take much to mess up a finish with this machine!

 

[JCastro1085]

I sent the exact same PM to a member on the Adams Forums asking for his advice and look at the response I got back: (my reply to him is there also)

[quote name='Junkman2008']



Because there is no possible way to teach someone how to manage a rotary via PM's, I'm not going to remotely try. I will say this, the walking and holograms that you experienced are do to inexperience. Nothing surprising about that.



To learn how to properly use a rotary, you need to be shown exactly how it is done by someone knowledgeable. Trying to figure it out on your own will cause you to not only have the experience you did, but it will also cause you to create bad habits. That's why I don't do videos on the rotary. If people can mess up their technique after watching my PC videos, God knows what damage they will do with a rotary!



If you were close, I wouldn't mind showing you at all but via PM is no dice for me. At least you have the perfect car to screw around with.

You know something Devil Dog, this is the 2nd time I've come to you for advice/guidance and again I get the same type of response, it's really becoming a deterrent to ask anymore. I don't understand what you mean when you say "there is no possible way to teach someone how to manage a rotary via PM's, I'm not going to remotely try" I know you cannot fully teach me but perhaps you could give me a couple pointers? Thats really what I was asking for. Think about it....if I were standing right next to you, whatever it is that you would say to me you could of put in a PM.



Second thing.....you're a great educator, I will never take that away from you, maybe educating thru PM's is something you have not learned how to do yet, but do not say there is NO possible way to teach someone because here is a response from a Professional over at Autopia (I know you hate that place but this young kid does produce phenomenal work on VERY expensive cars! See for yourself)

_____



1) Rotary control takes time but eventually you will not let it walk you anywhere, problem also may be too high a speed. At 4 your at 2100rpm which is about the highest I will ever go on a rotary, ideally you want to be at speed 3ish for correction which is 1500rpm. If the paint on this car is grabby or not fully decontaminated the buffer can get grabby on its own, be mindful of that.



2) What polishes are you using? Starting at speed 3 is way to high, always start at 1 to spread then gradually bump up to your max polishing speed, lets say 3-3.5 then back down to 2 and even 1 for finishing.



3) Softer pads you need for finishing but the LC gold is not good because its too soft, you wont actually be cutting the paint with it... it will just glide over it using your polishing and a lubrication. Go with a black lake country pad for finishing, you need a little bite to clean up the paint



4) you can definately polish without holograms but it takes a lot of practice, with a fine polish and pad and low speed you can leave a perfect finish. some soft paint cars makes this really hard to do so I always use a DA if I see really bad hologramming with even light polishing



5) Correct at speed 3, 3.5 your not ready for 4 yet nor will you really need to go there, thats when bad things can happen really fast! Always refine the paint at speed 2 or even 1 to make sure you dont hologram



6) burnishing is the same as jeweling, basically work at speed 2 using slow gentle passes to refine the paint to high gloss



7) makitas are tough machines, just dont bend the cord to much or it will break



-dave

So how come he was able to give out some advice and you couldn't? The only reason I could come up with is you simply did not want to Devil. I completely understand your point about how people mess up on a PC and thats why you dont want to make Rotary videos but am not asking you for that, am using a car that will be junked this weekend so WHO CARES what happens to the vehicle! I want to learn but as Dave has told me in the past:

Rotary is not a dark ark, its silly how professionals put across the idea that its a life threatening tool just to make themselves sound special for knowing how to use one correctly.

It just really bothers me that twice now I've come to you for guidance and got.....well basically nothing. How else is one going to learn if no one cares to teach him however they are able to? Remember this....there once was a time where even you did not know how to use a Rotary, someone had to teach you.



I'll leave you alone now Devil, take care.



-Jason[/QUOTE]



Not trying to stir the pot or cause any problems between the 2 forums, but it really did bother me when I asked someone I've exchanged severals PM's with (and we're both Marines mind you) for help and this is the type of response I get.



Oh well, Life goes....and to all who contribute in this thread, thank you for your help. I'm sure many beginners seeking to learn the ways of the rotary will benefit from this as well.



-Jason

 

[JCastro1085]

1. ...Ideally, you should be able to polish with one hand holding the handle, and easily control the rotary around the panel, obviously a horizontal panel haha. With some pads and polishes though, like the LC PFW mixed with M105 for example, I find it nearly impossible to do something like that, as the pad isn't as thick and polish as fine as others, so it tends to just slightly pull away here and there.

I have not been able to control the Makita like how you described. The closest I have to this was right hand on the trigger, left hand on the handle and exerting little to almost no muscle involvement to control the Makita. But perhaps it is the pads that I am using???

3. Rotary is actually the best tool for burnishing paint from what I hear.

So would you say a Blue CCS Pad on the Makita with Meg's #26 on speed 2 with slow moving passes will not leave any halograms on the finish? Would this be safe??

4.However, it is definitely possible to polish/finish paint using the Makita without leaving holograms and it simply takes practice, practice and more practice.

What pads/product would you Pro's recommend for burnishing? Also does the backing plate you use play a key role in controlling the rotary, or does it really depend on the pads & product being used?

6. Yes burnishing is the same as jeweling as far as I know. The right way to do it is usually lower speeds 600-900 and many (10-15) passes.

How do you make so many passes with out heating up the paint to damaging levels??

 

[MarcHarris]

Jason,

Don't get discouraged. One man's opinion is just that- his opinion. It is more important to try to understand why that person has a specific opinion on things than anything.



I agree with much that has already been said and allow me to add this:

Finishing down with a rotary is very possible. Just as you can finish down with a DA without pigtails. Of course there are always ways to mess things up, and the car at hand will be a major factor as well. Soft Porsche paint becomes an issue that is, IMHO, a "why try" scenario. Maybe you can finish down with certain pad+machine+polish combo's - but you'll save a lot of time and headache by going with what you think is most likely going to work perfectly - and try that combo first. Hard paint isn't good to learn how to finish down on with; it's very forgiving and doesn't leave trails very easily (ridding compounding haze is another issue) compared to soft paint.

To see how good someone is, have them finish down on soft paint.

To see how good someone is, have them cut down on hard paint.





The last issue I want to touch on is machine speed. Different machines will yield different results. The Makita is certainly a lot more gentle than our more aggressive Flex rotary. The Flex on speed 1 seems to give the cutting power of the Makita on speed 2.5-3. This might have to do with more than actual power, such as heat generated.

In short - go out and learn. You have a car practice car, so try various things "just to see" how they work. Work a polish on speed 1. Work a polish on speed 5. You'll come to realize very quickly what is, and is not ideal.



Don't forget - ask 10 different guys and you can expect 10 different answers

Happy detailing!

 

[MarcHarris]

I have not been able to control the Makita like how you described. The closest I have to this was right hand on the trigger, left hand on the handle and exerting little to almost no muscle involvement to control the Makita. But perhaps it is the pads that I am using???

The pad and polish combo will affect this a lot. Finishing polishes will run much smoother and slicker than heavy cutting compounds.

So would you say a Blue CCS Pad on the Makita with Meg's #26 on speed 2 with slow moving passes will not leave any halograms on the finish? Would this be safe??

What pads/product would you Pro's recommend for burnishing? Also does the backing plate you use play a key role in controlling the rotary, or does it really depend on the pads & product being used?

First question: depends on the paint.

Second question: depends on the paint.

I know that seems vague and frustrating, but once you experience various cars - you'll understand that's the perfect answer. Some cars you can finish with a Black LC pad on the rotary. Some you need a blue pad with a PC. It's all about the clear-coat.

Yes - the backing plate can play a roll. The larger and stiffer the backing plate- the more cut you'll get as a whole.

How do you make so many passes with out heating up the paint to damaging levels??

Because you're working a large enough area that by the time you're at one "side" of the pass, the other side has had enough time to cool down.



Also take into account while experimenting that temperature and humidity WILL affect how polishes react and behave. In hotter or colder weather, things tend to get weird and you'll experience more gumming up and such.

 

[JCastro1085]

Jason,

Don't get discouraged. One man's opinion is just that- his opinion. It is more important to try to understand why that person has a specific opinion on things than anything.

I agree.

Finishing down with a rotary is very possible.

Glad to hear that one.

Of course there are always ways to mess things up, and the car at hand will be a major factor as well.

Well I just do this on my vehicle which is a black 2002 Chrysler 300M Special. Barry has a thread where he wet-sanded the whole vehicle and that 1999 Black 300M looked better then any other 300M I've seen!



I took Dave's advice and actually used the Makita on my car today, I did the roof. (Washed/clay barred first) Started on 1 to spread Meg's 105 using the yellow CCS pad, bumped it up to 2 1/2 almost 3'ish to correct and back down to 2, then finished on 1 and I did not have a single halogram and very few if any swirls! That right there really got me motivated, because I was able to leave a great finish for a beginner on an 8yr old car! *BUT* that was on a flat surface, I wouldn't dare try a rotary on a door panel, not just yet. I think I need to practice a bit more on the beater.

To see how good someone is, have them finish down on soft paint.

To see how good someone is, have them cut down on hard paint.

That's an interesting test!

The last issue I want to touch on is machine speed. Different machines will yield different results. The Makita is certainly a lot more gentle than our more aggressive Flex rotary. The Flex on speed 1 seems to give the cutting power of the Makita on speed 2.5-3. This might have to do with more than actual power, such as heat generated.

You're the first one I have read to say that. I wouldn't imagine the Makita being a more gentle machine compared to the FLEX (but I haven't tried the FLEX yet) I could easily buy one but I ask myself why, when I have the Makita and the PC? I should be able to yield the same results with those two.

In short - go out and learn. You have a car practice car, so try various things "just to see" how they work. Work a polish on speed 1. Work a polish on speed 5. You'll come to realize very quickly what is, and is not ideal.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Marc

Don't forget - ask 10 different guys and you can expect 10 different answers

Happy detailing!

It's funny you said that, because all my responses thus far have been very similar. Seems like all you Pro's are all on the same page when it comes to using the rotary.

 

[JCastro1085]

Well I just received a PM from the member I contacted at Adams and Marc you are correct, it is important to find out why that person has his/her opinion for a subject:

Here's why I don't bother or try to teach someone how to use a rotary via PM.



A former member on this forum asked a question about using a Flex to do some work. After I told him that this was not the machine for him, I told him what it would take to master that machine. He tried to do what he THOUGHT I said and wiped the paint off the edge of his hood. He then contacted Adam and said that because I gave him bad advice, Adam should pay to have his hood repainted. Of course, Adam didn't have anything to do with his problem and he tried to drag my name through the mud because of his inexperience.



The advice that I give out gets taken as gospel and thus, I am careful as to what I post or make videos of. I am not going to be responsible for someone else's screw up, which is what can happen with some yahoos out there who are quick to dabble where they shouldn't be dabbling without proper education. They don't give you a M-16 with a magazine and rounds before you go through the snapping in process. I feel the same way with information that may be dangerous in the hands of a novice.



If the guys at Autopia are willing to give that information out via PM, I would get it from them all day long. I don't hoard information because if I did, there would not be one video on the Internet of me showing what I know. As a matter of fact, detailing is not the only information I do write ups on. Take a look at this. That took me two days to do and a week to write it up. I've done a bunch of write ups just like that because I don't want guys having to pay the ridiculous prices that dealers charge to do the same work. I could just fix my car and go on about my business but I choose to share this stuff with the world.



"Share" is my middle name, but "responsible" is my first name.



Semper Fi.

I completely understand his point, but I was only looking for advice/opinions. I think its ridiculous for someone to mess up their paint after they've been warned and expect someone else to pay for it. That's like Barry giving me advice and I mess up my 300M and now I expect Presidential Details to pay for the damage, are you kidding me? People use your common sense! I guess there really are some crazy people out there! I would hope he realized that I was responsible enough to wait until I had a beater before even attempting to use a rotary.

 

[JCastro1085]

The pad and polish combo will affect this a lot. Finishing polishes will run much smoother and slicker than heavy cutting compounds.

Thank God you told me that, because I was thinking if controlling the Makita while polishing a car is going to be the same as when cutting, that's too much!

First question: depends on the paint.

Second question: depends on the paint.

I know that seems vague and frustrating, but once you experience various cars - you'll understand that's the perfect answer. Some cars you can finish with a Black LC pad on the rotary. Some you need a blue pad with a PC. It's all about the clear-coat.

Not frustrating at all, am learning.

Yes - the backing plate can play a roll. The larger and stiffer the backing plate- the more cut you'll get as a whole.

I see. So this is the complete opposite compared to the PC where you would use smaller pads for more cutting ability.

Because you're working a large enough area that by the time you're at one "side" of the pass, the other side has had enough time to cool down.

Okay am starting to understand this a lot better now, this is opposite of the PC where you *want* to work in a larger area and not just a small concentrated portion.

Also take into account while experimenting that temperature and humidity WILL affect how polishes react and behave. In hotter or colder weather, things tend to get weird and you'll experience more gumming up and such.

You see this is the type of advice that I really likappreciate when someone shares, because this is strictly coming from experience, and me being a beginner I would have not thought about that.



Thanks for the (much appreciated) input Marc.

 

[ltebow34]

With PC more pressure down on it and smaller pad justmeans that PC is doing more work with less pad friction(energy loss) which is why correction is better more speed able under more pressure.



One thing also is backing plate. Many people get lazy into trouble when learning with padded BP because it comform to curves and gives forgiveness. People who learn on LC BP and then move to padded seem to be better because control was learn to keep pad flat and to "guide" rotary.



Its much easier(if you are playing on junker panel) to see what it takes to be able to safely polish at much higher speed than you would use in work. You learn how fast panel heat up, you learn how fast polisher speed is to keep temps low - so when you get back down to 17-1500 RPM everything is much slower.



I ask a professional why this is, he say similar to driving on highway at very high speed for time, then you get back to city and 40mph seem slow after doing 80. I hope this make sense, sorry if it doesnt.



Also wool, will pull less but becareful as you no they cut more.





Also JCastro, some polishes just grab more. SIP is great polish but I can never use it on rotary bc it pulls everytime unless the weather is cold and dry. SIP on PC though is great for me.



One thing you could try is progress from finish pad and finish polish, through polishing pad with finish polish then move to polishing pad and cutting polish(SIP, UCCL, HTEC) then to cutting pad. This will help you see the difference even just product can make



Have sections with dedicate pad/polish and see, try to feel difference.



The biggest thing I once learn(from vendor I purchase from who is very helpful with product use he carry) is priming pad with the tricky polish on outside 10mm from edge with thin bead. He explain to me that outside edge polish finish faster than inside and for pad to not grab you have to keep primed. This made huge difference and I am not sure why but I think its bc the outside which will finish and dry faster stay "wet"

 

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

I have not been able to control the Makita like how you described. The closest I have to this was right hand on the trigger, left hand on the handle and exerting little to almost no muscle involvement to control the Makita. But perhaps it is the pads that I am using???

It will take tons of experience and practice to do this, so don't get down on yourself for not being able to. I've easily taken a good 2 years to get good with the rotary, and feel like I'm still learning here and there when I use it. Just keep practicing. I would however HIGHLY recommend you try 6-6.5" pads and get Meg's W66 (I think that's the #) backing plate with the foam. It makes it easier to control and works great. I tried some 8" and 7" pads before but I use 6.5" pads on the rotary 99% of the time. the other 1% is 3-4" pads on tight spots.

So would you say a Blue CCS Pad on the Makita with Meg's #26 on speed 2 with slow moving passes will not leave any halograms on the finish? Would this be safe??

I don't know if you're referring to something else but #26 is the wax and I wouldn't use that on the rotary. I will sometimes apply waxes/sealants with a PC/blue pad but never with rotary. However a blue LC pad with something like 85rd, 106ff, etc. will most of the time leave a perfect finish, but it does largely depend on the paint.

What pads/product would you Pro's recommend for burnishing? Also does the backing plate you use play a key role in controlling the rotary, or does it really depend on the pads & product being used?

I have used a blue LC pad with 85rd, 106ff, Meg's #3, and few others before. As Matt said though, it depends a lot on the paint and what results you seek. Basically you want to use something that's a big less aggressive than whatever you finished with for that specific paint.

How do you make so many passes with out heating up the paint to damaging levels??

Slow speed helps immensely with more passes. Also, and it may sound odd, but the slower you go the better as you'll give more time to the paint not being polished to cool off before you go over it again. I'm usually at 1-3" per second with the rotary.



Again, experience and practice help you determine exactly what you can and should do. Your best bet is to grab something like M205 (maybe SIP) and a white 6.5" pad and practice with that until the pad falls apart. Practice not only on both vertical & horizontal panels, but practice different speeds, different ways of holding the Makita, etc. etc. It's not very productive to TRY and learn how to polish with M105/PFW when you can't properly control the machine with a finishing pad/polish and get 100% out of that combo. Especially in your case, where you don't NEED to do correction work and you can easily spend your time learning how to do it properly, rather than experimenting with different pads/polishes. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely good, actually a MUST if you want to be a good detailer, to experiment with different pads, polishes, etc. I am simply saying that as a beginner, it would probably be best for you to try and get your technique down with a light to medium pad/polish combo and try and squeeze the last ounce of gloss & correction from that, before moving up on the aggressive scale.

 

[DRT]

Great thread.....Im kind've in the same boat you are. I've fooled around with a cheap hf rotary for years before finally purchasing a makita recently. I can tell you that the difference between the two machines is night and day. The makita is simply a much much better machine ever if you are still learning. IME the makita is much smoother and easier to control and doesnt get bogged down. I thought I would just throw in my two cents as a rotary newbie myself that may help.....I've learned that smaller pads are much easier to control as I mainly use 5.5 pads. I dont currently have any wool pads (although i have some on order) so I cant speak to those. I recently polished out the hood on my sisters car using an orange 5.5 pad with meg uc (i know its not made for rotary use, but it works well for me due to the very long work time) and then followed up with m205 and a white 5.5 pad with very good results. I ran the orange pad with uc on speed 1 to spread out then went up to speed 3 for polishing. I then used the white pad with m205, spread out at speed 1 then bumped up to 3, then backed down to 900rpms (speed 2 if i remember correctly) to "burnish" the finish. I was left with a very nice shiny finish with lots of clarity in the paint. The main things that really helped me was to focus on keeping the pad as flat as possible, moving as about 3" per second and making sure not to buff so long that the polish went dry. I also purchased a 5" backing plate that has a thick layer of flexible foam in it that is more forgiving than a stiff plate. Sorry for the long post, just thought you might be able to learn something from it.

 

[JCastro1085]

This is definitely helpful advice andi hope anyone out there looking for rotart advice hecks this thread out! Once again I want to thanks everyone for their long posts that contain valuable information.



Ivan you are correct #26 is the wax but why wouldn't you use it via rotary? If you would use a polish, why not a wax?



Also, I know it has been mentioned briefly but what about wool? Is it easier to control the rotary using it? I know it cuts a lot faster, but I heard a wool pad also induces it's own set of swirl marks & halograms?

 

[Old Pirate]

So how is it coming along using the rotarty for you JCastro?

 

[JCastro1085]

So how is it coming along using the rotarty for you JCastro?

Oh I'm loving this rotary business! Today I did the whole driver side of my car (via Makita) and finished down on speed 1 <---- that right there was the ticket to leaving the finish with no halograms! (learned that here in this thread)



I started using the yellow CCS 7" pad with Meg's 105 via rotary and Meg's 205 via PC Blue CCS pads. Here is the interesting part, am right handed, but Dave (dsms) gave me an idea a while back and I remember saving the PM:

....I am weird because I am a rightly and control the buffer head with my right hand, most all righty people control the buffer head with their left and do the trigger with the right... but it works for me so I stick with it.

So yesterday I was controlling the Makita with my right hand on the trigger and left on the handle, today I changed it up (I am right handed) I placed my left hand on the trigger and cuffed the top part of the rotary (same way people hold the flex or pc) and I wrapped my fingers in the groves underneath for a firm grip.....best thing ever for me because controlling the rotary was a breeze afterwards! Its weird but hey, works for me! :dance



After practicing on the beater early in the morning on vertical passes I took the plunge and started on my car in the afternoon and am glad I did because the results came out great! I will take pics when am finished.



I have a new respect for you Pro's out there. I did my roof yesterday and that alone took me 2hrs on the roatry & PC (but I did take it slow as I was learning and extremely cautious) today I banged out the whole left side of my car in about an hour and a half, but how do you guys complete a whole car correcting the paint in a day??? To me that is unbelievable! I really don't know how you do it because after about 3hrs I need to take a break. I look at your work and it's obvious no short cuts were taken but to complete the amount of work you guys put out in the short amount of time you do it, is beyond me! (hence the new found respect acquired) this is definitely a patient man's game here!



Like I stated earlier, when I finish the whole car (all that's left is the rear & front bumper along with the whole right side) I'll post pics. Hopefully I will be finished by tomorrow, but I am taking my sweet time on this. I'll be sure to post some before shots of the right side so you know what am dealing with and then of course the afters.



Seriously guys for the all the input, I know this thread was very helpful to me as well any new person looking to step up their game to the rotary. My advice would be to practice on a beater and try different hand positions to see what works best for you.

 

[JCastro1085]

Also another piece of advice I would give someone like me would be to get a hold of a beater and burn the paint, it may sound weird but when you get a first hand view of how little it takes to destroy a finish, it makes you respect the machines capabilities a lot more!

 

[JCastro1085]

So how is it coming along using the rotarty for you JCastro?

Well just finished the right side (forgot to take before pictures, but we've all seen what a black car looks like that has plenty of swirls)



same process as listed before (Makita) Meg's 105 (PCXP) Meg's 205 & (PCXP) Meg's #26



here are some shots (keep in mind these are from a camera phone & my first time taking after shots)

here is what the pad looked like afterwards (it's finished):

Meg's 105 is extremely dusty! I have to give her a 2 BM wash, using Meg's Gold Class Car Soap. I'll get some final shots afterwards.



So far what do you guys think? I think it came out pretty good using the rotary for the first time.

 

[Old Pirate]

Not bad at all, learning to use your Makita is paying itself out. Remember to try to do your work in the shade if you can. I don't know what the weather is like by you but keep us all posted on your progress.

 

[JCastro1085]

Not bad at all, learning to use your Makita is paying itself out. Remember to try to do your work in the shade if you can. I don't know what the weather is like by you but keep us all posted on your progress.

Thanks! The sun was facing the opposite side of the car so the paint I was correcting was cool to the touch. By the time I finished the sun barely started to hit the corrected side which was perfect for me because I needed the sun shots.



Also today went by much quicker since I got my "feel" for holding the Makita (left hand on the trigger and right hand on the top portion, not the handle)



Weather today here in Chicago is mid 60's possible reaching the 70's, so it's perfect weather I'd say.