LanceRomance
New member
Can anyone tell me what would be the best polisher to start out with and is the cyclo polisher really worth the money over others?
Buying a polisher
- Thread starter LanceRomance
- Start date
cyclo is DEFINATELY worth it over a PC and similar products.
It is a great tool to learn detailing with. The best part is the 0-learning curve (all you basically need to teach yourself is pressure and time spent buffing). It will struggle with serious corrections, but for mild ones be perfect.
If I were you, I'd buy the cyclo, learn correction/wax application with it, then after a year or so move on up to a Flex 3401, nd use the cyclo for light correction/waxing abilities. It (Flex) will be an easy, natural learning curve after having worked with the cyclo.
I can almost guarantee you you'll do stupid stuff as you develop your learning curve, and it's far better to use a machine that is virtually impossible to damage the paint with, rather than one that can.
It is a great tool to learn detailing with. The best part is the 0-learning curve (all you basically need to teach yourself is pressure and time spent buffing). It will struggle with serious corrections, but for mild ones be perfect.
If I were you, I'd buy the cyclo, learn correction/wax application with it, then after a year or so move on up to a Flex 3401, nd use the cyclo for light correction/waxing abilities. It (Flex) will be an easy, natural learning curve after having worked with the cyclo.
I can almost guarantee you you'll do stupid stuff as you develop your learning curve, and it's far better to use a machine that is virtually impossible to damage the paint with, rather than one that can.
Accumulator
Well-known member
wfedwar said:
Same here, much as I love my Cyclos. But efnfast's argument makes a lot of sense too.
I hate to say this...but the dreaded search will bring up a scad of info comparing the various polishers. I know, I loathe that respnse, it always sounds like "oh sheesh, go search.." but I don't have time to retype the same stuff I always post on the subject
Autogeek
New member
While the Cyclo is nice, I find that it is limited by its one-speed operation. My absolute favorite overall polisher is the Flex 3401. For someone starting out, it would be perfect as you get the safety factor of a DA polisher, with more cutting power than a PC. In my eyes, this opens a lot of doors and a rotary is seldom necessary.
JohnKleven
New member
I love our Cyclos, but why not start off with a rotary polisher. With a little guidance you can learn a rotary pretty quickly.
John
John
Good idea!
Reality is: There's way too much rotary fear and the "dangers" are blown
out of proportion. It's not about being "macho" or using a sledge hammer
to hang up a picture; it's simply about an effective machine that's a lot
more versatile than a DA type, Flex 3401, PC or whatever.
Newbies wanting to learn and get somewhat serious, should be encouraged
to use a rotary. To use it properly and quite a lot can be achieved @ 600-900rpm.
JCastro1085
New member
Flashtime said:
Finally someone who doesn't exaggerate the "dangers" of a rotary! Please before anyone starts the whole "Well do you know how much damage you can do to a paint job with a rotary.....?" speech, let me answer that for you........YES!!! Autopia is not the only place you can view/hear horror stories of a hack job with a rotary but like Flashtime said there is way too much "rotary fear" and I absolutely agree with him, newbies should be encouraged to learn the proper technique of a rotary (on spare parts or junk panels) but c'mon (and this is to all the Professionals out there, with much respect) some of you overdue the "dangers" of a rotary, we may be new to the machine but remember, we all come from different walks of Life and have had MUCH GREATER responsibilities then handling a polishing tool.
To quote a very Respected Professional here whose work I admire to no end:
dsms said:
So with this piece of advice (as well as others) I bought myself a Makita 9227 & a PCXP.....come spring I cant wait to begin practicing.
Here's to you Dave & Flashtime :xyxthumbs
The problem is, it's easy enough to sit there with a few years of detailing experience and say anybody (who isn't going to be doing this for a living) can learn a rotary with a scrap panel.
Almost everybody I know who's into detailing did some very stupid **** the first few months while they were learning.
For me, here was my polishing regime:
orange/83
green/83
white/83
orange/80
green/80
white/80
because I thought you had to first use the same product and go down the pad lineup, then next product, down the pad lineup (I was wondering how people even thought detailing was remotely fun when I was doing 6-9 polishing sessions before waxing!)
Another one of my friends used yellow pads and powergloss (not finish, gloss) for several passes; atleast it was with a PC.
And on and on.
Yes, both examples above are cases of stupidity and not knowing what you're doing, but guess what - 99% of people learning will not have an experienced eye guiding them, so it's going to be a lot of trial and error, feel and reading. And it's a hell of a lot better to have trial and error on a safe machine like a cyclo than a rotary.
Here's another example - person takes a PFW pad and a rotary. Hammers their test piece for a few minutes, likes how it looks, then goes to do their entire car. At the end, sure, it looks great; oh, oops, they just removed 50% of their clearcoat but they don't realize it yet.
etc... etc...
It is not a dark art, but I don't think somebody who has 0 experience and 0 IN PERSON guidance should be picking up a rotary. Down the road, yea, but if they can't explain what's happening when their polishing, they should stay away from it.
That's why I say start with the cyclo, learn it and the basics of detailing, then when you're ready step up to a 3401 (or rotary if you think it's going to be worth it for you) and relegate the cyclo to light polish/cleanup/waxing duty.
Almost everybody I know who's into detailing did some very stupid **** the first few months while they were learning.
For me, here was my polishing regime:
orange/83
green/83
white/83
orange/80
green/80
white/80
because I thought you had to first use the same product and go down the pad lineup, then next product, down the pad lineup (I was wondering how people even thought detailing was remotely fun when I was doing 6-9 polishing sessions before waxing!)
Another one of my friends used yellow pads and powergloss (not finish, gloss) for several passes; atleast it was with a PC.
And on and on.
Yes, both examples above are cases of stupidity and not knowing what you're doing, but guess what - 99% of people learning will not have an experienced eye guiding them, so it's going to be a lot of trial and error, feel and reading. And it's a hell of a lot better to have trial and error on a safe machine like a cyclo than a rotary.
Here's another example - person takes a PFW pad and a rotary. Hammers their test piece for a few minutes, likes how it looks, then goes to do their entire car. At the end, sure, it looks great; oh, oops, they just removed 50% of their clearcoat but they don't realize it yet.
etc... etc...
It is not a dark art, but I don't think somebody who has 0 experience and 0 IN PERSON guidance should be picking up a rotary. Down the road, yea, but if they can't explain what's happening when their polishing, they should stay away from it.
That's why I say start with the cyclo, learn it and the basics of detailing, then when you're ready step up to a 3401 (or rotary if you think it's going to be worth it for you) and relegate the cyclo to light polish/cleanup/waxing duty.
LanceRomance
New member
Thanks for all the input guys I appreciate it. I think I will go with the cyclo and perfect it before stepping up to the flex. You can use the cyclo for carpet and mats also, Right? What kind of pads are best suited with the cyclo? I doubt I will be doing major paint correction just taking swirl marks, oxidation, and water spots off of surface. Is this type of work a three step process for best results?
imported_BobbyG
New member
I have both the Makita 9227 and PC 7424. They both serve their purpose and I'm sticking with what I have.
One thing I have noticed is that there's allot of unfounded fear surrounding a rotary polisher. Before DA units a rotary is all we had. I see statements like; "avoid rotary's like the plague" or "you'll ruin your finish"! While I'm certain that you can with enough effort and force a rotary is a great tool and no one should be without one.
One thing I have noticed is that there's allot of unfounded fear surrounding a rotary polisher. Before DA units a rotary is all we had. I see statements like; "avoid rotary's like the plague" or "you'll ruin your finish"! While I'm certain that you can with enough effort and force a rotary is a great tool and no one should be without one.