Car24- Hi Irene. Nice to see you here. Got my second Cyclo from you. Great service, as always :xyxthumbs
theveed said:
I guess I'd usually recommend that a person start with the PC, then learn the rotary, *then* get the Cyclo.
Can you expound on this point?
Heh heh, this is where problems crop up when posting generalized recommendations about polishers. It's hard to make fits-all recommendations. I feel better about this stuff when someone PMs me and I can discuss their situation in detail.
Why get a PC first? Better (or more accurately, "more extensive") product support. Better pad selection and availability. And the "Cyclo vs. contour" issue- if all you lhave is a Cyclo, there are cars you have to do a lot of by-hand work on. And variable speed varsatility (when Mike Phillips did the Allard at the recent auction, he used the PC at about speed *1* just to be safe). All this is just IMO, but much as I prefer the Cyclo, the PC strikes me as being more versatile. And I usually think that newbies should work with the safest machine that will have benefits beyond by-hand work.
And somebody needs to solve the "velcro slubs on the Cyclo finishing pads" issue. Yes, they will mar your paint; I watched it happen on mine (grr..back to square one). You gotta either pick them out of the pads before use or cut Lake/Meg's pads to fit.
I've used a rotary exclusively for quite a while before I started with a dewalt RO, and I find the RO quite "useless" in terms of restoring weathered surfaces if you're a pro and live by labor hours... How does the Cyclo bridge the gap between the two?
the veed- If the contoured panel thing isn't an issue for you, then yeah, I'd get the Cyclo in a heartbeat. Its added aggressiveness (compared to other RO polishers) will make it great for anything where you don't feel the rotary is really necessary. When you don't need the heat and speed of the rotary (like when you're doing "paint cleaning" as opposed to serious correction), the Cyclo is, IMO a lot easier to handle than a rotary. Easier than a PC, too, though the PC is also easy to use with one hand. It is sufficiently more aggressive than other ROs that products with a little cut will actually CUT.
And it has a LOT less sling than the rotary, so less time spent masking and/or cleaning up. As Irene said, it's great as a follow-up after rotary work, e.g., if you get holograms. And I believe I can apply/remove waxes/sealants and glazes faster with the Cyclo than by hand.
I think it would be money well-spent for any pro.
BTW,the Cyclo's carpet brushes work *very* well. They really compliment a good extractor. IMO it's almost worth having one just for carpets and cloth upholstery.
] Note that there are *some* jobs/panel contours where the Cyclo just doesn't work as well as the PC because of the size/nature of the heads. My XJS is a perfect example- there are areas that the Cyclo just can't get to very well (and I have 19 years of experience trying...) but the PC (or a rotary) can. Maybe you can just do those spots by hand, as I do- then it's usually a "who cares?" issue. But you gotta consider *your* situation. A vehicle with a lot of tight contour lines (e.g., the hoods of some Benzes-not like the one Anthony just did- and Jags) might *not* be the best application for a Cyclo. Those small heads don't always mean it can get into the places you might expect. If that's not an issue, then yeah, I'd get the Cyclo instead of a PC.