first time rotary polisher experience

H

harrybar

New member
Today, I tried the rotary polisher for the first time. It was actually not so difficult as I thought. I was using a Vector polisher, finger pads from Lake Country, and 3M rubbing compound and SMR. I started with 1000 rpm, then all the way to 2000rpm. Only one spot got paint burn at the side mirror. I guess the main reason is not because of the spped, instead, because those mirror cases are made of plastics, not metal.



I found the most important thing I learned today is not adding any weight to the polisher. In that way, the polisher is much easier to control, and much less skip and cake building. And as many autopians said, tilting the polisher a little bit did help a lot too. Once I managed these, the polisher was controled with much less effort, and almost no residue left on the paint after the work.



The result is good, polisher sure took away a lot of defects I wasn't able to with bare hands. And the paint looks and feels really smooth after the wash. However, there are some marks (maybe from birds drop which left on the paint too long) still there intact. And they look more obvious than before since now the background is much clearer. Should I change to a more aggressive rubbing compound? Or should I try with a higher speed? (After I worked on the paint with 2000 rpm, I put my hands on the paint and felt it was a little warm, just a little).



All in all, it's a very good experience, and my 1993 Audi has never looked so good since i got it 2 years ago.
 
Glad to hear you like the polisher, I have the DeWalt model. Letting the weight of machine works perfect (not to mention your arms arnt tired after a full day of detailing) but the pad would jump around once in a while; to stop that I would mist the paint with a little water. Any polish, compound or glaze goes on alot easier.
 
matchbox- Glad to hear the rotary's working out for you. This might be a good time for my standard lecture on "it's better to live with imperfect paint than to thin it out so much that you have to get it REpainted". Some flaws just aren't gonna come out. Audi's DO have good, fairly thick clearcoats, but you still gotta know when to say "good enough".



As is recall the Vector slows down a bit under load, so you might not REALLY be working the paint at 2Krpms (which is probably a good thing). *I* wouldn't go more aggressive than your finger pads and the 3M RC, but I always err on the side of caution. Using a regular cutting pad would make a BIG difference, quite possibly TOO big! Maybe try a regular polishing pad- it'll be more aggressive than the finger pad but not TOO much (maybe).
 
Accumulator, you are absolutely right about the Vector. When I put some weight on it, I can hear that speed is slowing down.



One thing I noticed is after the 3M RC, the paint is already very smooth, not as dull as I would expect. And honestly, I didn't see much difference (improvement in smooth) after SMR. That causes me to doubt maybe RC is not strong enough. Do you have similar experience?



I have a regular pad, though not the orange one (I think it's too aggressive with the rotary, am I right?). I have to wait several months to try this. Just put Klasse twin on, and Boston got the first snow of this year already......
 
Accumulator, a questions forgot to ask: how do you know it's time to call stop to avoid thinning the paint too much?



I know some professionals have meters which can accurately detect the thickness of the paint. I sure don't have this. So, is there any rule of thumb?



Also, is the increase of temperature of the surface normal, or a warning signal that I have worked on same spot too long or with too high speed?



Thank you very much!
 
If anything, use the rotary for flat panels. You have to be real careful on hoods that have curvatures in them, as you can burn the edges very easily with a speed of 1500 and up. If you have a pc, sometimes its better to just use it on places where using a rotary could cause problems(dont' use it on side mirrors, those can be easily burned).
 
matchbox- *I* would stick with the mild pads myself. Some 3M RC's (they make a bunch of them; I'm referring to 39002 and 05933) break down to pretty fine abrasives and can leave a ready-to-wax finish in SOME cases. This DOES *NOT* mean it isn't strong enough. Even going to a regular polishing pad might be too much, especially until you really get used to using the rotary, but that would be my next step. You're right about the SMR, it doesn't do too much on Audis, just removes some micro-marring from the RC. I use PI-III MG (pn 05937) instead of SMR.



A LITTLE warming of the surface is OK, but, same ole same ole, you gotta take it easy. Just SO easy to do irreparable damage.



For the paint thickness, with time you sorta get a "feel" for it, but no, you can't really tell without a gauge. *I* have NOT (reliably) achieved that "feel", myself. By the time you can really TELL that you're thinning the clear it's too late, remember that it'll generally fail after you remove .3 of a mil (0.0003"!!). Clues can be sometimes be found in any paint chips, although once they've been polished a few times they become even LESS reliable indicators.



Only rule of thumb: err on the side of caution or be prepared to repaint.
 
I might be interested in getting a rotary for use with "spot jobs" especially because I have an Audi. Matchbox's experience encourages me. My questions:



Are backing plates for 3 to 4" pads availible for a rotary to do "spot jobs"? Would using smaller sizes be advisable with a rotary? Thanks.
 
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