Rotary Usage

Here is a car with pretty bad swirls. I used a yellow pad and very low rpm's. If you hold the pad on and angle and move fast with high rpm's you will see the hologram effect. When you flaten the pad and slow down on the rpm's you will see them disapear. Most production line detailer dont go far enough, the last step thats why you see those holagrams.

http://www.washman.biz/pictures
 
About a month ago, I was trained by a pro how to use the rotary, and I've been practicing ever since. I've gotten pretty good at it-- no more splattering, sputtering, or slipping, just a smooth ride. In fact, I bought the Makita recently to aide my weekend business. I had a '92 Camaro that was in pretty bad shape and had no gloss, but a wool pad shined it up very well. After I finished, I smoked up the tires on the Camaro (with permission!). We went to a back alley/parking lot and I revved that American muscle up and slammed the gas. I accelerated to about 60 mph and then stopped and took a look behind me-- beautiful gray smoke. When the smoke cleared, I admired my long, parrarel lines of tire rubber on the pavement. Oh yeah, the rotary! The car looked great, and I feel very comfortable with a wool pad after a couple weeks with a lot of practice. I haven't left any buffer marks, burns, or bad swirls yet, so I think I'm doing ok. The key to a great finish is the right combination of pads and chemicals, and a slow, steady pace at under 2000 RPM. If you keep the pad flat and moving, you will not hurt the car.
 
Great tips Chuck... :)



Question... what do you do on tight painted panels like in between the bumper and the taillight, under emblems, etc where the painted surface is small (about 3-4")?



How about bumpers? The areas on a bumper where it's ridged, gapped (for air passage like grilles), etc that are painted? Do you do those by hand instead?
 
THe buffer should aways be on the move. If it skips you may have to recenter the pad on the adapter so the pad spins in a circle. Also, try more product to load the pad. Never run the machnine on a dry surface.

Dont think about burning the paint. Just remember that a clear coat is very hard and will not burn easily. As long as you are using the right products of course, ie. cc compounds, and high speed polishes.

Finally, make it a point to be more carefull around edges like door handles, wings, mirrors, where the panels end and a new one begins, and moldings. Anything plastic or rubber needs to be taped off.



Ryan
 
theveed said:
Great tips Chuck... :)



Question... what do you do on tight painted panels like in between the bumper and the taillight, under emblems, etc where the painted surface is small (about 3-4")?



How about bumpers? The areas on a bumper where it's ridged, gapped (for air passage like grilles), etc that are painted? Do you do those by hand instead?
Click to expand...



Sometimes you will have to tilt the buffer in order to get the curves and small areas. Funny you should ask, because today I did a car today that was ridged at the bottom side panels. I slowed down the buffer and moved the buffer with the curves. Sometimes, you'll have to get the tiny spots by hand. I've had to resort to that several times. These machines are not as dangerous as I thought. Before I grabbed a rotary for the first time, I had this image of the clear coat getting zapped away. You just have to be concious of what you're doing and use some common sense, and everything will be fine. Like most things, the only way to really learn is to practice and practice until it becomes second nature. It seems odd and clunky at first, but after a while, it won't skip or jump.
 
How slow do you on on edges/small areas?



I have to hit the gym too... hehe... the buffer feels 3x heavier after a day's work...
 
Edges sould be done FIRST. When you start a panel you should cut in the edges first thing. For edges use a very low speed and a 3 degree angle.
 
Ryan said:


Dont think about burning the paint. Just remember that a clear coat is very hard and will not burn easily. As long as you are using the right products of course, ie. cc compounds, and high speed polishes.





Ryan
Click to expand...





The clear coat in not any harder than paint, infact it is paint and it's not hard to burn through. Infact all it takes is one wrong move in the wrong spot and you will be paying bucks for a panel to be painted.
 
ShowroomLincoln said:
Edges sould be done FIRST. When you start a panel you should cut in the edges first thing. For edges use a very low speed and a 3 degree angle.
Click to expand...





you could ad that you should position your buffer so the pad is buffing off the edge instead of on the edge.
 
I only say clear is tough because I started to learn high speed with wool pads and a product called tru grit while I detailed for an International Limo company to the stars. The cars were constantly beat and needed lots of work. So when I say clear is tough it's just from my own experiences or fortune, if you must.

Truthfully, I've NEVER burned a car. Not even once.
 
Ryan said:
I

Truthfully, I've NEVER burned a car. Not even once.
Click to expand...



I wish I could say the same but I can't. I burned a fender on a f-150 we called it even for the detail $200 and I found out later the guy didnt even pay for the new paint.
 
ANYONE who has detailed for a while, WILL one time or another burn paint. Stuff happens. Sometimes its the products,pads, procedure etc. Sometimes the paint is not cured. Sometimes, you slip on something. Its going to happen. Its always best to be honest and show the customer. It pays to be honest. I detailed a 69 chevy truck, red with yellow scallops, purple pearl, and noticed a HUGE chip in the lower tailgate. I was sure I bumped into it, or something, so I pointed it out to my client when he came to pick it up, with my insurance agents number. He was boiling mad.... then he said gotcha! I did that trying to hook my trailer for my Harley up, when I was drunk! Whew! I was soooooooo happy I didnt do it. Jason:bounce
 
Would anyone know how RPM/OPM come into play. How safe or high high of an OPM can I go without damaging paint.



It seems like alot of people run the PC at around 5 or 6 which is close to 6000 Orbits per minute. I happen to have a Buffer that I will want to try. It's actually a random orbit sander that convert with a 6" H&L Pad.



The OPM rating for that unit is 4,000 up to 11,200 OPM. How high of an OPM can I go till it's considered safe. I'm sure alot also has to do with whoever is opearting the machine also...
 
I think an orbital like a pc or cyclo can be used with no worry of burning a paint. It creates less heat unlike the rotary.
 
I guess the question I'm trying to ask is ...how high of OPM (orbits per minute) can I go without damaging my paint. Since it's making random orbits, there is a whole lot less heat than RPM (revolutions per minute) as pad is doing straight rotations without any eccentric movement to it.



The cyclo goes up to 3,200 OPM and the PC goes up to 6,000 OPM. My unit goes up to 11,200 OPM. Alot of PC users run their PC at setting 6, which is at the max (6000 OPM). Can it be safe to say if I was to run this at (8000 OPM), it will not damage my paint ?
 
Does anyone have pictures of burned paint. I've been using a rotary for about two yrs or so and haven't burned any paint yet. But as Bumpers + said, its going to happen sooner or later. I'm self-taught, so I'd be curious to actually see burned paint from somewhere.



Later,

B.
 
jsoto said:
I guess the question I'm trying to ask is ...how high of OPM (orbits per minute) can I go without damaging my paint. Since it's making random orbits, there is a whole lot less heat than RPM (revolutions per minute) as pad is doing straight rotations without any eccentric movement to it.



The cyclo goes up to 3,200 OPM and the PC goes up to 6,000 OPM. My unit goes up to 11,200 OPM. Alot of PC users run their PC at setting 6, which is at the max (6000 OPM). Can it be safe to say if I was to run this at (8000 OPM), it will not damage my paint ?
Click to expand...



This thread is on direct drive rotary polishing, not random orbital buffing. To burn through paint with a PC you really have to try hard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top