What am I doing wrong with my Rotary?

P

PerfectFinish1

New member
Hey everyone,



Today was finally nice out so I decided to expiriment with the rotary. (It's my first time ever using the tool.) It is the Chicago Electric $25 rotary... used on a very oxidized finish with a 6.5" Lake County pad, and #83. I kept it on setting 1 or 2, and made quick passes, but not quick enough to cause any swirls... tried to keep the surface hot but not too hot to burn through the paint.



Let's just say the paint looks brand new again for the most part. (the test car is a silver 88 Mazda MX6 that I wasn't even sure had any clear left on it... well now it shines, has perfect reflection, and has tons of silver flake!) I'm amazed that only a few minutes of work left the paint so nice comparitvely... I definatley want to continue to learn how to use the rotary and buy a more expensive model as soon as I get a bit better.



The only problem I noticed was that there were a lot of spots where the product was kind of "gummed up" when I was done buffing.... most I could get off with A LOT of elbow grease and a MF.... but there were some spots that I couldn't even scrub off! What did I do wrong to cause these collections to form?
 
Sometimes some products do that when they got hot. It's not normally something to worry about though. A little bit of QD normally takes care of it well enough too. :)
 
If you were out in the sun or if the cars surface was still hot from being out in the sun the problem is that the product dried before is was supposed to. #83 and #80 are great polishes, a staple in my arsenal, but they are defintely not sun friendly. The only other problem not mentioned could be the pads caking up, if the oxidation was really bad you should have killed a couple of pads.
 
it's the oxidation, it gums things up no matter wha machine you use, rotaries are worst though. on bad oxidation, I do 1 pass with a cotton bonnet and a chemical polish first just to knock out most of the dead paint
 
Hmm... thanks for the posts. I'm guessing it's possibly caused by the sun. The oxidation was bad, but the pad wasn't too bad after only a few panels... it didn't seem to be betting caked up. The products seemed to dry too early, because even going over them with the rotary would not make them get loose...



I tried using quick detailer (thought of that just after I posted, too) and it took off the majority... but there were still a few REALLY heavy spots left.



I don't think I was using too much product, because I tried using a bit less and there definately was not enough to work with.



So... most likely the sun causing the product to dry too quickly?



edit: Yep, I didn't go over it with anything except QEW before beginning... what is your recomendation to do from here on this panel... another pass with 83 and hope it gets better each time?
 
Black240SX said:
#83 is for a DA polisher. You might do better with a product made for use with a rotary.
Click to expand...



On the contrary, #83 works quite well with the rotary. Give it a try sometime . . . I think youâ€â„¢ll like the results :)
 
Not to get off topic but I believe the "dual action" refers not to the buffer they recommend using but to the fact that the product acts as a "cleaner/polish"; hence the name "Dual Action Cleaner/Polish". FWIW the guy on the bottle is using a rotary.
 
Meg's is quite emphatic that their products must not be used in direct sunlight.



You may have also been using too much.



How large an area did you do at one time? It's best to do no more than a couple feet square at once, then move on to the next little section.



None of their polishes should be worked until dry either. You should only work them until the diminishing abrasives break down. Typically that means that the product has turned from milky to translucent but there's still an oily film. Only their waxes and sealants should be allowed to dry, and only after application, not during.



You didn't mention which LC pad you used. Wool? Did you spur it often? Foam? Did you brush it often? Clearing the pad is important, especially if you're working on a heavily oxidized surface.



Do you have a copy of Meg's polishing video? If not, it's really worth getting (it's only ten bucks too).





PC.
 
MS22: No, the dual-action refers to the way random orbit polishers work.



Knockwurst: I don't have a rotary to try it with. I'm thinking I'll end up with one sooner or later, though...
 
Black 240- I'm pretty sure that Megs designs all their professional products for rotary use-they may work well with a PC as well
 
Personally I never liked #83 with the PC nor do I like the Sonus orange pad. When used in conjunction with a rotary (speed 1200 RPM) and a quality foam pad, #83 does a fine job of correcting minor blemishes.



Joe â€â€œ If I were a betting man, Iâ€â„¢d say the surface was too hot. Iâ€â„¢ve had this problem with not only #83, but with most polishes and compounds. Be sure the surface is cool, back off the speed, keep the rotary moving about the panel, and donâ€â„¢t overwork the polish. Most important of all â€â€œ practice makes perfect. Good luck :xyxthumbs
 
Black240SX said:
MS22: No, the dual-action refers to the way random orbit polishers work. .......
Click to expand...

I used to think the same thing until I read this quote from Mike Phillips of Meguiars:



#83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish gets it's name because it's a Cleaner/Polish. It contains a diminishing abrasive that breaks down under time, heat and pressure. After it has broken down, the rich polishing oils create clarity and gloss.



Because it performs two functions, it is called Dual Action. All Meguiar's Cleaner/Polishes have this ability and the term dual action can be applied to them as well, however it's not a part of their product name. Example: #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 is a dual action cleaner/polish so is #80 Speed Glaze.



Just thought I'd try to clear this up as I've seen this association between Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish and the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher on forums in the past and it's technically not correct as the #83 DACP can be used with the rotary buffer, an orbital buffer, dual action polisher and by hand.



Hope this helps..."
 
Thanks for the posts guys. I'm thinking it was just the hot panel, too. I'll have to try it again tomorrow. I only buffed out the trunk lid... and I split it in half. (If you are not familiar with old style MX6's, the trunk lid is very small.) I went over it twice and had the same problem.... and couldn't figure out why... so thought I would post. (That's not enough work to have to spur the pad in most cases, right?)



I just took a look at the panel and it's amazing. The MX6 has only 95k miles on it and it is a 1988.... it will quite possibly tripple in value when I'm done detailing it. I'll post before and after pictures when I'm finished..... Overall I'm surprised I didn't mess up anything too badly yet, lol.... the shine is very nice, and there was nothing used after the #83 yet.
 
Menzerna FP will sometimes do that if I let it get too dry. I mist water on the pad or car and continue to polish and it comes right off. Sometimes there is a little left and the Sonus paint cleaner gets it off also.
 
Eliot Ness said:
I used to think the same thing until I read this quote from Mike Phillips of Meguiars:



#83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish gets it's name because it's a Cleaner/Polish. It contains a diminishing abrasive that breaks down under time, heat and pressure. After it has broken down, the rich polishing oils create clarity and gloss.



Because it performs two functions, it is called Dual Action. All Meguiar's Cleaner/Polishes have this ability and the term dual action can be applied to them as well, however it's not a part of their product name. Example: #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 is a dual action cleaner/polish so is #80 Speed Glaze.



Just thought I'd try to clear this up as I've seen this association between Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish and the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher on forums in the past and it's technically not correct as the #83 DACP can be used with the rotary buffer, an orbital buffer, dual action polisher and by hand.



Hope this helps..."
Click to expand...



Thanks for the backup there Elliot. I have watched the Megs vids about 20 times and always recalled the guy using #83 with the rotary. I just figured that it was always called "Dual Action" because it contains both chemical and mechanical cleaners NOT because it was designed for a PC.
 
#83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish gets it's name because it's a Cleaner/Polish. It contains a diminishing abrasive that breaks down under time, heat and pressure. After it has broken down, the rich polishing oils create clarity and gloss.
Click to expand...



I'll be damned. Well, if Mike Phillips says that, then it must be so.
 
I never liked Fine Cut simply because it stained all of my pads that ugly tan/orange/brown color. Also, DACP is a bit more aggressive and compliments my #80 stock very well. I think of it as if Menzerna came out with another polish for right between IP and FP II; I would find no use for it because they are not all that far apart that you would need another product to fill the gap. In the end all product choice is personal opinion and I just simply prefer DACP. Stick with the Fine Cut if it does what you want it to but if you have not tried DACP do give it a shot.
 
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