Which rotary?

I just received my first rotary today: PC 7428 I bought new off of ebay. I looked around, and the cheapest I could find the 7428 for was $135. "Utterguys" on ebay sells them for $89 new in box. I haven't used it yet, but wow, the thing is heeeeavy. Looks to be fairly well-made, but certainly not DeWalt quality. I did a Google search on this model, and all the reviews/writeups were very positive.



I was very tempted to spend the additonal cash on one of the higher end models (DeWalt, Makita, etc.), but then I decided to buy the PC for 89 bucks, and spend the difference on more polishes. As of last week, "Utterguys" on ebay still had 20 of them for instant sale at 89 bucks.



My PO106ff just arrived at the doorstep ten minutes ago, so I'm off to try the new rotary on the extreeeemely hard clear coat of my Charger SRT8 SuperBee.



Gonna try a 7428 (600-1200-600) with a 7.5" LC White pad with the 106ff. I think this should be a fairly safe combination for my first rotary attempt. (Crossing my fingers that I don't end up with a silver-hooded yellow SuperBee).
 
SuperBee364 said:
I just received my first rotary today..

My PO106ff just arrived at the doorstep ten minutes ago, so I'm off to try the new rotary on the extreeeemely hard clear coat of my Charger SRT8 SuperBee.



Gonna try a 7428 (600-1200-600) with a 7.5" LC White pad with the 106ff. I think this should be a fairly safe combination for my first rotary attempt. (Crossing my fingers that I don't end up with a silver-hooded yellow SuperBee).



You oughta do fine as long as you keep thinking ;) Getting a perfect, hologram-free finish with a rotary is tricky, but just getting good, efficient correction without damaging stuff isn't all that hard if you have the right mindset.
 
SuperBee364 said:
... . Looks to be fairly well-made, but certainly not DeWalt quality. ...
Ironically, I felt the opposite. The Dewalt 849 is heavier than the 7428 but I felt the 7428 has more precise castings, molded parts, fit and finish. But I’ve always been a sucker for German tools. The DW is certainly a powerful and rugged professional tool.





PC.
 
justin30513 said:
A good one to buy is the 29.95 Harbor Freight model for learning. It's very safe....even at full speeds. Not to much torque but nice to remove major defects with. I know of 10 pros that use this one and love it.

I'm learning it myself. For 30.00, you can't go wrong.



Justin - That's a very good price for a rotary. If I knew about this earlier, I would made all my newbie workers buy one for starting out. Out of the pros you know using these, how often do they get used and how long have they had them? Do you think they would hold up being used 2-3 times per day, everyday? Just wondering so I can pass this on...
 
Simply put: You owe it to your business, your customer, and yourself to equip with quality tools. There is a big difference in quality levels, what would you back for 10 hours a day, a HF, Makita, or Hitachi, etc? Considering the price margin is $100 on a piece of equipment that could make or break timing as well as quality in a detail it just doesn't seem reasonable at all to me.
 
If it does the job and saves you money, how is that not reasonable. I see it as an entry level tool for beginners. My shop requires new hires to purchase their own chemicals and tools when they start working. If I could offer them a worth while tool for $30 that does the same thing(quality and speed)essentially instead of $200, how is anyone loosing out? Down the raod you would want to step up your tools, but this one *could* last for a while. If my Makita broke down, there's no chance I'd buy one, but for somone starting out in the business or for a weekend warrior, it's a decent and very inexpensive way to start buffing. I'd rather learn to correct paint with this than a top of the line PC or Cyclo.
 
David Fermani said:
If it does the job and saves you money, how is that not reasonable. I see it as an entry level tool for beginners. My shop requires new hires to purchase their own chemicals and tools when they start working. If I could offer them a worth while tool for $30 that does the same thing(quality and speed)essentially instead of $200, how is anyone loosing out? Down the raod you would want to step up your tools, but this one *could* last for a while. If my Makita broke down, there's no chance I'd buy one, but for somone starting out in the business or for a weekend warrior, it's a decent and very inexpensive way to start buffing. I'd rather learn to correct paint with this than a top of the line PC or Cyclo.



FWIW If you're looking into lower priced rotaries, the Vector VEC236 is worth a look. They can be had around $50 with a google search; I did a couple cars with one that a friend bought and it feels like a very solid and well built tool. The motor feels a lot more consistent than the HF rotary in my opinion.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Gonna try a 7428 (600-1200-600) with a 7.5" LC White pad with the 106ff. I think this should be a fairly safe combination for my first rotary attempt. (Crossing my fingers that I don't end up with a silver-hooded yellow SuperBee).



Good luck with that, the 7428 dosent go below 1000 rpms. Thats one of the reasons i didnt buy that one or the dewalt.
 
David Fermani said:
Justin - That's a very good price for a rotary. If I knew about this earlier, I would made all my newbie workers buy one for starting out. Out of the pros you know using these, how often do they get used and how long have they had them? Do you think they would hold up being used 2-3 times per day, everyday? Just wondering so I can pass this on...



Thanks David. I too wish I had bought one when I started.



I know of three bodyshops here that use them daily. I'd say about 2-3 hours per day. They have had them for 2 months now. I know of one that had to replace the bushings. You know that HF sends an extra set with the tool!



I'm actually thinking of carrying these later when me and partner open up an online store.
 
David Fermani said:
If it does the job and saves you money, how is that not reasonable. I see it as an entry level tool for beginners. My shop requires new hires to purchase their own chemicals and tools when they start working. If I could offer them a worth while tool for $30 that does the same thing(quality and speed)essentially instead of $200, how is anyone loosing out? Down the raod you would want to step up your tools, but this one *could* last for a while. If my Makita broke down, there's no chance I'd buy one, but for somone starting out in the business or for a weekend warrior, it's a decent and very inexpensive way to start buffing. I'd rather learn to correct paint with this than a top of the line PC or Cyclo.



David, this is my point totally. I never said it should replace the Makita or Hitachi.......Lord knows not the Metabo (Awesome machine)! It's for beginners to learn on. Some may never need to upgrade. It's sorta like Craftsman vs. Snap-On. Both will do the job, right?
 
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