Worth me upgrading my PC?

K

kei169

New member
hi everyone,





I started detailing my own car 4 months ago, within my mean time, i detailed my friend's car as well. Up till now, i did a total of 4 cars.

However, by using my PC, i felt like my fingers were hurting badly everytime, and i want to achieve a better finish as well, at least 90% of the paint correction.

My questions is, Does it worth upgrading to a Flex or a makita, or just stick with my PC?





Welcome to chill in with your comment!

Thanks
 
if you can't get 90% correction with a PC you need smaller pads or different products or are not using it correctly



just an F.Y.I. there are several Pro's who have retired their Rotarys

and have started using the PC again
 
BigJimZ28 said:
just an F.Y.I. there are several Pro's who have retired their Rotarys and have started using the PC again
Click to expand...



with new technology and how advanced products are these days (105, etc.) results are becoming much easier/faster with the D/A, and by hand as well...
 
I can't say that I've ever had my fingers hurt, even after 20+ hours correcting a 750iL. My wrists were pretty fatigued, but fingers were fine. Have you played around a lot with different ways to hold the DA? Certain times I like to screw the handle onto mine, and others I rock it without it. It's all about finding out what works best for you.
 
Besides screwing bolts into the plastic housing to keep the head from vibrating (thanks Richard!), I wear gloves that are padded at the palms. Mechanix sells a great pair at Lowes or Home Depot that are very nice. They're around $30 but well worth it IMO :)
 
I've upgraded to a Metabo Rotary from the PC7424 for exactly the same reason as you.



I find using the rotary that it vibrates a lot less than the D/A and I also am able to achieve correction a lot quicker. What I will say though is that it is a completely different animal to the D/A and I would practice on scrap panels before taking it to a real car.



It took me around 6 months of practice and whole load of scrap panels before I was comfortable using it on a customer's car.
 
My advice is seriously consider going rotary or Flex. I wish I had never wasted teh cash on my PC. I currently use a Flex and am considering adding a Makita rotary to my arsenal.
 
I started using a Rotary first off (10 years ago) as it's all that was available when I picked up Autobody work as a hobby. I brought a PC Several years ago and wasn't happy with the results and time it took for correction, so left it in my toolbox and stuck with the Rotary.



One of the big problems w/using a Rotary is getting rid of the buffer swirls it creates. It takes some time (no matter the skill level) to get the panel mar free from the Rotary process.



The other thing I started thinking on was how often does one really need all the power of the Rotary Tool anyway? For polishing out a panel after wetsanding I feel it's a must as well as for very serious marring but for little bitty ol wash swirls and the like I sorta thought it was overkill.



I mean we all know for deep scratches one doesn't want to keep polishing down to the bottom of the scratch every time. You'll eventually cause the Clear Coat to fail as there won't be any there. So the trick for those types of scratches is to level 'em so light doesn't reflect off the edges.



Any way I got that PC out and over the last couple of months have been able to achieve the same results I've seen so many others post here and elsewhere. My favorite is using Hi-Temps Heavy Cut Leveler with a Black Lambs Wool Pad. I follow that with either Hi-Temp's Light Cut Leveler or OP (original) w/ a LC Orange Pad.



The products aren't as important was the choice of pads and work technique. If there are some heavy scratches or marring I don't think a PC will handle I'll hit them with a 4" spot pad on the rotary first.



One thing about the choice of product is to make sure it's capable of being used with a Orbital machine. There are products that relied on the heat being generated from the Rotary Tool to break down. With the popularity of Orbital's today though many materials can be used with both machines.



I did the hood on my Black Audi last weekend which had not been polished out since last fall and saw at least several trips this winter to the Touch-less Wash which wasn't really touch-less and they dry the car afterwards with terry towels that aren't even fresh. It took me no longer than had I did it with my Rotary and I didn't have to keep pulling the car out to check for Buffer Swirls.



I'm sorry for the long post but I wanted to share my opinion on these PC's. At first I thought they were some kid's toy and couldn't hold there own with a rotary tool, well I stand corrected. Like the previous poster stated you should be able to correct better than 90% of the marring that a Rotary would.



Plus they are lighter which helps a whole lot when doing vertical panels.



moRbiD
 
kei169 said:
so how you guys prevent from hurting your fingers?
Click to expand...



I use a number of tools that do a lot of vibrating, and I have to watch out regarding vibration-induced nerve damage/"white finger". The people here who say to suck it up/etc. oughta read some medical info some time ;) If you're susceptible to this it doesn't matter how tough you are, the neve endings can be permanently damaged and polishing a car sure isn't worth that.



IMO the best ways to avoid this problem with the PC are a) wear vibration-reducing/absorbing gloves (which don't work all *that* great IME, at least make sure to get the ones that're ANSI-certified) and b) use the right pad/product combos so you're not operating the PC for such long periods.



Oh, and I *never* use the handle on my PCs. I hardly ever use it on the rotaries either, can't remember the last time I did. And don't *GRIP* the PC really hard, it's just wasted effort.



The Flex has a very different feel from the PC, and so does the Cyclo. I haven't used my Flex 3401 for extended periods yet, but I can use the Cyclo for hours on end without getting the same problems that the PC causes.
 
I moved from a PC to a rotary for the exact same reason.



I crushed both of my elbows in a biking accident and had to have surgery to correct.



Couldn't take the vibrations from the PC anymore. Now that I use the rotary I doubt I'll be using my PC very much.
 
thanks everyone for your generous input! i placed an order for a Flex, i hope i am gonna lovin it!



thanks again!
 
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