Harbor Freight Rotary

F

fireman03

New member
OK,

To this point, I have purchased top of the line products for detailing (PC 7424, HP60, etc.). I felt it was finally time to give the rotary a try. Again, I was looking at the better rotary, with my eyes on the PC rotary. It lists for $199 plus 10% PAC discount. I happen to run across a Chicago tools rotary at Harbor freight for $24.99. The specs were pretty close. I don't want this to turn into a big screeming match about good tools vs. cheap tools, but for $24.99 it was hard to pass up. Even if it breaks in a year, am still ahead of the game. The biggest reason for me buying it was to see if the rotart is something that I can master. If not, then I have invested very little.

Now, my question.

Who has first hand experience with this rotary and what are their thoughts about.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=105&pricetype=

Thanks
 
i have one and its working for me ... i want to try this before i spend alot on a buffer .. i have a feeling technology is going to give us a reliable buffer that works like a pc or a rotaty .. dual; purpose .. i know someone makes one already but i read about reliability problems ... i just paid off the extractor & i want to make some money for awhile ...you & i seem to be on the same path in detailing.. hows that extractor?
 
Good so far, what techniques do you using when using yours. Do you fill it with a shampoo or just use water? Right now i have been spraying on shampoo and just using a neutralizer in the extractor. Let me know how and what you use.

Thanks
 
I saw this as well and I am going to get one tomorrow.. I want to see if it is going to work for me and let me grow with it...

Then I might step up to the plate and purchase one of the "Big Boys" :cool

TC
:beat
 
I`ve got the Harbor Freight rotary and it is well worth the money. Mine has a 7" velcro backing plate included. It was a fairly cheap way for me to find out that I can`t get much of anything out of a rotary but I keep trying every chance I get. The orange power pad from Lake Country is the only success I have had. Works good with Meg`s compound power cleaner. That will take a 6" backing plate to work. I found one at Anchor Hardware for $17.
 
TraderB said:
I`ve got the Harbor Freight rotary and it is well worth the money. Mine has a 7" velcro backing plate included. It was a fairly cheap way for me to find out that I can`t get much of anything out of a rotary but I keep trying every chance I get.
Click to expand...

What methods and products have you used thus far?
 
TraderB said:
I can`t get much of anything out of a rotary but I keep trying every chance I get.
Click to expand...
What were you trying to get out of it? I've gotten some great results with the Harbor Freight rotary using DACP and AIO and Lake Country Yellow finger pads and White polishing pads.

I suspect you may need to gain a little confidence working with the heat it can produce. All the talk about the dangers of a rotary burning through paint can scare you into keeping it moving too much and not generating the heat needed to do the work. That would result in you thinking you weren't getting anything done...because you wouldn't.

Heat is a good thing, to a point, and is the main advantage of a rotary over a random orbital. Practice on some scrap pieces, if you can find some, or an old beater. And read Anthony Orosco's great write-up on proper rotary usage.
 
on the extractor ive been trying some diffent things .. if interior is bad ill spray the carpet or seats with the vacuum off ,, really soak them .. then scrub and extract with the vacuum part on .. that water gets real hot .. also im using a extractor shampoo and it seems to keep everything clean . also im using some fragrances in the machine .. concentrates from janitorial supply .. works good .. i wash out the machine regularly & keep it clean ..so far so good . my product supplier wanted to sell me a spare trigger assy .the whole thing $125.00. in case the one i have breaks down .. i figured out i dont need that. if it goes out i can bypass that valve & hook the water line direct to the nozzle & control the spray with the pump switch on the machine .. theyre always trying to sell ya something
 
ZJ ZIM 96
The problem I have with a rotary is that it is just too hard for me to handle with most pads. The pad will grab the finish and make the rotary jump for lack of a better way to describe it. I am not worried much about burning the finish because I practise on my old truck. Also the splatter is annoying. It seems like the product gets slung all over rather than worked on the surface. I suspect I am not alone in these experiences. I have never tried the figured pads and have really been curious about them. But it seems none of the pros use them that I am aware of. It is not that I don`t think the rotary can work, I have just decided that until I can watch someone actually work with one that I will let the matter rest. Detailing is a very part time interest with me and if I were pursuing it on an occupational basis I certainly would learn to use the rotary and then decide if it was useful for me. Some professional detaliers still don`t use them and just use random orbital. I know that there are some downloads on the internet that are termed instuctional videos or whatever but my connection is too slow to load them. At some point I will probably get some videos (VCR) but I pretty much have a moratorium on buying right now.
 
I have one that I use for a back up. It doesn't handle quite as well as my Makita but for the money you can't touch it. It's a nuts and bolts rotary and mine hasn't failed me. The backing plate and pad that comes with it leaves much to be desired but anything you buy will interchange if you decide to upgrade somewhere along the line.
 
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