Nice article on rotary buffing

T

Threadhead

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For those who would like a good guide to using your rotary, I found this nice article on rotary buffing. If you follow the pages along, they have great graphics for position and rotation along seams and panel edges. Just skip the parts about wetsanding.

Click here ->How to Buff
 
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:yeah Excellent HOW TO site. Its packed full of other helpful information as well . :bigups
 
PB Steve -

Do you buff at the same 15 degree angle as the article?

I have always been told to buff FLAT. Does the 15 degree angle prevent rotary swirls beter than buffing flat?
 
wifehatescar said:
PB Steve -

Do you buff at the same 15 degree angle as the article?

I have always been told to buff FLAT. Does the 15 degree angle prevent rotary swirls beter than buffing flat?
Click to expand...

I was taught to use it on a slight angle, and was also told I was going to get very dirty:lmfao

Funny that my teacher could barely speak english and but he taught me all that stuff over 20 years ago:)

I think it's easy to read and to get technical advice and information, but it can't replace hands on teaching and practice.

I haven't used the rotary regularly for over 15 years but just like a bicycle it's kind of hard to learn at first, with stretches of smooth going with some wabble here and there, but once you learn it well, you'll always be able to use it.... a talent worth the effort. :)
 
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Great article !!!

I like the bodywork done on the Ford Ranger on that site. Very descriptive and informative !!!
 
Good article but I have several disagreements. The first is that buffing on an angle will produce swirl marks. You are concentrating the pad and buffer weight on a small area which will dig out valleys in the paint. BUFF FLAT! Also he states that foam pads run cooler than wool. That is not true and I challenge anyone to buff for 30 seconds on an area with wool and 30 seconds with foam and see which side you can cook an egg on! Foam runs much hotter because it is bascially rubber. It grabs the surface and creates alot of friction which in turn creates heat! Wool fibers have much less surface area and their texture allows them to slide uninhibited on the painted surface. Open cell foam runs much cooler than closed cell but not as cool as wool. Wool however is much more abrasive and can remove paint faster but not burn it off faster.
 
Well I agree and disagree with some of your points. Maybe with your pads(Edge) you need to keep them flat to prevent hopping and swirls, but I've always used pure wool pads and never induce swirls at a slight angle. Yes I also believe that foam will cause more heat as it is more of a solid material, still would like to try those finger pads that ScottP was talking about to see if it makes any difference. I know I've also talked with Intel486 about those pads, and he says they work really well, but I think he used them on a PC:dunno ....and yes I agree that certain wools can be more abrasive and remove paint or clearcoat fast than foam.

All these good points, leads me to remind people who are starting with a rotary to be careful, use some test panels on a junker and try and find a tutor, other than a book or on-line manule..2cents
 
Finger pads? Do you mean the Surbuff or the LC "Tufted" foam?

I've used both. The LC "tufted" have approx 9 times area contact than VC pads. Less heat build-up as it's not solid. They seem to work well. I use the cut pad for faster paint leveling. Kind of like using a wool pad in that the fibers act like large strands contacting the surface. A good wool pad say like from Schlegle are perfect for fast leveling w/o swirls. They have been the best IMO for wool.

The Surbuff pads are the ones used in woodworking circles. Looks like a bunch of small fibers attached to a foam core. I call it my "hairy pad". Nice for finish work, but thought it may produce micro-marring, which it didn't. Some of the pads fibers lay down and do not recover.

Still use LC VC's for the rotary. Not too sure on this Edge adapter as added length to a shaft is counter-productive. You want the object rotating as close to the head as possible to reduce vibration harmonics. Although some people love those things and if rotary mfg came up with a polisher with the QD on the shaft I'd use it as I see the benifits on quick change on pads. The shorter the better (within reason). Great idea and time saver!

Regards,
Deanski
 
Deanski,
I don't really understand your post. Have you ever seen how far the backing plate sits off the polisher? Its about the same as the adapter on a rotary. Only on the PC was the adapter too long so we made a modified version just for the PC with a shorter length. Have you ever tried the QC to know that it vibrates too much for you?
 
The Edge said:
Have you ever seen how far the backing plate sits off the polisher? Its about the same as the adapter on a rotary.
Click to expand...
I decided to compare a few rotary pad setups and found that I must agree with the above statement. The E2K quick connector gives the visual impression that the pad sits much farther away, but the reality is that both setups are about the same. In the following pictures, the beginning of the ruler is lined up with the highest part of the pad (some of the pads have a curved face).

This picture compares a flexible velcro backing plate (a 6" plate which actually measures 5 5/8" in diameter) with an Edge2000 quick connect adapter. Note: Even though the adapter is taller than the plate, the E2K pads are designed to sit farther down onto the connector than a conventional pad sits on a backing plate. In other words, an E2K pad embeds itself onto the adapter while a velcro pad sits on top of the plate's surface.
 
Poorboy said:
so what are you argreeing to:dunno ..it seems to me that the edge system is about 1/2 higher than the backing plate from the base of the rotary no matter what pad is attached:confused:
Click to expand...
No, there's only about 1/8" difference between all 3 setups.
 
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