Did you upgrade from a DA to Rotary?

[imported_MBenz]

I think of the rotary as more of an "addition" than an upgrade per say.



M105 on a pc using kevin brown or other techniques will yield great results.



Once you get the hang of the rotary it is easier to use, none of the numb pc hands, and less work time needed.



On most cars i use a rotary, but it is nice to have the PC to fall back on when dealing with soft temperamental paint.



Pc rocks for applying waxes and sealants.

 

[powellt28]

I wasn't sure if I was going to upgrade to the Makita or not. I had been using my PC for a few years and it was doing the job for me. When it came to doing any major correction, the PC just couldn't cut it though (no pun intended!). I have a small detailing business I run while I'm in school and figured I might as well "upgrade". Since the Makita arrived the PC hasn't come out of the box! If anyone here is even semi-serious about detailing, get a rotary. My results have been so much better with the rotary. I Paid $198.00, and it came with 2 wool pads, a backing plate, and a carrying case. Not a bad deal IMHO.

I love my Makita!!

 

[GS4_Fiend]

I think of the rotary as more of an "addition" than an upgrade per say.



M105 on a pc using kevin brown or other techniques will yield great results.



Once you get the hang of the rotary it is easier to use, none of the numb pc hands, and less work time needed.



On most cars i use a rotary, but it is nice to have the PC to fall back on when dealing with soft temperamental paint.



Pc rocks for applying waxes and sealants.

Someone told me if you put a screw on each hole on the sides. It will stop the vibration by 40%. (place where in install the handle)

 

[Accumulator]

What the hell is everyone doing with a rotary that they are getting holograms and can't finish down LSP ready?.... How anyone can not finish down LSP-ready is far beyond me.

Gee, I'm sure you didn't mean for that to sound insulting...things can come across oddly over the internet.



Heh heh, I've known shooters who said stuff like "how anybody can miss at 100 yards with their weak hand is beyond me..." But that doesn't mean that one other person in a thousand can do it and it sounds mighty offensive.



I'm not doing *anything* obviously wrong. I ran a rotary for a summer job back in the days of single stage and never had any problems. The holograms I get on b/c paint are often so faint most people can't see 'em. I've seen far worse holograms on "hologram-free" cars done by pros (inlcuding at least one well-regarded member here). Even Mike Phillips at Meguiar's finished out via DA last I heard, and he's been running a rotary professionally (and demonstrating its proper use) for decades.



No, I've never used Ultrafina and some have suggested that it'd solve the problem, but for me there *isn't* a problem as I'd rather finish with the Cyclo anyhow.

I have yet to find a hologram, and I look hard with iso, halogens, and a LED flashlight....

Well, a hologram so bad it can be spotted in artificial light would have to be mighty terrible indeed! That's not the sort of thing most of us are concerned with and it's not what I'm talking about.



The only way I can see the light holograms I'm talking about is in natural sunlight (and yeah, I've tried all the artificial lights). Often it takes more than one person, working at the right time of day- one person observes while the other moves between the sun and the vehicle, causing the panels to transition from full sun (at just the right angle) to partial shade; there's a split-second where you can see the hologram (if both people know what they're doing).



Just figuring out the right time of day (when the sun is at the right angle) is a big challenge in itself. It's not like you can just pull the car out into bright sun at any time and see such problems.



When was the last time *you* spent, say...an hour of time, spread over more than one day, working hard at this (in natural light) with a knowledgeable helper? All to spot holograms that nobody else would *ever* see? I thought the vehicle in question was "hologram-free" until I really worked at inspecting it (with a helper) and the inspection was at least as difficult as the correction.



And why would I bother instilling such a problem when I can just use a different machine (that I prefer using anyhow)? Why run the risk of a hologram appearing under some unusual lighting situation like what I needed for the inspecting?



Sorry if the preceding sounded confrontational, but your post sounded like you think anybody who leaves holograms is some kind of idiot and I can assure you that is not the case.

 

[superchargedg]

Hm really?



I said screw all this DA crap, I might as well just buy a rotary instead of buying a DA and then a rotary and realizing I wasted my money on a DA. I had no machine polishing experience and just bought a Makita 9227 and have done 2 cars with soft paint and have had no holograms on either, nor did I find it hard to work with.



I've done a Black Corolla and a Silver Accord, both newer, used Menzerna polishes, 3M backing plate, and 5.5 Detailers domain pads to great success. I didn't even practice, I just went right to work on my car and it was surprisingly easy. I'm very glad I skipped buying a DA.

I did to but i still bought the flex for when i dont need a rotary.

 

[Eisen Hulk]

Yeah...strange, I know.



I would never get rid of my PC though...For apply LSPs, it's worth keeping around.

Hm really?



I said screw all this DA crap, I might as well just buy a rotary instead of buying a DA and then a rotary and realizing I wasted my money on a DA. I had no machine polishing experience and just bought a Makita 9227 and have done 2 cars with soft paint and have had no holograms on either, nor did I find it hard to work with.



I've done a Black Corolla and a Silver Accord, both newer, used Menzerna polishes, 3M backing plate, and 5.5 Detailers domain pads to great success. I didn't even practice, I just went right to work on my car and it was surprisingly easy. I'm very glad I skipped buying a DA.

 

[xspwrstang]

Around here I've seen countless vehicles with horrible buffer trails all over them. I'm sure it's some "detailing" shop that's using a rotary and leaving trails all over the cars. I did a black 2005 tahoe w/really dry unprotected paint on it with my PC and the results were great. It took me 4 hours and the customer was really pleased. The same guy referred one of his friends but when I saw it was covered by buffer trails I turned it down because I knew it would be too much for my PC. I guess if you're happy w/the results of a PC and you know your limitations w/it then why change. I've had my PC for almost 5yrs and don't plan on going w/a rotary because my worst fear is to mess up a paint job.

 

[Scottwax]

Even though I do all my correcting by rotary, I still use my DA for cleaners, all in one's, glazes and now I attach carpet brushes to them and make short work of mat and carpet cleaning.

Pretty much the same thing here. However, with #105 and a DA, you can get serious correction on soft to medium hardness paints.



I think that properly used, you get the best finish from a rotary because it breaks down polishes better than the DA.

 

[Bert]

Pretty much the same thing here.

I got the carpet bruch idea from you actually, thanks! It saves so much time.

However, with #105 and a DA, you can get serious correction on soft to medium hardness paints.

I have only polished my Eclipse's paint and Soccer6Planet's Jaguar's paint and both were pretty dang hard. So a rotary was my friend then.

I think that properly used, you get the best finish from a rotary because it breaks down polishes better than the DA.

That makes sense.

 

[Accumulator]

Pretty much the same thing here. However, with #105 and a DA, you can get serious correction on soft to medium hardness paints...

Heh heh, with PC and a 4" yellow (or PFW) pad you can take even hard clear right down to the basecoat The big eye-opener for me was how well M105 worked on the M3; it wasn't quite 3M ECRC/rotary/harsh wool, but it did do the job *infinitely* quicker than I'd ever expected. Same combo seems about as fast for spot-correction on the Audis as doing it via rotary, within a few minutes at least.



Heh heh#2, it does occur to me that considering how M105 changed the correction-by-PC game for me, maybe Ultrafina would change the finish-by-rotary game in the same way :think:

..I think that properly used, you get the best finish from a rotary because it breaks down polishes better than the DA.

We've discussed that before, and I still think it's a matter of the paint and products in question. I simply don't see the diff on my vehicles, the *only* difference is the presence/absence of holograms. But this gets back to my constant disclaimer that you pros (and/or people with different cars from mine) have to be able to handle all sorts of situations that some of us just never encounter.



Back when the repainted Volvo was too soft for all but one of my attempts via Cyclo, I do think that a (properly used) rotary would've been the better answer. That one's probably a perfect example of where a DA just wasn't the right tool for the job and I bet it's the same story with a lot of soft paints.