Faster to detail with rotary or pc?

[ABCDetail]

I currently use a pc for all polishing and light compounding jobs, but have been looking to get a rotary for some time now. My questions is, which is faster to detail with? Does it depend on the condition of the vehicle? I'm only guessing since I've never used a rotary, but I assume heavily swirled vehicles can be corrected much quicker with a rotary, but is this correct. I don't know how many passes it takes on a rotary to remove moderate to heavy swirling, and I know you have to tape up the vehicle as well. Also, I've heard you have to avoid edges and bumpers when using a rotary, do you just use the pc around these areas like the back of the trunk, bumpers, around edges of panels? Sorry for so many questions, been storing them up due to lack of posting time!

 

[kimwallace]

Paint correction is definitely faster with the rotary. So is polishing to a high gloss. What takes more time (at least for me) is the clean-up after each step. You don't have to avoid the edges, just have to learn how to use the rotary so you don't do damage to them.

 

[mgm2003]

Yep, The rotary is MUCH quicker than the PC but it takes time to get used to, and if you make a mistake (i.e. burn the paint) you'll be going to the body shop for a respray. With the PC you tend to move the polisher with a lot of arm movement. With the rotary you let the machine do the work and it's more of an upper torsoe movement. On the rotary if you extend your arms, etc... you'll throw the machine off balance and get 'buffer hop'. Once you get the hang of the rotary, it's a fantastic machine. I really don't use a rotary often. I'd say 90% of my polishing is done with a PC or Cyclo. Personally, I prefer the cyclo to the rotary. It comes close to what a rotary can do, and is as easy to use as the PC.

 

[dimedrol]

I think the best choice for you is to get the hood from the junk yard and practice. Rotary is a fun machine, but don't get to crazy with it, and remember slow this thing down when approaching the edge.