How do you polish areas like this with a rotary?

K

kleraudio

New member
Just wondering what you guys do to polish areas like this with a rotary? If you do at all.... All I can think of now is doing it by hand, and that would suck...



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Thanks for the help everyone!



Jim
 
I'm not exactly sure what that first pic is but for pillars I use a 3" pad on a velcro plate with my cordless DeWalt drill.
 
The first pic has about 4 inches of room to play with.



Do you just hit the center of the pillars or each individual one separately?



Is it not possible to hit the pillars with a rotary? Also where do you get the 3" pad setup for a drill?



Thanks



Jim
 
That's the perfect setup for my 4" pads, Jim. Love 'em just for these areas. I also use them to isolate problem spots on open areas as well.



Some guys use the PC for areas like this too to avoid any burn or problems a rotary might cause. There aren't too many areas I do by hand anymore.
 
Yea I have the 4" pad setup for my PC too. Never dawned on me to use em!



Hey Paul, are you using the rotary with your 4" pads? Also, for those pillars, do you just hit them in the center or do you do them one at a time?



Thanks guys!



Jim
 
The first pic: Is that above the license plate and below the wiper on the back of an suv? Just wondering what part of the car that is.
 
I do little stuff, nooks and cranies by hand........



Small front end facia's sometimes require up close and personal care not available with any pad.........Little details make all the difference in the long run.......
 
I normally use my rotary and get in there somehow, but maybe difficult if you have not done it. Also when I tape something I make the tape is not touching the paint at all and all my taping is perfect and pressed down firmly. If the pad hits the adhesive part then it will get in the pad and contaminate it make a mess, especially if is a foam pad.



Work it at 800 rpm only.



Good luck!;)
 
rydawg said:
I normally use my rotary and get in there somehow, but maybe difficult if you have not done it. Also when I tape something I make the tape is not touching the paint at all and all my taping is perfect and pressed down firmly. If the pad hits the adhesive part then it will get in the pad and contaminate it make a mess, especially if is a foam pad.



Work it at 800 rpm only.



Good luck!;)
Click to expand...



Ryan, thanks again for that invaluable tip! Ill make sure not tape is on the paint from now on!



Vintage - your spot on, it is above the license plate and below the wiper blade. Such a small area with SO much marring.



Jim
 
Doesn't anyone tilt there pad for thin areas? If you have a 2 inch peice of trim to buff and your using a 4 inch pad, you still have to. Same principle for 8 inchers. Not that big of a deal. If you're worried about splatter, rub your product into the surface and buff it off.
 
kleraudio said:
Yea I have the 4" pad setup for my PC too. Never dawned on me to use em!



Hey Paul, are you using the rotary with your 4" pads? Also, for those pillars, do you just hit them in the center or do you do them one at a time?



Thanks guys!



Jim
Click to expand...



Yes, I only have a 4" setup for the rotary - don't have a small BP for the PC to accomodate them and have never tried them with a PC.



For jobs that may need some dedicated attention to problem areas I usually go around the vehicle and spot treat with my 4" pads first. These areas might be 1.) deeper scratches, 2.) tight areas with scratches (e.g. license plate recesses) and 3.) pillars like you're asking about and maybe lower front nose bottoms. Even if I'm using a 6" or 6.5" orange pad with a moderately agressive polish on the majority of the vehicle I'll use my white 4" and maybe a slower speed for these areas just mentioned. I feel the 4 inchers really concentrate the heat and friction so I drop it down a bit to compensate. I may be using an orange pad with HTEC/OP at 1500-1700 on a swirled up hood but be careful with an orange 4" pad at that same speed in an area that you can't move around too much in or have adjacent perpendicular pieces!!! Also, tape is definately my 4" pad's best friend but we all know that for all circular work.



I do tilt my pad as David F mentioned too but for concentrated areas that may be problematic I slap on the ole 3.75" BP and some 4" pads. That's why I got them and I've come to rely on their effectiveness for fine tuning certain areas.



I will tilt my 5", 6" or 6.5" pads for areas like forward of sun/moon roofs, C pillars that start thin at the top and then widen out at the bottom, hood section between the windshield and slots/sprayers etc. Those areas are extensions of other larger sections I'm doing and I'll improvise by tilting to include them with the section and save some time.



I should mention that I'm strictly low volume in that I don't have a lot of work and do this on the side as a hobby. I take the luxury of time to do and finish my jobs like they are my own car. For those doing this as a business and time is more critical there are time savers like tilting and finessing areas without changing pads and I admire those operators that have perfected these different techniques (David F., Anthony O. and many other pros both here and elsewhere).
 
Wow, I don't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with David! ;)



I slow the buffer down to a much slower RPM, and tilt as necessary. Works great for A pillars. I do use 4" pads in areas where I can get a 4 incher completely flat.
 
Add me to the "tilt the big pads and/or use 4" ones" group. I find 4" pads very handy on the rotary.



If I'm worried about an edge/crown line I just tape it up while I do the aggressive work on the adjacent area. I usually don't have any problems with the pad getting contaminated with adhesive and, if I do, I'll live accept it as the lesser of two evils. Similarly, if the tape's having been on the paint seems likely to cause problems I'll wipe it down with solvent.. it's probably not a perfect approach, but it beats causing damage. By taping off areas that I didn't want to worry about, I've been able to get the rotary into some tight and potentially troublesome spots on the M3.
 
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