Orbital vs Rotary

G

griff

New member
I have detailed my own cars for several years and have used a variety of waxes and orbital buffers. The orbital and the hand waxing will not work on my wife's 00' Accord. How easy is it to use a rotary, I have been looking at the Porter-Cable? Can anyone give me some tips on how to use one without damaging the paint.



Thanks is Advance



Dave
 
Eric



1. I was looking at the 7424

2. The paint has swirls and is slightly faded (commuter car)

3. I do not no the name of the orbital, I think the manf name is Wen



Dave
 
You'll need to use something other than wax to remove swirls. There are a lot of good swirl removing products out there. I've had good success with Meguiars Swirl Remover.



Bob
 
A Porter Cable PC and some Meguiar's Dual Action Cleaner Polish followed by Swirl Remover and a good coat of wax or sealer should do the job.



You might also want to try the PC and Meguair's Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner followed by Medallion Premium Paint Protection. That combination would be great for a daily driver. It's rather pricey stuff.



Tom
 
Here's a Flash!

The Porter Cable 7424 is NOT a rotary buffer. It is a RO (random orbital).



A very good tool, but not a rotary!



Continue to consider it, it can do good work, with the proper pads and polishes, with minimal potential for heat damage.



Here's an example: I'm currently doing a 1990 Black Vette. Only 35,000 miles, but 13 years of oxidation and car wash swirls. I used my Fein Rotary, wool pad and DACP to cut 3-4 scratches. Then I switched to the PC orbital, 3M SMR and white foam pad for the entire car. It is coming out quite nicely.



Next, I'll apply AIO (with the PC and MF bonnet), SG (by hand) and a Souveran topper.



Since I have the car for the weekend, I should have time to take some nice photos tonight. This is the 2nd black Vette for this client, and there is a '81 De Lorean waiting for me, from the same client!





Sorry to hijack the thread, but it is an example of the plaace for the PC



Good Luck!



Jim
 
What pads should I use and can I just turn on the PC and just start buffing or are there some steps I should do firts?



Dave
 
It is not painted. Haven't seen it yet, but it only has 6000 miles!



I will likely do the AutoInt ABC chemical bath, clay, and the Klasse twins.



I'm wide open to suggestions...



Jim
 
Man, I'd love to get my hands on a DeLorean. Those cars were unpainted aluminum.



Do some research on the web, I used Google, looking for help on "rotary". Believe it or not I found, more often than auto paint, articles that referenced polishing metal and aluminum. That may give you some good info. I also ran into articles of the same nature when researching paint depth measuring devices - I think I was searching on the term "thickness indicator" or "thickness meter" or "thickness gauge".



You own both a rotary and a PC? Why have the PC?
 
Yeah, they're stainless. I'd be sorta careful what I used on one. I'm a BIG fan of ABC, but I'd sure try it in some out-of-the-way spot before doing the whole car.
 
Here is a possible solution to your problem...Porter Cable Polisher set a setting of 5,....Use Meguiar's W-7006 Burgundy Foam Cutting Pad with M-83-32 Dual Action Polisher..try picking the worst swirled panel on your vehicle..Buff on surface until the product is nearly dry on the surface and wipe off with a micro-fiber cloth...Spary some 50/50 solution of water and alcohol..and wipe off..If defect is still their...try again one more time..if defect is still their..Then use a high speed rotary buffer with the same process stated above at about 1500 r.p.m's..Being very careful not to burn through your paint...
 
Dave,



My advice is stay away from the rotary and try your hands at using a random orbit machine first. Since this is a daily driver you are looking for a nice finish but not a concours finish, correct?



The PC can be bought for about $120.00, throw in some pads and product and your looking at a nice set up for under $200.00



Most rotaries start at $200.00 or more. I would guess that the PC set up with an "orange" pad from CMA, some Meguairs Dual Action Cleaner Polish (DACP), Poorboys SSR1 and SSR2 or Hi-Temps Light Cut would work just fine on your finish.



After you have given the finish a few passes with the orange pad and the cleaner of your choice (you should CLAY the finish first) you can then step down to a Lake Country White polishing pad and something like Klasse AIO or Vanilla Moose to give the paint a nice gloss. Then seal it with a paste wax (no cleaners) or a polymer like UPP.



Hope that helps,

Anthony
 
Thanks George and Anthony, the thread was getting away from what the original question was. I will give it try.



Dave
 
Hold up, DO NOT use polish or a machine on the Delorean.



1. Wash it with Dawn.

2. Clay.

3. Use Plexus as a light cleaner polish to get what the clay can't reach and to clean the plastic end caps.

4. Seal with a synthetic wax.

5. Give your client a can of Plexus to remove finger prints.



(stolen from David B. who gave me this great advice when I detailed a friend's Delorean)
 
atldave said:
Hold up, DO NOT use polish or a machine on the Delorean.



1. Wash it with Dawn.

2. Clay.

3. Use Plexus as a light cleaner polish to get what the clay can't reach and to clean the plastic end caps.

4. Seal with a synthetic wax.

5. Give your client a can of Plexus to remove finger prints.



(stolen from David B. who gave me this great advice when I detailed a friend's Delorean)
Click to expand...



I have to second this. If I am not mistaken doesn't the DeLorean have a brushed look to the stainless? It is not polished.
 
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