Glen E - wins the Prize !!!
Rule # 1 - Never stop moving the machine when it is on the vehicle and running.
As long as you keep it level on the hood, top, trunk, and flat on the sides, it will be easy to control. It is not hard to do this if you really want to learn.
You do not need crazy fast speeds to get great correction. The compound products today cut really fast and do not need a lot of speed to do their work.
I have never used fast speeds to do the work and I can get perfectly clear, no swirl, etc., results every time.
A smaller pad like the 5" variety will always be easier to control and can get into smaller areas much easier. I hardly ever use 6" pads anymore unless I am doing an Airplane.
Your Dewalt is a big heavy machine which is probably a little heavier than my Makita 9227C. This is good for many reasons. You may not need to put much pressure on it to get the desired correction. It will be easier to control because of the weight and the lower speed you will be using. It will get you big forearms and biceps from carrying it around all day for hours at a time.
Practice a lot as has been said above,, using less aggressive compounds until you get a good feel for it. Keep it balanced at all times on the car.
The center rotates slower than the end of the pad. The outer edge of the pad can be dangerous at high speeds on any painted edge, so keep it away as much as possible.
It only takes a quick light pass to clean up an edge. Most of the time, the edges are not badly marred in the first place because there is so little area to marr, right ?
You absolutely have to WATCH everything that is going on under that spinning pad the ENTIRE time you are working on the paint - Always ! No daydreaming, balancing your checkbook, checking out the blonde jogger in shorts, etc.... If you have to drift, release the trigger to turn it off..
One of the easiest compounds to learn on is Optimum Hyper Polish. It is really user friendly, cuts fast as long as you want it to, finishes down really nice, and no dusting to clean up after.. I like it a lot and will just get a more aggressive pad to use it if I want more correction quicker, depending on the paint type and defects to remove.
Any product you use will require you to think about it and be innovative always..
There is no cut-and-dried-instructions in this business.
Everyone who is successful at this innovates constantly, because everything is variable pretty much every day. Temps, humidity, the type of car paint, original paint vs repainted panels, the pads you are using, the pad conditioner you might be using on the pad, the compound might be old or a different formula from the last bottle you bought last year, etc...
Everyone has their own way of using every machine out there.
You will have to decide if you want to learn and then develop your own technique for using this Rotary.
I personally like to compound to correct a panel and keep using the pad to clean up the compound and leave a pretty darn clear and clean panel when I stop and wipe just a little product off and examine to see if I am done correcting that section.
Others like to compound awhile, sometimes with too much product, stop and wipe off a big mess and then see what the have..
As long as you keep this machine balanced, it is not hard to use and it will pretty much do all the work and you are in charge of guiding it, keeping it away from places it can hurt, and at times applying pressure when you are over an area that needs just a little more correction because of the defects on that spot..
Perhaps there is a Detailer on this Forum who will be glad to have you come by and watch and learn...
Good luck !
Dan F
