Rotary Usage

During yesterday's detailing meet, one of the Max owners picked up a Makita 9227c and 2 3M Pads (Compounding and finishing) and the Meguiar's Polishing Pad.



I assembled the buffer for him and advised him that he needs to practice on a beater car before taking the buffer to his Max.



However, I showed him what can be done with it on a supercharged Maxima. I took some Menzerna Intensive Polish and applied iit using the 9227c and the 3M compounding pad.

I did the right front corner and the front bumper (I used PI III Light Cut Rubbing Compound on the bumper). I set the Makita on the second notch after 2 (roughly 1200 RPM) and gave it to the owner for him to use on his car (Owner is experienced in using a rotary).



The results had the owner :D because he was actually able to see the pearlescent effect in the paint.



However, I'd like to know how to apply product to the pad properly on a rotary. I put dots around the pad (four on the outside, one center) and spread it around before hitting the switch. I also worked the product until it dried/disappeared.
 
i though i'd add to this post, a few months ago i when to a detail shop for advice on products, i saw the guy using a dewalt rotary, as he ran off the the panel with the machine, i said, wow! that must be really easy to do damage with, he said he uses special wool pads, and backup pads, to reduce the risks. anyone? anyone?:rolleyes:
 
PrinzII said:
During yesterday's detailing meet, one of the Max owners picked up a Makita 9227c and 2 3M Pads (Compounding and finishing) and the Meguiar's Polishing Pad.



I assembled the buffer for him and advised him that he needs to practice on a beater car before taking the buffer to his Max.



However, I showed him what can be done with it on a supercharged Maxima. I took some Menzerna Intensive Polish and applied iit using the 9227c and the 3M compounding pad.

I did the right front corner and the front bumper (I used PI III Light Cut Rubbing Compound on the bumper). I set the Makita on the second notch after 2 (roughly 1200 RPM) and gave it to the owner for him to use on his car (Owner is experienced in using a rotary).



The results had the owner :D because he was actually able to see the pearlescent effect in the paint.



However, I'd like to know how to apply product to the pad properly on a rotary. I put dots around the pad (four on the outside, one center) and spread it around before hitting the switch. I also worked the product until it dried/disappeared.
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did u notice any slingage of product using your method of applying the product on the pad? slingage and dusting seem to be 2 huge problems i have with the rotary right now.. still tryin to figure it out tho... :nixweiss
 
Yes, I did notice slinging and dusting.



I also need to find out how to work with this more effectively because I am getting some hologramming.
 
From my understanding, there's a fine balance between too much speed too produce hologramming and too slow to obtain maximum shine and full effectiveness of the product. I gotta get me a Makita soon!!! AR
 
Wool pads naturally run cooler than foam. So there is nothing special about wool pads, other than the blend type.



I run wool pads at about 1800 rpm's and even moving at a slow rate there is very little panel heat up. There is very little need for wool on modern paints, at least as far as in non-correction matters. Most of the time a finishing pad and something like IP, FP is all you need.



Dusting can be a problem and if this is the case for your expereince then try not to buff until dry but rather "wet buff". In other words buff the product just until it begins to dry out. This requires you to use less product and buff smaller sections.



It seems that winters drier weather can also aide in more dusting. In the high humidity of South Texas I don't seem to get as much dusting as in winter but then again it could just be me:nixweiss



Swirls are mainly caused, not so much with speed, but with not working down to a fine enough polish/pad combo. In certain lighting a paint may look really nice after one pass with a polishing pad and say DACP. Then you take it out in the sun and WOW:shocked .....where did all those swirls come from?! Take the extra time to go to a finer polish and pad and then buff again. If needed finish off with the PC or Cyclo and/or use a glaze to hide any remaining marks.



If slinging is a probelm then instead of laying down a bead of product try placing a nickel size amount of product then place the buffer on top of it and begin buffing.



There is a great deal of finese to buffing and not all areas can be expressed or dealt with as it would take lots of typing and then reading.



Hope that helps some,

Anthony
 
Anthony Orosco said:
There is a great deal of finese to buffing and not all areas can be expressed or dealt with as it would take lots of typing and then reading.
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thats why i just sat back and watched the master at work.:xyxthumbs
 
Anthony Orosco said:
Wool pads naturally run cooler than foam. So there is nothing special about wool pads, other than the blend type.



I run wool pads at about 1800 rpm's and even moving at a slow rate there is very little panel heat up. There is very little need for wool on modern paints, at least as far as in non-correction matters. Most of the time a finishing pad and something like IP, FP is all you need.



Dusting can be a problem and if this is the case for your expereince then try not to buff until dry but rather "wet buff". In other words buff the product just until it begins to dry out. This requires you to use less product and buff smaller sections.



It seems that winters drier weather can also aide in more dusting. In the high humidity of South Texas I don't seem to get as much dusting as in winter but then again it could just be me:nixweiss



Swirls are mainly caused, not so much with speed, but with not working down to a fine enough polish/pad combo. In certain lighting a paint may look really nice after one pass with a polishing pad and say DACP. Then you take it out in the sun and WOW:shocked .....where did all those swirls come from?! Take the extra time to go to a finer polish and pad and then buff again. If needed finish off with the PC or Cyclo and/or use a glaze to hide any remaining marks.



If slinging is a probelm then instead of laying down a bead of product try placing a nickel size amount of product then place the buffer on top of it and begin buffing.



There is a great deal of finese to buffing and not all areas can be expressed or dealt with as it would take lots of typing and then reading.



Hope that helps some,

Anthony
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Anthony, that is awesome! I learned a few things from there too. For one, I didn't know wool pads created less heat than foam. My thinking was, wool pads increase the cutting ability of a compound. Then like you, I see alot of people say they run the rotary faster with a wool so I would've thought that they created more heat, guess not!



Another thing is about the splatter technique. Nickel size product on the panel then lay the pad flat and begin buffing. Thanks Anthony:xyxthumbs AR
 
I used my rotary for the first time last week. It was quite a different feel than the Cyclo or a PC. I used a product called "GLARE". I was a little confused, as the polishing pad sucked up all the product. Then, I noticed, when I would run over some rubber or a seam, the pad would discharge product. It was shiny as he11, but I wasn't sure if I was putting enough product onto the paint. I thought about spurring my pad, but it said only to spur a dry pad. ??? Anybody care to answer?? Overall, I liked using it, and for what I paid for it (it's a Metabo), I figured that I will become VERY profficient at rotary use!
 
Airborne Ranger said:
Anthony, that is awesome! I learned a few things from there too. For one, I didn't know wool pads created less heat than foam. My thinking was, wool pads increase the cutting ability of a compound. Then like you, I see alot of people say they run the rotary faster with a wool so I would've thought that they created more heat, guess not!



Another thing is about the splatter technique. Nickel size product on the panel then lay the pad flat and begin buffing. Thanks Anthony:xyxthumbs AR
Click to expand...



AR,



Glad I could help.....and I am puzzled as to why I was not informed on your post when it was first posted, I would of surely commented then:nixweiss



TDMAN -



It is best to spur wool pads when dry as the product will be removed much easier from the pad. One shouldn't wash their wool pads.



Foam pads, for me at least, are never spurred but rather I rinse them out or wash them out after and during use.



As for the "Glare" product, I have never used it BUT you may want to make sure it can be applied with a rotary. My generla rules for rotary work is that I do all my leveling and polishing with a rotary but my final waxes/sealants are always finished by hand.



The use of Glare with the rotary may be causing the Glare to "flash off", again I am only guessing as I have never used it.



Hope that helps,

Anthony
 
Anthony Orosco said:
Foam pads, for me at least, are never spurred but rather I rinse them out or wash them out after and during use.
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Same here generally, but I will sometimes "spur" the pads with a stiff toothbrush if they get too loaded with product and I don't want to wash them at that moment. FWIW that's about the time I usually think "I probably used too much product" :o
 
Wow, this is a nice thread for rotary rookies like myself. I gave it my first go this weekend using a Chicago Electric 7" variable speed rotary. It did an awesome job, but the pads didn't hold up very well. This was partially due to the quality of pad, but also, I was using the wrong technique as well. I have massive swirls on my car so I opted to use Meguiars Fine Cut #2 and a foam pad. I could only find Turtle Wax brand polishing pads so that's what I used. I destroyed two of them, only finishing half of my car. Instead of the "wet buff" technique, I tried to buff until the product was gone. Bad idea. I kept getting caked product on the panels and it was pissing me off. But after reading some posts here, I see what the mistakes I made were. But for being my first time, I feel I did a damn good job on the part of my car that got done, it looks like a brand new paint job. I love it!



I got my rotary on Saturday for $29 at Harbor Freight. I ordered my PC 7424 sunday night from top of the line, I figure it would be better on the less agressive jobs and the more frequent one's too.



Does anyone ever use terry cloth bonnets on a rotary or DA? I'm kinda thinking that I'm gonna use the foam pads for cutting, swirl removing, etc, terry for applying polish/wax, and wool for final buffing. I am totally new to foam pads, on my last RO I only used terry and wool for the same applications as mentioned above. The wool made my Civic shine like the sun, I always finished with a wool pad and QD, worked like a charm.
 
Hey rfk,



I have never used terry on a rotary only because Ibelieve it would swirl bad.



When you say use "wool" for final buffing whattype of wool pads? Personally I would only use real lambskin wool pads.



Great to hear you have had a measure of success!



Anthony
 
Burlyq, I can honestly say as a new comer that your responses help me out a lot especially in learning new things about my industry that I had no idea about. Thanks!



Quick question Milwaukee "One Speed" Heavy high speed buffer or porter cables adjustable lighter weight high speed buffer? Whatâ€â„¢s your favorite high speed buffer? Thanks
 
5STARDETAILING said:
Quick question Milwaukee "One Speed" Heavy high speed buffer or porter cables adjustable lighter weight high speed buffer? Whatâ€â„¢s your favorite high speed buffer? Thanks
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I used that Milwaukee back in the day and I would *absolutely* choose another rotary, one with adjustable speed.



I got a Makita, but the PC, DeWalt, or a Milwaukee with a speed control are all popular choices. The Milwaukees are a bit heavy for me (and I'm in shape).
 
theveed said:
thanks for the reply... i understand that more practicing is required, i was hoping for some tips as to how my practices can be more effective... some tips maybe?



as for the last question, what i meant was... on average, how many seconds (or fraction) do you (rotary users) stay on a certain spot... like how fast do you move the buffer around...



again, tahnks... :)
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A few things that contribute to buffer hop...



1) You don't have a barrier of product between the buffer pad and paint. When you hit dry patches, it causes the machine to hop (and this can also create buffer swirls)



2) You are steering the rotary with your arms. Use your upper body/torsoe to steer. When you upset the balance of the machine you'll get a hopping sensation.



I would practice this at the lowest speed setting until you have a feel for it. If you use foam pads, and keep the pad moving, you're not going to 'burn' the paint. You may marr it, swirl it, or create holograms..... Check your work in the sun to see how you are doing.
 
Anthony Orosco said:
Dusting can be a problem and if this is the case for your expereince then try not to buff until dry but rather "wet buff". In other words buff the product just until it begins to dry out. This requires you to use less product and buff smaller sections.
Click to expand...



what do you guys do to maintain a "wet buff" without using oodles of product? Especially when I'm using the Megs Compound Power Cleaner - M84 and to a lesser degree Megs Quick Detailer - M66.

I find that if I only work the product until just before it dries out, I'm forever reaching for the bottle to add more product to the pad.

I have found that if I use a couple of spray of QD to lub the pad, then I can get a bit more mileage before I have to reach for the bottle..



Btw... does anyone use a wool pad for the final buff?? to remove the LSP? If not.. what are the alternatives to doing it by hand? I would like a more glossy deeper look..





Cheers..
 
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