should I buy a rotary
- Thread starter Taubs
- Start date
SpoiledMan
New member
If you're only taking care of your own car and this is the problem you face, I'd get 4" pads and a BP. The smaller pad on the PC will take care of many defects that a rotary could and there isn't a learning curve.
Accumulator
Well-known member
I too would recommend 4" pads with the right product (perhaps Hi-Temp EC 0r HC mixed with something) before you spend the bucks for a rotary. Much as I like the Cyclo, it's a little pricey too and I wonder if you can do the job with just a different backing plate/pad combo. I'd at least try that first.
If you just don't *like* the PC (in addition to finding it too gentle), then yeah, I'd look into a Cyclo. I think that the rotary would sit on the shelf most of the time whereas the Cyclo would get used a lot, at least that's the way it is with me.
If you just don't *like* the PC (in addition to finding it too gentle), then yeah, I'd look into a Cyclo. I think that the rotary would sit on the shelf most of the time whereas the Cyclo would get used a lot, at least that's the way it is with me.
What is the difference between a cyclo and a rotary? Is the speed much slower? I understand that it consists of two pads, one clockwise and one anti-clockwise, but fail to understand why it is less prone to burn the paint, ie has a shorter learning curve..
Many thanks for the excellent guidance as usual
Many thanks for the excellent guidance as usual
Junebug
JAFO
Just my 2 cents, a rotary will correct problems that a PC will not, that is the universal opinion I've heard on several forums and talking to a few body shop guys. I don't see how a Cyclo could make that same claim. Granted, there is a learning curve and all, but there is a video that Meguairs sells, and you can probably find a body shop that would be willing to let you practice on some scrap hoods/fenders. I have a PC, and will be getting a Makita rotary as soon as I pay off all the other stuff I bought for detailing. I plan to do the body shop route when I get it. I'm fortunite that the shop's owner is a family friend and neighbor of 40+ years and he taught auto body repair at the high school till he retired. I'm trying to have a little detail biz on the side, not full time. If you're just doing your car and a maybe a couple for the close family - then buying a rotary may not pay, but then the price of a Cyclo is more and you have to buy 2 pads instead of 1 to use.
Taubs said:What is the difference between a cyclo and a rotary? Is the speed much slower? I understand that it consists of two pads, one clockwise and one anti-clockwise, but fail to understand why it is less prone to burn the paint, ie has a shorter learning curve..
Many thanks for the excellent guidance as usual
The Cyclo pads are random orbiting where as the rotary just turns at a high rate of speed in one direction.
so the cyclo is a PC, with a smaller BP surface, two heads as opposed to one . . . and the heads spin the same direction or opposite one another ? (sorry to thread jack..)
i just bought a Hitachi Rotary . . . little lighter than the dewalt and Makita, and I had a very good initial expierience with it. I did have one slight problem (see thread: Rotary Disaster . . Almost) with a particular paint that was not preped, painted and cured properly . . but on the parts of the vechile that were OEM paint I saw results that were better without arguement than the finish my PC could prodouce, and it took half the time. . . . Cyclos are also significanlty more expensive, and heavy.
Some pros will tell you thats a good thing, and a cyclo will undoubtly produce better results than a pc (dependant on the skill of the user, and effectiveness of products) - way to many varibles . . . - and will come close if not equal to a rotary.
cheap soloution = get a small BP and 4 inch pads for your PC, and work your product correctly (you now have half a cyclo). That method will remove defects, as many of us have agreed in the above posts . .
expensive, long term soloution - buy a rotary, practice on junk panals, get the feel for it (could take days, or in my case will take years . . ) and watch people who know how to use one actually use it . . .
good luck . . .
i just bought a Hitachi Rotary . . . little lighter than the dewalt and Makita, and I had a very good initial expierience with it. I did have one slight problem (see thread: Rotary Disaster . . Almost) with a particular paint that was not preped, painted and cured properly . . but on the parts of the vechile that were OEM paint I saw results that were better without arguement than the finish my PC could prodouce, and it took half the time. . . . Cyclos are also significanlty more expensive, and heavy.
Some pros will tell you thats a good thing, and a cyclo will undoubtly produce better results than a pc (dependant on the skill of the user, and effectiveness of products) - way to many varibles . . . - and will come close if not equal to a rotary.
cheap soloution = get a small BP and 4 inch pads for your PC, and work your product correctly (you now have half a cyclo). That method will remove defects, as many of us have agreed in the above posts . .
expensive, long term soloution - buy a rotary, practice on junk panals, get the feel for it (could take days, or in my case will take years . . ) and watch people who know how to use one actually use it . . .
good luck . . .
GearHead_1
Long Time Member
Taubs said:
Yes
Taubs said:
Yes, assuming you learn to properly use the tool and understand that it can damage your finish if not used correctly. It isn't rocket science and it does have a manageable learning curve.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Yeah, if I can get by with the Cyclo I use it instead of the rotary but IMO when you need/want a rotary then only a rotary will do. The Cyclo is more like a better version of the PC. Could be enough though..the only stuff I can't get out on our MPV is so deep that I won't take it out period. I simply don't need the rotary on that paint (let alone the lacquer on my Jag), I can do anything that needs doing with the PC/Cyclo. I only got the rotary because the clear on the Audis is so hard.
I dunno if you really *have* to even practice on junk panels with the rotary...it's not all *that* hard to avoid doing damage if you approach things with the proper mindset; I hadn't used one in ~20 years (since the days of single stage and wool pads) but I got my Makita out of the box and took it straight to my beloved S8, no problem. Now truly *mastering* the rotary is another matter, but IMO you don't need to truly master it; having to do the final polish with a PC/Cyclo isn't the end of the world and I'd bet that *most* people do that anyhow if they want to be completely hologram-free (not all, but most...even Mike Phillips, who's been using a rotary since forever).
But one thing does come to mind...unless you're gonna truly *keep* a finish marring free, I'd question the need for the added perfection that the rotary brings to the table. IMO most people will instill flaws like wash-induced marring again anyhow, to the point that after a month or two they'd be right back to where they'd be if they'd only done the correction possible with a PC/Cyclo. If you polish more than once a year or so, I'd be very careful about upping the aggressiveness of that polishing.
I dunno if you really *have* to even practice on junk panels with the rotary...it's not all *that* hard to avoid doing damage if you approach things with the proper mindset; I hadn't used one in ~20 years (since the days of single stage and wool pads) but I got my Makita out of the box and took it straight to my beloved S8, no problem. Now truly *mastering* the rotary is another matter, but IMO you don't need to truly master it; having to do the final polish with a PC/Cyclo isn't the end of the world and I'd bet that *most* people do that anyhow if they want to be completely hologram-free (not all, but most...even Mike Phillips, who's been using a rotary since forever).
But one thing does come to mind...unless you're gonna truly *keep* a finish marring free, I'd question the need for the added perfection that the rotary brings to the table. IMO most people will instill flaws like wash-induced marring again anyhow, to the point that after a month or two they'd be right back to where they'd be if they'd only done the correction possible with a PC/Cyclo. If you polish more than once a year or so, I'd be very careful about upping the aggressiveness of that polishing.
you cant really argue here . . . accumulators right - he hs 50x the ammount of expierience i do at detailing, or even people like scottwax - and these guys bust the PC and the cyclo
flip side of the coin..... look at 90% of bodyshops and you will find a makita or dewalt rotary pollisher in there . . . usually with a wool pad, and those guys can use that thing like its safer than a "waxmaster" orbital polisher at kragen or pepboys.
i bought one because i want to try taking really bad stuff out of cars that even if i screw up, it will still be worth more . .
flip side of the coin..... look at 90% of bodyshops and you will find a makita or dewalt rotary pollisher in there . . . usually with a wool pad, and those guys can use that thing like its safer than a "waxmaster" orbital polisher at kragen or pepboys.
i bought one because i want to try taking really bad stuff out of cars that even if i screw up, it will still be worth more . .