what are your thoughts on the future of the DA?

[SVR]

I would love to see that; or at the very least I wish the price for PTGs that can read on composite and plastic substrates would come down to a more reasonable level.

how about a DA and a rotary both with LCD screen on the head or in the middle of the machine telling the user how much paint is being removed and the temperature of the panel whilst performing the correction

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

how about a DA and a rotary both with LCD screen on the head or in the middle of the machine telling the user how much paint is being removed and the temperature of the panel whilst performing the correction

I can't justify spending $10K on a tool like that.... but what the heck, it sounds cool.

 

[imported_ww2717]

All I know is that I got my $700 put aside for a rupes big foot da.

 

[gmblack3]

If that comes to pass, *I* would hope that people are careful about how much clear they take off



I know I'm a broken record/Chicken Little about this, but ten years from now I really do expect to see all kinds of cc failure from overpolishing. It's not all that uncommon in my area already.

Good point, the ability to remove lots of paint quickly and effortlessly will not always be a good thing. Maybe every polisher sold should come with a paint thickness gauge.

Some points to consider:



1. I have used my advanced 200 PTG on many composite/plastic/non-metal panels which included the following: over 100 C5/C6 corvettes, countless front/rear plastic bumper covers and many front BMW plastic fenders.



2. The advanced 200 PTG tells me that at least 60% of the total thickness is clear coat. If the total thickness is 5 mil, you have 3 mil of clear coat.



3. I have to do what I consider excessive defect removal to get a 0.10 mil reduction in clear coat. If you want to remove 0.30 mil or more of clear coat, break out the 1500 sanding discs, air sander and use it without a interface pad.



4. So if I remove 0.10 of clear coat on a panel with 3.0 mil of CC, I have removed 3% of the CC. Again I have to remove severe defects to get to this level.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

1. I have used my advanced 200 PTG on many composite/plastic/non-metal panels which included the following: over 100 C5/C6 corvettes, countless front/rear plastic bumper covers and many front BMW plastic fenders.



2. The advanced 200 PTG tells me that at least 60% of the total thickness is clear coat. If the total thickness is 5 mil, you have 3 mil of clear coat.



3. I have to do what I consider excessive defect removal to get a 0.10 mil reduction in clear coat. If you want to remove 0.30 mil or more of clear coat, break out the 1500 sanding discs, air sander and use it without a interface pad.



4. So if I remove 0.10 of clear coat on a panel with 3.0 mil of CC, I have removed 3% of the CC. Again I have to remove severe defects to get to this level.

Bryan, you make some interesting points, and what you're saying makes good sense, but I'm curious: in the case of C5/C6 Corvettes we all know they have very hard clear coat, so having to get pretty aggressive to remove a ton of material, does that same thing remain true on cars with super soft clear like a Jet Black BMW or a Honda?

 

[gmblack3]

Bryan, you make some interesting points, and what you're saying makes good sense, but I'm curious: in the case of C5/C6 Corvettes we all know they have very hard clear coat, so having to get pretty aggressive to remove a ton of material, does that same thing remain true on cars with super soft clear like a Jet Black BMW or a Honda?

If the defects are the same depth on a vette and a honda, you should be removing the same amount of clear coat to remove the defects. On softer clears one would use less agressive methods, but in the end removing the same amount of clear.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

If the defects are the same depth on a vette and a honda, you should be removing the same amount of clear coat to remove the defects. On softer clears one would use less agressive methods, but in the end removing the same amount of clear.

Right... but then we're back (I think) to the point Accumulator was getting at: people who aren't necessarily aware of the difference between soft and hard paint, and/or don't understand that large-stroke DAs remove material much faster than a comparable short-stroke DA when used on soft paint, have a much greater chance of removing more paint than necessary before realizing they've done anything wrong.

 

[SVR]

I doubt a machine would cost $10K to have those features. thickness gauges range from $150 for some decent ones from ebay to $2K

doubt that we'll see that come into reality soon but PTGs are getting cheaper these days

 

[gmblack3]

Right... but then we're back (I think) to the point Accumulator was getting at: people who aren't necessarily aware of the difference between soft and hard paint, and/or don't understand that large-stroke DAs remove material much faster than a comparable short-stroke DA when used on soft paint, have a much greater chance of removing more paint than necessary before realizing they've done anything wrong.

If they have a PTG and monitor the amount of clear they are removing, then they should be safe. If they dont have a PTG and decide they can remove clear without one, damaging or removing too much clear, then that is unfortunate and better left to a pro. This is true with anything in life.

 

[Accumulator]

Oh yeah, I'm all for putting "the power" on the table, I just know what happens every single time in every single area of human endeavor- people who should keep their mitts off will jump in the deep end and then whine about the consequences, or worse yet, those consequences will bite others.

 

[imported_mohebmhanna]

Is any one know what is the price tag would be for Rupes Big Foot and when it will hit the US market?

From my standpoint I couldn't figure out what the differences would be between the Rupes Big Foot and Flex XC 3401 Dual Action Polisher-Any ideas?

 

[DDN79]

Anyone else running the Mirka CEROS? Small, light and quiet! Might be quite a initial investment (with power inverter) to get it up and running, but if it works just as good if not better then what is currently out on the market, then why not give it a try?