Who still uses a rotary?

D

DRT

New member
I currently have a da and a rotary. I just detail on the side, not as my main job and have recently been throwing around the idea of selling my rotary. It just seems that I never reach for it anymore with all the product advances as of late and I am able to pretty much tackle anything with my da. I was just curious to see how many of you still use your rotary on a regular basis vs. just using your da.
 
DA's have their place as do rotary buffers.

I have two rotary buffers and three DA's.

The rotary is for the tough stuff, for boat gel coat, real paint leveling, etc,etc.

The DA's are for fine polishing/burnishing, however, I just don't see the sense in taking hours to a job using a DA only, when I can knock the tough stuff down with the rotary and come back with the DA.

Saves hours and hours of labor.

Labor is the biggest expensive of detailing. Cut it down, and you make more money.
 
We use rotary polishers just about every day. The D.A.'s are great for a lot of uses, but full paint corrections cut and finish better with a rotary.
 
Very good points and feedback. Maybe in my case I just don't have enough experience using a rotary to be as comfortable with it as you guys do who use them on a regular basis. Just a hypothetical...if you had to compound and polish the hood of a car, on average how much time would be saved using a rotary vs a da if all the variables were the same concerning paint type, damage, etc?
 
What pads are you guys using for the rotary?



Wool or something else for cutting. I've also read somewhere that some are using foam on the rotary for finishing.
 
Still have and love the rotary. Actually have four of them. Makita 9227, 1 inch Dynabrade pneumatic, A Festool Shinex and Dynabrade Lightweight 7 speed Electric with 900 to 2500 rpm



Correcting sometimes is faster with a DA/RO but on rare occasions, the rotary is faster

Depends on what each vehicle's paint prefers. Have done a few 2012 and 2013 Ferrari's and Lamborghini's that love the rotary



Two reasons why I love the rotary



Orange peel reduction by 10 to 50% (anything over that and I'll sand it)

Jewelling - regardless of what all DA's including Rupes can do, nothing quite matches the enjoyment had and quality finish that can be achieved by Jewelling with a rotary before finishing with an RO at very low speed



the shearing action really glasses out the paint adding depth but most of all clarity and colour shade improvement, especially with the new silk pads and 110 and 120 pores per inch foams from the UK, made from German foam



for most jobs the rotary doesn't come out but it's so great to keep it on hand just in case

I never finish with a rotary, that's just stupid

Have got fifteen years of rotary buffing behind me and the speeds I use are getting slower (600 to 900rpm 98% of the time)
 
With a Rupes 21 now, I rarely need to use my rotary. I stlll find that Audi paint often needs a rotary for the initial cutting step.
 
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