why are beginners afraid of High speed polishers?

Dans Detailing

Dans Detailing

Dan's Detailing
I don't get it. To get the absoulte best results in a reasonable amount of time, an 8" high speed velco backed high speed buffer/polisher is the way to go. I personally prefer the Makita variable speed polisher myself. Its lightweight and has a nice speed rampup/ramp down feature.

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The speed is adjustable and variable so I don;t see the fear for beginners to start out with the proper equipment.
 
I've just personally heard that beginners can do a lot of damage with it. I think people (like myself) psych themselves out and never really try it.
 
DKKNE said:
I don't get it. To get the absoulte best results in a reasonable amount of time, an 8" high speed velco backed high speed buffer/polisher is the way to go. I personally prefer the Makita variable speed polisher myself. Its lightweight and has a nice speed rampup/ramp down feature.

lc431759rh.jpg


The speed is adjustable and variable so I don;t see the fear for beginners to start out with the proper equipment.
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My first and only experience with a high speed buffer was with a monstrosity that I think was made by DeWalt.
I should have been afraid of it!!:D
The vehicle I used it on was an old Chevy van that probably had never been washed, let alone waxed.
I found out in a hurry that it was a very fine line between shiny paint and no paint.:)
Those that do have the proper technique can do so much more and in such a short time that it is easy to see why it is the tool of choice for the professional.
Fortunately, my personal vehicles are such that there is no need for the rotary so I just stick with the PC.

Charles
 
DKKNE said:
I don't get it. To get the absoulte best results in a reasonable amount of time, an 8" high speed velco backed high speed buffer/polisher is the way to go. I personally prefer the Makita variable speed polisher myself. Its lightweight and has a nice speed rampup/ramp down feature.

lc431759rh.jpg


The speed is adjustable and variable so I don;t see the fear for beginners to start out with the proper equipment.
Click to expand...

Nightmare stories that you can burn threw the paint or cause even more swirls than you start with...I think is the biggest reason....For anyone that has never taken any buffer to a car, rotary or orbital its a scary situation... Another thing is the mystery of product and pad choice without some back ground knowledge you can do some damage to the clear even at low speeds.

DC is a great place to read about the pro's & con's of buffing with any machine and what product and pad choice you should be using, that only takes away the mystery of it....that's my take
 
Beemerboy said:
Nightmare stories that you can burn threw the paint or cause even more swirls than you start with...I think is the biggest reason....For anyone that has never taken any buffer to a car, rotary or orbital its a scary situation... Another thing is the mystery of product and pad choice without some back ground knowledge you can do some damage to the clear even at low speeds.

DC is a great place to read about the pro's & con's of buffing with any machine and what product and pad choice you should be using, that only takes away the mystery of it....that's my take
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its all about the proper knowledge. I would be happy to share my knowledge with everyone here who is local/semi-local.
 
DKKNE said:
its all about the proper knowledge. I would be happy to share my knowledge with everyone here who is local/semi-local.
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That is mighty nice of you...I would start with putting your location in your profile so that they can contact you if they are interested.

By the way where are you anway?
 
I'm not afraid of it. I'm not exactly a beginner either. ;) I don't use one because I haven't found the need to yet. I get fine results with my Porter Cable 7424. Until I run into issues that the PC can't handle, I think I'll stick with what works for me.
 
When I was a beginner, I was too ignorant to be afraid.
Now I know better, use it a few times/week, and am often afraid.
 
The scared part comes form its potential for damage. When I started getting really into detailing I did not know about the 7424. I just happened to be out one day at one of the stores and picked up the PC 7428 and have been using it ever since. It did take me a while to get use to, because of its weight and bulkyness.

I recently got a 7424 and I really like it, being able to hold the thing in one hand like a palm sander and not feel tired is great. But when I have got to do some serious correcting, I bust out the rotary.
 
Well I can tell you that after buffing all week every week with a high speed buffer, your arms , chest and back muscles get a good workout. In fact I got pretty "buff" ( no pun intended *hehehehe*) and it looks like I have worked out for years.
 
There ya go:) Its really nothign to be scared of, Keep the speeds down, start off with Foam pads only and keep moving.. simple as that. Build on those basic skills and you will become one awesome detailer!
 
hooked said:
It's a conspiracy of lies by the "Professional Detailers" to keep the masses from doing it themselves!!! ;)
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So where were those "conspirators" when I got into my mess. Noone said a word. They just let me make a complete mass of myself. (Yeah, I know that was bad, but it's the truth.:D)

Charles
 
Its a dangerous machine in untrained hands.. 1, You can burn the pain in no time. 2, you could be installing holograms that could take hours to repair. 3, You can reduce the amount of clear on the car leading to paint failure. 4, you gotta know how to hold it or it will scoot right off the car possible causing damage. Not to mention its now on the ground ON, jumping and spinning around. Theres many more reasons one would rather pick up a DA type machine rather than a rotary.

You are right though, it is easy to learn on if you have knowledge of how to polish paint.
 
DKKNE said:
There ya go:) Its really nothign to be scared of, Keep the speeds down, start off with Foam pads only and keep moving.. simple as that. Build on those basic skills and you will become one awesome detailer!
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My fiasco was with a wool pad. I'm not sure foam pads were even available back in the early to mid 80's.

Charles
 
I think it would be more of a self confidences problem than fear... the rotary is so non forgiving and with unexperienced hands very easily to lose control, Even with the knowledge I have, I have to think twice before grabbing such an aggressive machine.
 
I have seen the damage of what a rotary can do in the hands of someone who "thought" they knew what they were doing (not by my hands either), as this guy burnt the paint.

I am first starting to venture into it (thanks to the info I am picking up here), but being that this is done for my own pleasure, and some side money on occasion. There is no reason for me to get that proficient with it, I'm not realy in a rush and the upkeep isn't bad on my maintained car.

"J"
 
Okay...I've got a DeWalt buffer that I use for buffing paint jobs after I've wet-sanded. Thing is, I'm just getting into this whole 'detailing' thing and up til now, what little bit of waxing I've done, I've done by hand. Yes I'm horrible about waxing my cars...I wash them so much, but never spend that much effort on waxing. So, that's my goal, to be better at taking care of the paint...aside from just keeping it clean all of the time.

Anyway...to polish and wax my car, do I pretty much just work the buffer like I would if I was buffing a freshly wet-sanded paintjob? Light and easy...minimal pressure...and pretty much let the buffer do the work? Or is there a different trick to this?

I've only burned paint once on a small job, a while back and it was a plastic piece I had just painted/wet-sanded. Now I'm more cautious with plastic parts. :lmfao
 
TrueDetailer said:
Its a dangerous machine in untrained hands.. 1, You can burn the pain in no time. 2, you could be installing holograms that could take hours to repair. 3, You can reduce the amount of clear on the car leading to paint failure. 4, you gotta know how to hold it or it will scoot right off the car possible causing damage. Not to mention its now on the ground ON, jumping and spinning around. There's many more reasons one would rather pick up a DA type machine rather than a rotary.

You are right though, it is easy to learn on if you have knowledge of how to polish paint.
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For all the reasons True Detailer listed that is why people are afraid of the rotary and should be. Just check out new cars prepped by a moron at the dealer ship. Looks like they were washed with steel wool. Even so called "pros" leave swirls on the paint using a rotary. IMO the rotary is death to the paint in the wrong hands. The wrong hands being untrained hands. I am sure if shown the proper use of a rotary and plenty of practice time on scrap parts from the scrap yard I could become competent with one but I have no need. My vehicles never get any where near needing a rotary.
 
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