Who learned on a rotary? DA?

J

Justin at Final Inspection

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A good friend of mine and I were having this discussion just the other day. He and both started off about 10-12 yrs ago learning to buff and polish with a rotary. I feel this was back when the porter cable was a little less known possibly. I learned working in a body shop sanding and buffing cars as they came out of the booth and then detailing them afterwards. We were discussing about how it seems a lot more people are afraid to use a rotary now a days due to the horror stories out there. Up until 2011 I was still using my Makita rotary before I purchased my DA. I will say that I use my DA on 90% of my details now mainly for the same reasons most prefer them. But I still like to keep my rotary skills sharp as when used properly this is a very handy tool.

So lets here it. Who here learned on a rotary or a DA? Is the rotary going by the waste side as a lost art? Again this is just what he and I were discussing the other day.
 
I did the same, well the same time anyway. I never worked in a body shop, but when I bought my first it was a rotary. I really only used the PC when I got it to apply wax.
I think you are right, the rotary can do the work and if you learn how to use it, it can be very safe, but the new DA systems are making great strides in correction.

HUMP
 
I learned on a rotary, it wasn't the best rotary buffer in the world but I learned on a rotary, I still use my rotary buffer only when I wet sand and then I follow up with my da
 
Rotary is still the work horse of detailing when you need the hard jobs done there is know better way.Boat detailing its all rotary rv 90% car 80% for me anyway and mine are all Makita I have 4 of them and 1 porter cable .
 
The first few cars I buffed out back in the body shop days were with an air rotary. I didn't work in that industry long enough to really get through the learning curve. 20 some years later I purchased a Cyclo and really began learning paint correction skills on that.

I bought my Makita rotary about a year in and used that exclusively until buying my first Flex 3401. Since then, microfiber pads hit the market and that's where I'm at now.

My old Makita still see's the light of day every now and then though.
 
I started using a rotary back in 1968....my sophomore year in high school. Rotary's were all we had back then and I did some great work. There's a learning curve with a rotary and they're not the evil nemesis lurking in the shadows.

Today's rotaries are a much refined tool with variable speeds, soft starts, and much lighter weight. I still have my old workhorse from back in the day and believe it or not it still works.....like me!

 
tuscarora dave said:
The first few cars I buffed out back in the body shop days were with an air rotary. I didn't work in that industry long enough to really get through the learning curve. 20 some years later I purchased a Cyclo and really began learning paint correction skills on that.


I bought my Makita rotary about a year in and used that exclusively until buying my first Flex 3401. Since then, microfiber pads hit the market and that's where I'm at now.

My old Makita still see's the light of day every now and then though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I purchased my Makita about 10-11 yrs ago.


master detailer said:
Rotary is still the work horse of detailing when you need the hard jobs done there is know better way.Boat detailing its all rotary rv 90% car 80% for me anyway and mine are all Makita I have 4 of them and 1 porter cable .
Click to expand...

Very well put. I love my Makita as it hasn't failed me yet!

Skimmer0220 said:
I learned on a rotary, it wasn't the best rotary buffer in the world but I learned on a rotary, I still use my rotary buffer only when I wet sand and then I follow up with my da
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I use mine for too. I am in process of wet sanding and buffing out my 06 gto. Forgot how nice it can be to use my Makita with the right pad/compound combo.


HUMP DIESEL said:
I did the same, well the same time anyway. I never worked in a body shop, but when I bought my first it was a rotary. I really only used the PC when I got it to apply wax.
I think you are right, the rotary can do the work and if you learn how to use it, it can be very safe, but the new DA systems are making great strides in correction.

HUMP
Click to expand...


That's what my friend and I were saying too. Especially with the new Rupes DA on the market and micro pads, those 2 tools right there are a game changer.

Keep the responses coming!!!
 
Learned on a rotary when I was 15. Those were the body shop days. Haven't touched another since 2006.
 
all this talk about makita makes me wish I invested in a nice rotary but at the time I was on the finishing end of painting my car and just didn't have the cash to buy a $200 buffer
 
Skimmer0220 said:
all this talk about makita makes me wish I invested in a nice rotary but at the time I was on the finishing end of painting my car and just didn't have the cash to buy a $200 buffer
Click to expand...

Yeah when I bought mine, I was working at the body shop and bought it from the Cornwell tool guy because all of the body shop techs were sick of me using there's. LOL. It was an investment that paid for itself ten fold in the next 6 months.
 
I bought my first rotary in either 1987 or 1998, sitll have it today. Show it in all my classes as it shows the signs of wear marks from a guy that's buffed out hundredes possibly thousands of cars with it...



My personal RB for over a decade now has been my trusty, dusty Makita, Note how the sand-cast, textured finish on the aluminum head of my Makita Rotary Buffer has been worn smooth after years of buffing. At the end of the day I would usually be bleeding in two places on my hand where it rubbed mostly because I was to dumb or lazy to wear a band-aid, or put some tape on my finger or knuckle where it rubbed.

600_mediumshotafter15yearsofbuffing.jpg


600_closeupafter15yearsofbuffing.jpg




I think the last time I used it before the gears finally gave up was on the set of a TV show while prepping a car for the show. That story is somewhere on this forum....



:)
 
Yes, rotary for me.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I bought my first rotary in either 1987 or 1998, sitll have it today. Show it in all my classes as it shows the signs of wear marks from a guy that's buffed out hundredes possibly thousands of cars with it...



My personal RB for over a decade now has been my trusty, dusty Makita, Note how the sand-cast, textured finish on the aluminum head of my Makita Rotary Buffer has been worn smooth after years of buffing. At the end of the day I would usually be bleeding in two places on my hand where it rubbed mostly because I was to dumb or lazy to wear a band-aid, or put some tape on my finger or knuckle where it rubbed.

600_mediumshotafter15yearsofbuffing.jpg


600_closeupafter15yearsofbuffing.jpg




I think the last time I used it before the gears finally gave up was on the set of a TV show while prepping a car for the show. That story is somewhere on this forum....



:)
Click to expand...


Cool. Yeah mine is about 12 yrs old now and the gears are loud to the point I wear ear plugs when using it. LOL
 
I learned, and am still learning on a PC7424XP, mostly using microfiber pads.
 
Learned with the older version makita with the handle on the side, then bought the newer version makita when that came out! I also own porter cable 7424 and bigfoot rupes which all 3 of them are awesome machines that serve there purpose for all different kind of jobs! After attending the show last weekend thinking about buying the flex rotary feels alot lighter then the old makita!
 
I too started with a rotary.

Like BobbyG said above; single speed, wool pads, weighed about the same as a baby elephant.

Due to time passages (etc.) I haven't used a "wheel" in probably 30-35 years. DA's are just so much more (human) body friendly when ya get older.

One thing too, with the change in paint formulas (clear-coat), it NOW just makes sense (to me) to grab a DA and not even consider a rotary.

Bill
 
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