Just want to mention.
When you go down in the size of the rotary polisher you lower the effectiveness from it very much. Which the tool makers makes up with a higher rotation.
A DA polisher is the other way around at least when they match the counter weight for it to be effective.
What this says to me is with a direct driven DA polisher in smaller size than 3" will from a manufacturing stand of point being almost impossible to do. Or you will get a polisher with a very low effectiveness from it. But with a polisher like the Flex Pixie in rotary mode and 1" it's a pretty safe polisher to use on the lower speed settings. And you get the direct driven polisher. Then this is with either polisher in these small sizes is that interior parts is most often even thinner and harder to finish than paints. Also there are polisher kits which you attach like the tube to a bigger rotary polisher. And have like a very small hose/tube where you can attach different polishing attachments on the other end and it looks like a Dremel attachment if that makes sense.
What I'm trying to say is that a rotary polisher in the 1" or 2" with the pads and polishes available today is pretty safe to use like a DA polisher would be as well. Cause of the the higher rpm that rotary needs in the smaller sizes. What's the bigger risk and that has not to be which polisher you use of them but rather the places that you are polishing.
And if you go at interior parts or small crevices and such there is often an unknown thickness of what you are polishing and often more than not a very thin surface. So be prepared before polishing these to replace them or repaint if possible if you take any kind of polisher on it.
Maybe find a polisher with the 3mm throw which usually is pretty easy to maintain pad rotation and it's also much safer and less aggressive than rotary mode or the 12mm throw when polishing. The Pixie has a 2" 3mm but think it's for the sanding discs that you tape on but can be wrong and someone could chime in on it.
The Rupes Nano has a 3mm throw with the velcro backing plate on it. I think that with a 3mm throw and smaller size than 2" it's the closest you will get to how a direct driven DA polisher in that size would work.
But with lower speeds don't put off the rotary polisher in these small sizes as they needs to be having a lot of rpm that they usually don't has to be scary to use like a high speed rotary polisher on the high speed settings can be (with lower speed setting than 1000rpm these rotaries has gotten pretty safe to use these days than the 2500-3000rpm that some used before)
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