Crazy newbie rotary question:

L

ljbrandt

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Won't beat around the bush - I'm cheap.

I want to use duragloss 501/601 sealant/polish to clean up my car because it has mild abrasives and good cleaners..and it's not pricey.

I've pretty much decided against applying this product by hand, but I don't want to spend too much for a tool - not looking to spend more than 30-40 bucks.

I've zeroed in on the harbor freight 7" rotary polisher for $30 (closer to $40 with pad and tax). I like the fact that it's cheap and more powerful than a 6" random orbit buffer (B&D WD900 comes to mind) and I believe I could get much better results. I'm also interested to see how this thing would do taking off the burnt on crud on the glass top stove :-0

My question to you rotary gurus is...if I use this tool in conjunction with a HF blue or even black pads and the duragloss polish, is there anyway I could still mess up the paint (without being completely moronic)? Am I right in assuming I'd get better cleaning and shine using the rotary vs hand application?

Love to hear your thoughts before I (possibly) destroy my finish :-)
 
IF you can accept the halograms go for what you can afford.
 
Is you car light coloured or dark?

There will be some holograms depending on your polishing process.

you may try hand polish after polishing with a rotatory to reduce the holograms.

Best of Luck.
 
Why don't you spend another $10 and get the DA? This is one of the kind of threads that always ends badly like the ones that start "I was trying to fix a scratch..."
 
njain2686 said:
Is you car light coloured or dark?

There will be some holograms depending on your polishing process.

you may try hand polish after polishing with a rotatory to reduce the holograms.

Best of Luck.
Click to expand...

Car is light colored.

So the consensus is I'd most likely induce holograms even by using a finishing pad? And I don't think the Duragloss 501 has very much cut.
 
ljbrandt said:
Of course..........not
Click to expand...

Then .... DEFINITELY spend a few extra bucks and get the orbital, otherwise as mentioned your next post will asking how to repair a paint burn.
 
You can heat up the paint fast if your not careful. I have both DA and rotary and I feel safe with the DA. I still try to practice with the rotary but it's very difficult to finish. I'm not saying it's impossible just more difficult. A rotary can work faster but to finish with a polish with no holograms is hard.

My coworker as a white 4 runner and it was detail with a rotary. His car was buff a long time ago and you can still see the holograms. With the right lighting you can see holograms even on light colors.

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
 
To paraphrase "Young Frankenstein"...PUT THE ROTARY BACK!

There is a learning curve to using a rotary, on BC/CC paint a BIG curve. If you do want to go rotary, pick up some junked hoods or such from a body shop/junk yard and use them as a learning tool.

As other have stated, spend the extra $ and get a DA.

Just my 2¢.

Bill
 
Well - I think I'll take your advice guys.

In all honesty, I was just looking for something to spread the duragloss 601/501 sealant faster than by hand and work into the paint a little better than a crappy traditional rendom orbit buffer. I was hoping since the duragloss product is not really a true abrasive polish, I could have gotten away with a cheap rotary with a finishing pad - but it looks like that still won't work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3t_mjOu_90


I watched this youtube video of a guy in Malaysia showing proper technique and saying "don't be scared, you can do it" and my confidence was all boosted...now, not so much. I guess I might just forgo a machine altogether and just do the duragloss by hand.
 
If you want to be safe(st) with a rotary, start with a small, soft pad. Something more like 4-5" rather than 6-7", and something soft like a blue or black (wax or glaze) pad. Wear some ear protection those cheap tools are really loud. I got one of those cheap ($14 or something with coupon) HF angle grinders for a quick and dirty (non-automotive) job and it was ear-splittingly loud.
 
I use my rotary for levelling or correcting paint and from aggressive cutting all the way down to jewelling. HOWEVER, the key word i used is levelling i.e. cutting down paint. Period. Once you begin to move down the scale of aggression you need to be comfortable with the right pads, products and hand skills to refine paint...defect free.

If you are looking to brighten up your paint without cutting it down much (or at all) i would strongly...and i say strongly suggest a RO DA. It sounds like you have reached that conclusion from our advice but i clearly understand your question here. A lot think that rotary = quicker/better results. It is but not without refined skills and a lot of practice and experience. Some of my experience early on was peppered with poor results until i understood why they happened. A RO DA might save you some money and frustration in the long run. There is the chance that after using a rotary you find yourself having to correct what you did with it with either additional time going back over it or the cost of another product or pad to fix holo's, haze, etc. Plus i am sure with the right products, a DA will take care of that stove top as well.

Just trying to save you the pain of learning the hard way like i did! There may come a time when you want to expand your capabilities and a rotary may be the right tool for you. I would suggest to wait for that comfort level to arrive.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
If you want to be safe(st) with a rotary, start with a small, soft pad. Something more like 4-5" rather than 6-7", and something soft like a blue or black (wax or glaze) pad. Wear some ear protection those cheap tools are really loud. I got one of those cheap ($14 or something with coupon) HF angle grinders for a quick and dirty (non-automotive) job and it was ear-splittingly loud.
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Agreed and on a low setting.
 
One thing to bear in mind with cheaper rotary units is they tend to come with very hard backing plates. Whilst these have their place, most of the time polishing is significantly easier by upgrading to a better backing plate eg 3M or GlossIt. The downside of a decent backing plate is the overall cost of the polisher and backing plate will now be higher than the cheap DA.

However, a rotary can be a great tool to learn how to use, it is not a 'plug and play' device but with some practice it can yield very good results
 
Yeah, maybe you can wait a few weeks and save up some money or something to get a DA and better polish. These tools will last and you're eliminating the risk of mistakes with a tool you've never used. Plus, most professionals are not even using rotary anymore. DAs have improved sooooo much the past few years.
 
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