DA vs. Rotary

The Rotary is by far better for heavily swirled cars. in 2 hours you can Buff then polish. Then if you have the time and want to see amazing results... use a DA with a fine polish, je-wel the surface, then protect. what would have taken you a full day before was cut down to 4 hours. Practice as needed, and it'll come very easy to most anyone.
 
Excessive Detail said:
For those who have learned the rotary, how long did it take you to confident with it, also, does anyone know any links to rotary how to videos?
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took me 2 months to really feel like I knew what I was doing. The key is to stay level, keep moving, and not turn the speed up. If you become un level on the surface you end up adding more swirls and don't take out anything.
 
DS Detailer said:
The Rotary is by far better for heavily swirled cars. in 2 hours you can Buff then polish. Then if you have the time and want to see amazing results... use a DA with a fine polish, je-wel the surface, then protect. what would have taken you a full day before was cut down to 4 hours. Practice as needed, and it'll come very easy to most anyone.
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Agreed. I purchased a rotary primarily as a time saver, and that it is. It's tough to go back to the PC after using a rotary, even for lighter work. So much time is saved and I get better results.

It probably took me about 3 - 4 months to get fairly comfortable with the rotary. I'll still occasionally reach for the PC if the car's body contours are tight/sharp.
 
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Like some of you may have read in another post, I never bought a PC... I just went with a cheap Ryobi DA for $20 from Home Depot. It works great... its no PC DA, but it does the job. I probably won't every get a PC DA because I'll hop right over to this rotary.

If you are afraid to priactice on your car, just find some dude with a cheap car that doesn't car about perfection (already has some dents and just doesn't care too much about the shpae of his/her car... trust me, you would be suprised how many of these are out there!) and ask to use their car for practive. Trust me, even the worst job of a "wet behind the ears" rotary user will make MOST neglected cars look 90% better.
 
danponjican said:
Like some of you may have read in another post, I never bought a PC... I just went with a cheap Ryobi DA for $20 from Home Depot. It works great... its no PC DA, but it does the job. I probably won't every get a PC DA because I'll hop right over to this rotary.

If you are afraid to priactice on your car, just find some dude with a cheap car that doesn't car about perfection (already has some dents and just doesn't care too much about the shpae of his/her car... trust me, you would be suprised how many of these are out there!) and ask to use their car for practive. Trust me, even the worst job of a "wet behind the ears" rotary user will make MOST neglected cars look 90% better.
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GOOD IDEA........;)
 
If interested in a rotary...go to any body shop and get a hood and a fender that are in decent shape..they give them away....and practice on that....but you want sheet metal that has contours so you can know your limits on the edges and curves...best to burn a junk piece than a actual car ....

they also work good to test polish/pad combos....you can remar them using fine steel wool and polish it out again...

Al
 
Okay gentlemen... I guess I am going to learn the rotary!

I believe I posted a link to the Chicago 7" rotary but for those that didn't see it here it is:

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

It's on sale this week marked down to $29.99 from $49.99 which is a great deal in itself. I was conteplating getting this machine before today and then noticed that this sale ends today! Needless to say, this made me want it even more. 30 bucks for a decent looking rotary to learn with and it even comes with a hook and loop backing plate and a white pad alond with some bonnets.

Then I got on SlickDeals.net and did a quick search for Harbor Freight (standard practice for me and anyone who is a cheapskate like me :D)... and to sweeten the pot even more I found a nice little printable coupon for 30% off any item in store.

Harbor Freight 30% off coupon! Good 'til 3/12/07 - SlickDeals.net Forums

Long story short, I just got back from my local Harbor Freight store with a 7" variable speed, 10A motor, rotary for $20.99 out the door. :awesome::awesome::awesome:

I'll test it tonight and let everyone know how she works on my spare fender.
 
danpnjican,

Sounds like a good deal, post pictures of the machine and the work you do with it please.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Slick deal! Argh! There isn't a Harbor Freight store in my area! I would so jump on this deal if there was.
 
If you want a quality machine the Harbor Feight polisher isn't a good tool. You're better off spending a little more money for a good polisher that has variable speed change.
 
That Chicago Electric at HF has variable speed. Granted, HF tools aren't exactly commerical-grade, but I've used them on a hobby-grade level for years.
 
Sa//|XP said:
Slick deal! Argh! There isn't a Harbor Freight store in my area! I would so jump on this deal if there was.
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go on line......or google it....
 
The rotary is nice and does a great job..BUT the PC is a nice tool also..I use the rotary alot..but always find a situation where the PC is needed...

To me a complete paint finishing set up is a PC or Cyclo and a Rotary...when I do paint I use the rotary on the flat surfaces..and on contours and edges I use a PC to lessen the chance of burning paint...also to get into tight spots...

the two tools go hand in hand...

Al
 
When I first started using a rotary I was a bit scared of it but was in a bind and didn't have a choice in the matter. This past Saturday put all my fears to rest. I saw a guy take an orange pad on a rotary and work POLISHING PASTE on a test panel. He "worked" (with all his weight) that paste at 1000 RPM until it SMOKED! There was NO apparent damage done to the paint. When he applied the second round of paste, it immediately BOILED and STEAMED on the surface. He did this repeatedly in the same area and there was no apparent change to the surface other than some hazing that was easily polished out with a finishing pad and polish.

**THIS IS A SERIOUS YMMV POST!**
 
SpoiledMan said:
When I first started using a rotary I was a bit scared of it but was in a bind and didn't have a choice in the matter. This past Saturday put all my fears to rest. I saw a guy take an orange pad on a rotary and work POLISHING PASTE on a test panel. He "worked" (with all his weight) that paste at 1000 RPM until it SMOKED! There was NO apparent damage done to the paint. When he applied the second round of paste, it immediately BOILED and STEAMED on the surface. He did this repeatedly in the same area and there was no apparent change to the surface other than some hazing that was easily polished out with a finishing pad and polish.

**THIS IS A SERIOUS YMMV POST!**
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Really, wow. That's amazing, funny though because that is what I intended on doing. You have to see the limits first, see how far you can go before things really go bad and that way you know what boundary you are playing with. It's called reverse engineering...in this case reverse detailing hahahaha.
 
Now that I reread my post it almost sounds like I'm endorsing that technique. I'M NOT! This guy thought he knew what he was doing and I pointed out to him that he was wrong. I have over 10 years of rotary experience so I'm not new to this at all.:)
 
I tried my new Chicago rotary yesterday for the first time. I posted some pictures in the Show N' Shine forum.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/4830-1999-black-cobra-paint-correction.html

So far it seems like a great machine. Although as I stated in my other post, it is definitely going to be a learning curve.

I do have a couple of questions in case anyone wants to entertain them.

How long do you work one area (say a 3'x3' area) with compound (I use OC)? The OC really seemed to break down to nothing very quickly with the rotary.
 
When I started using a rotary, like others I was hesitant but like anything practice makes perfect. I have never burned anything with a rotary but I have seen it done, it literally happens right before your eyes in a matter of a second or two. Obviously as everyone knows, paint is thinner on edges so as long as you are careful in those areas, keep moving and keep your speed reasonably you should be fine. I would say to anyone, a good 100 hours of using a rotary and you will feel quite confidant with it, but of course that is half the battle, the other half is knowing your compounds/pads.

I just bought a Makita for about $270 Canadian, have not used it yes but can't wait. I learned and used a Dewalt rotary for a years and it was great unit as well.


 
danponjican said:
I am a total beginner but I think I am going to buy a rotary and experiment. I have an extra fender (take off from my mustang that has a small dent on it) that I can use to test the rotary.

Harbor Freight has a rotary for $30 that would make a nice tool to learn with:

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
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I have this one and so does another veteran. This an extremely good deal for the money!
Not as much torque as others but a very good machine to learn on.

I have this one and will be using it more now that my confidence has been reassured of it.

A review will come!
 
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