Experience needed for circular buffer?

pcw25

pcw25

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Experience needed for circular buffers?


Do you truly need to be THAT experienced to use a circular polisher? I mean how do you know when to move up from a dual action to a a circular? And is there any special "technique" you have to use when using a circular buffer to achieve show car results?:buffing:
 
Don't leave it in one spot. Make sure you keep it moving. Try to get ond panels to practice on
 
shoeless89 said:
Don't leave it in one spot. Make sure you keep it moving. Try to get ond panels to practice on
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Pretty much you get the feel for it ..... personally the only reason people are afraid of it is the talk

We had a lady who came to our detailing weekend 2 years ago and she never heard of one we had her polishing out her black focus with ease.

Also the new Flex DA's kinda have replaced rotary's for a lot of things they can tackle it with just a tad more work and they don't leave behind the trails or run a high risk of burning the paint.
 
Pockets @Poorboy'sWorld said:
Pretty much you get the feel for it ..... personally the only reason people are afraid of it is the talk

We had a lady who came to our detailing weekend 2 years ago and she never heard of one we had her polishing out her black focus with ease.

Also the new Flex DA's kinda have replaced rotary's for a lot of things they can tackle it with just a tad more work and they don't leave behind the trails or run a high risk of burning the paint.
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Good answer Chris :dblthumb2:
 
+1 for no big mystery. I agree with shoeless89 to keep it moving and most of your problems are solved. Speed is another caution item (use a 900-1200-900 rpm curve starting out). Don't run it too fast. I know that I'm never over 1800 rpm; usually around 1500 rpm for me. Another caution item is going over sharp edges it's much easier to burn through. As long as you're aware of these issues you're way ahead of the learning curve.
The buffer will do most of the work for changing direction. It's very close to how a floor buffer works, which most people have used.
 
I truly beleive I could train a Monkey to run a rotary w/out causing damage....seriously

IMO there easier to control then a DA
 
Rotary polishers have been around for a long long time, much longer than its dual action counterpart.

Rotary polisher have gained a bad reputation because of two things; Inexperience and bashing by those who have never even picked one up.

Rotary polishers are fantastic machines and with a little practice and experience you'll be shocked at how valuable they can be.
 
Flash Gordon said:
I truly beleive I could train a Monkey to run a rotary w/out causing damage....seriously

IMO there easier to control then a DA
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I would agree with this too, I am comfortable with and prefer to use a rotary but picked up a Flex DA just to try one out and a rotary is much easier to control and a hell of a lot faster with correction too.

Personally, I think there's a lot of great detailers on this site who fear the rotary buffer because they haven't actually ever used one. Once you see how easy they can be to use and get comfortable with it your DA would take a backseat for sure.
 
just dont push down on it and spray water when it starts to dry out on the area you are working to keep it cool. when starting out. go to a rotary and you will never look back.ps never sit in one place with it.
 
trerc said:
I would agree with this too, I am comfortable with and prefer to use a rotary but picked up a Flex DA just to try one out and a rotary is much easier to control and a hell of a lot faster with correction too.

Personally, I think there's a lot of great detailers on this site who fear the rotary buffer because they haven't actually ever used one. Once you see how easy they can be to use and get comfortable with it your DA would take a backseat for sure.
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Absolutely. I went to the detailing classes Mike taught in July and had every intention of buying the Flex 3401 and said I would Never put a rotary on my cars. After getting some instruction and opportunity to use all of the machines, the 3401 walked too much and I bought the Flex PE 14
 
I have been using one for many years, to me there are too many advantages over a DA, I personally think it produces better gloss, quicker(polishing) kinda like a car, going from a Automatic(DA) to a 6 Speed (Rotary) you feel like you are really getting something done......I love my Makita 9227c
 
pcw25 said:
Do you truly need to be THAT experienced to use a circular polisher?
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No.

You need to be THAT experienced to avoid making mistakes with a rotary buffer or what is also called a circular polisher.

Practice makes perfect.



pcw25 said:
I mean how do you know when to move up from a dual action to a a circular? And is there any special "technique" you have to use when using a circular buffer to achieve show car results?
Click to expand...

There's lots of tips and tricks shared on this forum for correctly using a rotary buffer, one thing I recommend is getting flexible backing plates an start out practicing with small foam pads, like 5.5" pads as it will be easy for you to learn how to control the rotary buffer

Learning to master the rotary buffer starts with learning to control the rotary buffer.

It helps to have strong arms, strong shoulders, a strong back and torso and strong legs. It's one thing to buff out a small area on the hood, it's a whole new game when you use a rotary buffer to buff out and entire car and this usually means going over the entire car wit the rotary buffer 2-3 times depending upon what you're Edin.

If you're starting out with a compounding step and only using the rotary buffer then you're talking about buffing out the entire car at least 3 times and take my word for it, you need to be in good shape, at least to do this kind of work 5 and 6 days a week.


Here are some links to some recent threads on just this topic,

Read this one first...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/flex-polishers/39794-placed-order-pe14-quick-questions.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ke-phillips/37123-rotary-buffer-question.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...9-cannot-get-rid-holograms-buffer-trails.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/39734-cause-holograms.html

How do you stay away from holograms?



Actually doing a search for the word holograms will find you a lot of threads with helps and suggestions on using a rotary buffer as that is the common problem.



:buffing:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
It helps to have strong arms, strong shoulders, a strong back and torso and strong legs. It's one thing to buff out a small area on the hood, it's a whole new game when you use a rotary buffer to buff out and entire car and this usually means going over the entire car wit the rotary buffer 2-3 times depending upon what you're Edin.

If you're starting out with a compounding step and only using the rotary buffer then you're talking about buffing out the entire car at least 3 times and take my word for it, you need to be in good shape, at least to do this kind of work 5 and 6 days a week.
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You got that right Mike, for the weekend warrior you'll feel like you got your ass kicked the next day. I don't remember it being so rough on me when I did it for a living, but I was younger then too, lol
 
I started out using a rotary at a ford dealership with heavy compounds and big wool pads. Well I slowly started learning and I could do a 2-3 step with it no problem. I decided I wanted to learn more products and techniques so went online and found autogeek. Read for a long time and decided to make a purchase. When I was all said an done I made about 4 separate purchases within a week and spent about $600 total. I went with the GG6" polisher an Wolfgang twins. With multiple pads 5.5" and 6.5". I was excited to use the GG6 and once it got here I didn't really like it and thought a rotary was easier. I like moving fast, rather than going slow with a DA. I regretted getting the DA instead of a rotary but then i used it for waxing and really liked how easy it was compared to hand waxing. If I had to pick I would take a rotary over a DA for paint correction. I plan on buying a rotary soon cuz I miss the fast paced work.


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Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
No.


It helps to have strong arms, strong shoulders, a strong back and torso and strong legs. It's one thing to buff out a small area on the hood, it's a whole new game when you use a rotary buffer to buff out and entire car and this usually means going over the entire car wit the rotary buffer 2-3 times depending upon what you're Edin.

If you're starting out with a compounding step and only using the rotary buffer then you're talking about buffing out the entire car at least 3 times and take my word for it, you need to be in good shape, at least to do this kind of work 5 and 6 days a week.



:buffing:
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I have to respectfully disagree with this statement. If anything, you better have arms like a mule to run a DA. What takes me 6 hours with a DA, I can do in 2 with a Rotary. Running a DA, is like running a Jackhammar, while running a Rotary is like Iceskating. With a Rotary, you work it. With a DA, it works you

This is all just my opinion though. So take it for what it's worth


Flash
 
I definitely feel like I work more when I use the DA. I like it, but I learned with a rotary and I was able to put out some great work with limited supplies and pads. I had 2 different types of 7 or 8" foam flat pads and 1 wool pad. Yes u have a greater chance of causing damage with a rotary if u aren't careful, but I personally think it's easier to use a rotary.


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You have to just get a feel for it. I personally use the da. I have all up hung up the rotary for good. With edging or tilting the DA I can go after deeper defects like I could with the rotary. The more I use the traditional DA the more I like it over the rest. I have a few DAs, 2rotaries, and a 3401. I like them all but reach for my DA most. I'm not knocking anyone else because everyone can use what they want but I prefer the DA
 
Flash Gordon said:
I truly beleive I could train a Monkey to run a rotary w/out causing damage....seriously

IMO there easier to control then a DA
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I feel the same way. Rotaries are easy to get the hang of.

Have I seen people try it, and just never get it down? Yes, I have. But, those people are "special" to me. If ya know what I mean.:dblthumb2:
 
PAR Detailing said:
You have to just get a feel for it. I personally use the da. I have all up hung up the rotary for good. With edging or tilting the DA I can go after deeper defects like I could with the rotary. The more I use the traditional DA the more I like it over the rest. I have a few DAs, 2rotaries, and a 3401. I like them all but reach for my DA most. I'm not knocking anyone else because everyone can use what they want but I prefer the DA
Click to expand...

What rotaries do u have? And interested in selling 1 if I decide to buy?


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