More DA or rotary... Please!

[CCVirginia]

I am looking for a little advise on correction and then polish & wax, this is for home use on a couple of cars. One (07 Camry) has some bad scratches, dings and issues, the other (05 Suburban) has less severe scratches but is also neglected. Mostly I have used cheap hand polishers.

So, should I use a DA or Rotary? It sounds like for most of what I need the DA is fine but it may not be sufficient for the more severe problems. On the other hand, the Rotary takes more skill and may not be as good for the final finish. As this is for home, buying 2 (or something very expensive) is not practical. Could I use the DA and then work the scratches by hand or would I be better learning how to use a rotary? I do expect I will touchup paint a few areas that are scratched through prior to doing this.

I don't need perfect and expect that some of the scratches will not come out. I don't expect showroom new, just a good looking ride.

Feed back pleaseThanks!

 

[rms64]

My vote is solidly on the side of the DA. You can do some pretty amazing things in terms of correction with the right product combinations and technique, at considerably less risk (practicaly none) of damaging your paint as opposed to the rotary.

Just my $.02 - I am sure others will chime in too!

 

[Evan.J]

I would go with the DA and the Megs Microfiber Correction system. That will be a great combo for heavy defects removal and safe to use!

 

[BradsDetailing]

I would go DA as well

 

[rmagnus]

DA GG w/ MF pads if you are on a budget

DA Flex 3401 w/ smaller backing plate and any pads you want. Expensive but you won't look back.

Rotaries are sweet but for a one polisher do all the DA is the way to go.

 

[CCVirginia]

I'm going to give the DA & Meg Microfiber correction system a try. I also ordered some sandpaper in case there are some problems that this can't get out - hope I don't need it.
Thanks for the advise!

 

[statusdetailing]

Not that it can't be done, but sanding marks can be very difficult to remove with a DA.

 

[hernandez.art13]

I'm going to give the DA & Meg Microfiber correction system a try. I also ordered some sandpaper in case there are some problems that this can't get out - hope I don't need it.
Thanks for the advise!

If the DA does not correct whatever you are trying to fix, my advice to you is either call a Real Local Detailer or just live with it, but do not use wet sand paper on your car.

It requires skill/technique to wet sand one's car.

And if you burn through your paint, it will need to be repainted, which is costly.

Good Luck!

(Pictures)

 

[hernandez.art13]

If I had to rate machine skill level I would say.

Meguiar's/PC/Griots - beginner
Flex/Rupes - medium
Dewalt/Makita - advanced

Paint correction can be done with all machines, if the skill is there.

Of course some will be faster or slower depends on the machine.

This is just my opinion.
Note: Constructive criticism is ok, trolls stay away.

 

[Evan.J]

I'm going to give the DA & Meg Microfiber correction system a try. I also ordered some sandpaper in case there are some problems that this can't get out - hope I don't need it.
Thanks for the advise!

What grit did u go with?

Are you planning on damp sanding with the DA or by hand?

I know the DA MF system can pull out 3000 grit that was machine sanded in.

 

[mavin]

If the DA does not correct whatever you are trying to fix, my advice to you is either call a Real Local Detailer or just live with it, but do not use wet sand paper on your car.

It requires skill/technique to wet sand one's car.

And if you burn through your paint, it will need to be repainted, which is costly.

Good Luck!

(Pictures)

I could have sworn last week you were telling everyone to wet sand their cars

 

[Flash Gordon]

I could have sworn last week you were telling everyone to wet sand their cars

That was probally me. I like to wetsand everything I can get my grubby lil hands on

No, wait. I wasn't here last week. Musta been Mr Hernandez :bolt:

 

[hernandez.art13]

I could have sworn last week you were telling everyone to wet sand their cars

I ONLY feel comfortable wet sanding car's that have been freshly painted.

I tend to forget that a lot of people here work on DD. I on the other hand, mostly worked on freshly painted cars. So wet sanding was necessary to remove the orange peel.

So everyone listen up... Do not wet sand your car, without knowledge of knowing what you are doing! because without skill/technique you are very likely to burn through the paint. Only way "I" know how to fix this is to repaint.

I kind like "Mr. Hernandez Detailing" might be my new business name hahaha jk

 

[hernandez.art13]

That was probally me. I like to wetsand everything I can get my grubby lil hands on

No, wait. I wasn't here last week. Musta been Mr Hernandez :bolt:

You Flash Gordon do amazing work with your 800 grit lol, way way to advanced for my paint correction skills lol

 

[CCVirginia]

Hmmm, ok. avoid the paper.
Since the DA has limited aggression I was thinking of doing this by hand on limited areas, such as where my door was keyed, bumper bumped and the trunk scratched - not sanding the entire car. Probably 2000 grit followed by 2500 or 3000 - by hand so I could be carful, then try and smooth it with the DA. Responding to the machine questions, is the machine sandpapering easier or harder to get out, and what kind of machine?
One more thought - is there something that would fill such scratches effectively?
Thanks again!

 

[rmagnus]

Hmmm, ok. avoid the paper.
Since the DA has limited aggression I was thinking of doing this by hand on limited areas, such as where my door was keyed, bumper bumped and the trunk scratched - not sanding the entire car. Probably 2000 grit followed by 2500 or 3000 - by hand so I could be carful, then try and smooth it with the DA. Responding to the machine questions, is the machine sandpapering easier or harder to get out, and what kind of machine?
One more thought - is there something that would fill such scratches effectively?
Thanks again!

If you machine sand it's more uniform and easier to remove the sanding mark. Using a DA and MF pads you ca get 3000 grit marks out pretty easy. It will even handle 2500 grit ok. No question a rotary and wool pads are the best solution but nothing wrong with MF pads if you have a DA. I would not recommend sanding unless you have the right tools.

Get experience in a junk yard panel might be the best $50 you've ever spent. You really must have a paint thickness gauge.

 

[CCVirginia]

First, thanks for all the advise! I listened to some, but not all of it. This is what I used:

I washed with Optimum car wash and then used Optimum eraser (aggressive). For correction I used Meguiar's Micro fiber correction system (MFC - $68) with 6 inch pads and a Harbor Freight Dual Action (HF-DA - $48). To get out the worst scratches I also used 2000 or 2500 wet sandpaper by hand (finger).

The car is a '07 Camery Hybrid Desert Sand (4q2) - it had some bad scratches and chips, all over and in odd places. I used AutomotiveTouchup on the chips & bad scrapes. A detailer told me a pro job could run $1k due to the issues!

Result: The car look great, it has a deep shine and most (but not all) of the scratches are out or almost invisible. The touchup paint didn't match well and I am working with them for a better match, I may get the spray for 2 bad scrapes (through the paint). My wife can't believe how good it looks and wants her car to be next.

Experience: I was warned about sanding but mostly got away with it. The MFC could not get medium to severe scratches out so I pre-sanded those areas, very carefully, by hand. In some cases I left just a bit of scratch for the MFC to finish off. The MFC was easily able to take out the haze from the sanding with 2000 or 2500 grit (wet). While I tried to be conservative and not expect to get deep scratches out completely, I did go to far in one small spot and sanded through the clear-coat, I may fix if I can get the touchup right but it is not a big problem and may be best to leave it alone. For my case I think the targeted sanding was the right choice.

The MFC specified specific speeds and medium then light pressure. The HF-DA would stop spinning with, what I thought was, light pressure. I had to turn the speed up to apply any pressure and keep it spinning. What is medium? - I was thinking about 10-12lbs. I don't have DA experience to know what to expect. So, the speed and pressure was a total guess but it seemed to work. I suspect the more expensive DA's don't need as much manual control of the speed setting but for my occasional use this worked out and was great for the price.

I would highly recommend the MFC, it took the car from scratched and dull to excellent, it has a mirror shine. It was easy to use and didn't seem in danger of damaging the paint. It is a 2 step process and does take some time. I don't know how well it will last. I would have used the 5 inch pads but the kit with the 6 inch pads cost me $25 less considering shipping (due to amazon prime).

I do have a question, how aggressive is the 2nd pass - microfiber correction finishing wax? Should this be used for follow-up care or is it to aggressive? Or, is it just a glaze/sealant? I also have a new car with Opti-coat and am wondering if it would be good to shine that up or would it remove the Opti-coat? I am also considering Meg #21, Wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant & Klasse high gloss sealant glaze. What do people use after paint correction that lasts and keeps the shine?