Moving from PC to DeWalt DWP849X after 9 years..advice and encouragement needed

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heckhole

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I have been buffing for 9 years with a PC. I've loved the machine, even with its limitations.

I can't explain how many black cars I have perfected over the years, including my own. I did a lot of experimenting and taking huge risks on cars that I look back on now and want to throw up thinking how stupid that idea was.

I've learned some cool tricks and I have my own way of working with CCS pads and polish combos. Took a long time to figure some stuff out but it's been extremely rewarding.

I started out doing my cars only. Then slowly took on some clients.

Recently I've met the right people who talk A LOT and I've gone from 3-4 clients a month, to 5-6 a week. I've also linked up with some used car dealerships and I've been running into a lot of auction cars. Well, if you have any experience with auction cars, you know what I'm up against. Mega swirls, mega oxidation.

I operate a little different than most. I don't offer many stages. Years ago I offered a wash/clay/wax and often I would hear remarks from others that I polished a car and left all the swirls/scratches behind. Well, I didn't polish the car - but it's impossible to fight those comments and I had a real hard time convincing people I could remove them even though I had my cars right there as proof. Now I only offer full swirl removal with an agreed upon degree of scratch removal.

With a PC, yellow CCS with severe swirling and scratching, start to glaze/wax or seal could take any where from 4-8 hours. Sometimes cheating not correcting the lower half doors any further than a white pad with fine polish.

However, with my new client base, doing 5-6 auction cars a week, I'm wearing myself out using a PC. This has become my 2nd full time business and it's not paying off yet. These cars are so bad it takes 2-3 yellow pads per vehicle, I generally get 2-3 weeks out of them before they come out of shape or the backing has seen enough abuse and starts to peel. 4-8 hours for a complete car at my rate of 100-150-200 depending on how hard the paint is to work, isn't cutting it for me.

So I purchased the DeWalt DWP849X kit. My first rotary. I am looking for any tips, advice and words of encouragement. I am not afraid of the machine by any means, and well aware of what damage one can do as I've seen it first hand.

I will be using the supplied pads from the kit to start. I did order a wool pad for when I'm feeling confident.
 
Congratulations on the upgrade it will take time adjusting to the new power though just take your time, and learn the machine, even of you have to practice on a rental car then do so until you master it though if I was you ill take both my PC and rotary on detail jobs that way if you get worried for any reason your old friend is there to complete the job like old days, once again congratulations just take time and caution and you'll come out winning
 
Are you located anywhere near Irvine, CA or Stuart, FL?
 
Start out at a lower RPM (1000) stay away from curves and edges, keep the machine moving and you'll be fine.
 
Located in New England.

Should have everything Friday.

Some tutorials online recommend using light pressure, others say let the weight of the machine do the work. Which is it? :buffing:
 
You're already comfortable with a machine in your hands and did exactly what i did some years ago i.e. learned for about 3-4 years (9 in your case) and decided i wanted to get faster and better results. The rotary did it for me but that was before forced rotation dual action machines, better and more diverse pads and more products to use. Nowadays it seems the progression is more towards those products and machines that mimic what only a rotary would do years ago. If i had it all to do over with today's offerings on the market i would absolutely opt for a Flex 3401 or Rupes. Seeing as you already have the DeWalt rotary, i am convinced it will do what you want but will need some "refinement" to get that final finish some jobs might need.

Mike P says you can't obtain a hologram/swirl free finish with a rotary. I always thought i could with my rotary but will admit to looking very closely at my final result after 100% rotary use after i read that...every time now and in direct sunlight if possible. On some paints, yes, THAT is what the customer wanted. On others? He's right.

As far as pressure...i have exerted a great deal of pressure with a wool pad and M105 on some paints with my rotary! That takes a great deal of confidence and technique and is needed sometimes. Generally, and i will say the majority of times, its light pressure and letting the forced rotation, the pad and the product do it's thing.

Like i said, you already have the DeWalt so have at it. I took the advice of so many way back when and practiced with a scrap panel years ago. That remains a very good way to get comfortable with the machine. Good luck and let us know how it goes. There may be a dwindling few left here who use rotaries but remain more than willing to help you answer any questions based on our experience.
 
Awesome.

I've had the opportunity to use the flex 3401. It was nice, the issue was time. In my experience it worked better in areas where a PC struggling with rotating. But for the mangled finishes I seem to run into, it's still too slow.

I will likely use the rotary for first cut and finish down with my PC
 
You're going to find it difficult to get even results over the entire vehicle. Also drying of your polish will be an issue. Keep the speed low as advised until you get the hang of it. I truly believe the 3401 with FG400 and a yellow or short wool pad would have done the job. If find I go over the areas where I used my DW849 with the Flex just to clean them up before stepping up to a white pad and a light polish. Rotaries can be very messy as well so get ready for a lot of time spent on clean-up of splattering.
 
Yikes.

We'll see how it goes.

PC tonight on a 2013 XTS that looked like it was washed with rocks took 7 hours. CCS yellow with Optimum compound, first pass generally eliminated most but not all. Took 3-4 complete apps to remove 90%. Working in a 2x2 area and progressing around the car took almost 5 hours. Finished down with white ccs and optimum polish II. I left a lot of scratches behind by nearing 7 hours it was time to say enough was enough. I honestly can't wait to see some more machine power.
 
Welcome to the rotary world!:dblthumb2: Everyone has given you good advise. I actually just picked up the 849x also. Did you get the kit from AG with the 8.5 ccs pads? I have always used wool pads in the past, but want to transition into foam. I find wool are easier to use -control. I was getting some grabbing from the foam pads, especially the cutting pads. I know a lot was my technique, amount of product and I did find that you need have the back edge of the pad slightly tilted upward. ( Later found this on LC tips for these pads.) I do recommend getting wool cutting pads for the number of cars are doing and if they are heavily oxidized. You can then work a larger area faster, then do your polishing and finishing with the foam pads or even your PC.
Everything Puckman has told you is spot on correct! Good luck and I know you'll have it mastered in no time!
 
Dewalt came in and went right at it on a 07 540i.

Previous holograms and existing swirls came out with Optimum polish II using the white LC pad! Unreal. Worked between 1000/1500 rpm or so. Took about 3 hours total. I left the rids in the finish but took everything else out.

Very impressed. Machine was a bit heavy but I imagine I'll build strength and technique.

I did buy a wool pad but was afraid to use it and figured the white pad was a good place to start. I used my PC with yellow and optimum compound for the upper doors because I was struggling a bit with the pads grabbing. I did find that the pad worked better with a mist of quick detailer but I went back to what I was comfortable with.

Regardless it worked great and I'm highly impressed and how quiet the machine is and how effective it was. I was able to finish down using the Dewalt and had no hologram or marring!

More tips and advice would be highly appreciated.
 
That's awesome to hear! I thought you might be somewhat comfortable right off the bat after feeling it for a bit at first. Like i said before, 9 years with a machine already allows you a comfort level with a machine and transitioning to a rotary should come relatively easily. Sounds like it did! Nice. Just be careful of how much closer you are to potential damage.

I love my wool pads on certain, very hard finishes and like how they run a bit cooler for me too. I can understand your reluctance with something that you might fear as substantial cut but that's the reason you're moving to a rotary in the first place.

Hey, thanks for letting us know how it went. Anyone lurking here with a similar situation might be persuaded to do the same.
 
And for the times i feel the machine or pad getting grabby i usually lighten up the pressure to finish that pass and then clean your pad or switch to a fresh pad.

You'll get used to side panels/sections with the deWalt too. Just takes some more time and feel.

And, yes...you'll develop those Popeye arms for the ladies!!!
 
One thing I did constantly was check the temperature of the area I was working on. I don't recall feeling any heat.

Another thing I like is the quality of the pads. The backing seems much more rigid & durable than the pads available for a pc. Sometimes just peeling a pad off, I would ruin or begin to ruin the pad. I was lucky to get 2-3 cars out of 2 yellow pads. Felt like such a waste.

Being able to clean the pads using the machine and a pad cleaner was great too. Having fresh, non caked pads available with a 15 second scrub was a huge contributor to saving time.

I also managed to learn how to pick up a bead of compound right away.

I will be doing a fx7 Monday that is heavily scratched and of course...black. I think I may give the wool pad a try on the hood. We'll see how confident I'm feeling.

What are your experiences with pad longevity? I'm so glad to see that my investments in pads appears it will diminish by at least 50%.
 
I have pads that are really old and they have held up well. I use the LC flat 5.5" and have quite a few of all of them. It's funny because i just tossed an orange LC pad today and i can't remember the last time i tossed a pad out.

I have had the occasional velcro adhesive give up the ghost but very infrequently. A small cost for using so many and giving them a workout.

Your in a good habit to be checking for heat. I still do that occasionally and especially on plastic panels. It's good to hear your not noticing any heat buildup.
 
Awesome. The thought of not murdering pads every other day is nice.

One downside is the trigger. I felt a need to death squeeze it and really tired my hand out.
 
I suggest using the hold or lock button for that issue!

I was going to recommend learning to pick up a bead of product but I just read that you already did. It really helps keeping product from flying everywhere. Also, I found that after learning to pick up a bead of product, my handling of the rotary was a lot smoother and finesse-like as opposed to robtronic. Congrats on the rotary.. I use mine all the time despite trending machines and techniques
 
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