Switching to rotary

Calendyr

Calendyr

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I have had a very nice Dewalt Rotary sitting in my bag for the last 2 years. I never really used it because I don't have large pads (the backplate is for 6 to 8 inch pads and all my pads are 5.5 inch).

After watching many videos this winter in preparation for my IDA certification, Yvan Lacroix kinda convinced me to start using this tool more.

So I ordered a 5 inch back plate from Autogeek and will receive it this week. I am planning to use the rotary with non-wool type pads. So mostly Foam and maybe some microfiber.

I plan to use it at low speed (600-1000 RPM). And I don't intend to mask everything when I use it. The idea is to save a bit of time, so if I have to take an hour to mask the car then an hour to remove the tape and clean glue residue, I might as well use a DA :)

I would love to hear some advices on using it.

I have technical knowledge on how to use a rotary but very little experience. I used mine about 3 times so far and it was with a wool pad every time.

So with a foam or microfiber cutting disk, what would be a good base method for correction?

Right now I do 5 passes at slow speed with a Rupes 21 using a 5.5 inch pad.

So with the rotary, would I do 5 passes at fast speed to get the same result?

Any advice welcome.
 
I’m not the guy to be giving out advice on rotary. I have a lot of experience with my Dewalt rotary, but I’ve never been formally trained.

I ordered the 5 in backing plate and pads when I started using this forum. That is the single best thing you can do. Makes the rotary a lot less intimidating and better for detailing.

My only piece of advice is that microfiber cutting disks for some reason do not like rotaries. At least my one try with a rotary and MF cutting pads was no good. It was like the fibers instantly glazed or clogged.

I use LC CCS orange light cutting 5.5 pads via rotary. I would say from my experience the orange CCS pads cut less than a MF cutting pad with my Rupes 15 when all other variables are as equal as they can be
 
Prepare for some heavy holograms when using MF pads on a rotary. I wouldn't do it.
 
I certainly can't add any more than what Mike's links advise but your comment about not taping caught my interest. While I do tape a little less with my DA I still make the effort to fully tape off whenever I break out my rotary. From my experience potential damage from strike through or wrinkled paint is closer with a rotary. I would rather tape up and remove it after than explain and fix an "oops".
 
Thank you for the comments.

Ok so no Microfiber on rotaries, gotcha ;)

As for taping, I am planing to simply stay away from edges and body lines. Since I will only be using foam (since microfiber just got taken off the option list) I think that taping is even less necessary. With wool and microfiber, you have the fibers that can bite into the surface when you are on an edge or character line on the body. Foam is not gonna do that. Also, working at low speed makes it very unlikelly to burn paint or strike through it. I wish I could remember the video I watched 2 years ago that got me into buying the DeWalt rotary but the guy took different polishers from DA to forced rotation to rotary, all with foam pads and held them on a single spot on a test hood trying to burn the paint. He took heat mesurements after each test as well. Long story short, in order to burn paint with the rotary and a foam pad he had to leave it on the same spot for a ridiculous amount of time. Something like 30 seconds if I recall. This is something that simply is impossible to do by mistake. You really have to want to burn the paint using that combo.

What I am curious about is work time of a rotary with cutting foam pad vs Big Foot 21 Mark 1 with foam pad (or microfiber pad).

I know the rotary will be much easier to use on curved panels vs the long throw DA. What I am unsure about is the cutting ability and time it will take to correct a panel. Anyone knows?

Also, thanks Mike, I will read those articles with great interest they might even be in your books and I simply don't remember them, when I read your books 6 years ago I had no interest in Rotaries after being discouraged to use them by Renny's book ;)
 
Question about speed. Mike, in your article you mention using the wool pad at 1500 and 1200 RPM. Am I being too cautious wanting to use 600 and 1000 RPM with foam pads? My goal is to eliminate the paint strike through and burn through as much as possible. But would working at very low speed be simply too cautious?

The pads i will be using are these:

Buff and Shine 5.5 inch of various colors, my most agressive are the yellow ones, I also have orange, white and light green as well as finishing pads in the red and blue range. In essence I have their full line of pads I think.
Lake Country HD pads. Those are 5.5 inch too I think, maybe 6 inch. And I have the blue cutting ones as well as polishing pads.
Lake Country Thin Pro pads, cutting and polishing ones.

So would going 1500 RPM with the most agressive of those (Thin Pros most likelly the most agressive foam pads I have) be very safe or would that be risky in some situations? My goal is to have risk as low as using a long throw DA.
 
When I go for "super heavy" correction work with a rotary and wool pad (usually 7") I hover between 1200-1500rpm. I find that the compound breaks down pretty quickly and I can inspect my results and continue on as needed if I'm not where I want to be.

The thing that I personally find with rotaries is that you really don't need to put any downward pressure on the machine. It does all of the work and you pretty much guide its path. That's both a pro and a con of the machine, especially if you're used to working with a DA.

If I were you, I would get a feel for how the machine responds to your inputs (angles you hold it, pressure, speed, etc...) in the middle of a flat panel such as the hood. Being direct drive, rotaries have a tendency to walk away from you if you aren't paying attention.

There's a really good podcast on the Auto Detailing Podcast with the guy who founded American Detailers Garage about using a rotary to save time on initial compounding, it's very enlightening and worth a listen.
 
Couple suggestions and tips off my head atm:

Practice on flat panels with no curves or bodylines first such as hood, doors, roof, trunk, fenders

Perfect the picking up the polish method without making a huge mess

Avoid plastic, fiberglass, cf when starting out

Increase work area and dont concentrate on polishing a small area otherwise high risk of burning

Stop every now and then to touch the surface of panel to make sure its not getting too hot

Some tighter areas will need an extension and smaller pads

When overlapping adjacent panels make sure to feel it with your fingers nothing is protruding and body lines are parallel and flat

Tape off anything you see or feel that could burn through

Theres some more mistakes i made but i forgot atm...
 
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