Little bit of rotary shopping help.

[tw33k2514]

The time has come to upgrade to a rotary I believe. The only problem I am having is deciding between the new DeWalt, and the Makita. Also I have no clue what pad trends are for rotaries now.

I am thinking I want to use something like 6.5" pads for most of my work. Just because all the new cars have such small spaces between body lines. But what do you guys who use a rotary day in and day out think? Do I need a 7+" pad to be happy?

And what pads are you guys using?

My rotary experience is limited to the few times I used the Makita at the dealership. And that was just with the standard big ol wool pad...

So any help would be much appreciated. And is it just me or do the new DeWalt, and the Makita seem a lot alike?

OH...and no I cannot afford a Flex. I wish I could, but it is just not in the cars as of right now.

[SonOfOC]

I definitely use larger pads on the rotary, because it has the power to spin virtually any size pad. 6.5 is a good size for the rotary. The larger size lends to faster work and allows a little more stability.

In the past I use the rotary 5 days a week with large 8" to 10" wool pads to rejuvenate heavy oxidized auction cars. Finishining them with a 5.5" to 7.5" foam pad.

5.5" is the sweet spot for DA and in my opinion 6.5" is the perfect foam size for a rotary.

I have the PE14, Makita, and the 849x. They're like my children, I love them all equal even though some do certain things better.

[Flash Gordon]

I have two 9227's. They've both proved invaluable to me. The new Dewalt looks nice too

I use 7.5" pads that I get locally

[PAR Detailing]

I personally think that "stepping up" to a rotary is necessary. I started with a rotary and then picked up a DA. I have now practically put my rotaries on the shelf for good. I only pull them out for nastalgia sake. If you know how to use the DA you dont need a rotary. With the new technology out there the gap between the two is very small if not non-existant.

Here is a write up I did on how I closed the gap with Kevin Browns help.

Edging the DA... A Game Changer

Before you spend the money on a new machine and new pads you might want to give this a try.

p.s. I use my Megs g110 or my PCXP for all my correcting... what some would call a "weaker" machine compared to what is out there now.

If you are dead set on a new rotary (which is totally fine) I would get the new Flex. I got to use it when I took a trip to Autogeek and worked on a sweet Pontiac with Mike Phillips as you can see here:

1956 Pontiac Star Chief

If I do use a rotary I like smaller pads... I use 5.5" and my 3m foam backing plate that you can see in my signature.

[tw33k2514]

Its not so much the correction ability that has me wanting to change. It is more a speed thing. Although, I guess if I had to go back over my work with a DA anyway.. I may not save much time.

I definitely have some stuff to think about before I pull the trigger.

[richy]

Just like DA's, everyone has their own opinion. Having said that, let me share with you mine and why. The reason you move up to a Rotary is two-fold: Speed and correction ability. Now for correction ability, torque is the single most important factor you need. Period. When you lean on that bad-boy, it should not crap out on you. Likewise, if you're doing very slow speed techniques on plastic while feathering the trigger (that's how I do it), again, you need the power, aka, torque to do the work.
For that, I turn to Dynabrade. It is heavy, yes, but way more importantly, it is a torque monster! I have had mine a few years now and I love it like the day I got it. You cannot stall this machine out. It does not have that dreaded soft-start feature either (again, personal opinion, but I hate that feature!).
So, in conclusion, the Dyna will help you get through jobs quicker and has the power you need to accomplish anything. It is not a popular choice. Ask yourself this: Do I follow the sheep or get myself an awesome tool? Your choice. I chose Dyna.

[tw33k2514]

definitely appreciate your comments richy. The Dynabrade is definitely a model I will look into for sure. I am just looking to speed up my work. This thought came to me a few months ago when I was detailing a 2010 Kia Soul. It was severely swirled, and took a lot of concentrated sloow passes with the PCXP to correct. I think I had about 10 hours alone on the pain correction. And it is a very small car... For that, even if I had to go over it again with the DA to get rid of holograms, I think it would have been faster to use a rotary for the correcting.

While I have your attention, how do you feel about kompressor pads?

[richy]

Originally Posted by tw33k2514

definitely appreciate your comments richy. The Dynabrade is definitely a model I will look into for sure. I am just looking to speed up my work. This thought came to me a few months ago when I was detailing a 2010 Kia Soul. It was severely swirled, and took a lot of concentrated sloow passes with the PCXP to correct. I think I had about 10 hours alone on the pain correction. And it is a very small car... For that, even if I had to go over it again with the DA to get rid of holograms, I think it would have been faster to use a rotary for the correcting.

While I have your attention, how do you feel about kompressor pads?

They were nice but got destroyed way too easily. Buff and Shine are my favourite pads now by a mile!!! You will not use anything else after you've tried them. Their yellow cutting pad will finish down as well as a white LCC pad will!

[tw33k2514]

Originally Posted by richy

They were nice but got destroyed way too easily. Buff and Shine are my favourite pads now by a mile!!! You will not use anything else after you've tried them. Their yellow cutting pad will finish down as well as a white LCC pad will!

You are not the first person to praise B&S pads. Thanks for all the great information!

[Rav777]

Originally Posted by richy

Just like DA's, everyone has their own opinion. Having said that, let me share with you mine and why. The reason you move up to a Rotary is two-fold: Speed and correction ability. Now for correction ability, torque is the single most important factor you need. Period. When you lean on that bad-boy, it should not crap out on you. Likewise, if you're doing very slow speed techniques on plastic while feathering the trigger (that's how I do it), again, you need the power, aka, torque to do the work.
For that, I turn to Dynabrade. It is heavy, yes, but way more importantly, it is a torque monster! I have had mine a few years now and I love it like the day I got it. You cannot stall this machine out. It does not have that dreaded soft-start feature either (again, personal opinion, but I hate that feature!).
So, in conclusion, the Dyna will help you get through jobs quicker and has the power you need to accomplish anything. It is not a popular choice. Ask yourself this: Do I follow the sheep or get myself an awesome tool? Your choice. I chose Dyna.

Richy,

Are you using the actual rotary that dynabrade manufactures, or are you talking about the Dynabrade DA/orbital attachment that screws onto a rotary polisher?

I have been looking into both, but I have always had my eyes on the Dynabrade rotary with the adjustable grips.

Thanks!