Is the 3403 faster than PC

[allenk4]

is it safe to polish with the 3403? the entire car that is? I wouldnt say the paint is in bad condition just has swirls. I just want to find a faster way to detail my car, takes me like 12 hours. This is way too long

It should only take 12 hours the 1st time you do a full compound and polish on your vehicle.

With proper was technique, you may not have to compound again for years.

[aburgeson]

I got the rotary buffer, the 3403. I want to try to learn how to use it. The trick is finding a test car to practice on. No luck from junkyards, they want so much money for the panels. I got the rotary to try and speed up my detailing jobs. I have friends that are willing to pay to have me detail the car but I only have 8 hours to do so.

[Anomander]

Look on craigslist for hoods/panels. I picked up a few hoods for around $30 each. Some body shops will even sell scraps for cheap.

[chet31]

If you lived near me, I'd let you practice on my son's car (190K Mazda), which is what I do.

[Mike Phillips]

I got the rotary buffer, the 3403. I want to try to learn how to use it. The trick is finding a test car to practice on. No luck from junkyards, they want so much money for the panels.

Stop by any body shop and tell them you're learning how to use a rotary buffer and ask them if they have a junker hood or trunk lid you can have or buy.

Body shops pull body panels off cars almost every day. I'm sure most of them scrap them for money with the local salvage or recycle yard but you should be able to find someone that will give or sell you a body panel.

When I was younger, I knew the owners of both the major car wrecking yards in Albany, Oregon. So I had good connections. One time I went to the owner and asked if I could go out into the yard and and buff on cars for experience and testing purposes and they said "yes".

So I gathered up all my extension cords, my Makita Rotary Buffer and some pads and products and spent most at least a half a day buffing on cars in the wrecking yard.

I'm sure the owner thought I was crazy.


I did the same thing here in Stuart, Florida about two years ago.


Here's Snake Road Auto Salvage - Very clean, well organized and well run.



This shot was taken 180 Degrees from where the above shot was taken, that is I'm behind the building now pretty much parallel to where I was standing in front of the building when I took this shot and you can see the cars that Phil lined up for me. I went out in the yard and picked anything that had pretty good paint on the hood and then placed a large X on the hood using 3M Green Painter's Tape and he brought it to the pavement.




For the "Test Spot" section in the e-book I demonstrate doing test spots with most of the products on the parts cart using DA Polishers that you see carefully resting on the hoods of the demo cars.





I think Phil thought I was crazy at first but then he came out and watched me and we talked and while we were talking I explained the purpose of doing a "Test Spot" and some tips and techniques for polishing paint and I'm happy to say the the finish on his 32 Ford was swirl free even in the bright, Florida sunlight at noon...


The above mini-write-up of my adventure at Snake Road Salvage is buried in this thread,

Gold Coast Corvette Club - First Annual Car Show



Point being.... if there's a will there's a way....

I got the rotary to try and speed up my detailing jobs. I have friends that are willing to pay to have me detail the car but I only have 8 hours to do so.

With todays products and pads you can really speed up a multi-step process.

For example, cut with a rotary and then finish with a DA like the Flex 3401. With these two powerful tools you can easily cut down your time.


Also, a few years ago I wrote an article on how to use a rotary buffer, most of this article is also in the second edition of my how-to book.


How to use a rotary buffer



Here's another full article with lots of pictures, this also outlines what you learn at our detailing boot camp class.


How to use a Rotary Buffer