So as some may have read in my other posts, I picked up a rotary for a great deal at Harbor Freight.
DA vs. Rotary
So I tried it yesteryday (yeah I know, I should have practiced on that spare fender I have... but like I said before, I was feeling brave!)
Overall, I am very pleased. I didn't burn anything, I didn't swirl anything and the results were better than I was getting with the DA. I can definitely see how it is going to take a lot of practice to get it down, but I don't think I am in danger of damaging the paint. I will say, I can see how it would be easy for someone to do some serious damage with a rotary. I count myself as above average in my mechanical appitude (I am a Mechanical Engineer by trade and a car enthuisist for years) which helps me. But you definitely have to pay much more attention to what you are doing with a rotary compared to using a DA. With the DA, just turn it on and whistle while you work. For me, the rotary took all my concentration to keep the pad level and not the splatter polish everywhere!
Okay on with the pictures!
I started using it with the same pad/compound combo that I was using with the DA. Later I discovered that the power of the rotary allowed me to use a white pad with the SSR1 and acheive almost the same results as yellow pad/OC followed with black pad/SSR1. I reverted to using the yellow pad with the OC only in problem areas and polished the better areas with just a white pad and the SSR1 on the rotary.
Next step...
major problem areas!