New Metabo Rotary - Black BMW 740iL

[Totoland Mach]

I finally got a new Metabo PE12-175 and have to say, it is the best rotary I've ever used....absolutely the best! The shop has 2 DeWalts and after a few minutes of the dealer trying out the Metabo, he is going to sell the DeWalts and order another Metabo. Light weight, easy start motor, ergonomically friendly...all the right stuff for a production shop.

I also used a small backing plate for more control and to use the smaller foam pads on tight areas of the car: bottom portion of front/rear bumpers, mirror housings, A Pillars, plastic panels, etc. What a joy to use!

I also found that using a "moderate" polishing pad like the Meguiar's 8006 is more versatile and speeds up working on black cars. This black 740iL was identical to the last one I posted (except for a tan interior) and I finished the car in less than 1/2 the time of the other one....that's progress IMO.

Here's some pics!

Before Shots: Swirled pretty much everywhere, but no paint gouges.





Work in progress







A good area to show before and after was the trunk lip:





Side by side progress



Swirl removal of the trunk lip. I had already finished the lower portion (which is plastic)



Hood reflection with the garage door open



Outside shot after power washing BUT before applying #26



Another outside shot before my LSP



All-in-all, the Metabo is one of the nicest working tools I've ever used. With 2 sizes of backing plates, I can quickly switch pad diameters according to the work I'm doing.

Here's the work cart....loaded up and ready for work.



Toto

[Nica]

Originally Posted by Totoland Mach

Toto

Glad to see you using the Metabo, I just gone one too. Very nice machine, it lives up to its reputation. So easy on the hands and you just don't get tired working on it...well that's what I've noticed.

Toto you always get the "special" vehicles don't you. You do great work Toto and I like the set up you got going, that little tray is very nice.

Keep us posted on the Metabo, I'm enjoying mine. I've heard some one say that what makes the Metabo such a great polisher is because it was meant to polish nothing else just polish....well it can grind too.

[ryandamartini]

next thing is to move to the edge2k pads

[P1et]

Don't let Ryan see that you're using Menzerna!!!

[Mike T]

Looks beautiful. Great job.

[Totoland Mach]

Originally Posted by ryandamartini

next thing is to move to the edge2k pads

I don't think Edge2K pads are in the bigger sizes for rotaries. As it is now, I can swap pads between the Metabo and the DeWalt, or use the 6" backing plate on one machine and the 8" on the other.

I do hope AG can carry the Menzerma line! If they do (hint, hint) stock a few of the gallon-size containers. We are going to phase out our 3M compound and use the Menzerma compound + 106FF as our 2 step process.

The cart: Let's see, I've got a bottle of Klasse, Meg's 83 (gallon on the lower shelf), the purple colored squeeze bottle is XMT Glaze with Carnuba, at the very left edge of the pic is XMT #1 (love that stuff for light work!).

I'm an Equal Opportunity product user!

Toto

[Nuke33]

I want to move up to a rotary at some point. Car looks great!

[Juztang]

How bad does it sling product on start up? Just wondering since it doesn't have a trigger. I've been thinking about getting one of these for a while now. I will probably end up selling the Hitachi and moving up to the Metabo. I think I will really like the light weight of the machine.

[Totoland Mach]

Originally Posted by Juztang

How bad does it sling product on start up? Just wondering since it doesn't have a trigger. I've been thinking about getting one of these for a while now. I will probably end up selling the Hitachi and moving up to the Metabo. I think I will really like the light weight of the machine.

It actually minimizes product sling at start up because it "ramps up" to the speed setting. This few seconds gives you time to hit your product line on the finish and spread it. The DeWalt is a torque monster in that regard. Pull the trigger and you are instantly there. I'm sure the body shop folks that use a big DeWalt can show me how...but the Metabo works great for me.

Also, we've had to repair the DeWalt's triggers 2 times as the trigger lock breaks. Hopefully, the maintenance on the Metabo will be better.

Another feature of the Metabo is the spline lock. I like to use big pads on big sheet metal and smaller pads for fender curves, bumpers, etc. Simply press the spline lock, spin the backing plate off and put on the one you want. Couple of seconds to change.

Toto

[Nica]

Originally Posted by Totoland Mach

Another feature of the Metabo is the spline lock. I like to use big pads on big sheet metal and smaller pads for fender curves, bumpers, etc. Simply press the spline lock, spin the backing plate off and put on the one you want. Couple of seconds to change.

Toto

Hey Toto is that the red button on top of the machine? If that's the case that makes more sense now.