Help with buffing, criticism welcome

[oftenimitated]

ok well i work @ a used car dealer ship(Welcome to Discovery Auto (http://www.discoveryautos.com)) and have for about 2 yrs, when i started i had never buffed before and the other guy working there showed me how. Now keep in mind i had no clue about any of this.

The buffer we have @ work is a Porter Cable 7428, and as i have been reading more on here it seems as i should probably not be using this because its a rotary. I seem to swirl darker color vehicles and its very frustrating. should i get my boss to buy a PC 7424? and is this Car Beauty Pro lineup ####? they have it at the local detail store and thats where they have always had me go

Product run down:

PC 7428
Car Beauty Pro pads

p-21 swirl eliminator and polish
p-43 foam pad one shot
p-40 duz all clear coat cleaner

PRO Car Beauty Online-Home (http://www.prowax.com)

i know how to clay and have done it before but sometimes dont have the time to do it

the rest of the car i am very good with and satisfied with, but this must be improved on especially because i want to start doing side jobs for some extra $$$

PLEASE HELP!!!

[dontsleeponit]

I think if you already have some experience using the rotary, I would continue to try and get better at that. If you search around here and other forums there are alot of videos showing techniques, and if you ask questions about rotary use, plenty of experienced people (not me lol) will be more then happy to help.

If you learn to use the rotary you will have more capability and be able to work faster, which will come in handy at your work.

If you were still interested in a dual action polisher, just pick one up and use it, read one or two how-to polish things on here and go at it, its the simplest thing ever.

As for the products your using, most lines like that are dedicated to the volume detailers that need alot of product for a cheap price. Not saying its all bad, but their cleaners are really strong, and I dont know anything about their polishes, but you will find that most people on here prefer a higher end product, even if doing alot of volume.

[StephenK]

what kind of pads are you using?
wool pads are more aggressive than foam pads. hopefully you are using a foam FINISHING pad for you last stage.

what brand pads are you using?
i have used car quest brand foam pads and even with their finishing pad i put swirls in the car. had to goto my wool finishing pad to get swirl free. not all pads are made equally.

how fast are you running the polisher?
spread product at about 1000rpm
work product at 1500-1800rpm
finish at 1000rpm

are you breaking down and working polish in long enough?
if it is not worked long enough you will cause more swirls.
also if you use to much or to little polish will also cause swirls.

how much pressure you using?
while spreading use no pressure
while working polish use light -med pressure
while finishing use no pressure

DO NOT LET THE ROTARY INTIMIDATE YOU. just understand what damage can be done with it and how it will happen.

if you are uncomfortable using it let your boss know. he should be willing to give you tips and find "junk" cars for you to practice on. no disrespect meant. but most(not all) dealership detailers have no clue of what they are doing. i learned how to use rotary at a dealership i worked at. the guy that taught me also detailed on the side at home and had been for a looooooooong time. so i had a great teacher.

just keep doing research and try to find someone on here that lives close ro you. you may be able to talk that person into meeting up and watching how you buff and give you tips to improve. there are great people on here that love to help others out.

[ScottB]

As offered there is no reason NOT to use a rotary, just that the tool is designed for the professional and needs due care to be used correctly. Because it transfers alot of heat, you will use slower speeds and keep it on axis.