Help: Rotary Buffer Use

[StephenK]

there is alot of very good advice here and i agree with alot of it. as for the speed to run the rotary at use the range the polish company has recommended. for example: 3M perfect-it 3000 extra cut compound, swirl mark remover, and ultrafina se recommended speed is 1400-2000rpm. OPTIMUM line recommends 1000-1400rpm. which means it is safe to use the higher rpms. so if you wanted to go from 100rpm's to 1200rpms and you accidently goto 1400rpm's dont worry. the higher rpm's will get the job done faster with out drying the polish out to fast or generating to much heat on panel. . the company's put enough lubrication in the polishes and compounds to be worked at these speeds. visit a local body shop and ask them for junked panels to practice on. that way you can get a feel for the rotary and play with the speed and get comfortable. IMHO on a couple of those panels lay into real heavy and burn through the paint. tha way you will know what it looks like and how much/little it will take to burn paint.

[TOGWT]

...Its easier to burn paint with a small 4" pad.

A foam pad produces friction-heat (very necessary to breakdown diminishing abrasives)

A 4-inch foam pad due to its relatively small area increases ‘spot’ friction-heat, which will start to melt and possibly burn plastic trim due to its relativly low melting point temperature

[justin_murphy]

I used my rotary yesterday with some techniques that gtaindetaling aka Kevin gave me. He has been using the rotary for over 12 years now and never tapes up anything or gets any dusting. I couldn't believe the finish I achieved in such a short amount of time.
Expect a full write up.

[D]

If you're new at the rotary and you dont tape then you're just asking for trouble.

[justin_murphy]

If you're new at the rotary and you dont tape then you're just asking for trouble.

Like I said in my post.......he has 12 years EXPERIENCE and does not TAPE.

Never said that a newbie to the rotary should.

I highly recommend getting some test panels and just using some QD on the pads first to just get a feel for this tool. I know it was hard to get the motions down at first after using the PC for so long.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

it doesnt matter how many years he has, you still should tape the car. Also do not use qd, learn with the product that you are going to use with the rotary this way you will get the feel of it and how it reacts to your technique.

[D]

Like I said in my post.......he has 12 years EXPERIENCE and does not TAPE.

Never said that a newbie to the rotary should.

I highly recommend getting some test panels and just using some QD on the pads first to just get a feel for this tool. I know it was hard to get the motions down at first after using the PC for so long.

Last time I checked this was a thread for new rotary users, not ones with years of experience. Either way, taping is an important safety precaution everyone should practice. If you have years of experience with guns, would you still walk around with it with the safety off? No you wouldnt, safety precautions like taping should be used by rotary users at any level. Lets not forget you're dealing with someone elses car here. Not taping is just taking a short cut which could cost you big time. Better safe then sorry right? To me it seems like he (well mostly YOU) is bragging that he doesnt use tape. Thats someone who is new to detailing would do, not someone with experience.

As for QD, I dont use it, never have. Polish goes right on the paint, then spread it, then work it. A QD will just dilute your polish, no point in using it IMO. If you need a QD to work the polish, then either something is wrong with your polish, pad, machine, paint, or your technique.

Just because someone has years of experience, doesnt mean everything they say is necessarily correct or good practice.

[justin_murphy]

Somehow you have made this thread out to be about me...... oh well.

Good luck, poster, with your rotary practice!
It's a tool well worth learning.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

It is a tool well worth using-been using it for over 20 years.

[budman3]

If you have years of experience with guns, would you still walk around with it with the safety off? No you wouldnt, safety precautions like taping should be used by rotary users at any level.

Last time I checked police officers don't have safety's ...

Back on topic- Using a rotary there is a definite learning process. Practice makes perfect and the best way to learn a rotary is to pick one up and practice on spare car parts. Once you get the feel of it, reading and watching tips online will be a lot easier to comprehend. I have been using a rotary polisher on and off for 1 1/2 years and I'm still learning. Practice makes perfect. I have yet to unintentionally burn paint but keeping the pad moving at all times will lessen the chances of a burn. I have used 4" up to 7.5" pads and am still not sure what I like better or maybe its just that I don't find much differences between sizes. The learning curve may be steep but the results and time savings are worth it. Just make sure that you can give 100% concentration when using a rotary, one bad judgement and you may burn the paint or some type of molding.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Agreed-alot of practice will help out in the long run.

[justin_murphy]

I've even using the rotary with my one-steppers now to even get more practice. Man it really makes them cut too!

[Anthony Orosco]

Your first advice from me would be to RELAX......... don't forget to breath, don't place a death grip on the rotary handle. That handle is not there for you to steer the rotary with either. Proper rotary work should look as if it's an extension of your upper body. It shouldn't be tense, jerky nor robotic but rather more flowing. You'll get fatigue from rotary work but it shouldn't be right away. If you are getting tired quickly while doing rotary work this means you're not breathing and you're very tense. Just relax, breath and enjoy it.

You steer or guide the rotary with as much of your upper body as possible, meaning you don't want to over reach or allow the buffer to get to far from outside of your shoulder area. This can cause the buffer to hop and skip and potentially lose control of it.

I also have no idea where the idea came from to "prime" your pad with water or a QD?? Place your product on the panel or area to be buffed (you should always mentally mark out an area to be buffed, no larger than 3ft. x 3ft.) and then place your pad on top of that, begin to buff with even pressured passes, not too fast or too slow.....experience will dictate your speed. You want to buff a panel until it's warm, "toasty warm", I always say.

Go to Radio Shack and buy an infrared thermometer, try to keep your buffed panels under 120 degrees.

Also, you DO NOT need to keep your pads flat when buffing. In fact most of the times you'll get less hop and vibration if you buff with your pad face slightly open. I do about 90% of my rotary work with a tilted pad. A tilted pad DOES NOT introduce swirls marks as commonly suggested. Swirl marks, or buffer trials, are caused from the operator not finishing out his or her rotary work properly. Swirl marks are micro scratches which can be eliminated when one finishes down with a fine pad and finishing polish.

I always state....the finer the pad and product the fewer the swirls.

Good luck and remember to RELAX...

Anthony

[Smith2287]

So I just got a metabo and I am new to the rotary as well. Great info in this tread and I just want to expand on the taping issue.

To properly tape off the car what should I tape?

Sorry never taped off a car before when using the PC

Thanks

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Very good advice Anthony-relax and yes the pad will be at an angle when polishing.
I would tape emblems, marker lights, crevices that you dont want polish to get into, trim/moldings. Also if you do a search several people posted type cars so you can get an idea at what it might look like.