For those of you who have a Forced DA, when you you reach for your Rotary ?

[tattooman]

I have a Flex 3401 Forced DA. But I'm thinking about getting a rotary machine. If you have a Forced Action DA that you use, under what circumstances do you use your Rotary machine instead of the forced da ?

[Dr Oldz]

I use a rotary for compounding when I know I will be performing a second polishing step. I also use it for burnishing paintwork if the job requires so. Rotaries are also fantastic with extensions and smaller pads to get into those hard to reach areas and smaller panels. Nothing beats the power and speed of a rotary. There are also times where I will finish down with a rotary as a second step but not all paint systems allow for total hologram free work using a rotary. So my test area will determine my process.

[Strong66]

Ditto to what Dr Olds said, the versatility of a rotary with all the pads and extensions make it a great tool.

[yakky]

Mine sits in my closet. Compounds are so strong now and DAs so powerful that I just don't reach for mine anymore. Couple that with how thin paint has gotten now and there is just no reason.

A few weeks ago I polished my (glass!) windshield with a DA and M100. It took out some serious wiper scratches!

[Paul A.]

Mine still gets some use but less so now after I got my Flex 3401 VRG. I do break it out and most times with a compound and wool for heavy and fast cut downs.

[dlc95]

When I know there will be a dedicated finishing step with a d/a. Either a polish, or corrective AIO.

The rotary is also very efficient for removing sanding marks, and correcting extremely hard paints.

[Coach Steve]

I'll grab the rotary when I'm working on very hard paint, i.e., VW, Audi... especially Audi's, and pretty much any white vehicle with titanium white paint. It's just so much faster even knowing I'll need to finish up with a DA to remove the HG's, the speed at which a rotary can correct is exponentially faster than any DA.

[TTQ B4U]

Mine still gets some use but less so now after I got my Flex 3401 VRG. I do break it out and most times with a compound and wool for heavy and fast cut downs.

^^ This but it's rare. Wool pads on a forced rotation unit with ClearCut will completely correct even bad finishes in 3-4 moderate passes with only a hint of hazing.

Here's a Pontiac G8 that shows the above using a Flex 3401

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/167083397/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/167083399/original.jpg


as you can see by the after pic, only a light polish was really needed and even that goes by extremely fast. Just a few passes to get full perfection. I can't remember what polish on this one but IIRC Essence.

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/167083401/original.jpg

[Farmallluvr]

I have been trying to reduce my rotary use but I have had a few vehicles lately that just plain required it..

I had a 2018 GMC Canyon the other day (black of course) that was near a house or tire fire or something,,it took a couple passes with a wool pad and rotary to remove whatever had bonded itself to the finish

Whatever it was on it was on the tonneau cover as well and everything I had on hand would not remove it.

even when I do use the rorary anymore I usually follow up with with the orbital to remove the holograms and such.

[tattooman]

^^ This but it's rare. Wool pads on a forced rotation unit with ClearCut will completely correct even bad finishes in 3-4 moderate passes with only a hint of hazing.

Here's a Pontiac G8 that shows the above using a Flex 3401

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/167083397/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/167083399/original.jpg


as you can see by the after pic, only a light polish was really needed and even that goes by extremely fast. Just a few passes to get full perfection. I can't remember what polish on this one but IIRC Essence.

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/167083401/original.jpg

Hmmm, that is impressive, good testimony. Thanks.

[dcjredline]

Ive got a rotary but dont think its a needed piece of equipment. I have only used it in the last couple years when a car came to me that was either wet sanded or needed me to wet sand it then polish.

[Aaryn NZ]

I think for me & being that this is my full time gig, I use Rotary to save time on heavy cutting steps or at times the other end of that scale - if time permits, just for the fun of it. I like using a Rotary. :props:

Like TTQ B4U said too though - Flex 3401 with Lake Country Low Lint Wool, or Hybrid Purple Foamed Wool with CarPro ClearCUT . . . Munch munch, defects for lunch!


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

[tcope]

I'm a little different. I bought the Flex PE8 just for small spaces. Try getting a Flex 3401 into a tight/small space.