Little bit of rotary shopping help.

[tw33k2514]

The time has come to upgrade to a rotary I believe. The only problem I am having is deciding between the new DeWalt, and the Makita. Also I have no clue what pad trends are for rotaries now.

I am thinking I want to use something like 6.5" pads for most of my work. Just because all the new cars have such small spaces between body lines. But what do you guys who use a rotary day in and day out think? Do I need a 7+" pad to be happy?

And what pads are you guys using?

My rotary experience is limited to the few times I used the Makita at the dealership. And that was just with the standard big ol wool pad...

So any help would be much appreciated. And is it just me or do the new DeWalt, and the Makita seem a lot alike?

OH...and no I cannot afford a Flex. I wish I could, but it is just not in the cars as of right now.

[SonOfOC]

I definitely use larger pads on the rotary, because it has the power to spin virtually any size pad. 6.5 is a good size for the rotary. The larger size lends to faster work and allows a little more stability.

In the past I use the rotary 5 days a week with large 8" to 10" wool pads to rejuvenate heavy oxidized auction cars. Finishining them with a 5.5" to 7.5" foam pad.

5.5" is the sweet spot for DA and in my opinion 6.5" is the perfect foam size for a rotary.

I have the PE14, Makita, and the 849x. They're like my children, I love them all equal even though some do certain things better.

[Flash Gordon]

I have two 9227's. They've both proved invaluable to me. The new Dewalt looks nice too

I use 7.5" pads that I get locally

[PAR Detailing]

I personally think that "stepping up" to a rotary is necessary. I started with a rotary and then picked up a DA. I have now practically put my rotaries on the shelf for good. I only pull them out for nastalgia sake. If you know how to use the DA you dont need a rotary. With the new technology out there the gap between the two is very small if not non-existant.

Here is a write up I did on how I closed the gap with Kevin Browns help.

Edging the DA... A Game Changer (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/products-guides/39598-edging-da-game-changer.html)

Before you spend the money on a new machine and new pads you might want to give this a try.

p.s. I use my Megs g110 or my PCXP for all my correcting... what some would call a "weaker" machine compared to what is out there now.

If you are dead set on a new rotary (which is totally fine) I would get the new Flex. I got to use it when I took a trip to Autogeek and worked on a sweet Pontiac with Mike Phillips as you can see here:

1956 Pontiac Star Chief (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/34525-1956-pontiac-star-chief-convertible-2.html)

If I do use a rotary I like smaller pads... I use 5.5" and my 3m foam backing plate that you can see in my signature.

[tw33k2514]

Its not so much the correction ability that has me wanting to change. It is more a speed thing. Although, I guess if I had to go back over my work with a DA anyway.. I may not save much time.

I definitely have some stuff to think about before I pull the trigger.

[richy]

Just like DA's, everyone has their own opinion. Having said that, let me share with you mine and why. The reason you move up to a Rotary is two-fold: Speed and correction ability. Now for correction ability, torque is the single most important factor you need. Period. When you lean on that bad-boy, it should not crap out on you. Likewise, if you're doing very slow speed techniques on plastic while feathering the trigger (that's how I do it), again, you need the power, aka, torque to do the work.
For that, I turn to Dynabrade. It is heavy, yes, but way more importantly, it is a torque monster! I have had mine a few years now and I love it like the day I got it. You cannot stall this machine out. It does not have that dreaded soft-start feature either (again, personal opinion, but I hate that feature!).
So, in conclusion, the Dyna will help you get through jobs quicker and has the power you need to accomplish anything. It is not a popular choice. Ask yourself this: Do I follow the sheep or get myself an awesome tool? Your choice. I chose Dyna.

[tw33k2514]

definitely appreciate your comments richy. The Dynabrade is definitely a model I will look into for sure. I am just looking to speed up my work. This thought came to me a few months ago when I was detailing a 2010 Kia Soul. It was severely swirled, and took a lot of concentrated sloow passes with the PCXP to correct. I think I had about 10 hours alone on the pain correction. And it is a very small car... For that, even if I had to go over it again with the DA to get rid of holograms, I think it would have been faster to use a rotary for the correcting.

While I have your attention, how do you feel about kompressor pads?

[richy]

definitely appreciate your comments richy. The Dynabrade is definitely a model I will look into for sure. I am just looking to speed up my work. This thought came to me a few months ago when I was detailing a 2010 Kia Soul. It was severely swirled, and took a lot of concentrated sloow passes with the PCXP to correct. I think I had about 10 hours alone on the pain correction. And it is a very small car... For that, even if I had to go over it again with the DA to get rid of holograms, I think it would have been faster to use a rotary for the correcting.

While I have your attention, how do you feel about kompressor pads?

They were nice but got destroyed way too easily. Buff and Shine are my favourite pads now by a mile!!! You will not use anything else after you've tried them. Their yellow cutting pad will finish down as well as a white LCC pad will!

[tw33k2514]

They were nice but got destroyed way too easily. Buff and Shine are my favourite pads now by a mile!!! You will not use anything else after you've tried them. Their yellow cutting pad will finish down as well as a white LCC pad will!
You are not the first person to praise B&S pads. Thanks for all the great information!

[Rav777]

Just like DA's, everyone has their own opinion. Having said that, let me share with you mine and why. The reason you move up to a Rotary is two-fold: Speed and correction ability. Now for correction ability, torque is the single most important factor you need. Period. When you lean on that bad-boy, it should not crap out on you. Likewise, if you're doing very slow speed techniques on plastic while feathering the trigger (that's how I do it), again, you need the power, aka, torque to do the work.
For that, I turn to Dynabrade. It is heavy, yes, but way more importantly, it is a torque monster! I have had mine a few years now and I love it like the day I got it. You cannot stall this machine out. It does not have that dreaded soft-start feature either (again, personal opinion, but I hate that feature!).
So, in conclusion, the Dyna will help you get through jobs quicker and has the power you need to accomplish anything. It is not a popular choice. Ask yourself this: Do I follow the sheep or get myself an awesome tool? Your choice. I chose Dyna.


Richy,

Are you using the actual rotary that dynabrade manufactures, or are you talking about the Dynabrade DA/orbital attachment that screws onto a rotary polisher?

I have been looking into both, but I have always had my eyes on the Dynabrade rotary with the adjustable grips.

Thanks!

[TREMEK]

Well ill shed some input on durability and power. I use to work in quarries repairing conveyer belts

and we used Rotary polishers to grind Rubber for many hours of the day everyday. in all weather conditions Ran heat snow -20 we tried many brands and still have most of them. We have a Mikita Hatachi dewalt milwaukee bosch ...

But for us Dewalt worked best.

this i just my input on durability and power.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9954&d=1322380202

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9955&d=1322380212

[TREMEK]

Yes that is smoke coming from the rubber

[richy]

Richy,

Are you using the actual rotary that dynabrade manufactures, or are you talking about the Dynabrade DA/orbital attachment that screws onto a rotary polisher?

I have been looking into both, but I have always had my eyes on the Dynabrade rotary with the adjustable grips.

Thanks!

The Dyna 51580 (http://www.dynabrade.com/dyn10/content.php?page=catalog) model is what I have and use.

[kronos]

The Dyna 51580 (http://www.dynabrade.com/dyn10/content.php?page=catalog) model is what I have and use.

Looks like a nice rotary and it's made in the U.S. :props:

[tuscarora dave]

I have the Makita 9227C. I have polished/corrected hundreds of cars with it and it has proven to be a good reliable unit. I recently had the chance to hold in my hands a new DeWalt rotary and it is probably a pound lighter than the 9227C and slimmer in design. With my Makita finally showing some signs of wear, I will probably pick up a new DeWalt in the near future and rebuild the Makita as a backup unit.

As far as pads go, I have used a ton of different pads at varying sizes and shapes. I have narrowed my favorite pads down to a few.

For wool pads I like and use most often the 6 1/2" Edge 2000 wool pads. I have at least one of each grade of pad from Edge 2000. They last a good length of time, are perfectly centered every time because of the quick release system and they are double sided so I can quickly and conveniently flip them over for a fresh clean pad if I want to switch to a less or more aggressive compound on the fly.

I also like and use often the 3M SuperBuff 2+2, 9" double sided wool pad. This pad with the purchase of the required arbor extension will set you back around $50 but if you are doing serious production it is the best longest lasting wool pad on the market. I would describe it as a medium to fine cut for a wool pad and it doesn't shed at all. If you like larger wool pads this is definitely the way to go. If I really need to chop at some seriously deep oxidation or scratches/defects I use the most aggressive Edge 2000 wool pad and then follow that with the 3M SuperBuff or one of the finer Edge 2000 wool pads before moving on to foam pads for polishing and finishing.

The foam pads that I have found to work best for me are marketed as "5.5" variable contact pads for use with Flex polisher" by Poorboy's World. They actually measure at around 6.5" and they contour to curves and crowns better than any other pad for rotary use. This better contouring leads to less and not as deep marring or holograms left behind py the pad design. 9 times out of 10 I can finish hologram free with the rotary with these pads. This particular pad must be an OEM pad design by Lake Country that is offered exclusively to Poorboy's World because they are not offered anywhere else on the internet that I can find. I still have and use some of these pads that have been compounding/polishing cars regularly for over 2 years. They are absolutely the toughest best finishing rotary pads on the market and I really wish AG would carry them because I'd rather give my money to them.

For smaller pads such as 4" pads both wool and foam, Cyclo hands down has the best 4" pads. I will never again waste my money on any other 4" pads. For 3" foam pads I like Griot's Garage orange foam polising pads. I actually am not aware of any other 3" foam pad because as well as the Griot's Garage pads work, I have never been compelled to look any further.

These of course are just my oppinions and are only factual as per my own style and experience in correcting pant. I have spent over $1000 on pads to form these oppinions so these oppinions do hold some merit.

I hope this helps you decide on some things to buy and try. TD