Ready for a rotary...your opinions please

[A.P.A.D.]

will do! thanks a bunch!

[Detailchick]

I am about to pull the trigger on my detailing gig and go full time with it, but before i do so, i would like to make some last purchases before i am counting on the detailing money to support the family. right now, all the money i make detailing goes back into the business and my full time job pays the bills.

i currently have a PC and i use 5.5 LC CCS pads.

i want to go ahead and buy a rotary polisher and all the accesorries i will need with it. wool pads, adaptors, pads, pad washers, etc. i want to have everything i need for poorly neglected paint, boat gelcoat, etc.

i know there are plenty of threads in which people ask what kind of rotory to get, but what i would like help with is forming a MUST have wishlist for a rotory and everything you would see i would need to be able to effectively use the machine to full potential.

thanks in advance for your help!

I would go for the makita comes with the bag and 2 good quality wool pads
Makita 9227C 7 inch Circular Polisher

LC backing plate I know It works for 5.5" flat pads so you can use the same flats as your pc
Rotary 4 inch Flexible Backing Plate

you can get a spur to clean the wool pads (although I have used screwdrivers in the past)
Lake Country Wool Pad Spur, pad spurring tool, pad cleaning tool

and a foam pad conditioning brush (although I use a toothbrush)
Foam Pad Conditioning Brush cleans and reconditions foam and wool pads on the buffer. remove excess caked wax and polish from buffing pads.

I think the majority of people get by without a pad washer, you can just get extra pads. The new dewault looks spiffy but I have never used it, just looking at it looks better/lighter than the old 849. the makita speed goes from 600/3,000 rpm the dewault linked starts at 0/3,500rpm.

DeWalt DWP849X 7 & 9 inch Variable Speed Rotary Polisher, rotary buffer, circular polisher, car polisher

[tuscarora dave]

I want that new Dewalt!! I'd trade my PE-14 for one in a minute.

[A.P.A.D.]

I would go for the makita comes with the bag and 2 good quality wool pads
Makita 9227C 7 inch Circular Polisher

LC backing plate I know It works for 5.5" flat pads so you can use the same flats as your pc
Rotary 4 inch Flexible Backing Plate

you can get a spur to clean the wool pads (although I have used screwdrivers in the past)
Lake Country Wool Pad Spur, pad spurring tool, pad cleaning tool

and a foam pad conditioning brush (although I use a toothbrush)
Foam Pad Conditioning Brush cleans and reconditions foam and wool pads on the buffer. remove excess caked wax and polish from buffing pads.

I think the majority of people get by without a pad washer, you can just get extra pads. The new dewault looks spiffy but I have never used it, just looking at it looks better/lighter than the old 849. the makita speed goes from 600/3,000 rpm the dewault linked starts at 0/3,500rpm.

DeWalt DWP849X 7 & 9 inch Variable Speed Rotary Polisher, rotary buffer, circular polisher, car polisher

thank you for your feedback. i will include the spur, 3.75" backing plate, 6" backing plate, 6.5" and 4" wool pads, 9 7.5" orange CCS, 3 7.5" yellow CCS, and a yellow centering post.

i think i will marinate on this in the wishlist for a week and then place the order (unless there is an awesome sale monday!!!!)

[Detailchick]

I want that new Dewalt!! I'd trade my PE-14 for one in a minute.

yeah maybe I'll get it when my Makita breaks.....

like that's going to happen

[Jomax]

I'm getting that new 849X, I'm a dewalt fan and it looks soo appealing!!!


Sent from my iPhone using AG Online

[SonOfOC]

Not doubting you statement with the PE-14 getting hot. Mine does get hot, but never like the 3403. I had the 849, 849x, and Makita before the PE-14.

The soft start is main and only flaw on the 849x.

Anyhow, your PE-14 will fetch premium dollar and more than cover the cost of a new 849x.

I want that new Dewalt!! I'd trade my PE-14 for one in a minute.

[Mobile detail]

I hve a Flex PE14 and I really like it. Is it worth the money? eh its super lite, quiet, and fits well in my hands. The production detailer I know uses the new DeWalt 849X so I tried it and I actually like it better than the Flex. Its feels powerful and fis my hands better. I know what Dave means when he says it gets hot. It sucks and its really annoying.

As far as pads and what not, I use the Flex foam 5.25 bp with buff and shine 6 in pads and then I'll use my 8 in hyperflex bp with 3M white and black pads and sometimes finish with a buff and shine white. I use buff and shine 8 wool and love it. I wanna try the Tuff Buff that Richy uses but haven't found it local.

Once you get confortable with a rotary, you'll use it all the time especailly stepping up from a PC. Its a huge time saver and you can finish down really well when you use the right pads and product. If your doing this full time, invest in what feels the best in your hands since your going to be using it all day. Out of all the pads I've used, the 3M seem to work the best for me. Granted they are expensive but I can usually get by with just using the 3M black and Perfect-it polish then I'm LSP ready. Thats huge when doing this for a living as time is money and getting great results are super important.

Good luck with whatever you choose@!

[Danube]

The Flex isn't what I would call a serious tool for a professional detailer. I tried to use my PE-14 for correcting an entire car in a profitable amount of time and the thing was so hot it was burning my hands to hold onto it after just doing the hood and front fenders.

The fact that a tool gets hot doesn't mean that such tool is not a serious tool. 3401 gets hot too, so what, we are all using it with a great satisfaction.

I don't believe there are other cons with PE14 apart from getting hot (and not as much as you are describing), there is no job that PE 14 wouldn't be able to complete and 9227 would. I believe this is your personal preference, but in reality PE14 is a very capable tool, smoother, lighter, with better ergonomics then any other rotary, thus the popularity of the same, despite the fact that it cost nearly double then Makita 9227.

[tuscarora dave]

The Flex isn't what I would call a serious tool for a professional detailer. I tried to use my PE-14 for correcting an entire car in a profitable amount of time and the thing was so hot it was burning my hands to hold onto it after just doing the hood and front fenders.

I rarely ever post my opinions in discussion forums, but rather the facts that come to the surface as a result of testing my style of correcting paint or detailing. So while some may think the above statement is simply an opinion or personal preference, in my day to day dealings it is based in facts.

Once you get confortable with a rotary, you'll use it all the time especailly stepping up from a PC. Its a huge time saver and you can finish down really well when you use the right pads and product. If your doing this full time, invest in what feels the best in your hands since your going to be using it all day.

This too is a fact in my day to day dealings. When I first stepped up to a rotary from my Cyclo if I had been working with a PE-14, it certainly would have been a step in the right direction as far as time savings would have been concerned, but. As time went by, paint correction became more of a sole means of income and less of a hobby, the jobs started getting bigger and I got more comfortable with my own style of rotary compounding and polishing (which is simply keeping my foam pads primed, flat as possible and applying a good amount of pressure on the correcting steps) the PE-14 would not have had the power to fit my needs without overheating.

The fact that a tool gets hot doesn't mean that such tool is not a serious tool. 3401 gets hot too, so what, we are all using it with a great satisfaction.

The reality is that the 3401 dissipates heat from the plastic gear set above the backing plate very efficiently, thus the searing hot aluminum gear cover that is designed to do just that, dissipate heat. I am admittedly hard on tools in order to maximize my efficiency and on large jobs such as 30 plus foot trailers and large aluminum trucks, I have applied 20 plus pounds of pressure on the 3401 for 12 hour days without giving the tool a break and the motor never gets too hot to handle.

So what? So we're talking about two different types of heat here. One (3401) that is incorporated into the design of the tool to enable the tool to be the workhorse that it is, and the other being heat retained in the motor of the tool that if continued to be run would have melted down ensuring immanent failure.

I don't believe there are other cons with PE14 apart from getting hot (and not as much as you are describing), there is no job that PE 14 wouldn't be able to complete and 9227 would. I believe this is your personal preference, but in reality PE14 is a very capable tool, smoother, lighter, with better ergonomics then any other rotary, thus the popularity of the same, despite the fact that it cost nearly double then Makita 9227.

One night while using the PE-14 I accidentally dropped the tool from a sitting position onto the garage floor because my hands were slick with detailing products, the plastic gear box cover separated where the two halves join one another. Despite replacing the plastic screws that the covers are attached with, there's still a gap there that will from time to time pinch the skin of my hands. While the PE-14 is a well balanced, smooth operating tool that for the most part feels good in my hands other than the poorly located speed dial, in the reality of my life, it's a toy in comparison to the other rotaries that are often seen in "real word" detail shops whose main goal is productivity. Sure it has it's place in my arsenal of tools but if I had it to do all over again, I certainly wouldn't have spent nearly $400 on a machine to spin 3 and 4 inch pads with.

Anyhow, your PE-14 will fetch premium dollar and more than cover the cost of a new 849x.

Yeah, someday I'll be in the right place at the right time and this too will become a reality.