Sharing the knowledge as I learn it...

**danponjican** · 06-08-2007, 09:58 AM

I'm fairly new to this level of detailing / paint correction so I figured I would share some of my lessons I learned along the way.

So last night I was finally motivated to finally test out some of my new stuff. I wanted to try to rotary again. Last time I was all over the place with it! I had a really hard time controlling it and was just a frustrating experience overall. So I came across these videos last night on the MOL forums:

Meguiar's Online - How to Introduction to Wetsanding and Rotary Buffing. (Video)

So after watching all 5 of these videos I was motivated and feeling confident on what I needed to do to get that rotary to work for me. I went all out! Here was my process. I only did the hood for time’s sake and really because that is the worst part of my car and need the most correction.

-Cleaned the surface with Meguiar’s Final Inspection QD (Car wasn’t that dirty. I washed it yesterday)
-Clayed in spots that needed it with Mother’s Clay Kit
-OC with wool pad on rotary at about 1800 rpm (lubed with QD every pass)
-SSR1 with white pad on rotary at about 1300 rpm (lubed with QD every pass)
-DG TPP #105 applied with a blue pad with the Ryobi DA (let cure for about 45 minutes and buffed with microfiber bonnet on the same blue pad)
-DG FCS #921 this morning to clean off some sap that the trees decided to deposit on the surface
-DG AW #951 after the #921

Here are my conclusions:

1) I’ll never use anything but a rotary for correction.
2) I like Poorboy’s products better for foam pads on a rotary and Optimum products for wool pads on rotary.
3) DG products ROCK!
4) I love the Ryobi DA for LSP application.

(Sorry for the crappy pictures… they are with our engineering community camera here at work.)

I now LOVE the rotary! Once you get the hang of it it’s so powerful and quick. The key that really helped me is the little side conversation in I think part 4 of those videos where he is talking to the guy about floor polishers and how you tilt them to steer them. That REALLY helped me. With that technique I wasn’t fighting the machine because it wanted to drive off its own merry little way. I was now using the power of the rotation to steer it. VERY helpful!

Previously, after my compounding steps I always look at the surface and was ike, “Shoot! This looks ready for LSP!” Well that tells me that I wasn’t correcting enough. I mean when I think of it, if I am stripping a layer of CC off to correct blemishes then I wouldn’t think the surface should be looking perfectly shiny. Well with the wool pad and OC it didn’t! It was this dull but yet very smooth surface. You can see that the minor blemishes were cut away but it left this hazy finish. That’s were the SSR1 and the white pad kicked it! Man that stuff made it POP! I loved that stage more than anything! So fulfilling and satisfying.

I want to pick up a bottle of SSR2.5 for lighter correction with a foam yellow or orange pad on the rotary. It would be less aggressive but still more aggressive than OC with a DA. I tried my new yellow pad last night with the rotary and OC and was getting decent results and might have finished the whole project with it but I dropped it on my muddy driveway. So I switched to the wool pad. Now I’m glad I did because of how effective the wool pad was for me! I wasn’t crazy about the OC on the foam pads though. I figured out the reason too… the OC is much thinner, more liquefied than the SSR polishes. So, on a foam pad it tends to get absorbed into the foam much quicker. Then you have to worry about the pressure you are applying too much because with all that product soaked into the foam. If you lay into it, you’ve basically applied fresh product again to the working surface. With the OC and the wool pad it wasn’t like that… it just broke down so fast you didn’t even have to worry about it. But I had to be really careful with that combo… it generates heat quick!

The SSR1 on the other hand is really thick. So I liked it on that white foam pad. Just a little bit and it worked very nicely and broke down perfectly. You can tell when the abrasives were gone and you were only working with the oils. Very nice!

**Mike T** · 06-08-2007, 10:06 AM

Thanks for sharing the knowledge you have gained and your review.

**Nimble** · 06-08-2007, 10:10 AM

Nice review on those items/processes. You, like many of us are seeing the rotary light haha. The PC is such a pain in the #%^ to get anything accomplished in less than 10 hours. I'm over it and going to buy a Vector/Chicago rotary....$65 bucks and I hear they perform well.

**BlackCoupe** · 06-08-2007, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Nimble

Nice review on those items/processes. You, like many of us are seeing the rotary light haha. The PC is such a pain in the #%^ to get anything accomplished in less than 10 hours. I'm over it and going to buy a Vector/Chicago rotary....$65 bucks and I hear they perform well.

If you are in business, don't skimp on your equipment. Over the period of time you will have it, is it worth saving $100 bucks? What is your time worth to finish a car in half the time? Wouldn't you make that up in one or two details?

**danponjican** · 06-08-2007, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by BlackCoupe

If you are in business, don't skimp on your equipment. Over the period of time you will have it, is it worth saving $100 bucks? What is your time worth to finish a car in half the time? Wouldn't you make that up in one or two details?

I don't want to start a debate but let me turn the table on you. Explain to me what it is worth the extra $100 for a Makita, Dewalt, etc.? I mean correct me if I'm totally off here, but a rotary is a pretty simple piece of machinery. Basically a powerful motor with a speed adjuster and a trigger. Help me understand.

**Nimble** · 06-08-2007, 10:37 AM

Yeah, I mean I'm not picking up a harbor freight one here, I would love a Hitachi, but I'm not even sure how I'll like a rotary after not having picked one up in 5+ yrs. If I love the Vector and it's working well for me, I might even spring for a Metabo soon. Can't have too many polishers.

**Pats300zx** · 06-08-2007, 10:59 AM

I agree 100% on the HF rotary. I picked up one for $29.99 on sale. I purchased a nice backing plate for it and am waiting for a friend to give me some instruction on it. I detail on the side and more or less a weekend warrior. The HF rotary is the perfect starting block for me.

Once I perfect my skills and get used to using a rotary correctly I will probably spring for a Metabo. I just can't see me doing that now for a piece of equipment thats going to sit in a box until I learn how to use it properly.

**MoreBoostPlease** · 06-08-2007, 11:32 AM

Should I be looking into purchasing a rotary instead of a pc? Is a rotary basically an orbital. What are some good ones?

**Nimble** · 06-08-2007, 11:37 AM

Haha, not when starting out. The rotary is a heavy duty machine that I'd at least polish 20+ cars with a PC before purchasing. The PC will get out most swirls on a car, and if using for personal cars, it's both safer than a rotary as well as sufficient for the job. when you detail care for money like many of us do, the rotary is much faster.