What is your favorite type of machine polisher?

[poyo150]

Hello guys I just want to ask a question on what type of machine polisher you like to use, a DA or rotary polisher. A co-worker told me to start with a DA since I just barely started polishing cars. He show me his rotary yesterday and I must say it a little bit challenging to maintain control and to keep flat. I have a Flex DA polisher and my co-worker has a Flex rotary. I would like to know peoples opinions on this subject ^·^

[Loach]

Personally, I wouldn't want to be without either my DA or my rotary polishers. I use my Dewalt or Makita rotary polishers for as much of the heavy work as I can, sometimes if it's the right paintwork I can finish out clean with the final polishing without inflicting rotary induced holograms. If not, I'll use the Griot's Garage 6" DA or Porter Cable for the final polishing step at a lower speed and use them to apply the wax/sealant. The rotary is a super smooth tool, if you center the pad you're working with no vibrations. If I'm working at speed 5-6 on those smaller DA polishers all day trying to compound and polish paint, my brittle hands even with some gloves get wrecked by the vibrations.

It's always a good idea if you're less experienced to start out with a Porter Cable style DA, with the right pads something like the Griot's Garage 6" is going to have the power to cut through heavy swirls and you'll get the hang of effectively working with polishes and compounds with a tool that is much easier and safer to handle. They aren't going to break the bank either, you can find them for great prices. And even at the enthusiast/professional level when you start to accumulate a larger assortment of tools, these smaller DA polishers don't become obsolete. They always have a place whether it's applying waxes/sealants, performing light polishing, using a brush attachment for carpets, converting to a 3" backing plate for spot polishing, etc. It's a purchase that lasts, and if you're not doing any sort of volume work and you're only working on your personal cars, you'll find that you're going to be reaching for them more often compared to the heavier tools. If you're properly washing the car you only have to compound the paint once. It can be maintained after that with lighter polishing tasks.

Now, if you are getting some higher volume of work, something like the rotary, the forced rotation Flex 3401 DA, or the long-throw 15-21mm DA polishers are going to be more efficient and effective at heavier compounding and polishing. They get the work done faster and are going to be smoother than the smaller DA polishers (unless you have the Rupes Duetto DA which is really smooth).

There are trade-offs with all of them though. The rotary is the most difficult to master, and it has the highest potential to damage the paint in inexperienced hands. It runs without vibrations, it's excellent with smaller backing plates for spot polishing, it cuts/corrects paint the fastest IMO and the Makita and Dewalt can usually be found at a much lower price compared to the Flex 3401 and long-throw polishers. The Flex 3401 DA is forced rotation, like the rotary this can make it more difficult to handle, and it comes with a high price tag. It's a great all-around tool for compounding, polishing, and even applying LSPs. It corrects fast, and it finishes well without having to worry about holograms, but it's not quite as smooth as the long-throws or rotary. The long-throw polishers like the Rupes Bigfoot or Griot's Garage Boss are easy to handle, easy on the hands as well with very low vibrations but they aren't forced rotation, you have to make those slight adjustments on curved panels to maintain optimum pad rotation, and they are also higher priced. You're also more limited compared to the others on backing plate sizes, if you need to do some spot buffing or want to get into tight areas you have to go with a different tool. But they can also cut quite well and leave a great finish without holograms.

So you have a lot of options to work with and there is no best option for everyone. What works best for my current budget and skill set is the rotary and smaller DA combination.

[poyo150]

Thanks for the info. I work in a dealerships and my manager let me buff on car's if I have time to. He has seen me do some good paint corrections on car's and he is impress on how they came out. I will soon go to boot camp with Mike on March so I can get a better understanding on detailing a car better, but for the mean time I would just experiment at my job. All my coworker are impress on how much I learn. My coworker that let me borrow his rotary is in a different department and he doesnt wash car at my job,but he has detail cars for 8 years somewhere else. I ask him for advice every once in a while

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[LC DETAIL]

I LOVE my Rupes team. Lh21 , Duetto 12 and Mini 75

https://m.facebook.com/Mauri-Motor-689588047801936/

[poyo150]

Those were some beatiful car and a really good job with the detailing. Sadly my dealership is not like that but I wish it was.

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[Chris Thomas]

They're all useful and as any true tradesman knows, must be mastered. There is no "one size fits all best machine."

• Rotary for removing sanding marks and fast leveling jobs, but knowing I'll have to clean up the rotary work with da finishing.

• Large throw DA for large, flat panels.

• Small throw 2-3" DA for trim polishing.

• Forced rotation DA for curves and angles that stop rotation on above listed DA's.

[poyo150]

Thanks you for the info Chris. The more I learn the difference the better i would understand about detailing

[dlc95]

I'm a big fan of the random orbital.

The first few times I used a rotaty, I was always wishing I had something "a little less intense".

Things I hated about the rotary was the shedding of wool fibers out of brand new wool pads, product sling, and the large pad. Again, things got way easier once I got used to it. Keep in mind that the there was no Autogeek, no smart phones, and I didn't have a computer at the time. All that was available were some archaic books, which actually helped immensely.

I would pick up the "traditional orbital wax spreader", and try to get something done with it, but it was so slow, and ineffective, so I'd switch back to the rotary.

In 2010 I got my first PC, and instantly fell in love - even though I burned some paint my first go around with it. Strange because I have never burned paint with the rotary. I suppose I was paranoid about that, and took great care in developing my technique with that machine as to avoid burning paint. Think slower speeds, lighter pressure, faster arm movements.. What I liked about the PC was that it offered me more control, less clean up (no sling), great comfort, and a better set up than the "traditional orbitals" as far as power, speed selection, and the ability to switch pads rather than bonnets.

Then in 2011, or 2012 I got the Flex 3401, and last winter the Rupes Duetto. This year I will add Rupes Mini, and the rotary will return to the line up in a Flex pe14-2.

In summary, I like them all (rotational, forced action d/a, and random orbital) the same, even though I gravitate towards the PC.

[mi77915]

I really like my Griot's "Professional Random Orbital". I get great result with it.

[Zubair]

With a rotary you can get incredible levels of correction with a polishing pad, a forced rotation or long throw would need aggressive cut pads or MF to have the same level of correction. A rotary is smoother, quieter and reduces time spent correcting defects considerably especially if you know how to use one and leave it hologram free. The PE-14 is remarkable in a sense that it corrects in a way DA's can only dream of but leaves a finish that will leave you drooling at the result. I have yet to reach for my DA after using a PE-14 on a correction job. People call the 3401 a beast, the PE-14 to me is top dog or the beasts big brother. I use all my machines though as it just makes details that much more fun. Its good to be well rehearsed on all polishing technologies. It pays off in the long run having access to all.