How long?

How long did it take before you guys were completely comfortable using the makita to do polishing?

Also did anyone jump straight into a rotary bypassing the Random Orbital stage?

How long after you've had the random orbital did you decide you were ready for a rotary polisher?

Sorry for being so annoying and asking all these question:sorry:

 

1. Probably a couple months.

2. Not me! PC/Flex was first

3. About 3 months.

 

I think I used a PC for about 2 years, before I made the switch to rotary. I would say I used the Makita for about 6 months now, and really love it. It's very comfortable to me.

Some people will take longer to get used to it than others. Billyblooshoes went straight to rotary, bypassing the DA.

I decided I wanted a rotary for the power and faster correction that it offers. I still have a PC though, because it has it's uses.

 

Well I started using a rotary about 5-6 years ago when I was 15ish and started working at our bodyshop. I felt comfortable with it right away but was not even close to achieving results like on here by a long shot. Never had a DA buffer until I found these detailing forums a year or so ago. Had used DA sanders for a long time, just never a DA buffer.

 

1. On my third vehicle I felt extremely comfortable

2. I started with a PC. It wasn't giving me the results I wanted fast enough.

3. I only polished one vehicle with the PC.

 

I started working at a body shop when I was about 15 am 25 now. Im not sure how long the PC has been out but I started on a rotary. I proply took me a good month of panel buffing ( just a door or a fender a day)to get the hang of it. Then within 2-3 months of starting I was producing a swirl free finish every time. I wouldn't recomend jumping to a rotary without some one running you through the motions. Funny thing, I bought my PC about 3 years after I started detailing and the only reason I bought it was for spreading sealants on the huge Snap-on, Cornwell, and Mac trucks I detail.

 

1. Pretty much the first time I used my Makita, first car I ever did was my nice car... I had Pektel watching over my shoulder and after the first few passes I felt great...

2. Sure did... didn't feel like wasting my time with the PC

3. I still haven't even owned an orbital...

 

I should mention that I spent many many many many hours with a 4" and 7" Makita grinders doing metal finishing on cars.... picking up the 9227C felt like an old friend...

 

1. Took me about 1 car to feel comfortable using it on a clients vehicle.

2. I started with a PC

3. In exactly 364 days since I bought it, I snapped the shaft in the PC so that made me upgrade for back up since it snapped during a clients car....

 

All they had at the time was rotary's, it took a 1 hr to pick it up.

 

I used the flex for a while before I switched over to the rotary's. My first time using a rotary was a few years back before I knew anything about detailing, as i was using it with cheap pads and polishes and burnt through the clear on the corner of my hood. After that I started to take interest in detailing and found this site. Now I have so much product and four polishers and am addicted to it. Now I use my makita and flex almost all the time on corrections.

 

1. 3-4 full cars.

2. skipped the RO and went straight to the rotary

3. NEVER!
I am pretty ballsy

 

1. I screwed around with three junk panels a lot before I used it on a car.

2. I didn't. I started with a PC.

3. From the first day of using the PC, I suspected that a rotary would be far faster. At that time, I was only working on my own vehicles, so it took me several months to take the plunge.

I've still got a PC, but only use it for headlights these days, and even that has become very rare. I should probably sell it.

 

It didn't me long at all to get comfortable using my Makita, but I did find that using smaller pads, I.e. 3.5" and up to 5.5" pads are easier to control and get the hang of using the Makita in comparison to the larger, 6.5" pads. The larger pads tended to skip around a little on me until I got the hang of it.

 

Comfortable with rotary after the first few cars but i started with a scrap panel. Me too went straight to the rotary

 

Bought a cheap rotary(harbor freight) initially. I had no idea what I was doing :shead: Two months later I bought a UDM just to have an understanding of what actually happens when you polish a vehicle. Now i still have the UDM , although barely used, and have a makita as well as a metabo.

 

i started wtih PC. now looking for rotary after doing about 4 cars. one of main reasons is need for 2" bp

 

used PC for about two years, then tried Flex VRG3401...one year later finally gave in and got myself Makita.

 

i used orbital wax-er at first than just jump in to rotary, then get PC for maintaining.