Going backwards buying a Da to polish when I' am experianced with a rotary?

As the title says, I'am experianced in using a rotary buffer, would it be a step backwards to buy a Pc, Gg or flex to do paint correction?

 

I would not say that, many people who are seasoned pros use both tools, they both have features and benefits that are usefull for detailing.

 

I think both are a must have in anybody's detailing arsenal. I can do some awesome stuff with my PC. Obviously rotates will cut quicker, but a DA won't leave holograms and I think it leaves the finish a tad more glossy than finishing with a rotary. Could be my mind making that up, but either way I love finishing with my DA.

 

Never consider it a step back . . . . . as stated earlier most all the pro's have both. I find a lot of pro's using DA's to work with especially with all the new stuff out lately.

I would use a rotary to cut and finish down with a DA. Most of the time though you can hammer out some nice 1 steppers with a DA and not only get great correction on Dark Cars like Black but finish down Hologram free!

 

If you are experienced with a Rotary, then you can appreciate the speed and power it has and used correctly, it will finish down anything perfectly, no holograms, etc., just perfectly smooth, clear paintwork.

Either my Makita or Flex Rotary will always be my first tool in hand to knock out the correction at the level the Client is paying for because its just way faster to use for my requirements.

I have been lately, finishing up some vehicles with my Flex 3401-VRG with the smaller 4-3/8" backing plate with 5" foam pads, and find it a pretty good change in my hands, and the level of finishing it produces is acceptable.

Have just been experimenting with microfiber pads on the above and find them quite interesting to use too. I like that they can go much further (at least for me), on a vehicle before I have to change them out, and cleaning them up is much, much, easier and faster than my old standby, the Lake County Hydro-Shred-able Twins, Cyan, and Tangerine..

I have been reading for years how the Griot's random orbitals tend to implode on you, so if you decide to go that route, you might want to consider buying another one for back up, so you dont get stuck with a Detail on the weekend with a dead machine.. I also just read they have come out with their V.2 so whatever that means, maybe it will be good...

My Flex 3401VRG has never had a issue, and I have had people use it in my shop all day and it has never given up the ghost..

Good luck with your research and future choice/s !
Dan F

 

Isn't it impossible finish with a rotary 100% hologram free?

 

some people have the talen to do so beleive it or not but i choose to go DA.

 

With the right pad and polish, and of course technique, you can finish down sans holograms with a rotary.

 

I think most people would be surprised if they tried using a rotary to finish with. Todd - yeah that Todd, use to use a DA with M105 via the KBM to cut and then use 085 on a rotary to "jewel". How hard is it? Depends on your willingness to try to learn a new trick. I can slip a white pad on the Dewalt and somthing like FFII and just taking it easy running 1000 rpm, polish up a car that just before looked "good" - the rotary can add that 3-5% extra. Now, you still need to be careful around plastic trim, cause it WILL roll the paint right off of it if you buff on it too long and at a bad angle, don't ask how I know ok...

 

Nope, the right pads and polish will give hologram free finishes. Have the pros beeing lying for all the years before the surge of PC's,. I think not.

 

Absolutely not.

 

The benefit to the DA is that it is safer. The pads and polishes that are coming along now that are DA specific, ( Megs MF discs and D300 ) are making it very possible to get rotary like results in most scenarios while being safer, especially for the weekend warrior who would more than likely ruin a panel or two with a rotary. I can't remember the last time I used a rotary at my shop. The reason being, I do mostly one step polishes so I can go to a more aggressive pad / polish combo without the fear of having to follow up with another combo. If you were using your rotary, typically anything more aggressive than a green pad and Menz Power Finish will leave holograms in most paints. With the DA, I can one step with the Megs cutting disc and D300 and it will finish down nicely whilst getting a fantastic amount of correction.

 

No, it IS possible to finish with a Rotary and be 100% hologram free. I do it all the time. But I have been doing it for decades, and learned from the git-go that you had to finish down the paint perfectly, or keep trying until you achieved that level.

What I see more people doing incorrectly with a Rotary is to use the edge of the pad to correct, to be rushing the process on that area, to be using too much speed, and to be allowing the product and pad to dry out too quickly. At this point, it is very easy to have introduced all manner of bad things into the paint that will look just awful in good light..

Now, we know that the material on the pad at some point has to dry out in order to get to that tiny window where you are polishing the paint, but that little window is small and very fragile if you are too heavy handed, and not keeping the pad as flat as possible on the surface, and keeping in mind always that the center of the pad is spinning the slowest compared to the outer edge..

Those that have grown up using the Rotary on thousands of freshly painted, etc., vehicles in body and paint shops, know full well the value and finish that can be attained - we were doing this way before Random Orbitals were even a brain-fart in someone's head ! There was no other alternative.You had to get it right, or keep trying, or let the guy with the gray hair fix what you messed up !

I just drove through Arizona on I-10 a few weeks ago. What's it like to live there?
Dan F

 

with new technologies in term of DA especially the RUpes lhr21, it can correct faster and finish really well.....

That's reason why am selling all my Rotary...

TUan

 

Definitely not! A lot of the top pros now use both tools, with the DA being their main tool. Changes in pad and polish technology have greatly closed the gap between the DA and the rotary. A detailer today skilled in both tools can get an equal or better finish with the DA on most paints. I started using a rotary back in 1989 and it was all I used up until about 2005. Now all 3 of my rotary polishers sit on the bench the majority of the time.

On some finicky paints I would say yes. The biggest problem I see most people making with a rotary is they either have poor technique, don't work the product for the right amount of time, or most commonly, they simply make too big of a jump between the polishing/refining steps.

For those of you new to rotary polishing, best be checking your work! Just because they don't have holograms when they leave your shop doesn't mean they won't appear a week or two later.

 

Absolutely not... In fact, In my eyes when jeweling the finish the rotary provides a clearer final product.

 

Thanks for the reply's , I know opinions will vary , but would be the da of choice?

 

right now I would say the DA of choice would be the Griot's. (for price and warranty)

 

I agree with Phil. Although they are not as reliable as the Porter Cable, the additional power makes enough of a difference that its worth it. Two things though. Buy two because Murphy's law states that if you only buy one, it WILL break in the middle of a paying job. Get hearing protection. I wear -29db rated foam ear plugs and -29db rated earmuffs over top.

 

I also recommend both a rotary and a DA. I always find a scenario where I am using both or prefer one over the other. A da is safer as was mentioned and in some circumstances, personally I don't want to take a risk so I pick the DA. However, I do prefer how smooth a rotary is compared to a DA.