Great info - I need a rotary to get some super hard gelcoat to gloss. So I bought a FLEX-L3403VRG - FLEX L3403 VRG Lightweight Circular. It came with a LC backing plate and the green flat pad - I added a white pad to the order. For light/med oxidation polishing on gelcoat, do I need any other pads? I use a white aluma compound called AQUA BUFF - great stuff...I almost got it done with a DA and this stuff, but not quite...
Glen
21 X2 M35i
18 300 Xmax
If you are removing light to medium oxidation you might want to consider one of the milder wool pads, such as Lake Country Purple Wool pad. It is more aggressive than foams, but not much more aggressive. The big benefit is that the added surface area of the wool will help it cut through the oxidation a little faster with a little less loading (gumming up). Make sure to clean the fibers frequently with a pad brush though.
I can vouch for the Rotary and the Lake Country Purple Foam Wool Pads. Used my Makita 9227c on a Cessna last year that had severely oxidized Urethane paint - custom painted colors as well.
Meguiars 105 and the Purple Foam Wool Pads took care of the paint - not as perfect as the vehicles that come through my place, but they are are not painted in airplane paint either.
Finished with Meguiars 205, sealed with Menzerna Powerlock, and the Client was stunned.
Would have never been able to do this with any version of DA, Random Orbital, Forced Orbital machine, would have died trying.
I still like to use a Rotary for all my correction work, and finish with a Flex 3401VRG if its easy and use same machine for LSP application, or by hand.
I will always pick up the Rotary first and figure out how to use it to the best of its abilities.
Dan F
Just curious have any of you guys tried the Milwaukee 5455? There is also the Harbor Freight route if you want something a little less expensive.... never tried one myself.
http://www.harborfreight.com/interes...der-92623.html
I won`t speak for the HF version but I will comment on what I have, Makita. The Makita is flawless and well worth every penny spent. The Makita will last forever and has power to do anything. Be careful, you might get what you pay for. I paid for the more expensive polisher and got a great polisher. My .02
I hear voices in my mind and youre worried that youre the freak.
I had a Harbor Freight machine that turned out to be the best $40 I ever spent. I did end up burning it up, but I probably done 200 wetsanding jobs with it before it died. Im currently on my second ATD. They are just as powerful as machines 3 times the price, but I question the quality. My last one lasted about as long as the Harbor Freight machine did. I would say the HF rotary would be a great choice for someone who don`t plan to use it everyday, or someone who wants to advance their skills before moving up to a truly powerful machine. They serve a purpose imo.
My thoughts are a rotary is for true correction and a PC or orbital is a finishing machine. I see the need for both in how I detail.
I`m getting ready to a car this weekend, rotary in the first stage of compounding, the polishing on two stages with the PC.
That said you can get great results with a pc it just going to take much longer IMO
Old Enough To Know Better, Too Stupid To Care....
Dave`s Detailing
Sonoma County, CA
I love my HF rotary I use it several times a week. It gets really hot though.
I ran a Milwaukee back in the day...heavy beast of a thing but then I was a kid at the time. Oughta last forever like all their other stuff.
As I`m always posting on these threads, my two rotaries just sit unused on the shelf. Doubt I`ll ever run either of them again. Eh, guess that`s just me...but IMO most people will never do enough work with a rotary to attain true expertise (e.g., no holograms when finishing out, let alone the chance of an "oops!") and the time spent just learning a rotary would be sufficient to do an entire lifetime`s worth of polishing with something else.
IF somebody`s a Pro and has the right mindset, or is working on boats, then OK I can see a justification. But otherwise...nah.
I started with rotary in the late 90s. I have six of them including what I believe is the worlds best one. Ultra low speed to 1500 rpm,30% fiberglass bodied trigger less machine.
i use them for orange peel reduction or removal without a single hologram, haze or marring. For correcting the worst defects and jewelling at well under normal speeds and applying paint sealants without hologramming
Whilst I also own plenty of DA`s and use them a lot, the rotary is still the king IMO. The days of burning paint (pad burning it) are pretty much over and their a very safe tool when used with common sense.
the slicing action of them can give a different look than a da but I do love both types of machines and can`t wait to see the future with adjustable orbital throw machines and maybe offset da and rupes making forced rotation and random orbital in one units or linear machines
The buffing pad aficionado
It`s a just discontinued Fein unit That cost me 800 dollars but it`s worth every bit of that
The buffing pad aficionado
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