This should arrive by late this week.....now I just need some warm weather so I can use it.

http://www.coastaltool.com/cgi-bin/S...376+1140630902

Any tips on using a rotary are welcome, as I've only used a PC random orbital up till now.

 

start off by practicing with a final finish foam pad cuz with that you cant really burn the clear...thats how I started at work now im trying to get the wool pad down..with the foam pad though keep the speed around 2k

 

You can still burn through the clear with that pad. Id suggest to start off even lower than 2000. 1600-1800 is a decent speed to start with.

Best thing you can do, work over spots for a short period of time, then check how hot the area gets. That will give you a feel for how long you can sit over a certain area. Just start off slow and work your way up. Keep the rotory moving too, dont let it sit in a spot too long, good way to burn through or create swirls.

 

Thanks guys, I hadn't thought about starting with a finishing pad. I will 'practice' on my wife's 96 Camry.

I thought about starting at about 1000 rpm. Is that too slow?

 

1k is a little slow, but you can start at that if you just want to get a feel once you do ur gonna increase the speed.. and bluec is right keep the rotary moving...you'll find your pace

hehe at my job I got a detailer who uses a rotary at like 5k unless the paints bad, but it still makes the paint nice and smooth and shiney

 

A rotary at 5000 rpm? Man that seems stupid fast. He must be good!

Anyway, got the unit, now I just need some warmer weather to try it out.

 

Good at creating swirls. 5k isn't exactly a safe speed to be at.

EDIT: Taken directly from the Machine Polishing 101 thread "You should never be above 2500 RPM's when your working on automotive finishes."

1500rpm is the ideal speed for polishing on paint finishes. Anything above that and you multiply the risk of swirls and burn throughs.

 

I'll start at 1000 or a bit less for practice. I can't imagine anyone doing 5K. I saw your post in the Midwest forum, ....want to do my car for $10??

 

If you drive out here. Any org member is welcome to that price.

Yea you'll be fine starting out at 1000. Just get a feel for it and just keep it moving. You can always use the back of your other hand to feel how hot that panel gets, and just go from there. It really takes some skill to perfect it after awhile, but its still easy to get used to.

My instructor I had when I did post-secondary auto collision in High School really taught us well when using a rotory. We practiced on donated cars, and wow, some of those cars actually looked driveable after we were through with them, they just didnt run.

 

I prefer to use the machine to apply liquids, and reomve them with a microfiber cloth by hand.

 

Yeah, that's exactly what I do. All removal by hand.