how tough is it to learn rotary

jrock817

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ok, it took a while to learn the PC, and im sure there is still more for me to learn, and the nicest part was not doing damage to my paint during the learning process. for the pros out there, how long does it take to get comfortable using a rotary buffer? i have a car that i can practice on that i dont care about
 

zaxjax

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It is easy to learn but takes one time burning the paint and then you know what not to do. I use a rotary and still mastering my techniques, product usage, and pad selection. I would practice on the beater. Keep the speeds under 1200 rpms and use the least aggressive pad to start.
 

oldmodman

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When I bought my rotary the first thing I did was practice on a junk hood. I went to my local Pick-A-Part and bought a junk hood that had a lot of ridges in it. I practiced with different pads, wools, and compounds. And I purposely burned through the paint on some high spots so I could feel how much pressure and time it took. And since different cars have different hardness factors I got another hood a month later that was from a late model Mercedes which is supposed to have that ultra hard ceramic clear coat. I am sure glad that I practiced before trying it on one of my cars. It only took one second to burn right through the clearcoat on a ridge using a wool and compound. But if using a finishing foam pad and a milder compound it was very forgiving. I had to hold it directly on the high spot and after thirty seconds it still had not burned through.

So get a junk painted piece and practice, practice, practice. Trunk lids work great also.
 

Saleen281sc

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I will only add that using a rotary is not as difficult as people make it out to be.

Most burn thru problems come from using a heavy (or incorrect) compound with an aggressive pad, such as wool.

Even as good as I am with a rotary..I still tape off edges, creases, etc before compounding.

Start with a light glaze, or light swirl remover and a convuluted 3m pad. Also, keep a small spray mister of water, or detail mist.
 

BLKSVTSNAKE

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Has anyone used this System One System? Here is a Youtube link for a demonstration. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3M0hAswDMQ"]YouTube - Jeff Shade discusses SYSTEM ONE Polish w/ Tom Horvath Part 2[/ame]
 

danponjican

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I use S1 all the time a love it.

I've burned paint twice in my life. Once with a PC and once with a rotary. It's not the machine as much as the experience.
 

Saleen281sc

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PistolWhip

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I use S1 all the time a love it.

I've burned paint twice in my life. Once with a PC and once with a rotary. It's not the machine as much as the experience.

Just curious, how did you burn paint with a PC?? When I first got mine, I tried it out on my beater and I could get it to burn paint no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to and couldn't.:lol1:
 

danponjican

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5 inch LC orange pad with Optimum Compound on a hood of a 05 GTO. It has a slight concave hood towards the front that creates more pressure in the center of the pad. One second too long in one spot and that was it.
 

PistolWhip

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Dam that's crazy. I have never hear of anyone burning paint with a DA. Mine seems to almost stop rotating if you put too much pressure on it. Glad I read this though, I'll be more careful in the future, that's for sure.
 

Finaltheorem47

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Its very hard to burn through paint. Steer clear of the edges if your a noob. If your fighting the buffer, your doing something wrong. Always have the pad buff off of the edge if you want to try them. Last, always keep the buffer moving.
 

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