Used rotary for the first time today

[Eddie6th]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Hey Eddie,

That looks like that is Mike Phillips' son using the Meguiar's G100, (a PC 7335 Dual Action Polisher and not a rotary polisher). His dad sure looks proud!

Tim

[Eddie6th]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Hey Eddie,

That looks like that is Mike Phillips' son using the Meguiar's G100, (a PC 7335 Dual Action Polisher and not a rotary polisher). His dad sure looks proud!

Tim

It's great to see that!

I didn't know that was Mike's son. Learning the trade quick....The younger the better! It'll be like second nature to him by now. Maybe could give me some lessons!

Anyway,although it's not a rotary it's still a power tool and must be treated with respect. It's a great picture! Too see someone so young doing this,under adult supervision,of course.

[Caress Detailing]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Man, Mike Stoops hit the nail on the head on this one. No more discussion needed lol

I like the analogy of how professionals makes things look easy though.

It annoys me every time I'm at a drift event, and hear some kids "Oh, drifting doesn't look that hard." Yeah, going sideways at 90mph full lock countersteering 2 feet away from a competitor in a 600whp rear wheel drive car with 295 tires in the rear "doesn't look that hard."

*sigh*

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Man, Mike Stoops hit the nail on the head on this one. No more discussion needed lol

I like the analogy of how professionals makes things look easy though.

It annoys me every time I'm at a drift event, and hear some kids "Oh, drifting doesn't look that hard." Yeah, going sideways at 90mph full lock countersteering 2 feet away from a competitor in a 600whp rear wheel drive car with 295 tires in the rear "doesn't look that hard."

*sigh*

Thanks!

Hey, if you want to learn rotary buffing from guys like Tim Lingor, Mike Phillips, Mike Pennington, Joe Fernandez, Kevin Brown, etc you don't just sit and watch them. Guys with that sort of talent make it look almost too easy and you can get lulled into a false sense of security! But every one of those guys could explain to you in detail what they're doing, and point out why they're doing what they're doing as well as why they are NOT doing certain other things.

[zigzagg321]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

I winced when I read the OP's line how his friend just gave him the rotary, some unidentified compound, and told him to go to town. I'm so glad that everything turned out OK because all of the elements for creating some serious paint defects seemed present in this story.

Perhaps the most telling part of this thread is that the OP was prepared to accept the consequences of damaging his paint.

Im not sure why you would wince... and if you read what I wrote...it wasnt my "friend"... it was the guy who was training me to do the jobs. What better way to learn than to go at it on my own vehicle??

and what do you mean by, "the most telling part..."

BTW...I buffed 3 cars today to remove scratches and they all came out just fine...no swirls, holograms...no damage.

[cnfowler]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Zigzagg, post some full sun pictures of your work and it will remove all doubt that may be in some of the members. Instead of telling us, show us. You'll find that most, if not all of us, LOVE pictures. The more the better.

Colin

[zigzagg321]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Zigzagg, post some full sun pictures of your work and it will remove all doubt that may be in some of the members. Instead of telling us, show us. You'll find that most, if not all of us, LOVE pictures. The more the better.

Colin

Im not worried about other members doubts.

[cnfowler]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Suit yourself.

Colin

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

I winced when I read the OP's line how his friend just gave him the rotary, some unidentified compound, and told him to go to town. I'm so glad that everything turned out OK because all of the elements for creating some serious paint defects seemed present in this story.

Im not sure why you would wince... and if you read what I wrote...it wasnt my "friend"... it was the guy who was training me to do the jobs. What better way to learn than to go at it on my own vehicle??

He winced, as many others probably have (and rightly so) because what you wrote was:

thats right...I buffed for the very first time today. I have never used any power tool of any kind to buff...and also have never done it by hand.

I used a 3m waffle pad and some compound the guy training me loaned me...I have no idea what it is. He didnt teach me to buff...he just gave me the compound and told me to go to town on my truck when I got home

We're just curious how he's training you if "didn't teach (you) to buff...he just gave (you) the compound and told me to go to town". That doesn't sound like teaching to us, unless you've left something out.

We've gotten too many phone calls from people who very quickly got in over their heads, and we've seen first hand what can happen because people tend to bring cars to our classes and open garages that were "buffed for the first time with a rotary". Heck, we've even seen cases here on MOL and other detailing forums where so called "professionals" have returned a vehicle to a customer in worse condition than when it was dropped off. That customer is now going to a detailing forum in search of assistance to correct what the pro did.

You may have dodged a bullet this time around, and that's great. But there is a huge difference between skill and luck. Who knows, you may be one of those people who picks things up extremely quickly and has a real feel for this sort of thing. If so, then you should be envied! Hey, it happens. Just not very often. And we don't want people just thinking it's no big deal to grab a rotary and go to town on their car. We have seen more disaster cases than we can remember, but the "buffing savants" are few and far between.

We hate to say it, but Colin has a point. It is so rare to see someone just pick up a rotary and master it off the bat. That, and some people have a much more highly trained eye than others, or are just plain pickier than others. We don't want to sound like we're coming down on you here - actually we thing it would be pretty awesome to see that you do have some rare, innate sense for the tool, but certainly you can understand if some people are a bit skeptical.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Im not worried about other members doubts.

No offence,but if you're not worried about what others think,why bother to start the thread in the first place.

Detailing is a visual subject. A lot of users like to see pics.

[zigzagg321]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

He winced, as many others probably have (and rightly so) because what you wrote was:

We're just curious how he's training you if "didn't teach (you) to buff...he just gave (you) the compound and told me to go to town". That doesn't sound like teaching to us, unless you've left something out.

Im not detailing cars. He told me the basics, and I watched him work for 6 days...I saw him buff scratches out of probably 40 cars.

We hate to say it, but Colin has a point. It is so rare to see someone just pick up a rotary and master it off the bat. That, and some people have a much more highly trained eye than others, or are just plain pickier than others. We don't want to sound like we're coming down on you here - actually we thing it would be pretty awesome to see that you do have some rare, innate sense for the tool, but certainly you can understand if some people are a bit skeptical.

I never once even hinted at "mastering" anything. I never claimed to have any level of ability. so Im not sure where you are going with that.

No, I dont understand the skepticism. I buffed a few panels on my truck that had light scratches and I didnt burn the paint and the scratches are gone. That was what my thread was about. I also stated that the truck is grey, a forgiving color to work with.

No offence,but if you're not worried about what others think,why bother to start the thread in the first place.

Detailing is a visual subject. A lot of users like to see pics.

because I wasnt bragging or even saying I did some spectacular job...I just said I got the scratches out and didnt burn the paint on my first buffing experience.
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I buffed for the first time on my grey truck with a Makita 9227C and removed scratches and didnt burn the paint. thats all. nothing more.

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I got another account at a Lexus dealership today, based on my work... let the questioning begin... sheesh.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Please understand we don't mean to be coming down on you for using a rotary on your truck, or saying we don't believe you. If all you did was buff on a few panels, most of which on a typical pickup are fairly flat, then not burning through the paint isn't a huge surprise. Most people think when we talk about burning through paint with a rotary buffer we're talking about in the center of a panel, but that's rarely the case. What happens very often, more often than most people will admit, is that a moment of inattention will take the paint off the edge of a body panel, or do serious damage to a trim piece, tail light lens, etc.

Our overall concern, however, is that MOL attracts a lot of people who are new to machine polishing, and often new to detailing in general. We need to be very aware of what's being said and recommended when it comes to machine buffing because some people will see a thread talking about "how simple it is to rotary buff" and they'll just jump right in. You would be amazed at the phone calls we get from people who have done just that - and did serious damage to their vehicles. A particular brand new 5 Series BMW (black, no less!) comes to mind; the owner openly stated that he had seen a YouTube video on wet sanding and rotary buffing, and "it didn't look all that hard". So he got some sand paper and rented a rotary buffer. A few hours later he called us.

So please understand that we do in fact wince when someone comes on MOL and presents a thread that makes rotary buffing sound no more difficult or complex than D/A buffing. We also hope that the person instructing you has talked about the difference between buffing the middle of a flat panel and dealing with tighter areas of a vehicle, sharp body lines, mouldings, etc. Because if you run the rotary at a reasonable speed and keep it moving, it really isn't all that easy to burn through a quality paint job in the middle of a panel. But that exact same process can do real damage to panel edges, trim, etc. In fact, with a foam cutting pad spinning at even 1100 rpm, all you have to do is touch plastic lights, trim, etc and you've damaged it.

In no way are we trying to discourage you, we just want people to be thinking about the whole process.

[zigzagg321]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Im well aware of the dangers... and being that Im not a complete moron, I fully understand that a flat panel is different from an edge, or trim parts.

If you are concerned about this thread that much...just delete it.

Im pretty taken aback my the skepticism and general disbelief and hair trigger judgment here.

All I did was report what MY experience was, and I get blasted for it.

/

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Used rotary for the first time today

Again, we aren't blasting you, and we apologize if you're taking that way.

Our concern is that others, people without the benefit of the time you spent at the side of the experienced user who was training you, will read this type of thread and figure "hey, if zigzagg321 could just jump in with a rotary, then why shouldn't I?" That is the ONLY concern here.

A couple of initial posts to this thread were of the opinion that rotary buffing isn't a big deal. That's just not the case for someone starting out. Period.