My rotary purchase experience... what's next?

[EAT HEMI]

Just bought the Makita Rotary. I think it is a nice product. The tool store that I was at had about every type of rotary on the market. Obviously, I spent some time just getting the feel of each one.

The Makita had nice balance. I felt the Hitachi was pretty equal to the Makita, but I trust Makita more for power tools however. DeWalt is my preferred tool brand, but the DeWalt was a little heavy, and the RPM selector I felt was not as precise as the Makita. The Milwaukee... well lets just say I don't have the Popeye arms to work with that heavy beast.

Anyway, now I have 3 questions:

1) So with #9, 80, and 83 in my arsenal already, what should I add?
2) Also, what other special tools do I need for the rotary?
3) What size pads do I use? Can I use the same size as those for my DA?

I have one show car, and am starting to detail other cars here and there (so somewhere between production work and showcar work).

[AeroCleanse]

Re: My rotary purchase experience... what's next?

You need a pad cleaning tool for wool pads (spur). You need the velcro backing plate, which Meg's makes one. I use the same size pads.

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: My rotary purchase experience... what's next?

Welcome to the club!

I would add a newer style compound (M105 or Solo) and a traditional style compound (M84 or M85) to your arsenal. Someday, there will be a detail where a compound is needed. Once you try them, you can kinda play around with which one best fits your style.

Pad spurs are a must when using wool pads. Also, you may look at getting a pad brush for the foam pads.

Sure, the 6.5in pads work just fine on the rotary. Others also use the 8in pads. It's probably a good idea to invest in some wool pads for use with the compounds (the Solo ones are really nice).

[Ivan Rajic]

Re: My rotary purchase experience... what's next?

New Meg's backing plate for the rotary is simply awesome, so I would highly suggest that. I bought the plastic Duospur cleaning tool from autodetailingsolutions.com and it works great for wool and foam pads... I would also suggest getting a brush for cleaning foam pads, either the Edge brush or one like it. I never use pads larger than 6.5" on the rotary... I use both Meguiar's and Lake Country pads as I find them to have different cut levels (for example one Meg's pad will be between the cut level of two LC pads and so on, so I benefit by using both)

As for as polishes go, I would definitely add a couple more aggressive polishes, such as m105 or m95 (I hear 95 is easier to work with but never tried it myself.. placed an order yesterday for some though ).. I have replaced #9 with #82 personally because I find it had less fillers and let's me see what I'm doing easier, but fillers aren't a bad thing if you're doing a good job.

Most importantly, you need to practice, practice, practice... when you learn how to properly use it and use it well, you'll fall in love with using the rotary.