Car Polishing/Waxing...

[Maxx Mazda]

Are you referring to a rotary that you use at work?
As far as I know, a dual-action polisher is the same as a random orbital. The movement of the pad is "orbital", rather than a "rotary" action. It is a random orbit because it wobbles AND spins.
A dual-action polisher is the same way. It wobbles and spins, and thus is a dual-action.

I use a DA polisher almost all of the time. The only time I bust out the rotary is for BAD swirls. Otherwise, the DA works quite well.

Yes, it's a "rotary" polisher I use at work. I just call it an orbital, and the "random orbital" I call a DA. SHould have been moreclear. We do things more different up here in Canada!

 

[Mr Detailer]

Yes, it's a "rotary" polisher I use at work. I just call it an orbital, and the "random orbital" I call a DA. SHould have been moreclear. We do things more different up here in Canada!

What speed do you use the rotary at for removing swirls? Do you use foam pads or wool? (at work)

 

[Mr Detailer]

Damaster - I found the answer about the polish after the cleaner. The Meg's step2 polish is what Meg's calls a "pure polish". That is, it's non-abrasive. It's more of a glaze than anything else. So it basically contains lots of fillers to hide swirls, and lots of oils to leave a glossy finish. So the reason it comes after the cleaner is because the cleaner would remove those fillers and oils if you used it after the polish.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

What speed do you use the rotary at for removing swirls? Do you use foam pads or wool? (at work)

I use it at around 1500RPM max for removing swirls, with a 3M grey waffle pad. I never use wool pads unless it's with a very harsh compound on paint that needs that extra cut to remove all the really bad fading.

 

[Mr Detailer]

I'm very happy to hear that Nick. Too many dealership detailers think that using a wool pad at 2000RPM (or higher!) is adequate for any type of polishing. They'll let cars go looking worse than when they started.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

I'm very happy to hear that Nick. Too many dealership detailers think that using a wool pad at 2000RPM (or higher!) is adequate for any type of polishing. They'll let cars go looking worse than when they started.

I know what you mean man. I can't even imagine using a wool pad with that high of a speed. It's one of those things you just don't do. This new guy we hired said he had "lots of experience" but I caught him using 3M Extra Cut compound on a white waffle pad at like 3000 RPM I'm sure. I had to wetsand with 3000 to get rid of the damage needless to say.