Finish quality: rotary vs da

ShinyChevy

ShinyChevy

New member
Just for fun I did two side by side test spots, one with the rotary, one with the da, using several pad/product combinations. The rotary spot consistantly looked "clearer" than the da spot. Or, to state it a different way, the da spot looked somewhat cloudy vs the rotary spot. This was on black CC paint and the difference was very subtle but it was there. Has anyone else seen this or is it just me and my dirty glasses? :cooleek:
 
When I use PO85RD on a rotary, it definitely makes a subtle but big difference if that makes sense. I feel like it finishes down better than a DA could, the clarity and depth is just astounding.
 
craigdt,



Maybe I didn't explain it very well. In my little test the pads and polishes were the same. The only variable was the machine used to apply them - rotary vs pc.



No, sorry, no pix. I was doing the test spot(s) to figure what process to use on the whole vehicle to get the results I wanted and did not stop to take pictures.



Just curious if anyone else has noticed a similar effect.
 
Many people believe a rotary (in the right hands) can produce a superior finish to a DA polisher.



Some products will back that up, where as others will finish out too close to call with either method.



Just find what works and looks best for you and go with that :)
 
There should be no difference in finish quality between paint polished with a rotary or paint polished with a DA or RO machine.



The only reason rotary polishing would look clearer in the end would be because of the additional cut provided by the machine.



If you took two sections of the same paint and did equal polishing up until the final polishing step (jeweling) there should be no difference in final gloss, depth and shine between that done by a rotary or that done by a DA style machine.
 
Considering there was equal prep, compounding & polishing there should be no difference in finish quality between paint jeweled by a rotary or paint jeweled by a DA machine.
 
I always manage to get a much clearer finish out of a rotary. Even when I get a PC finish looking nice, it always misses the sharpness and crispness.



Once the finish is close to perfect, I can use UF by PC with a blue LC pad and not make the finish less good. This is only for the times I can't get the rotary to finish out, or if I have to buff at weird angles and such.
 
I think it depends on the paint.





I started a poll about this on MOL a while back and this post stood out...



Kevin Brown said:
[quote name='RaskyR1']For those of you that use both rotary polishers and Dual Action polishers; do you finish off with the rotary or a DA.
Click to expand...







I always finish off with a DA.



That didn't used to be the case. The turning point (for me) came when Jason Rose recommended I try M83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish. Until then, I would never consider finessing a paint job I'd just spent upwards of 20 hours polishing with a rotary. Are you kidding? Do you know how many cars I had to rotary polish because someone had 'buffed' their car with a cleaner/wax or polish using an orbital? There would be so many curly-Q scour marks covering the paint... You could hang the hood on a wall and use it as one of those eyeball trickery posters!







Nope, until Jason Rose recommended I try it, I only used my random-orbital to apply M06 Cleaner/Wax, or M20 Polymer Sealant. With a skeptical outlook, I gave it a shot.







I'll be darned if that M83 didn't improve the finish on many of the paint jobs I'd buffed for hours on end. Back than, the random-orbital wasn't always able to improve the finish as compared to a rotary. Many times, the surface would end up with a micro marred surface (matching the machine movement of the random-orbital (or DA). But!- Many times, it really improved the clarity of the paint by removing (or smoothing the edges of) any remaining rotary marks. Thus began the quest to push the limits of that wiggly random-orbital machine. That lil' guy was used with many different brands and types of compounds, cleaners, polishes, and glazes. A variety of foam buffing pads (ranging in brand, diameter, and aggressiveness) were attached via various sizes of backing plates. If acceptable results were not realized, a return to the rotary resolved the issues, and a brutal hand-polishing session ensued.



RaskyR1 said:
I've seen some claim that the rotary produces a better finish than a DA... I've never done a side by side comparison between the two, so do you feel the rotary does indeed produce a better finish than the DA?
Click to expand...















I used to, but not anymore.



Whenever a question of this type is posed to me, I make it incredibly simple to determine my preferred method or choice of product. A contest is envisioned. It is a contest that pits me in a head-to-head contest with the world's best detailer (yup- judges, hoopla, trophys, and trophy girls are in their, too! ).







If one of the parameters happens to be something like, "You only get to use one tool for final polishing... The rotary or the random-orbital!", I have to really consider which product is my favorite for the task at hand. Rotary versus random-orbital (DA)?







Today, it would hands-down be the DA.







M86, M105, and now M205 have really raised the bar for all types of machine application.[/QUOTE]
 
scary bill said:
I always manage to get a much clearer finish out of a rotary. Even when I get a PC finish looking nice, it always misses the sharpness and crispness.



Once the finish is close to perfect, I can use UF by PC with a blue LC pad and not make the finish less good. This is only for the times I can't get the rotary to finish out, or if I have to buff at weird angles and such.
Click to expand...







^^ you can use the blue LC for ultrafina? i thought it was too soft for anything other than applying waxes/sealants and it wouldnt let the polish break down? ive only ever used it with white and grey LC pads, never thought i could use blue. does it finnish better than using grey?
 
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