Amigo !
Hope you guys are all good and warm !
It is cold, rainy, here, and dumping several feet of snow at a time up by Lake Tahoe..
I like to use the Side Handle on all machines because I learned that way as a kid, and when I grew up, I liked the
Leverage advantage the side handle gave me.. I can balance the machine`s torque much more precisely with the side handle.. Another way to look at this -- how much strength can you utilize with both your hands and arms, one above the other, vs one hand and arm at 6 o clock, and one hand and arm at 9 o clock?
The next part is going to be my particular process that really works for my needs, added to the zillion other techniques that are all good as well..
Absolutely have to have
very good lighting, to help you see what is going on while it is happening, and adjusting whatever needs to be adjusted while you work that area..
I have always done all correction work at lower speeds, ( I hardly ever go very far past 1,000+ and only when it`s time to do a light final polish, if it`s needed) because I want the compound or polish to work itself to be almost completely gone, and then, the pad to clean it all off for me, so I have very little to wipe off and possibly scratch my work..
In my decades of doing this with a Rotary, I just don`t get holograms, micro marring, or any of that stuff, and I think the reason that some people do, by my observations, is that they do not work the product
long enough, they might be using the wrong product, pressure, pad, technique, etc., for that particular paint, do not keep it moist enough, and also, do not keep the pad flat,
absolutely flat, as much as possible while doing that area on the panel.
Too fast a speed, especially with too much pressure, can also get everything too hot and cause defects to show up in the work...
I want to "work" all these things together in a way that keeps them all "friendly" with each other, so they all give me their best result..
Like any other machine, you need to understand about putting downward pressure on the pad and there is no set process for this either.. You just have to use the - innovation - gene and experiment with it..
You may not always need a lot of downward pressure, sometimes the weight of the machine will be enough.
But, with the lighter and lighter machines they make, I don`t see their weight ever being enough for badly scratched paintwork.. (So, perhaps you will need to apply pressure)
Guess that is why I still love and prefer my 10lb (with no backing plate, pad) Makita beast.. It can run anything down and not even break a sweat..
And as a bonus, the 3,000rpm top speed is awesome to help dry out your washed pads really fast.. I just have to be careful to make sure I`m not near anything that could get that stream of water off of them..
Another great Rotary bonus - no vibration...
Good luck with this !
Dan F