introduction

Greetings as I'm new here. I have been detailing as a hobby for a few years. However recently I decided to work part-time in a shop to learn the use of products and materials. Since I do this for the passion and the love of the work, not the money, I can do things a little different. I have about 25 customers with high end luxury cars that want me to work on their cars exclusively. But I still have much to learn. I have many questions but I won't rattle them all off at once. So here is one. I'm somewhat confused by the term rotary buffers and polishers. I have been taught during the polishing process to use the high speed polisher to remove the polish while still wet on the car. Working in small sections at a time. That seems to work fine. For the final waxing process I was told we have two options / on and off by hand.....or...apply with rotary buffer/terri clothe pad, then remove by hand....Now I know I could (and will) get into the different types of products around (see my post on waxes and polishes) can someone tell me about how to "remove" wax with an orbital,(or why you would want to) and can you get the same results as by hand? Thanks turbomangt

Welcome to the forum turboman. The term rotary does refer to the term high speed polisher & also buffer/polisher. Rotary polishers are fine to remove the most stubborn scrathes however a lot of people in the industry use them for the wrong reasons or use the wrong product for this purpose.

Rotarys are a very good tool as long as you let them do the work & you don't try fighting with them. You can use the foam pads along with using the wool pads. Caution is to be used while using any wool pads due to the high heat buildup that can occur.

Foam pads are the way to go unless you have to remove some serious neglected oxidation. Any foam pad used for this purpose is a waste of time & also a waste of product.

As for you wax removal, you can use a terry cloth pad attached to your unit. Hope this helps you out & feel free to ask any type of question. No question is too small to ask. Each question will be answered in a timely manner.

Not to disregard what Todd said earlier, I just wanted to add that foam pads produce more heat and cut MUCH faster than wool pads. Wool pads are maily used on non clears wiht light to heavy oxidation due to their ability to not "load up" with dead paint.

Clear coated paints do not really oxidize, more they get a dry chalky apearance that can be easily removed with an application of polish by hand or orbital. Poly blended wool pads are the pad of choice among many detailers for removal of light scratching on clears followed by a foam polishing pad to remove the maring marks caused by the wool. Good luck in polishing.

If your just starting out, I would suggest the Meguairs BODY SHOP line of products because of their consistancy and use among clear coats, once you get going you can try other products that are easier on the pocket. I personally use meguairs and automagic, every paint is different reacting defferently towards product and equipment. Good luck

You might want to do some more research on any information before you intend on giving some advice.

For over the past fifty years wool pads, even if they are syntehic have proven to give off more heat buildup. That along with prevention of swirls is why the foam pad came into extenstence. The wool pad was first introduced in the procedure of producing the intended gloss after colorsanding was first intoduced prior to rubbing paint out.

Try out learning from experience first instead of reading books that have been outdated since of removal of laquer paint in the automotive industry. Take out the liability first when giving out false information, you'll be a much better detailer if you follow directions more closely.

In my 4+ years of running a rotary buffer, I have learned and been told by everyone that supplies wool and foam pads is that the wool pads are more agressive and produced more heat than the foam pads. Regardless of their makeup. I have used pads from several different suppliers, and that is what they all have told me.

this foam pad thing hasbeen irking me a little lately. i know that these pads run much cooler-but i did have a guy tell me the other day that these pads actually run hotter because they are more dense. not in my experience, but then again i dont measure the heat with a super-duper mega-scientific thermometer. i know that what ever is happening, itis right on the money. i will always follow up with the foam pad regardless. i also dont have any major experiece using the f oam pads with cutting compunds and levelers. i only use glaze and light waxes, so they don't get to warmand all my foam padding is low speed.

Hello everyone, I am a "new kid on the block" that would like to start a business in detailing automobiles. I am not advanced in the behind-the-seen magic that can be produced by veterans of the business but I keep my ears open to what i like and would like to accomplish. In the near future I will have probably have questions that I hope get positive answers for if not informative. One of my questions is I went to a place where they sell the entire units with a price breakdown. Here they told me of a class that I could take to learn more on AD (auto detailing), some classes were free or had a entry fee. My question is does anyone know of any of these classes or any info, for that matter,via internet, phone, mail etc. I wowld greatfully appreciate it. THANX

You didn't state where you are located at? I personally like to welcome you to the board & always remember that no question is too small to ask. All questions will get answered in a timely manner & more than willing in helping you out anytime.

I haven't been able to recall of any classes offhand, but I would imagine somebody is more than willing in showing you the direction as for classes or any information you might now or in the future might want to obtain. As again, welcome to the board!

Thanks for your response..here is another question....why do some foams pads have holes in them? what effect does that have compared to the solid type?

Some of them will have the holes in them to keep polish or wax buildup to a minumum. You will find this also with open cell pads & also closed cell foam pads.

they also should help the pads run cooler.

I learned that from a body shop and I dont care what you say, when your compounding with foam cutting pads they produce much more heat, period. Its proven. You may want to learn more about detailing in TODAYs world as opposed to the 70's.

holes in the pad simply reduce the surface contact area and the resulting friction while the diameter of the pad remains the same. Also remember that no matter what speed you operate your machine at .....the larger the diameter of the pad the faster the pad edge speed gets. And as Toddco and Jackimoe state this will reduce heat build up, and is supposed to prevent buildup of the product on your pad.

The use of holes in floor pads used for large commercial floor finish pads are quite common for the very same reason. For commerical floor finishing the pads are 24" and can be larger. There are hole pads and even X pads that are a circle cut into a stylized cross. They all work on the same prinicple. But mostly are used where a smaller machine is being used on a larger job.

i think the holes help out much more in the area of debris control. kinda like a "crap reservoir". most of the dried up or caked up product stays in there and keeps the pad from skipping around and scratching. i honestly haven't been able to tell a difference between the waffle style foam and the smooth flat foam pads. it does seem that the waffle pads take a little bit more product to get going. anybody using the 3-m waffles?

We use the gray 3M waffle pads each time we begin colorsanding fresh paint. These pads have been around for years, but the foam is soft & the life span of this type of foam is short.

jackimoe, sounds like a job for your thong, cleaning crap out of reservoirs. haha. Just kidding, Have a Happy New Year and thanks for the laughs.

that "crap reservoir" thing again! i knew it!