I picked one up also and I am very happy I did. I wanted to try out a rotary but didn't want to pay $200 + for one and end up hating it.
I have never used a rotary before and the end results were amazing. I just read a quick article and watched a short video on how to use it and went to town. My DD looks like it was painted with white out because of all the oxidation. It was so bad that it wouldn't reflect light. I only had time to hit the trunk and when I wiped it off it looked like it just got repainted! Now I have a super shiny trunk but the rest of my car is dull.
Don't be scared of using a rotary. If you keep it moving around and keep the rpm's down you shouldn't have a problem. It takes a lot to burn through the paint.
its ok, i was talking to my buddy about the settings and how it went by roman numerals and didnt have a rpm indicator and he told me "umm, use your brain"
____________________________________
1998 GST Spyder | 14b turbo swap | 3" Catback | Evo8 BOV | Still slow
2003 Redfire Cobra | 448wp/435wtq | 2.93" Upper / Stock Lower | bunch of other stuff | SOLD
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremy Clarkson
What it makes me feel though, is sad. I just can't help thinking that thanks to all sorts of things, the environment, the economy, problems in the Middle East, the relentless war on speed, cars like this will soon be consigned to the history books. I just have this horrible, dreadful feeling, that what I'm driving here, is an ending.
Don't be scared of using a rotary. If you keep it moving around and keep the rpm's down you shouldn't have a problem. It takes a lot to burn through the paint.
I agree.
If you can't use a rotary without burning the paint then you're playing full-retard.
____________________________________ Born: 9/2/02...# 2512 of 8394
Mods:
Magnaflow Catback with Ford Racing M55 Mufflers, MAC Prochamber, Steeda Tri-Ax, K&N FIPK, 2.93" upper pulley, MM FLSFC, MM K-Member Brace, MM Coilovers, ac427cobra's Complete IRS Bushings, Billetflow IRS Brace, 18x9 Front, 18x10.5 Rear AFS factory replicas, McLeod RST TD Clutch, Ram Billet Aluminum Flywheel, LFP DP H/E, ETC.
And don't forget to look in just about any car, bike or gun magazine for the harbor freight ad. They all have a 20% off coupon on it. I took 9 of the ads to HF and they let me use them all.
recorrection on the Chicago Rotary rpm dial indicator.
it has 7 settings on mine. Min, I-IIIII, Max. I redid the math and heres my new readout:
Min = 300rpm
I = 750rpm
II = 1200rpm
III = 1650rpm
IIII = 2100rpm
IIIII = 2550rpm
Max = 3000rpm
for some reason when i first looked at it i only remember seeing min, I-III and then Max. Im an idiot. here im polishing earlier and looked down and "what the ****, IIII? oh shit theres a IIIII too? Oh theres max. Fail"
What's the difference between rotary's that are 100 bucks and the ones that a priced near 200? Is one superior to the other? comfort level? Ease of use?
Maybe, but you're also paying for a name in most cases as well.
The Harbor Freight polisher seem to be pretty quality to me. I runs very smooth, and has more power than a novist is going to want to use to polish a car with.
I have several Harbor Freight air tools and they have always worked great for me, and as good as most the name brand equivilant tools I've used.
Some of the stuff at Harbor Freight isn't very good. You have to kind of know what to buy, and what not to buy from them
the Chicago tools rotary is a 9.8amp, while the only ones better are 10amp. 0.2 amps is the difference.
from the pics, all the rotaries look pretty much exactly alike (save for the Cyclo but thats another ballgame).
After using this one today, the only way id spend $200 on one is if this one died tomorrow, and the replacement (warrantied btw) also died the next day, and they $200 models started to come with digital RPM readouts based on actual spindle speed, not motor speed. Like J said, it feels like a very sturdy tool, and like i found out today, it has even more RPM adjustments than before mentioned.
Last edited by thomas91169; 11-23-2009 at 02:49 AM.
HF has a newer 10 AMP model that has a digital rpm scale on it and push button speed select. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
I used it today on my work van for the first time. Used a Edge 2000 blue pad with Poorboys 2.5 and then a white pad with PB 1.0. Came out real nice considering how bad the paint was.
Usually goes on sale for $40 too. I subscribe to Motor Trend just for the harbor freight super coupons.
____________________________________
2003 Sonic Blue Coupe
K&N FIPK, Billetflow 2.93, Metco 4# lower, Stieg Stage IV port.SCT 2600 MAF,KB BAP, Centerforce DF, Fidanza FW, Fiore quadrant and adjuster, LDC cooling mod, LFP dual pass H/E, Canton bling, MRT catted H-pipe, Magnaflow Catback, SCT Xcal2 tuned by Greg at RET...
HF has a newer 10 AMP model that has a digital rpm scale on it and push button speed select. - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
I used it today on my work van for the first time. Used a Edge 2000 blue pad with Poorboys 2.5 and then a white pad with PB 1.0. Came out real nice considering how bad the paint was.
Usually goes on sale for $40 too. I subscribe to Motor Trend just for the harbor freight super coupons.
sonofabitch.
i didnt see that one at my store. horseshit.
does the display readout how fast its actually spinning or just the rpm setting?
Last edited by thomas91169; 11-29-2009 at 11:55 PM.
It is just the set speed represented by a 2 digit number i.e. 15 = 1500 rpm. I noticed that at speeds of 1400 and below it has trouble maintaining a consistant speed. 1500 and up seems fine though.
Frankly I would never use the pad that came with a Harbor Freight tool. I trust the tool to handle the job of spinning but for the part that actually touches my cars finish I leave to the better quality stuff. I bought the edge2000 spindle adapter and a Edge 2000 blue and also a white foam pad from Autogeek to use with my HF polisher. The Harbor Freight unit has a standard 5/8" spindle so any setup will work.
Fortunately, my family owns a bodyshop so I have access to as many junk car panels as I want. I grabbed a trashed black Cobalt trunk lid to play with and for now I'm using the pads that came with the rotary. I'll probably step down to a 5'' backing plate and pads soon.
Anywho, I'm attaching some pictures of the trunk lid. If my car had this finish I would just repaint it. Nothing short of a 3-4 step correction will fix this finish anyway but I figured what the hell.
I did one pass with Meguiars ScratchX, followed by a pass of Meguiars SwirlX and a pass of Meguiars Ultimate Compound. I did all these passes on the foam pad. Then I swapped out to the fuzzy (wool??) pad and did 1 pass with Clearkote Vanilla Moose hand glaze.
Before:
After:
50/50s:
In summary, I have some holograms but I consider my process to be gimped due to lack of appropriate pads and polish. Ideally, I'd need zome different LC pads and Megs 105 and 205, but I'm starting out just learning so all that stuff will come in due time.
Ok, round 2. A pass with Meg's UC, pass with Meg's SwirlX, pass with Meg's ScratchX and a pass with Clearkote Vanilla Moose hand glaze. The depth is coming out and the UC is knocking out the swirls. If I only had better pads and polish.
Ok, round 2. A pass with Meg's UC, pass with Meg's SwirlX, pass with Meg's ScratchX and a pass with Clearkote Vanilla Moose hand glaze. The depth is coming out and the UC is knocking out the swirls. If I only had better pads and polish.
Was pass number 2 done with the fuzzy wool pad?
Great job!
wow 2nd pass looks good, I just bought some Meg's UC this past weekend looking forward to using it soon.
Surprisingly, for an OTC product, UC has great reviews and it's easy to work with. I like it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by spitin venom
Was pass number 2 done with the fuzzy wool pad?
Great job!
Thanks. Pass 2 was done with the foam pad and the pad itself is about shot. Chunks of it are breaking off and I think it's about done but it's still cutting. I used the wool pad and I worked the Clearkote VMW glaze too much with it and put swirls back into the clear. I'll try again and work the Clearkote VMW glaze a little less time.
Frankly I would never use the pad that came with a Harbor Freight tool. I trust the tool to handle the job of spinning but for the part that actually touches my cars finish I leave to the better quality stuff. I bought the edge2000 spindle adapter and a Edge 2000 blue and also a white foam pad from Autogeek to use with my HF polisher. The Harbor Freight unit has a standard 5/8" spindle so any setup will work.
I did my entire car with the foam pad that came with the rotary, and it worked great for me.
Linear Mode
