Rotex 125 or 150 for polishing car?

Zed

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Aug 29, 2010
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I saw this cool video on U-tube of a guy polishing a Bugatti Veyron using a Rotex. I could tell if it what size it was. Does anyone have any input on which would be better suited to polishing my car and my sailboat?

Thanks,
Zed
 
Completely off-topic, and I apologize, but I just have to share that passed a Lamborghini Gallardo today like it was standing still.  Ok, so it stopped at a traffic light.  But it was a sweet ride.  Why is it the guys that can afford these exotic sports car drive them 10mph below the speed limit?  You have a freaking $200,000 exotic sports car!  Drop the hammer already!  Just sayin'...  Thanks for enduring my rant.
 
It's much cooler to drive the car slow than fast, then people can actually see it. 

Plus, he knows he has it going on and has nothing to prove. Just like I have loads of Festools and cool projects and feel no need to show a  bunch of pictures of them.  ;D
 
Shane,

Was it this one by chance?  Not quite Festool green.  This one is going to auctioned off the end of the week at the place that Darcy was working:

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Peter

 
When you need to polish a car it's safe to say the bigger the better. When working in the family body shop I had to polish loads of cars and a few boats occasionally and we had a 225mm air powered polisher for that task. I always thought it wasn't going fast enough. It's also safe to say that polishing cars wasn't my favourite job though.

So if you have to choose between the 150 and 125 mm Rotex I'd suggest you go for the 150 because it's bigger and you will cover more ground with it in the same time. If you only want to polish your own car once in a while on a sunday afternoon you'll get by just fine with a 150mm polisher.

But be sure you also need the Rotex for normal sanding tasks and not for polishing only because if you want a machine for polishing only there are much better and cheaper dedicated polishing machines available. When compared with a dedicated polisher the Rotex is a lot heavier, smaller and doesn't have the RPM that most polishers have (1200-1500 vs 660)
 
Shane Holland said:
Completely off-topic, and I apologize, but I just have to share that passed a Lamborghini Gallardo today like it was standing still.  Ok, so it stopped at a traffic light.  But it was a sweet ride.  Why is it the guys that can afford these exotic sports car drive them 10mph below the speed limit?  You have a freaking $200,000 exotic sports car!  Drop the hammer already!  Just sayin'...  Thanks for enduring my rant.

It's a tactic they use. I know over here what they do is when they drive slow when the robot goes green. Moving just enough to get across the intersection and they wait until the next set go green and then they floor it. Man and for a second it's pure raw beauty.

While coming out of club/pub once with some friends I watched this guy in a Lamborghini Gallardo drop of this really hot girl. He sat there waiting at the Green robot until it went amber. He floored it through the intersection and made it through before it went red. Needless to say everyone was watching like [eek]

Sorry for the  [off topic] but I would go for the RO150 for polishing cars and boats.
 
Zed said:
I saw this cool video on U-tube of a guy polishing a Bugatti Veyron using a Rotex. I could tell if it what size it was. Does anyone have any input on which would be better suited to polishing my car and my sailboat?

Thanks,
Zed

Not to change topic on you, but depending on the car, I'd reccomend something different.  If you like all the buffing that
's cool, but it's not necessary.  I'd reccomend Zaino Bro's polimer finish.  It's unreal.  I put a link to my Vette.  You first need to strip that wax off, claybar it, and apply this finish.  IT's a two part deal.  You mix a couple drops of the hardner to an two ounces of product and apply sparingly.  To give you an idea a dime size amount would cover my hood.  wipe it off in a couple minutes and move to the next area.  You can apply as many coats as you want, but I did six coats and it was unreal.  You keep it in shape with a detail mist and a gentle wipe of a cotton diaper.  Beats the heck out of buffing.  The stuff ain't cheap but just go ask any Vette guy and he will have heard of Zaino.  Looks great on the Harley as well!  I'd reccomend the starter kit and don't skip the claybar!

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

2007 C6 Corvette DSOM (6 coats Zaino) Beautifull and is nasty fast!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hokiebones/sets/72157600279727426/show/

 
Peter Halle said:
Was it this one by chance?  Not quite Festool green.  This one is going to auctioned off the end of the week at the place that Darcy was working:

Nope, it was orange. Darcy lives about 40 miles north of where I saw it.  It's also but the first Lambo I've seen around here even though the nearest dealership is in Chicago.
 
bonesbr549 said:
Zed said:
I saw this cool video on U-tube of a guy polishing a Bugatti Veyron using a Rotex. I could tell if it what size it was. Does anyone have any input on which would be better suited to polishing my car and my sailboat?

Thanks,
Zed

Not to change topic on you, but depending on the car, I'd reccomend something different.  If you like all the buffing that
's cool, but it's not necessary.   I'd reccomend Zaino Bro's polimer finish.   It's unreal.   I put a link to my Vette.   You first need to strip that wax off, claybar it, and apply this finish.  IT's a two part deal.  You mix a couple drops of the hardner to an two ounces of product and apply sparingly.  To give you an idea a dime size amount would cover my hood.  wipe it off in a couple minutes and move to the next area.   You can apply as many coats as you want, but I did six coats and it was unreal.   You keep it in shape with a detail mist and a gentle wipe of a cotton diaper.   Beats the heck out of buffing.   The stuff ain't cheap but just go ask any Vette guy and he will have heard of Zaino.   Looks great on the Harley as well!  I'd reccomend the starter kit and don't skip the claybar!

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

2007 C6 Corvette DSOM (6 coats Zaino) Beautifull and is nasty fast!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hokiebones/sets/72157600279727426/show/
Zed,

Hi.  I agree about Zaino products.  Great stuff!  And you'll want to use a clay bar when washing your car.  (Once the car has been sealed with Zaino, use the claybar very lightly every few washes to remove contamination.)  That said...

A buffer (PC, Rotex, whatever) is normally used to remove oxidation and paint defects using compounds and polishes.  While you can use a buffer to apply sealants (like Zaino Z2 and Z5), I'm not sure if it's worth the effort.

Just make sure that you remove the paint defects before sealing with Zaino.  Sealing defective paint gives you... sealed defective paint.  You can still see the defects.  It's the polishing that gives you the shine.  Once polished and sealed, and with routine washings, you probably don't have to polish again for a long time - maybe once ever year or two.

Regarding using the Rotex for polishing, it's a great tool but a bit of overkill if that's all you're going to do with it.  I agree with Alex - define your sanding needs first.  If you decide to go for a Rotex based on your sanding needs, then go for the 150 because you'll find more third-party pads ("sponges" in Festool terms) that will fit the 150.  (I use Lake Country pads.) 

Regarding other polishers, do NOT start off with a rotary polisher.  In the hands of a pro, a rotary polisher can do a great job because it generates heat.  BUT...

In the hands of an amateur (that includes me and most people here), rotary polishers are dangerous!  A rotary polisher will burn through your paint faster than you can say, "Day-am, I din't know that my black paint had a gray, primer colored spot in it!!!"    [eek]

The Rotex 150 is middle-ground tool.  In RO mode, it works like any other random orbital polisher.  In Rotex mode, you can generate some heat to take out tougher blemishes.  But it's not a rotary polisher so your chances of damaging your paint are lower.  Rotex mode should be used sparingly and only on more severe paint defects.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dan.
 
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