Rotary burn through....myth???

[Big Tone]

 Just watched a video on youtube called;

Rotary polish burn through on someones car

Seems it may be harder to burn through paint than it is thought.

What you think?

[tech1889]

easy with a rotary harder with a DA

[Big Tone]

easy with a rotary harder with a DA

Without being funny......do you read posts before you reply?

[Guy]

on some cars you need to be going some to burn through

on others... it is easy with a rotary... all depends on the paint 

it's very easy to 'catch' a pad on the side of the polisher with either a DA or Rotary

[Andy-Rew]

It can also depend on the history of the car. If a previous owner was out polishing the car every weekend then your clear coat may be much thinner that you expect. It may be advisable to use a paint thickness gage on an older car.

But most of the time, as long as you use some common sense and take it easy then I'm sure you will be fine. Keep the pad moving with a smooth constant movement, don't stop in one place for any length of time. Also be careful on panel edges, the paint is often thinner here.

I think it will be very difficult to burn through in the way you saw in the video which was probably deliberate just to show the extreme danger. However you need to be aware that you can still damage your paintwork to a lesser extent if you don't pay attention to what you’re doing.

I hope that helps

Andy

[Dan J]

Great points there Andy, yes the risks are greater with older cars but alot of the risk is in the technique of the user, alot of people think its easy to just grab a rotory and away you go but there is an art to it stated above"smooth constant movement" being carefull round panel edges etc and as guy has stated the paint type comes into play aswell, sticky jap paint is a nightmare to work on, ceramic clearcotes can be challenging at times,

pad choice and grade of polish used in the given situation is another big factor to consider, paint condition ie how contaminated it is and defects it has come into play aswell, also not priming pads prior to use doesnt help either which alot of people forget to do.

striking/burning through the paint is easier done than you think if you are inexperienced.

[Big Tone]

Thankyou all for your advice,

I think that you are right when you say that alot of it is common sense, I am an engineer by trade so consider myself fairly used to handling power tools/using my hands.

After practicing on my friends old polo (which has come up a treat!) I am getting the "feel" of the polisher and am understanding the polish/pad combinations, I am going to finish off touching up all the stone chips then polish the lot.

Think I should take some photos and do a little "project" thread???/

[tech1889]

Yer put some before during and after pics up and what pad polish and speed you use so others can use yours as a guide..

And to what you previously wrote yes i do read posts thanks 

[musicman87]

Great advice hear - picking up on one of Purple Hazes posts about priming the pad, does this reduce the 'grabbiness' of the pads.

I've been practising on some scrap panels with a rotary and the polisher feels like it wants to fly out of my hands all the time!

[Dan J]

Great advice hear - picking up on one of Purple Hazes posts about priming the pad, does this reduce the 'grabbiness' of the pads.

I've been practising on some scrap panels with a rotary and the polisher feels like it wants to fly out of my hands all the time!

yes and also heat build up, priming the pad is a must if you are using heavy compounds and stiff pads, finishing pads and polishes
tend not to need as much priming due to the oils in the polish and very fine abrasives and the soft finishing pads used.

also keep your speed as low as it will go when spreading the polish in your set area, keep the the pad flat to the contour of the panel and no heavy pressure just guide the machine;)