RinconVTR wrote:
gmw photos wrote:
RinconVTR wrote:
How many RV'ers does it take to change a light bulb?
Man you guys make life difficult!
Just buy your favorite brand RV/Marine product like this;
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-M4965-Marine-Fiberglass-Restoration/dp/B0000AY4YT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&...
AND TO ELIMINATE ANY HIGH EFFORT AND SAVE TIME...BUY ONE OF THESE;
http://www.amazon.com/Kawasaki-841475-10-Inch-Orbital-Polisher/dp/B00NARC9B8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=...
You'll have your camper done in no time, and the buffer can be used o all your cars and trucks as well. These 8-12" orbitals WILL NOT burn your paint, no matter hard you try.
Not trying to pick an argument here, but my opinion of these random orbitals is they are only "slightly better" than hand polishing. And yes, I have one.
As you point out, they will not burn your paint. Which is both a blessing....and a curse. The reason they won't burn your paint is because "they are not doing much".
I do still use mine sometimes for final buffing on clear coats of the cars and trucks. I also let the beginners use it when they are learning how to use power to buff wax off. The clear coats on factory paint on cars is very thin indeed. The gel coat on these campers is a lot thicker than clear coat.
Your point is valid though that using a rotary buffer is an acquired skill, and if a person is stupid with it, you "can" screw up the finish.
You cannot screw up the finish using an orbital buffer unless you contaminate the pad with an abrasive or an abrasive polish, which these machines are not made for.
That aside, these 8-12" pad size buffers are impossible to misuse. When my son was 6, he helping out many times, and I let him use the buffer. No big deal. Worse this that can happen is he gets the wax/polish in or on something it should not be...same as hand waxing/polishing.
I use to be a professional detailer, and have used all types and brands. What is an acquired skill not everyone can master and can damage paint easily, is HIGH SPEED BUFFING. I never was comfortable doing it, but I was pretty good at it. There are people who could put me to shame and repair heavy clear coat damage (and blending) better than I could ever dream.
Rotary buffers are a hybrid of orbitals and high speed buffers. There is mild skill involved, but relatively safe to use for beginners. Larger orbitals are fool-proof.
Regarding hand vs machine. They are not better or worse than waxing/buffing/polishing by hand. But your hand cannot orbit thousands of times per minute, right? That's the difference. Its effortless and fast. You wont even break a sweat in most cases.
To be honest, I'm not sure the distinction you are making between what I am calling a "rotary" and a "high speed buffer". Maybe ( likely ) I am getting my terminology wrong. The "rotary" buffer I have simply goes 'round in a circle. It has a dial to adjust the speed from zero RPM up to some top speed ( can't remember how fast, but it's faster than I have ever needed ).
Your point about using the correct pads and being certain to not contaminate them with "other" products is of course critical to the success of using these things.
All of which goes beyond what is likely needed to make a RV look good. Let's face it, the final finish on an RV is simply not on the same level as even a factory automotive paint job, let alone a good higher end pro body shop paint job.
My only point about the whole thing is that a true buffer that simply rotates, as compared to these "dual action, random orbital, jitterbug" ( or whatever you want to call them )....the rotary that you can control speed on, simply does a faster job, and the result is typically smoother. Although, to digress on that, the final finish smoothness also has a lot to do with how well you do the initial prep work ( clay bar, compounding, polishing, etc ).
Which is way more than anybody here probably wanted to know !
๐I will admit, I enjoy using buffers, hand waxing, detailing etc. To me, the whole exercise is "therapy". It's something for me to do on stupidly cold or hot days, because my shop is heated/air conditioned, and it's just a peaceful place to be doing something "fun". And the results are nice when all done.
You're right that using a lightweight random orbital is "easy" to the point of, as you say, you won't even break a sweat.
Over and out.
