How NOT to Make a Mess

[mattman]

I got a cheap rotary polisher from Harbor Freight and bought a nice 3M foam pad to go on it. I've always waxed by hand with liquid wax up until now, and wanted to try really polishing the paint before waxing. I've watched youtube videos on how to use a rotary polisher, and every time I've tried mine so far, I've made a huge mess ... on me, on the car, and on the garage.

Some vids showed smearing the liquid polish around on the paint with the pad before turning on the polisher ... i've tried that - fail ... some vids showed "scooping up" the polish with the spinning pad (on the hood for example) ... i tried that - fail! ....

what am i doing wrong - i'm usually a pretty handy guy and can figure out how to do whatever i need to ... sure my rotary was cheap, but i can't imagine how any of them work without slinging polish everywhere - or is that just a cost of doing business?

Thanks for any help or advice.
Matt

 

[cfranck1]

It's just the nature of the high speed machine.
It will splatter no matter what you do to avoid it.
Lots of guys wear an apron so it doesn't make a mess on yourself.
Try to smear it in with the pad on the machine but don't have it spinning at full speed.
Is the trigger a variable speed trigger?
If so, start smearing the polish on first without the wheel spinning, then squeeze the trigger to start the wheel spinning but don't squeeze it full on.
Check out this video to see how they do the smearing..
smearing the wax on

 

[mattman]

thanks cfranck - thankfully, it is variable speed and i can start off slow. i guess preparation is key ... in terms of wearing an apron and moving or covering everything in the line of fire

 

[shadow247]

It's just the nature of the beast. I have been detailing on and off for over 10 years, and have yet to buff a car without slinging compound and wax everywhere. Compound/wax will stain the crap out of your clothes, so wear an apron. If you are using a wool pad I would also recommend a pair of safety glasses and an N95 approved dust mask/respirator. Compounds have some pretty nasty chemicals in them, and using them with a wool pad creates a toxic dust that WILL cause problems long term with your breathing.