# 3M Polisher...



## Top Gear Dog (Nov 28, 2008)

Morning all.. 

I have a 3M polisher in my collection that I just can't seem to get on with! I find it difficult to control as some times it seems to develop a mind of it's own and wants to go anywhere apart from where I want to polish on the area I'm working on..

I know a lot of my problem is "user error" but I can't seem to get any enjoyment out of using it.. Does anyone have a guide to the correct speeds I need for the 3 polishing system I also purchased with the polisher? I've looked on the internet and seem to draw a blank. 

I spent a lot of money on the polisher, pads and polishes and now it's sitting in it's box gathering dust. (if anyone in the Kent area wants to buy it, PM me..)

Any advice will be gratefully received, cheers.


----------



## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

3M only ever made a rotary polisher and your description of the problems you are having would seem to confirm that.

When using a rotary polisher the face of the pad must be kept square and flat to the paint surface or it will want to walk about as you have found. Don't fight it, just loosen your grip and ensure the pad is not tilted or angled on the paint. Perhaps source a scrap panel and practice on that until you have more confidence and can steer the pad in the direction you want.

Have a read of Dave KG's excellent guide below.

*Machine Polishing by Rotary Polisher*

Alan W


----------



## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

> if anyone in the Kent area wants to buy it, PM me...


I wouldn't be so hasty in getting rid.

Put on a fine polishing pad with a glaze and just look at how you are holding the polisher and how the pad is sitting on the car before starting it up. As above if it isn't square it isn't going work.

At a speed of 1 just feel how the machine works and it shouldn't take much effort to get the pad flat. You already know from above how the machine looks when the pad is flat.


----------



## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

Sorry to disagree but you will never get the best finish or make the most of what rotary has to offer unless you can operate it at all angles. with different parts of the pad in contact, as appropriate, with the surface being worked on.
There is no requirement to always keep the pad flat to the surface and if you do, I would argue, you are tying one hand behind your back. 
You need to be able to use it at angles to pick up or put down polish etc etc 
You should be able to pick up most of the residue with the mop head as you finish so very little remains to pick up with a cloth. 
Once you can work at angles you can really work a pad to its potential.
However you will need to work out your way of getting the mop head into contact with the surface under control and then controlling it once it is there and up to speed.
It is not something to be taken half heartedly there is a lot to learn.
You have to learn how to control a rotary polisher and the mess, in more than one way, it can make. It can take a while.
Once you get it, it is easy but time spent putting in the practice, practice, practice continuous self assessment and a variety of different challenges ( not leaving holograms or uneven blotches as you finish and needing to re polish, etc etc) will all take you forward.
I would always advise anyone getting to grips with rotary to mask off so splatter does not get all over everything including themselves. After a while it is possible to make much less mess but masking is sensible and saves a tantrum when having to clean up the aftermath. 
Scrap panels are a good way and friends with older tatty vehicles are often happy to let someone practice, as long as they know the risks.
As said, start with fine polish and a soft pad (less likely to damage anything), keep away from edges (thin paint) until you can make the machine travel and do as you want it too. You will always be slightly biasing one way or the other to offset the rotation and will find it easier in one direction than the other and get a better finish. It becomes second nature after a while.
Always work with the rotation to your comfort and advantage, changing sides, direction or leaning over as necessary.
Start slow and work up once you can control it at speed 1 then try speed 2 and up, it will be different and will need slightly different handling. It is important to learn how the machine reacts as it spins faster once you can predict that it all gets easier and you can turn you attention to pads and polishes.
DA is less messy and easier, though often can take longer, you would still need to learn how different pads and polishes combine, 
overall there is not much to criticise but it is quite easy to spot a crisp clean rotary finish any day.


----------



## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

> Sorry to disagree but you will never get the best finish or make the most of what rotary has to offer unless you can operate it at all angles. with different parts of the pad in contact, as appropriate, with the surface being worked on.
> There is no requirement to always keep the pad flat to the surface and if you do, I would argue, you are tying one hand behind your back.


That is so but as the OP is struggling to even get past go and looking to give up before even mastering the basics he needs somewhere to start.

Don't run until...

Once he understands how to steer the rotary he can look into all that you have writtem.


----------



## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Sh1ner said:


> Sorry to disagree but you will never get the best finish or make the most of what rotary has to offer unless you can operate it at all angles. with different parts of the pad in contact, as appropriate, with the surface being worked on.


Don't be sorry. That will come *AFTER* the OP has learnt how to stop the polisher moving about of its own accord. That is his first challenge, to be in control of the polisher (not the other way round) and then learn how it can be steered and used.

The rotary takes years to master and there is much satisfaction and joy to be gained from learning the art of rotary polishing.

Alan W


----------



## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

When I joined the RAF a long, long time ago, we used to have to buff the floor with either a heavy, metal block on a pivoted pole or one of those big heavy electric floor polishers. It used to be a hoot watching guys who have never used one before go flying all over the place, as those machines are very difficult to control and get to move gently across the floor. A rotary follows the same principle. Once mastered, as I eventaully did with those floor polishers, you'll get the balance just right and it be a smmoth as.


----------



## Top Gear Dog (Nov 28, 2008)

I just find it so frustrating as I've used a DA for nearly 10 years and had fairly decent results and I want to get to the "next level" in detailing.... I've used it to do my neighbours car and she was over the moon with the results and pending this incoming weather front, I'm due to detail her car again as she is getting rid of it.

Looking at the advice here, I need to slow the machine down and slow myself down.. I'll give it another go and see how it goes. Cheers folks.


----------



## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

Alan W said:


> Don't be sorry. That will come *AFTER* the OP has learnt how to stop the polisher moving about of its own accord. That is his first challenge, to be in control of the polisher (not the other way round) and then learn how it can be steered and used.
> 
> The rotary takes years to master and there is much satisfaction and joy to be gained from learning the art of rotary polishing.
> 
> Alan W


I do understand that but he will never get to grips with it without doing it but I have the impression the o/p perhaps does not have a clear idea of what he is trying to achieve or perhaps what is achievable.
I stand to be corrected.
He might even visit a friendly local painter to see if he can watch a panel or two being finished.
Learning is so much easier if you can see, talk, hear, touch, smell and use all the senses to understand the task.
Unfortunately written words alone are often insufficient.

I have taught many people the basics in half an hour or so, most get it and after a bit of carefully guided/criticised practice can produce an ok result, on a flat panel.
The refinements come later and at a different pace but some are not ultimately willing, take it seriously enough or accept criticism, expecting it to be easy without putting in any effort to self assess and correct and master the techniques to spot and avoid the errors.
I know standards vary but I have seen lots of people just carry on doing the same old thing and produce wasted work because they lack the ability to assess the result as they create it and just carry on and wonder why it looks like it does when they have finished.
That does not mean they they cannot learn though if given the right instruction.

That the o/p has asked for assistance and hopefully means he is willing to learn but without the understanding followed by the practice and necessary adjustment to technique to correct mistakes he will not gain the experience to work the machine as a rotary can be worked.
He can stand there trying to keep the mop head flat to the work but I do not believe it will get him anywhere.
A practice panel (where it does not matter) and some out of control errors (starting at speed etc) would, I am sure teach him more about how to control the machine and how much force is necessary to counter the rotation to be able to hold and work the machine slowly over or on the spot.

He states that the polisher sometimes develops a mind of its own. the only way to control that is to learn how to tilt the head, how to anticipate the movement and how to develop the touch to control the movement.
With rotary, the physical strength to hold/work the machine against the rotation is necessary if the machine is to be used to the full. Less physical force can be used but then takes longer and sometimes a d/a is perhaps more appropriate for some people because of that.


----------

