I will try to make this as informative as possible. The key reason I posted this here is because anybody who is interetsed in polishing but maybe is unsure or afraid to take the next step in using a machine can find this a bit helpful. I will say that after using the Cyclo for only a short time I think it would be the perfect machine for anybody starting out in poishing and paint correction but IMO it can really go beyond the basics. I do have plenty of machine polishing experince and I got the hang of this machine in about 1 minute of polishing, it was very simple. To a total novice I would say a few hours with a nice easy polish on the cyclo and it will come natural.

On with the review...

I got my cyclo a few days ago and went right to work testing it. I figured the cyclo would be a simple "One Step" and finishing polish machine only and that any real correction work would need to be done using my rotary, but I was wrong. I took out my trusty test panel today and wanted to see just how much correction power the Cyclo and had.

First let me say I really like this machine. Its smooth, balanced and leaves a hologram free finish even after heavy correction...plus one handed polishing is a breeze. As an owner of a Flex 3401 and Makita I will say the cyclo impressed me. The whole time I was comparing it to the both machines and it definatley held its own. Yes of course the raw power of the rotary is far more than the cyclo but with the cyclo I dont have to worry about nasty holograms, even on the softest of paint ( this is great for anybody new to machine polishing). Plus the new twin edge adapters are great, changing the double sided pads is so simple. I can go from cutting pads to fiishing pads in 20seconds.

Now onto the test...

I swirled up one section of the panel with a stiff bristle carpet brush using heavy pressure.

This is what I was left with







The swirls were pretty heavy and as you can see there are many RDS(random deep scratched) left in the finish. Normally for this level of defect I would go straight to the rotary, possibly using a wool cutting pad but I wanted to find out how much correction could be done with the cyclo instead.

I knew it would take an agressive combo to correct this so out with the orange pads and Gloss it Extreme cut. I choose this combo because to polish out the defects in the paint I had to use an agressive polish/compound, I would have gone with evolution cut but seeing the deeper scratches in the finish the cutting power and agressive abrasives in extreme cut was needed over evolution cut. The orange pad is great for cutting, a bit more so than they yellow pad which I used later.



The pads were brand new so I used a little extra polish to prime them- most new pads are a bit stiff when you first use them. I like to run mine under warm water to soften them up a bit before I go to polish, of course spin dry the pads first. I also always like to use a pad conditioner before applying polish as well, softened pads make for smoother polishing and less hopping on the paint.

A tip when using any random orbital machine, always apply the polish to the pad first and then spread it on the panel. If you lay polish on the panel and turn the machine it its going to splatter everywhere. You can do whats called "picking up a bead" with a rotary becuase the pad spins only clockwise and not in random motion. Dont try to pick up a bead of polish with a random.



And now I dry spread Extreme cut evenly acorss the panel to reduce splatter when I turned the machine on. Its important to give any polish a good even spread so when the machine is turned on it doest splatter. Splatter is a pain to get off windshields and plastic parts, try to avoid it by always spreading the polish nice and thin first



After spreading the polish and a few passes

 

The end result after ONLY 1 hit of Gloss It Extreme cut and the cyclo





A very good amount of defect was removed, still some RDS were left but it was to be expected, so far I was super impressed.



I made sure to apply a good amount of pressure when working extreme cut so I could polish out the deeper defects and as it began to breakdown further I lightened up the pressure and refined the finish. I would say after only 1 hot of EC and the cyclo using orange pads I achieved 70% correction, around 85% in some of the areas without as many RDS.

Now onto removing the finer scratches/swirls I went to Gloss It Evolution cut and the yellow pads. I would have gone to green pads because this techinically would be the finishing stage of polishing but I needed some more bite from the pad if I was going to remove even more defects so I used a yellow pad instead.

PAD CHOICE is super important when it comes to polishing! The right pad can make all the difference when polishing a vehicle. Its known to use the least agressive method first when polishing. Sometimes you have the right polish or compound for the job but the pad is to agressive or not agressive enough. In this case I started with the orange cutting pad for the heavy stuff and now I moved down to a standard polishing pad (the yellow is considered a "heavy" polishing pad and it has some bite to it)



After using Evolution cut





After an IPA wipedown I made sure there was no filling and carefully inspected the finish. This step is also important, Isopropyl alcohol mixed 50/50 with distilled water is a great way to inspect a polished finish. Sometimes polishes which were not fully broken down can "fill" tiny defects. Even under a light the finish can look perfect but in reality polish has filled in some of those swilrs or fine scratches. The IPA wipedown gets rid of any left over polish and polishing oils from the paint and you are left with the true finish. This also preps the panel for the next step in polishing.

I would say after the evolution cut it was 90% perfect, the only exeptions being a few deep deep RDS which I wasnt able to polish out. Some may have needed wet sanding but this was only a test on the cyclo so they were left alone.

This was a bit of an "extreme situation" being as the swirls I induced were from stiff brushes and not regular washing towels etc. If I was going for 100% correction on this bad of a finish and used my rotary I would have choosen a wool cutting pad - either white lambswool or edge yellow with extreme cut BUT the only problem would be the left over nasty holograms. Holograms come with the territory of a rotary, if your careful you can always leave a clean hologram free finish but sometimes finicky paints can be hazed with holograms. With the Cyclo I dont have to worry about that and still I was able to achieve a 90% perfect finish in only 2 steps.

Honestly the cyclo is almost idiot proof You cant get holograms and you cant burn a clear coat (well anything is possible but you would almost have to try to damage the paint with this machine) For any beginner not having to worry about burning the clear coat is a big relief.





So from this...





To this





....In 2 steps using a Cyclo

 

Im glad so many of you found this a useful guide

 

That's awesome. A buddy of mine just got one and he loves it. We'll be doing our cars within the next few weeks with it. Great writeup!

 

Nice work and great job describing what you are doing. What a talent!!!

 

Nice write up Smoke.

I've never used the Cyclo so naturally I have a question...

On the first pass you did, you said about 70% corrected with the Cyclo, do you think you could have gotten it 95%-100% with a rotary understanding that it would still have to be finished down once to remove holograms??

Still a two step but with better results possibly?

What are your thoughts?
Thanks,
Josh

 

I couldn't make a direct correlation as to how much more defect I could have removed with a rotary but I would say it definatley has more initial cutting and correction abilities compared to a cyclo but the interesting thing with the cyclo is its ability to work the hell out of pretty much any polish and leave a clean finish after even harsh correction. I find this to be a big plus when doing correction work.

You really have more time and flexibility when working a polish and that gives you maximum results out of each pass so in turn it compensates a little for the lack of raw power found in that of a rotary machine. With a rotary (assuming you use the Zenith cutting method) after the initial spread and breakdown you only have a limited time to achieve maximum correction, I find this between speed 1200-1500rpm usually before you reduce the speed and refine the finish on low rpm, at this point your not really doing solid correction anymore your just trying to jewel the finish and reduce holograms.


With the cyclo its so easy to polish until clear without worrying about exessive heat or burning a clear, you generally have a wider window of time to get the most out of the polish. I like to spread quickly, polish with medium pressure for a short time and then really lay on the pressure to ensure I polish out the deeper swirls and the lighten up the pressure again as the polish begins to clear.

The amount of pressure you apply to the machine determines how much correction you want to go for. With a rotary you dont want to apply much more than the weight of the machine in pressure as you know so its really up to the pad and polish to do all the work. Using a cyclo you have your physical pressure working in conjunction with the pad and polish to achieve the finish you want.

One last thing,, with a cyclo there really is no "cleaning up" stage in the polishing process. Meaning you never have to go back and polish out holograms you may have induced using rotary for correction work. I find a lot of times with a rotary that when it comes to using a finishing polish in a 2 step process I actually have to clean up some of the rotary holograms and try to jewel the finish at the same time. On a cyclo your correction stage leaves the finish hologram free already so any finishing polish you choose to use after is meant to purley jewel the finish, your not cleaning up holograms or micro marring left from the correction step before if you used a rotary. Then again often times a rotary can finish down hologram free and you can just move onto finishing no problems.



I Hope this is understandable

 

Thanks Smoke.

However I have seen first hand some of the types and kinds of trailers the Cyclo can leave behind if not properly finished down.

Even Rich has admitted to me that the Cyclo can leave trailers but they look a bit different then the typical holograms.... sorry I don't have any pics, but it was on a Lambo at a Ferrari show.

It doesn't seem much different then the PC in reguards to using pressure to achieve correction. This pressure helps to generate the heat needed to break down the polish as well as the physical abrassion which can leave micro marring based on the harder pads and pressure.

The rotary doesn't need the pressure as it already generates enough heat to accomplish these same dynamics.

Sounds like a tough toss up between the two but I think I'll stick with the rotary for the heavy cutting and correcting and refining and continue to use the PC for tweaking and waxing as well as very very soft clear coat refinement.

Again, thanks for the write up and useful info.

Josh

 

I have yet to experience any sort of buffer trails left by the cyclo, but then again I have only had mine for a few weeks and worked on pretty much hard and medium soft clears only.

The PC is a great machine but it does vibrate quite a bit where as the cyclo vibrates very little, the new ones (the one I have) comes with 2 counterweights and if you adjust them just right you can get almost zero vibration. Im not trying to sell you Josh, as a person who is skilled with a rotary and who already owns a PC there really isnt a reason for you to go out and get a cyclo, but if you didnt have a PC I would suggest looking at a cyclo.

I think most rotary users (myself included) see the rotary as the go to machine for any sort of polishing work and the PC as "back up" for finishing polishes or glazes etc. but now that I own a cyclo and have seen what its capable of it has become my "go to" machine, if I need more power for correction I'll grab the rotary but instead its all cyclo from correction to finishing.

 

Interested in knowing how the Flex would compare to the Cyclo in the same test using the same polish?

 

I own a flex as well, I prefer the cyclo instead. The flex is a nice machine but overall the cyclo much smoother. The Flex wouldnt have been able to work the polishes for as long as the cyclo did in that test panel correction.

 

My shop owns two Cyclo machines, and I think that they are OK!!! Much better than a PC, but haven't tried a Flex. We get fantastic results with a Rotary every time though, the Cyclo just doesn't remove as many scratches. Once you're experienced with a Rotary buffer you'll always get better results, I believe. If you have problems with swirl marks, then the Cyclo is a great machine. They also work great on cars with very "sticky" paint. The Cyclo is also a VERY well built machine. The cords wear out pretty quickly, but the machine works like a clock every time if you take care of it.


John


John

 

Cyclo is an underrated polisher. I still use a rotary polisher for 100% full paint correction. We have a flex machine at our detail facility and have been testing extensively for the past 6 months. Not a bad polisher but to me still not consist ant for most paint correction situations. Works much like a PC. I think that every polisher has a technique and learning curve, but from hands on experience the Cyclo is much more user friendly and requires very little to produce a great finish!

 

I'm sure like any other product, it has a place on the marketplace.

My findings were,

1-Too heavy for my taste
2-Needs 2 hands to operate
3-Limit on speed
4-Limit on pad size
5-Hard to work on difficult areas