Rotary and 4 inch pads

[jw]

Does anyone here only use 4 inch pads with a rotary? If I understand correctly 4 inch pads are less dangerous than larger pads. Is this correct?

[D&D Auto Detail]

Why do you think 4" pads are less dangerous? I think the smaller pads are easier to control. But the heat is a bigger factor.

[jw]

I thought I read on one of the links that the bigger the pad the more aggressive the cutting is with a rotary. Is this not true?

[wfedwar]

Well, it will be moving slower at a given rpm...

[SuperBee364]

Originally Posted by jw

I thought I read on one of the links that the bigger the pad the more aggressive the cutting is with a rotary. Is this not true?

That debate has been going on and off for years. Someone posts some explanation of why small pads are dangerous/most agressive on a rotary, and someone else comes back with an explanation of higher rotational speeds at the edges of large pads to justify *them* being the more dangerous/most agressive pads.

No matter what size of pad you use, they all have their "dangers". Use the pad that you feel is the most comfortable for you, and that's gonna be the one that's "safest" *for you.* You will probably need to at least get comfortable using smaller pads with the rotary, because you most likely will have to use them at some point to get the smaller areas polished. But for general use, just go with what you're the most comfortable with.

[Accumulator]

I use 4" pads on my rotaries far more than larger pads as I generally only do spot-correction.

The smaller pads seem *safer* to me, though I'd be a bit careful with orange/yellow foam (but then I'd use 3.5" PFW instead anyhow). And the smaller pads are *VERY* easy to control.

[jw]

Would I be foolish to use 4 inch pads while using a rotary for the first time? Would I be smarter to go with the 6.5?

[cushdrive]

Controlling the polisher requires the same methods for any size pad. The pad needs to be flat in order to stay neutral. Tilting the pad causes the buffer to move. There is no advantage to learning on 4" pads.

[evo77]

I feel that a smaller pad offers better control in the sense that you can work in tight corners and areas where you'd have to pay more attention with a larger pad.

[lecchilo]

Originally Posted by jw

Would I be foolish to use 4 inch pads while using a rotary for the first time? Would I be smarter to go with the 6.5?

I'm with Acc as far as control goes... think of it this way... if you start going "the wrong way" with a 3.5-4" pad, there is ~2" from center that are gripping the paint going the wrong way... with a 6.5" pad there is over 3" pulling the wrong way, and 8" pads 4"... so this is why 4" pads are easier to control

As far as which you should use, I would recommend 6.5" because they're pretty easy to control and go fast enough to justify not using 8" pads on a certain car. IMO if you use 4" pads you're not really practicing rotary skills too much, as you would be with 5.5"+ pads