Polishing Flat Area Smaller Than The Pad

[ORANGERT]

I`m preparing to do paint correction with a DA ( correcting typical scratches and swirls from visit to a body shop ). I believe I have the pads and products to begin. There are a few smaller flat areas to polish; front clip, tops of fenders, etc. Can 5.5" pads be used where the area being polished is not as wide as the pad? Or should these narrower areas be polished by hand? A general rule of thumb is to polish just up to a body line or panel edge, but these flat areas are less than 5.5 inches wide. I cannot afford a 3" polisher at this time, but do I really need one? Thanks for your help.

[The Driver]

What polisher are you using?

[chet31]

3" backing plate for your current DA?

[Stokdgs]

Some smaller areas like the tops of fenders can easily be polished with a bigger pad, and others are not possible to get that pad into because of other parts of the car in the way..
Yes, you can polish some areas by hand but normally, a Detailer will use the machine as much as possible because it will almost always do a better job..

In the case of the door cups - the recessed area behind door handles on BMW`s, for example, the only way to get to this spot is with a finger, a short soft white towel, and some Meguiars 105. This will normally get about all those fingernail scratches that you see in those spots.

Yes, as has already been said, just get a 3" and a 4" backing plate and pads for your machine.. They sell them and the pads here at the store online..

Dan F

[ORANGERT]

I`m using a PC 7335 with a 5" backing plate and an assortment of 5.5" LC CCS pads. I do have a 3" backing plate and a couple orange LC 3" pads. These orange pads are the same size as the backing plate, 3", and are about 1.5" thick. I`ve never tried the 3" setup with this DA ( Megs G100 ). I burned an edge with a rotary doing a front bumper cover years ago. A lesion I never forgot! So it should be ok to use a 5.5 pad on the fender tops ( 3.5" ) and a 4" wide flat section on the front bumper cover? Keeping the pad flat as possible and "not" rolling over the edges?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Driver]

A PC doesn`t really have the power to burn through edges regardless. Just be weary of the backing plate, if you really concerned you can always throw a little tape on the tight sections.

[ORANGERT]

Here is a picture of what I,m working on.

[WaxAddict]

Here is a picture of what I,m working on.

Nice car. I`ve found on my cars that the 15% I can`t get to with a 5.5" are flat areas where the light doesn`t really reflect up yo your eyes anyway, so I`m fine with a lower level of correction on those areas. For example, spoiler uprights, headlight recesses, etc. you may find that using one of your 3" pads by hand in those areas yields perfectly acceptable results when taking the whole car into account.

[ORANGERT]

I normally polish areas to small to get to by hand. My main concern was using a 5.5" on all the areas I can easily have access to polish with a panel width smaller than the pad, like the top of bumper below the grill and the tops of of the front fenders. Is it ok to do that? I know the black grill bezel will need taped.

[Stokdgs]

I`m using a PC 7335 with a 5" backing plate and an assortment of 5.5" LC CCS pads. I do have a 3" backing plate and a couple orange LC 3" pads. These orange pads are the same size as the backing plate, 3", and are about 1.5" thick. I`ve never tried the 3" setup with this DA ( Megs G100 ). I burned an edge with a rotary doing a front bumper cover years ago. A lesion I never forgot! So it should be ok to use a 5.5 pad on the fender tops ( 3.5" ) and a 4" wide flat section on the front bumper cover? Keeping the pad flat as possible and "not" rolling over the edges?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A very nice car !!!

Looks like you are already set up with a smaller backing plate and some orange pads..

I have a Meguiars G110V2 and it works great for what its capabilities are..

You have a Rotary ? That`s great ! You can put a smaller backing plate on there and an extension so you can get the pad close and not have the machine in the way... Just have to be careful of all the moving parts...
I use this method all the time because the Rotary corrects much faster..

You learned the hard way that plastic bumpers have very little paint on them.. Sorry you had to burn through.. The plastic parts also do not like a lot of heat, since they cannot dissipate heat as quickly as metal parts..

So be more careful and dont press too hard on plastic painted parts either.. Figure you can only do so much and stop there.. Unless you can measure the thickness of the paint on them, we all need to be careful here..

Yes, always keep the pad as flat as possible,, remember the pad rotates faster on the edges, mind where the edge of the pad and backing plate is, always, always, be looking at your work and all around the area... If you have to look away, let go of the power button or turn it off...
Good luck with this !
Dan F

[ORANGERT]

Thanks Dan! I have an old Dewalt I haven`t used on a car in a long time. The last time I used it was on a hood of a 1996 T-Bird that had chemical stains from the copper railroad lines it was left parked under. It rained and then the sun came out before I got a chance to move it after work. That was ugly and stupid of me to park it there, didn`t want to park close to anyone else! That`s when I burned a edge. I was so pissed at myself I put it in a box and haven`t used it since! I did get the stains out with some 3M compound though! The painter told me to keep learning and he will fix it!!!

Anyway, I`m going to give this car a go with the G100. Am I being to risky using it and the 5.5" pads on the bumper and front fenders? The tops of the front fenders are 2.5" wide.
Thanks!
JC

[Stokdgs]

JC,
I am sure you will be fine with the Meguiars D/A...

Of course, try a spot and see what happens and work from there...

Any of the Random Orbitals (except for the Flex 3401VRG) will not have forced rotation, so you need to get as much rotation out as possible to help break down your product and work it into the paint...

With that said, I always use a smaller pad and backing plate when possible, to get as much rotation as I can..

If you have 5" pads or anything that is not 6" pads, all the better..You have a lot of sheet metal there and its going to take some time..

I would run any D/A at full speed after starting off slow to spread the product over the area and get the pad happy..

But if it WAS me. I would be using my Makita 9227C on that beauty with Lake Country Hydro-Shred Cyan and Tangerine Pads, 5" sized, and a good medium to mild cutting compound to start, until I found my process for that vehicle...

You are going to be fine with your choices... Just as long as the pad will fit the spots and not get onto or hit something else around it... You know what I mean...

Good luck ! Beautiful Car !!!
Dan F

[mrclean81]

Im with Dan in saying Id have that DeWalt geared up with an extension and 3 inch pad for tight areas like that. Hell I find myself doing full panels with the 3 inch just because I like the way I can dial a section in with it.

[ORANGERT]

Thanks! I love this damn car! Had it six months, took it home right off the transport truck ( no diso marks ), always 2 bucket washed it, no swirls, and bam a deer got me at the seam between the fender and driver door. I`m going to try a test spot with M205 and a LC white CCS pad and go from there. I was just concerned with polishing the thinner panels I can easily get to, but only using part of the 5.5" pad actually contacting the surface. I`ll post up some before and after pictures. It`s to dirty right now to get some pictures of the scratches and swirls the shop did not correct. The picture in the post above was after I brought it home and washed it. At least the paint match and body work was good. If that was their best effort, I`m afraid to take it back. I know I can make it look much better myself. All I need now is 2 days of uninterrupted time to get it done and have everything I need ready. I only wish there had been a forum like this when I was attempting to learn how to use the Dewalt by myself 20 years ago! Thanks again for all your help!!!
JC

[ORANGERT]

OH! One thing I forgot am I using a good pad ( LC CCS white 5.5" ) and good polish ( M205 ) for my test spot? Or would an AIO like D151 be a better choice?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!