4 inch pads

J

jw

New member
Do people here use 4 inch pads for the whole vehicle or are they too small? Would I need some 5.5, i've been using 6.5 but i'm not having much luck getting rid of swirls.
 
Entire vehicle was polished with 4 inch pads.











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Complete detail: http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-...ll-correction-imola-red-05-bmw-330ci-zhp.html
 
I just did my first vehicle today with the UDM. I got it with both 6.5 and 4 inch pads. I really did not like the 6.5, seemed to big to work with and not being able to work well. I wish I would have gotten 2 or 3 of each of the 4 inch pads.
 
I think 4 inch pads are great for compounding and tight areas. I think a 5 or 5.5 inch pad is a better choice for an entire vehicle.
 
if the paint is hard and you need 4" pads to correct the paint

then use 4" pads



the whole car, part of the car, what ever
 
I'll throw my .02 in... For the past few years, I've used nothing but Meguiar's 6.5 pads. But the last time I was at the local detail supply store, they had the Edge adapters, along with some 4" Cyclo pads. So I picked up the adapter and some green and white pads.



My PC has never operated smoother! It is really a night & day difference in how little the PC vibrates now with the 4" pads. And it's also much easier to control when working on the paint. With the 6.5 pads, it sometimes had a mind of its own, and wanted to go where I didn't want it to go. But I'm able to control it much more with the 4" pads.



So for me, even if it takes a few extra minutes, I'm sticking with the 4" for everything.
 
rebelde33 said:
I have 5.5" for paint correction and 6.5" for polishing/waxing. You could use 4" pads but it would take longer.
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IMO it could be faster

if it take two passes to correct the swirls with the 4" pads vs three passes with a larger pad
 
It really shows how limited the PC buffers are when you have to go with 4inch pads to give extra cut for the hard clearcoats.
 
Yup, I prefer using 4" pads wih the PC than the bigger pads. The PC works much smoother and is easier to control with the smaller pads. You also get more cut since more heat is generated with the smaller pads. It doesn't take too much longer either.



IMO, a 6" pad is way too big to use on a PC. They don't like to stay on at full speed and warp like crazy. I use LC CCS pads btw.
 
I use 4" on the rotary pretty regularly. But you need quite a few of them to work quickly.



I just got back into large pads (7.5") for the rotary to correct bulk surface areas (roof, trunk, hood, large doors and tailgates), then I move to the 4" pads for the details. I use 5.5 on the PC.
 
TTWAGN said:
It really shows how limited the PC buffers are when you have to go with 4inch pads to give extra cut for the hard clearcoats.
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I think we sometimes lose sight of the PC's having been designed as a finish sander. It works really well when it's merely rubbing a single piece of sandpaper against some wood. I suspect that this whole idea of using it, *under pressure* to polish automotive paint is something the designers at PC never imagined when they were developing the thing.



Not like, say...the Cyclo, or the UDM, or other purpose-built polishers.
 
I have been using a 5-in (really about 4.75-in) with 5-in pads. A smaller backing plate is safer but I feel the larger backing plate holds more of the pad against the pad (less mushrooming) so it should work better.



I was looking at getting some 4-in pads too but did not know if it was worth the hassle to switch out the backing plate or just wait until the end to switch and go back to some areas with 4-in and correct backing plate.
 
I used my PC with 4" pads and 3.5" backing plate over the weekend. I was using a white LC foam pad with 106FF. After doing half the car at Speed 6, the backing plate started to melt in the middle causing the pad to stick to it. I think the smaller BP rotating at a high rpm creates too much heat and startes to melt. Not good at all. Has anyone else experienced this?
 
Raz5219 said:
I used my PC with 4" pads and 3.5" backing plate over the weekend. I was using a white LC foam pad with 106FF. After doing half the car at Speed 6, the backing plate started to melt in the middle causing the pad to stick to it. I think the smaller BP rotating at a high rpm creates too much heat and startes to melt. Not good at all. Has anyone else experienced this?
Click to expand...



No, never happened to me, but I seldom use speed 6 with the smaller pads/plate, so that might explain it. Much as I *do* advocate speed 6 for the PC with larger pads, I find that 5 (or even *4*) is sufficient to work/break down the polishes I use and the pads seem to be more stable too. Perhaps the lower speed would also avoid such apparent heat-related issues too :think:



If I'm breaking down the stuff *I* use at 4-5, I wouldn't expect you to need 6 for the 106FF. After all, it's (at least IMO) a finishing polish for use after you get the real flaws out with something else first.
 
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