6 inch pads at Harbor Freight...

deeman said:
I jut reviewed these in the HF DA thread. Bottom line for me, they are junk. The exposed velcro on the backing plate chews up the backside of the foam. I only got 4 body panels before they were garbage. They also seperated when I tired to carefully remove them from the backing plate. It may be my technique, but I am returning them.
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Guess I am still unsure about the quality. I do know after a little use the Velcro fabric circular patch did begin to pull up from the pad, but after seeing some more discussion I really think it was partially my fault. I did not clean the pads at all – just a noobie learning. So, after 3.5 body panels with scratch-x and the firm pad there must have been some heat build-up.



I’ll post some pics later and let you guys see if it looks like the damage may be heat related or QC.
 
mfewtrail said:
Get a 5'' backing plate to match the 5'' backing on the HF pads and that issue will not happen. I'm curious if they'll eventually supply the appropriate size backing plate on the DA they sell to match their pads or mod the backing on the pads to match.
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Not sure I follow you here. With the current 6" backnig plate there is about 1/2" - 3/4" perimeter of pad showing. A 5" BP on thier 6" pads would have more like an inch of non-supported foam - is this what you are saying to do?
 
deeman said:
Not sure I follow you here. With the current 6" backnig plate there is about 1/2" - 3/4" perimeter of pad showing. A 5" BP on thier 6" pads would have more like an inch of non-supported foam - is this what you are saying to do?
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That's correct. I have a heap of 6.5'' pads that I use with a 6'' backing plate for example and they get the job done just fine. Ideally, HF should extend the backing to cover the rear of the entire pad.



If I were you, I would shoot HF customer service an email with some pictures of the pads and an explanation of the issue. That may help expedite the process of HF redesigning things for a proper "match." <---Or that could just be wishful thinking.
 
mfewtrail said:
That's correct. I have a heap of 6.5'' pads that I use with a 6'' backing plate for example and they get the job done just fine. Ideally, HF should extend the backing to cover the rear of the entire pad.



If I were you, I would shoot HF customer service an email with some pictures of the pads and an explanation of the issue. That may help expedite the process of HF redesigning things for a proper "match." <---Or that could just be wishful thinking.
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I don't understand this issue--I have Buff & Shine pads (same as Uber and HD Pads) which have a recessed Velcro backing--in other words the Velcro does not go to the edge of the pad--on the 5.5" pads a 5" backing plate matches up to the Velcro on the back of the pad--I've also seen the 6" pads and they match up to the Velcro of a 6" backing plate--in both cases there is a small area around the edge of the Velcro that is foam only.



Could the HF backing plate (which appeared to not be of top quality) be larger than 6"????
 
deeman said:
Guess I am still unsure about the quality. I do know after a little use the Velcro fabric circular patch did begin to pull up from the pad, but after seeing some more discussion I really think it was partially my fault. I did not clean the pads at all – just a noobie learning. So, after 3.5 body panels with scratch-x and the firm pad there must have been some heat build-up.



I’ll post some pics later and let you guys see if it looks like the damage may be heat related or QC.
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I've had the velcro part of $10+ LC pads delaminate and come apart from heat buildup using a PC7424XP. So it's def not a problem for just the HF pads. Once that happens and it starts to come apart, the pad is pretty much shot, even if the foam itself is still fine. A solution to this is to get a perforated backing plate to help dissipate the heat, or switch the pad out more often. Also, when you pull the pad off the backing plate, don't just grab it by the foam part and just yank it off. Work your fingertips under the edge of the velcro and pull from there, it will help prevent the pad from coming apart.



The backing plate I've been using is exactly the same diameter of the HF pads and I've noticed a little chewing up of the foam outside the velcro part, but it hasn't affected my pads enough to call it a problem. Mine is an Astro Pneumatic backing plate I got from tools-plus.com.
 
As I said in a previous post, if I can continue to buy these for $3.99 on sale (less with the various coupons they offer from time to time), I will consider them throw aways - use once and toss out. The ones I bought seem to be of good quality but I have not used them yet. I usually use two and sometimes even three pads to detail my car with my Griot 6" polisher. My last step is always a topper spray of AquaWax over the sealant and that I do by hand anyway.



Since I use quality polishes and sealants (mostly Duragloss products) and my only vehicle is garage kept, I do this two times a year in spring and fall. To me it is not worth the bother of cleaning and storing them, at least not at this price. If I have to pay ten bucks for a Griot pad, for example, I could not justify throwing it out. Considering these factors and assuming they don't come apart right away, the HF pads may become the only ones I will ever use from now on.
 
Had to take my wife's car in for some warranty adjustments and there is a Harbor Freight just down the road. The backing plate supplied with the polisher is just a tad under 6", but the velcro across the back of one of their 6" blue pads measured 5" (the Velcro on B&S 5.5" pads measures 4 7/8") so there is an overhang of the backing plate velcro above the portion of the pad that has no Velcro. So with any pressure the foam must compress and the Velcro from the backing plate must come in contact with the foam of the pad. Seems this could cause the problem. As I've mentioned in a previous post this backing plate seems to be of less than top quality--when you spin it by hand you can see clearly it is not a flat surface--has up and down motion to it.



This doesn't change the fact that you need to be cleaning your pads often and not trying to do an entire car with one pad.
 
Anyone know if HF is redesigning these pads? I placed an order after my local store was sold out. My order was canceled a few days later with HF stating they're no longer available.
 
We had a short conversation regarding HF and their pad offering last night in the Autopia Chatroom, which is every week.

Make it a point to join in every week, as the discussions are more in depth than on the normal forum threads.
 
I didn't have any fine finishing pads, so I bought 1 from HF, seems to be as good as any I have tried and price was RIGHT! Now, I'm thinking about going to get a couple more before they get gone.
 
They seem to be selling really well, so I doubt HF has any plans of getting rid of them. I bought the majority of what my local store had on the shelf yesterday morning. I can only assume the order cancellation was some sort of error at this point. HF still hasn't specified why they would send out an email saying a product wasn't available when they actually are. I guess they'll get back to me eventually...or not. :noidea: Considering the slight inconvenience with ordering I went through, I would advise anyone looking to purchase these pads to buy them locally if that's possible.





edit - 1-9-12. HF responded saying my order was canceled since these are back ordered until near the end of the month(25th). Items on back-order that are under the price of $9.99 are automatically canceled from orders.
 
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