Cutting pads on rotary

K

kleraudio

New member
I know this has been talked about before from Coupe but I would like to address it again.



My cutting pads (Edge green and orange, LC orange) would not cooperate with my Makita. It was SO DAMN hard to control I started getting really frustrated.



For those that use foam cutting pads on the rotary can you give me any tips, I mean this was WORK! I was fighting the thing and it still owned me with the cutting pads.



I think I may switch to wool for cutting if I cant get this problem solved. Any help would be tremendously appreciated!



Jim
 
It can be hard to get them perfectly centred. That can be one reason

I think it also comes down to how damp the pad is, RPM, how fast your moving, how you hold the machine and which polish your using.



Some polishes are creamy, have heaps of lube and make the machine glide along. Others are dryer and can be a drama

Sure occasionally, sometimes too often I have that problem but by the time I get to a white LC polish pad and any 2000 grit polish, it is easy as. Just glides perfectly.



The two pads I have trouble with are SOnus DAS Orange (non grooved) (getting better the more I machine wash it) and Edge green.
 
Hey SVR yea the ones I was using were Edge green and orange (I believe orange is more aggressive)



I couldnt believe how hard it was to control these things with the SIP. I mean it was like fighting a fish, I wasnt worried about correction at that point, just how to control the machine.



I lubed my pad, I wasnt moving too fast, everything I read, just couldnt get the machine under control with edge orange, green.....



I wasnt having a problem with the white LC or blue edge, just the cutting pads..



Thanks for your input!



Jim
 
kleraudio said:
I wasnt having a problem with the white LC or blue edge, just the cutting pads..
Click to expand...



Sounds like what SVR mentioned that it wasn't centered. Are you using a pad centering tool? You can tell how well your pad is centered by turing the buffer on(low spped), locking the trigger and setting it down on it's top(handle side!) on the ground. If it shakes, you have problems and you'll be able to watch how the pad spins either violently or just a little. If it does any shaking, take the pad off and try it again. If you have a pad centering tool, it eliminate %95 of the work on centering your pad. You'll somethimes find that pads and backing plates are perfectly centered / defective and therefore shouldn't be used.
 
Hey David, I was using the Edge green and blue, those center themselves automatically. I could not control them for anything.



Also, I do have a centering tool but my LC pads dont have a hole in them anyways.



Thanks for the centering tip by the way!



Jim
 
Jim, I've had them jump around on me if there isn't an even amount of polish around the pad. If the amount of lubrication from the polish varies as you go around the pad in a circle, it will jump around on you. When I first prime a cutting pad, I use my finger to spread an even film of polish on the entire surface area to insure equal "traction" all the way around the pad.



Also, the "floor buffer technique" works quite well, too. This technique is best learned with a finishing pad and polish. Start out with the pad completely flat on the hood at around 800-1000 rpm. Then, gently lift the rear of the polisher. Gently, and only a small amount. You'll see that the buffer will start moving to one side. When you want to stop the sideways motion, lower the rear of the polisher back to perfectly flat. The buffer's side motion will stop. To go the other way, raise the rear of the polisher.



Making sure that the entire pad has the same traction and using the floor buffer technique will probably help... sure hope it does.
 
The Edge pads require more product to be used. SIP will not work on these pads. They will spit and clump and also squeel and start to smell like they are burning. SIP requires 2 to 4 drops. Edge pads are great pads, but does not work with SIP. The 106ff will work with these pads, but you have to double up on the normal dosage to prime the pad corrrectly.



Also rinsing out the pad first and then spin dry it on the rotary. This will help season the pad faster.



I left an excellent tips and tricks on your other post RE: SIP and rotary usage.
 
Thanks for the tips guys! I read your other post rydawg and I appreciate that as well.



That is exactly what happened with SIP and Edge, squealed and clumped up. Weird, I wish I knew that 2 days ago!



Thanks for the help everyone, Superbee, Im not fully understanding the floor buffer technique....



Jim
 
I posted this like 2 or 3 months ago about the edge pads. It is wierd cause it only happens with the SIP and I have never seen anything like it in 15 years personally. The smell is scary too.



I think AL-53 had the same issues as well. He has tested a lot of combos as well with all the Menzerna polishes.
 
Yea I saw that one thanks Superbee, you said in your post to lift the rear to go one way and to again lift the rear to go another way. I think you meant lift the front, lift the rear...



How much would you say, i know if I lift to much the machine is gonna go flying!



Jim
 
I am with you. I do not like foam cutting pads via rotary. I usually go with a polishing pad and step up the aggressiveness of the polish. I know it is supposed to be the other way around though. One cutting pad that is a little easier to control is the waffle textured ones. I get mine from Pro Wax. Of course as you get more experienced, the rotary will become a little easier to control.
 
LC CCS cutting pads seem to be a better choice for water based polishes. They are much smoother than flat cutting pads. Also use a 6 1/2 inch pad.
 
kleraudio said:
wannafbody, how are you centering those 6.5" ccs pads?? thats the only thing keeping me from using them.



Jim
Click to expand...



I have a Megs backing plate with the centering button. I purchased the CMA(properautocare) CCS constant pressure pads since they have a hole in the center of the velcro. Perfect centering. Even the yellow cutting pad works well. Also consider the foamed wool pad as a cutting pad based on others experiences(I haven't used it).
 
thanks for the reply wannafbody, what size plate from Megs are you using, the 6" one? Your not having any problems with the pads from CMA. They are down the street from my house but Ive heard that their ccs pads have been having a problem with the velcro backing.



Jim
 
For rotary work they seem to hold up fine. I did have the backing seperate off one pad when I lifted the PC off the paint at speed 6.
 
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