LC Pads falling apart!?!

B

Bioman

New member
This is my third time using the LC pads I recieved from CMA. I was polishing my car today and I see small pieces of blue foam flying everywhere. I turn off my PC and check the pad. Sure enough, the outer ring of the foam pad is seperating. It seems as though the backing plate is cutting ino the pad, but I always use my PC on flat sufaces using even pressure. What should I do?



Will CMA replace it or should I just throw it away? Btw, this happened with the White LC pad.
 
Having the same problem with one of my white CMA pads.



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I like my CMA pads a lot but with them going to **** on me, I am thinking of tring something else...



I mean I have used this pad about 10 times and the last 3 or 4 the blue fuzz has been flying.
 
Mine falls on the outside of the pad. Its a 6" backing plate. But its the one that came with the Kit I ordered from CMA.
 
I am thinking that your backing plate is too large which is why it's cutting into the pad like this, and if you guys get a backing plate that falls *inside* the white area of the pad, this will be prevented. I'd switch to a 5" plate to be safe.
 
Same here, mine falls between the white backing and the blue area, as you can see from the pics. But it is what I ordered with the pads, so I wouldnt think that there would be a problem. As it stated on their site that the pad would work with a 6" (their own) backing plate. Here is a cut from their page.





Velcro Back-Up Plate - All of our pads have a Velcro loop backing that require your machine be fitted with a 5 or 6 inch, "hooked" Velcro Backing Plate. This plate may or may not have come with your polisher. If you require a backing plate, this 6 Inch Flexible Backing Plate is our favorite. It's a professional quality plate that provides maximum grip on any of our 6-1/2 or 7-1/2 inch pads. The 5/16-24 threaded shaft fits the Porter Cable 7424, 7336 and most other dual-action polishers.





I just emailed them about it. I will let you know what I find out.
 
Yes, please let us know but that is your problem.



The reason I am saying this is because I had a set of pads do the exact same thing a couple years ago (different pads), and the company that manufactured those pads ended up expanding the velcro backing all the way to the outer edge to prevent this from happening. Now, a lot of the newer versions of pads coming out, from various manufacturers and vendors, are also following suit and are covering the entire back of the pads leaving none of the foam itself exposed.



You can either get a different pad that has more velcro backing or get a smaller backing plate. The 5" backing plate is *supposed* to be compatible with anything from 5.25" to 7".
 
JDookie,



This is the backing plate that CMA suggests with their pads. I see how a 5" plate might work better and prevent this, but I don't understand why CMA would suggest such a big backing plate where it barely fits the pads.
 
I don't know either, but then again, they did. There's no set in stone set of rules for anything, especially in detailing. It's all trial and error. The 6" backing plate may have helped it actually perform better, who knows, but the bottom line is both of you have destroyed pads and even if you get brand new pads, if they are identical to what you had before it's just going to happen again.
 
JDookie said:
.......but the bottom line is both of you have destroyed pads and even if you get brand new pads, if they are identical to what you had before it's just going to happen again.
Click to expand...

It's been posted before where pads that are used with a backing plate that extends past the Velcro will "cookie cut" like those have. To help prevent this invest in a 5" backing plate like Jason has suggested.
 
This problem is getting to be way too common. How hard is it for the company to make the velcro a little bigger so the plate doesn't cut the pad. How expensive could this be? This isn't rocket science. IMO all pads should be manufactured with the velcro covering the entire back of the pad. Whats the problem here is it a cost thing?
 
I agree with both of you. I think the larger backing plate is a better idea since it gives the pad more stability on the edges, but the backing should indeed go all the way to the edge. If cost is a factor, how much more could it possibly cost? I'd be willing to pay .50 more per pad which should be MORE than sufficient.



All I know is my updated LC DA pads, LC 4" Spot buff pads, and Sonus DAS pads all have velcro to the edge and are very durable, so there are good ones out there.
 
These reasons exactly why I don't use CMA's pads anymore. I've had more problems w/ them than any other pad. If they improve their pads I will gladly give them another shot.
 
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