polishing pads
- Thread starter hares1370
- Start date
togwt
The Old Grey Whistle Test
2-3 per process and clean often
Accumulator
Well-known member
I've burnished a big sedan with just one set of pads on the Cyclo.
OTOH, I've M205'ed an already-corrected smaller sedan with my Griot's and needed a *scad* of polishing pads to do the job.
What product, what degree of "polishing" are you doing, how are you cleaning the pads, what size is the vehicle....all sorts of stuff to consider.
I'd buy a few more than you think you could *ever* need.
OTOH, I've M205'ed an already-corrected smaller sedan with my Griot's and needed a *scad* of polishing pads to do the job.
What product, what degree of "polishing" are you doing, how are you cleaning the pads, what size is the vehicle....all sorts of stuff to consider.
I'd buy a few more than you think you could *ever* need.
imported_MCA
New member
For compounding, I like to use 3-4 foam pads or 2-3 surbufs with a quick terry-towel clean-up of the pad between panels. For mid-level polishing and/or finishing, I typically use 2 foam pads (sometimes 3) for each step. Always get more compounding/cutting pads than you think you will need...Running out of them is a showstopper in my book
Dan
Well-known member
2-3 for polishing as well. M105...well.... too many.
Bunky
Detailing Gnosis
The more the better: 3 to 4 minimum if you want optimum results in shortest time.
ill just be doing mid size cars mostly german cars like volkswagan bmw etc. I have m105. A this time i only ordered the 3 pack of hydro pads by lake country.I also have the two pads that came with my gg ra which are the orange and the red. Can i get away with cleaning them after each panel by using a pad brush. I just want to start learning. i want to pick these up too Lake Country Constant Pressure Technology 6.5 Inch Flat Pads, foam pads, buffing pads... I also got a sample of the wolfgang final glaze which i hear is not a glaze by doing my research. The m205 i skipped out on using because i read alot of people complaining about it so i got the wolfgang since its made my menzerna and is cheaper.
Accumulator
Well-known member
hares1370 said:
I'd want a lot of pads for such work.
The orange Griot's pad is good but it's pretty gentle. It *usually* finishes out fine so it's nice for mild/final polishing on hard clear but you might want something more gentle for very soft clears (not sure which type of BMW clear you have as they make both hard and soft ones).
The red GG pad is good for LSPing and can sometimes be OK for final polishing.
i also pick up some surbuf pads i got 4 of them.....ill be doing cars like 3 series bmws, volkswagan jettas and gti's m2,mk3,m4 (89-2005) most cars will be this size or smaller. Dang i didnt think that orange pad would be gentle cause it feels pretty hard lol. I thought that most bmw's have hard paint
imported_MCA
New member
hares1370 said:
Definitely be careful when using surbuf pads as they are extremely aggressive. They will level major marring extremely well but they will also leave behind medium marring and hazing. You will need to follow surbuf usage with a less aggressive pad/product combo to remove the hazing...
Accumulator
Well-known member
MCA said:
Yeah :xyxthumbs
Though they didn't correct as effectively/efficiently as I was expecting them to. Sure did haze things up though.
Eh, I just don't like/use SurBuf pads myself and I'd sure hate for somebody to mess up their paint with 'em.
hares1370 said:
The e36 M3 I used to have had the hardest paint of anything I've ever worked on (with the exception of single stage white). Orange pads didn't cut it, not even on a rotary.
For an aggressive foam pad, I like the Meguiar's maroon cutting pads (both the old-tech ones and the new version). But to repeat myself for the umpteenth time, I'd stick with MF cutting pads for aggressive work. *MAYBE* with something like M101, though I've never tried that.
IMO somebody just starting out with this stuff should stick with MF cutting pads/M105 for their most aggressive combo. Just repeat repeat repeat if necessary instead of trying something more aggressive.
Accumulator
Well-known member
hares1370 said:
Heh heh, lots of people *think* that before they actually do the work.
Stopping in mid-panel to clean *AND DRY* a pad might be harder to actually *do* than you'd think
The temptation is to "work at this just a little longer first..." but there's no way to overstate how important clean/properly primed pads are. I'm pretty good on the whole self-discipline thing, but with foam pads I've learned I need to have a bunch of 'em on hand because at some point (say....after many hours of polishing) it sure gets tempting to "..just finish this little area and then I'll clean and dry and reprime the pad" instead of stopping to spend ages on a pad that "isn't really all that bad".
Accumulator said:Heh heh, lots of people *think* that before they actually do the work.
Stopping in mid-panel to clean *AND DRY* a pad might be harder to actually *do* than you'd think
I'm pretty good on the whole self-discipline thing, but with foam pads I've learned I need to have a bunch of 'em on hand because at some point (say....after many hours of polishing) it sure gets tempting to "..just finish this little area and then I'll clean and dry and reprime the pad" instead of stopping to spend ages on a pad that "isn't really all that bad".
so which pad should i have the most of
Accumulator said:Heh heh, lots of people *think* that before they actually do the work.
Stopping in mid-panel to clean *AND DRY* a pad might be harder to actually *do* than you'd think
I'm pretty good on the whole self-discipline thing, but with foam pads I've learned I need to have a bunch of 'em on hand because at some point (say....after many hours of polishing) it sure gets tempting to "..just finish this little area and then I'll clean and dry and reprime the pad" instead of stopping to spend ages on a pad that "isn't really all that bad".
I really don't intend to detract from the original intent of this thread, and my apologies for doing so, however, when does a seasoned detailer know when a pad is dirty enough, and it is time to swap it out?
Asif
Accumulator
Well-known member
vtextc said:
I suspect a lot of people wait until there's some negative outcome such as the pad quits cutting effectively or becomes obviously "clogged up" with dried product. I try to stay ahead of that particular curve, and the best way I can describe it is simply that a pad with dried product and cut-off paint is "different" from a clean pad that's been merely primed with fresh product.
I'm a bit of a fanatic about this and probably (eh...almost certainly) err on the side of caution; I'll stop and clean a pad after doing just half a smallish panel if I think I ought to. Since it's a big hassle, that's why I'm always raving about the MF cutting disks, which clean up in no time with compressed air.
The whole thing is less of an issue with milder polishes/polishing as you're just not doing as much (less cut-off paint, less polish being used), but I still like to have a bunch of pads so the cleaning doesn't interrupt my work flow. And note that with final polishing, if you get a "dried out clump" of polish built up on your pad it might micro-mar the paint or otherwise mess things up right at the last polishing step, and that can happen pretty easily.
Bunky
Detailing Gnosis
The funny thing is polishing pads do not really cost much more than a high quality microfiber towel and some have no problem using 10 mf towels in a detail but want to polish an entire car with 2 to 3 pads.
Bunky said:
yeah i understand that. My thing is if there is away around me not having to buy 4 or 5 of the same pad ill do so. These pads aren't cheap and 3 pads with shipped cost about 36 dollars or so. Im just tired of having to order stuff..lol i haven't even got the chance to put my knowledge to the test yet. I feel that once i do ill find my own dislike and likes on my own. Just from reading the forum its seem like anyone can get caught in picking up on what other hate when u haven't tested it out on your own.