Using PC with Wool Pad

R

RonL

New member
DavidB in your PC video you used a wool pad with the PC. Is this okay to use on Clear Coats? I mainly thought foam was the way to go. I have some nagging water spots on my Explorer hood I can't get out. I am wondering if this will do it? I am using Meguiars foam pads (purple & yellow) and their body shop prducts like Dual Action, Swirl Free and Machine Glaze. They work really good but the spots are still there. What do you think? Anyone?
 
I'm curious about this too - since David hasn't responded yet let me add a few more questions -



Why does wool "level" better than foam?



Doesn't it absorb a huge amount of compound?



Are there any special technuiques to using it?



It is hard for me to believe that it would work without the spinning speed action of a rotary - there is enough "play" in the wool fibers that with an orbital I'd think they'd just stay put.



But I have never used a wool pad - so I'm interested to learn more......
 
Sure they are safe on clearcoats and all paints but you need to be a little more advanced in your ability to use a buffer. It is easy to burn through the surface if you are unfamiliar with it.



Wool pads are trickier to use than foam. There is a little more technique involved it getting the right angle and pressure. This affects the way the fibers hit and the amount of cutting action you get.



You can do more, and faster, cutting with a wool pad. Yes, it does eat up more product but that can't be avoided. It is messier than foam and the application of material on the pad is more critical.



If I have a scratch that I just can't get out with my orbital and foam pads I will get out the "big guns"....my rotary buffer and wool pads. They always work.



If I am saving an abused car I will immediately go to the wool pad since it is faster even when using the orbital.
 
When you go after those scratches.....do you a fine cut product to start with, also how long do you use the wool pad, several times left to right or till product is worked in??

thks..
 
I typically start with 3M Fine Cut Rubbing Compound for deep damage and end up with Finesse It.



It almost always takes two or three applications of the product to reduce a scratch. I work very small areas and blend it out a bit. The number of passes depends upon the amount of product on the pad. Always keep the surface lubricated with plenty of product. Too dry a pad will burn.
 
In the beginning before starting your buffing, when you take hold of your wool pad for first time...do you wet it with anything other than fine cut.....or do you rub the product on all the pad before initally beginning the process??

thks

Jeff
 
When starting I like to dab a lot onto the pad itself and I also wipe a bit all over the area to be worked. After a while the pad will become saturated and then I just blot it onto the surface and run the pad over it. I tend to make a "noodle" of material 90 degrees to the area I am working and run my pad back and forth hitting the noodle as I pass through. This keeps adding compound as I move along. Make sense?
 
It generally looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy exploded all around me when I am done! I pretty much splatter a 6 foot circle around my car. Messy, but effective.:eek:
 
Is a wool pad a waste of time on a PC??..meaniing I need speed so i go to my Rotory and that should do it, ive heard conflicting talk about using a PC other than basic cleaning and polishing...

thks jeff

if i splatter the kids... itry to it on bath night!!!
 
Basic polishing and waxing is what most people use orbitals for. And it's true that I can "nearly" do by hand what an orbital does. It just takes a LOT longer. But I believe an orbital with a wool pad can do more than you can by hand unless you spend a HUGE amount of time.



A rotary with a wool pad can definetly do a better job than you can by hand. Assuming you have the skills.
 
Thanks, Brad - I just want to be clear - what you described above was with a wool pad on a rotary buffer, right? I think one of the key questions here is whether it makes sense to use a wool pad with an orbital. as i said above, It is hard for me to believe that it would have any benefit over foam without the spinning speed action of a rotary - there is enough "play" in the wool fibers that with an orbital I'd think they'd mostly just stay put on the surface while the orbital jiggled above them.
 
Wool works best on the rotary but it does have benefits on an orbital as well. Your point is well taken but somehow I find it still cuts better than foam pads even on my orbital.
 
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