Why would you need a smaller pad for a DA? (N00B)

A

alowe

New member
I am still getting back into the detailing world after spending my past few years overseas in the gulf.



SO,



I have a UDM with a variety of products. Mostly will be using 106ff and SIP. I have LC pads (6 in). Now, what would be the reason to use a smaller 4 in pad? For working a small area that needs help? To get into those hard to reach areas? I would imagine that is the answer, just wanted to know if I should be careful with a smaller pad, will it heat up faster, should I step the speed down when working areas?



Thanks,



Andrew
 
4" pads have greater correction abilities than a 6" pad, because of the smaller surface area. yes you should be careful with a smaller pad, although I dont think you would burn clear coat with a DA polisher unless you fell asleep at the wheel.



yup I use them on hard to reach areas and to achieve more correction than I could with a 6" pad.
 
bwalker25 said:
4" pads have greater correction abilities than a 6" pad, because of the smaller surface area.
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this is what i like about 4" pads







wannafbody said:
Because the orbit is smaller with the smaller pad it is more concentrated.
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gives more cutting power.

i only use 4"pads with my pc.
 
I've heard it said that the UDM counterweight is such that it's best to use 5.5" pads or smaller. Any bigger and the vibration gets to be a bit much.



I use 4" SFX pads from Autopia and 5.5" LC CCS pads. Both work great.
 
wannafbody said:
Because the orbit is smaller with the smaller pad it is more concentrated.
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And there's less friction than with a larger pad, so there's less likelihood of the machine bogging down and merely "jiggling" instead of doing the full dual-action/random-orbital thing. (Credit to the other PC for originally suggesting that the *friction* is the main issue behind the bogging)



Note the the PC, for example, is really designed to move a single sheet of sandpaper, not some big, heavy foam pad wet with polish that weighs a zillion times more.
 
Accumulator said:
Note the the PC, for example, is really designed to move a single sheet of sandpaper, not some big, heavy foam pad wet with polish that weighs a zillion times more.
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that is why i'll be ordering a flex sometime in the next week. i just have to figure out what pads i'll need.
 
When I first bought my PC, I got the package deal from AG that included 6.5" LC pads. Now, they're ok for glazes and waxes, but they are the wrong choice for removing scratches and swirl marks. I tried the 5.5" low profile LC orange and white - man, I thought the PC was using steroids! Night and day difference - I should have listened to Accumlator from the get-go!
 
Thanks fellas. I have the 6.5 CSS pads. Would you suggest the 5.5 or the 4 inch low profile for small areas for a UDM? I would also imagine I would need the 3.5" Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate?
 
alowe said:
Thanks fellas. I have the 6.5 CSS pads. Would you suggest the 5.5 or the 4 inch low profile for small areas for a UDM? I would also imagine I would need the 3.5" Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate?
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I'd use only the 4" pads for correction, large *or* small areas; the 5.5" size was never small enough to be a huge improvement over the larger ones IME. And yeah, you'll need a small backing plate.



Note the big differenced JuneBug *did* notice with the 5.5" pads...maybe that's an indication that today's pads are better than the ~5" ones that I used. Or maybe that just means that the 4" ones would *utterly* astound him ;)



I guess the main idea is "smaller is better" and it might become a matter of degree once you get down below 6".
 
I too noticed a big improvement with 4" pads over 6 1/2" and even 5 1/2". For waxes/Sealants and glazes, a bigger pad is fine. But for Polishing, a 4" is the only way to go on a PC IMO. You get much better correction ability and the machine is smoother and easier to control with the smaller pad. Just about everything is better with the 4" pad. Just be careful using it at Speed 6. I noticed that the smaller pad and backing plate spinning at a high RPM generated a good amount of heat. The result was my backing plate melting in the middle along with the velcro on the pad. :shocked
 
Raz5219 said:
... Just about everything is better with the 4" pad. Just be careful using it at Speed 6...
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Even though I generally subscribe to the "use speed 6" approach, with 4" pads I find that things go better at 5, or sometimes even *4* (e.g., orange pads and 1Z Intensive Paste on a warm panel).
 
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