What pads to buy?

jhnybgood47

jhnybgood47

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I have a porter cable with a 5.5 in backing plate. I purchased the lake county orange for removing swirls and the white for polishing. Are there better pads out there?
 
Are they the flat, CCS, or Hybrid pads? I prefer using the flat pads as they work very well. The Hydro-Tech pads are suppose to cut more, but do not last as long. Are you having any problems with the current pads?
 
jhnybgood47 said:
I have a porter cable with a 5.5 in backing plate. I purchased the lake county orange for removing swirls and the white for polishing. Are there better pads out there?
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Better than Lake Country?

You're gonna' need more than orange and white though. Flats are nice and provide a good overall 'feel', but the CCS will work as well, just they work a bit different. I like both, but you can get a lot more 'flat's' for your $$ and more is ALWAYS better. :)

No, seriously.... It all depends on what you're trying to accomplish. What products you are working with etc. It may be that the white pad is needed for swirls with a given polish on a given paint whereas on another car you need the orange with the same polish.

One thing I don't like to do is mix different value's of "cut" in a single pad. If I'm using Megs 105 then I'll not put WG Paint Sealant 3.0 in the same pad for instance. Might use the same pad for similar 'cut' with different products after thorough washings but that's about it.

I'd say unless you have really deep swirls you may not ever need but a couple of yellow perhaps, but I'd get orange, white, blue, black and at least a couple of reds. Some stuff works REALLY good with reds as a polish, although the pad doesn't have any cut at all. Once you know what works with the vehicles you are doing then just grab say a 6 pack of each.

I know my next 'product' order is gonna have to be more WG stuff and a trial of Menz for sure.

Pad_Unpacking_3.jpg
 
It looks like the pad was over saturated and the speed and pressure may have been too much. Any pad would have done this.
 
jhnybgood47 said:
Ok. I bought these orange and white ones: CCS foam buffing pads,foam polishing pads,lake country foam pads,foam polisher pads,buffer pads,lake county pads,porter cable pads,pads for air sander

I was applying M105 when the pad exploded. Since I bought 2 I finished the car with the second pad. Some of the swirls are still there and I really didn't like the feel of these pads. That's why I was wondering if these were the best pads for compound and polishing.
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WOW...no offense, but definitely looks to be user error. too fast, too much pressure, too much heat and too much product IMO from that pic.
 
Check out the Uber microfiber pads. They have great cut and when used with FG400 they provide good gloss also.
 
I only put a small X on the pad. Is there a way to avoid putting less product on or a way of removing excess?
 
Yes I primed it. I was cleaning them a lot less often then that. I guess I'll start doing it more often.
 
Marc08EX said:
That's a lot of pads!!! Are you a pro?
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:laughing: Nahhhh.... I just have a lot of cars. It's one of many hobbies I have, from Home Theater to home remodeling, to RC trucks and guns. ;)

I plan on doing some serious paint correction to 3 of my cars over the next few months (before summer comes) and once that starts I know it'll take 5~6 of one color with one product to get anything done. Just throw um' in the bucket and keep on working. If I need a dozen on one car before I get too tired I figure that's a good thing.

Different car, different paind, different pad. Plus there is no way I'm going to mix different cut products in the same color pad. (IE not using Megs 105 and 205 in one pad.) Same thing with mixing product lines, but to a much lesser degree than mixing cut.

My Brother in law was in from "the OC" for Christmas and started moaning about how stupid I was to buy so many pads. I was like "Look, I've got 5 cars and I'm not paying ANYBODY to detail them. I do 2 and the pads pay for themselves and then some. Oh, and by the way, how much do you pay to have your car detailed?" And you know what was so weird about THAT? His college age kid details cars in the summer for cash! Bought him a Dewalt rotary buffer last Christmas!

That sucker shut up right quick! (Because I know he didn't even WASH his own cars when he lived here as a Coke VP. Now that he's in 'the OC' knocking back even more bucks he sure as he!! isn't about to start.)

Seriously though, working with a machine is 'working smarter, not harder' and I am too darned old to work as hard cleaning cars as I used to. Yes it takes an investment up front when you move to new equipment (my OLD stuff is a 6' and a 10" DA that's more suited for spreading wax and light duty buffing, but would never do any swirl removal) but once you have everything you need then you never have to stop in the middle of a job because you ran out of pads.

Oh, and I do manage a bit of side work for the neighbors if that helps.
 
jhnybgood47 said:
Ok. I bought these orange and white ones: CCS foam buffing pads,foam polishing pads,lake country foam pads,foam polisher pads,buffer pads,lake county pads,porter cable pads,pads for air sander

I was applying M105 when the pad exploded. Since I bought 2 I finished the car with the second pad. Some of the swirls are still there and I really didn't like the feel of these pads. That's why I was wondering if these were the best pads for compound and polishing.
Click to expand...

Dude.... is that the face of that pad that you've managed to turn black and melt? Only thing that would cause that is too much product, speed, and too large a working area.

Megs 105 in notorious for short work times, although there are some work arounds. I'd say try Ultimate Compound and get much much more working time.

You mentioned you did the entire car with one pad? That's not possible, and can damage more than your pad if you're trying to do any really swirl removal. After priming the pad additional applications are just pea sized dots in 3 ~ 4 spots. Any material will work it's way to the middle of the pad and just sit there till it turns into a hot spinning glob of goo.

The only way to make 'one' pad last over an entire car is spreading wax or sealant. Anything that's doing cutting will fill up sometimes before you could even do a hood. (Or, do one panel, wash and clean the pad good, wait for it to dry for hours, or overnight, then move to another panel and do the same thing.) If I'm doing any serious swirl removal I'll use a rule of thumb, 2 for the hood, 2 on the roof and trunk, 1 rear bumper and rear quarters, and 1 front fenders and doors. (heavy correction can take more)

I know the white pads work on some projects with 105 but you might want to take a look at orange ones to get the job done faster. Then switch to 205 and whites.

Here are a few threads to check out on pad cleaning, and especially working with 105. Not sure if they mention XMT or similar products but that's also a good thing to check out for keeping a pad lubricated. I've even used water, or a QD, even ONR in a pinch.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...hen-using-porter-cable-style-da-polisher.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/products-guides/55230-m105-m205.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...m105-s-short-working-time-dusting-issues.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...acts-different-different-paint-systems-2.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/57423-weak-pads.html
 
PaulG said:
Don't feel too bad, look at what just happened to me with a LC Hydro-Tech Cyan pad.
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Man that bites Paul. Yikes!

Notice how the product is caked in the center of the pad, yet the outsides are almost totally clean? Goes back to what Mike has said about product migrating to the middle. I've found that it's a fiine line sometimes between getting a pad primed, and a pad that's too wet, (especially in the middle). :dunno:

Tons of pad cleaning, and pad swapping, along the way is the only thing that'll help. ;)
 
I highly recommend Meguiar's pads. I hand wash mine, even after several uses they look like they came fresh out of their plastic bag.

I use lake country 4 inch pads for tight spots, and a few of their orange & yellow pads for a little extra cut when needed, but always follow up with a Megs yellow pad.
 
rider9195 said:
It looks like the pad was over saturated and the speed and pressure may have been too much. Any pad would have done this.
Click to expand...

+1

jhnybgood47 said:
I only put a small X on the pad. Is there a way to avoid putting less product on or a way of removing excess?
Click to expand...

-Well an "X" should only be applied to prime a pad. When you pull it out to start using it.
-After that a dime sized drop should be your working product, on to the primed pad.
-When you are working, the orange pad really should be at the"5" setting on the PC
-Dont push too hard. Really the weight of the machine will be enough to cut plenty. Think of your hand on top is to guide the PC laterally, not apply pressure.
-If you haven't already, take a sharpie and make a line/mark on the backing plate. As you are polishing, the pad should be spinning on the paint, while it is oscillating. This spinning action is what cuts. When it stops spinning or starts vibrating, you are pushing too hard.

Remember, it seems backwards, but the gentler and slower you are, the faster it works.

BTW I am actually using the LC High-Gloss Constant Pressure pads on my flex, one CCS and one flat. Love them
 
Andr3wilson said:
..... If you haven't already, take a sharpie and make a line/mark on the backing plate. As you are polishing, the pad should be spinning on the paint, while it is oscillating. This spinning action is what cuts. When it stops spinning or starts vibrating, you are pushing too hard.

Remember, it seems backwards, but the gentler and slower you are, the faster it works.
Click to expand...

+1 (Always do my plates day 1, installed in the machine or not)
 
Did you hold the buffer in the air while the pad was spinning at full speed?

that's the only way I think you can get a pad to break apart into chunks like you show in your picture.


IN all of my life I've never destroyed a pad like this...

Exploded_Pad.jpg



By the way I put your picture in your gallery so it could be "inserted" instead of merely attached.

Your Gallery




I see you're in Florida, so was Rob and I invited him to swing by Autogeek and he did and we went out into the studio for a little hands-on training to flatten out the learning curve.


New (to me) BMW - any hope?


Hey Rob,

It was nice to meet you and spend a little time going over techniques for machine polishing. I really think the stains in your car's hood are pretty deep but if you massage them a little with your new Griot's DA Polisher you should be able to improve them enough to live with them while removing all the swirls.

Rod01.jpg


Rod02.jpg





I would make the same offer to you...



:)
 
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