Density Changes With Use
As polishing and cutting pads become saturated with liquids and warm or even hot from use, density drops off or the stiffness of the foam decreases. The effect this has is to reduce the mechanical ability of the foam's performance.
This is why a clean dry foam cutting pad will be more aggressive than the same pad after it's been used to buff a panel or two.
If you're going to rely on a foam cutting pads to remove below surface defects then a good rule of thumb is to have one pad per panel to maximize the efficiency of the correction work and decrease the amount of time for the correction step. More pads is better… as soon as a pad becomes broken-in, or saturated with product, remove it and switch to a
clean,
dry pad. (new or used)
Elasticity - Tensile strength
Elasticity is another way of referring to the tensile strength of foam. Tensile strength is a measurement of how far foam will stretch before it will tear.
- High tensile strength equals a form formula that will not tear easily.
- Low tensile strength equals a foam formula that will tear easily.
Open cell foam pads tend to have higher tensile strengths than closed cell foam.
Example: Hydro-Tech pads, (closed cell foam), have lower tensile strength and will tear and wear more easily than CCS pads, (open cell foam).
