DA polisher questions for rookie

Grifffx4 said:
I'm just wondering if I can hurt or swirl my paint more using less pads. I've been looking at the "Forum Favorite" kit with the brush
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My opinion and limited knowledge is that as long as you keep your pads clean, it won't hurt your paint. Additional pads are to help complete the job faster.
 
rouxster said:
I agree with both of you. I'm relatively new to this also and I'm only using my GG 6 every few months on my wife's car and my truck. I'm going to do 3 pads of each color and spend a little extra time cleaning them with a pad brush in between sections. Pads are expensive and I can't justify spending that my money on pads.
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Yep. Pads are costly! I'm just starting out too. I'm going to try 3 pads of each color. I went with orange, white and black.
 
rouxster said:
My opinion and limited knowledge is that as long as you keep your pads clean, it won't hurt your paint. Additional pads are to help complete the job faster.
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I'm hoping this is true. I can spare the time easier than the cash. lol


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Hi,I'm looking to buy a buffer thinking fiex not sure DA or rotary can someone please stear me in the right direction thank you!
 
Hi, everyone I'm going to buy a buffer thinking flex DA or rotary can anyone help me make the right decision? Thanks for any advice
 
ACP said:
Hi, everyone I'm going to buy a buffer thinking flex DA or rotary can anyone help me make the right decision? Thanks for any advice
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If you are not highly skilled at using a Rotary please proceed with extreme caution. A rotary is direct drive and you can easily "polish" right through your clearcoat and cause $$$ worth of damage.

Any of the standard DA's (Harbor Frieght, Griots, PC, Megs) are safe to use by someone new to machine polishing and very difficult to damage your paint.

The Griots polisher with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads can handle anything you can throw at it with the right products and techniques and it has a lifetime warranty.
 
Grifffx4 said:
...Do I need a cleaner grit guard bucket for the pads? And, do you clean the pad after each section of a vehicle or after doing a whole vehicle?

How do you clean pads w/o a grit guard bucket?...

Thanks!
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Personally, I would not waste my money on a grit guard bucket cleaner thingy. As stated earlier use those funds to stock up on extra pads, which would be money well spent. Here's my pad cleaning method. It takes advantage of your existing bucket and grit guard, but in manual mode.

1. After use, I spray liberally with pad cleaner and let dwell.
2. I place a grit guard in a bucket and fill with water, just above the grit guard.
3. I then rake, rub etc the pad over the grit guard to remove the heavy stuff.
4. I also squeeze, ring etc in the same bucket of water to further remove stuff.
5. Then empty and refill with clean water to finish the cleaning process.
6. Spin pad with PC to get out most of the water (removes about 90% or more of the water - not scientific proof, but by before/after feel of pad)
7. Place pad on grit guard face down to dry.
8. Once dry, I place them in a plastic storage container.

I just switched to 5.5 and 4" pads, so I am stocking on them. I also have the 6.5" pads, but I now use them to apply the glaze or wax since it provides a larger coverage area.

Al
 
Grifffx4 said:
Ok, I was about to pull the trigger on the PC kit with the 5 pad choice and then three 6 pack pads @$55 each. I'm just having trouble buying $165 worth of just pads. Sticker shock.

Since I'm not a pro and just doing this to my own truck (silver) could I get away with using one or two pads for the whole truck? Will I hurt it more than help it?


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While the PC is a good polisher, I'd step it up to the GG 6". For like $20 or so more, you get a lot more power and a lifetime warranty. Also with the pad issue. You can start with just a few, but I'd recommend only doing a panel or two at a time. You have to give the pads time to cool down when compounding or polishing. If you don't do this you run this risk of the backing delaminating or the pad coming apart.
 
My 2 cents on pads...

If you use 1 pad for too long, it is going to load up with spent polish residue and abraded paint. This will lead to:

a) reduced finished as the abraded paint will be like little glass shards micromarring the finish
b) the pads becoming heavier, reducing the amount of cut, because you have the same power trying to rotate a heavier weight
c) the pads becoming hotter, which will increase the risk of pad failure (the velcro will come away)

It is therefore better to switch to a new (i.e. clean/dry, not necessarily brand new) pad after each panel (maybe half a hood).

What I do is prime up 2 pads, use 1, blow it out with compressed air (if you don't have any cleaning on the fly will work, albeit not quite as well) and place it one side to cool down. Then I take pad 2, repeat and switch back to pad 1.... when pad 1 and 2 become too dirty to use, I simply repeat with pads 3 and 4.

If you don't want to invest in additional pads, it means that you will have to stop after using pad 1 and 2, properly wash/dry them, then continue....

This will ultimately extend the time needed to complete the paint correction.....

For heavy cutting I go through around 8 to 10 pads
Medium cutting maybe 6 to 8
Light polishing 4 to 6
Waxing/Glazing etc 2 to 4

Hope this helps a little.
 
So I was working this weekend on a Black 98 Explorer. Trying to get some experience with my DA.

My question is, when doing the hood I was getting what I would describe as "chattering" from the pad. It would come and go. I'm not sure what I was doing wrong.

For ref, I was using Meg's Ultimate Compound with Yellow LC CCS 5.5" pad, 5" backing plate, Griots DA on speed 5.5. I used a Autoscub sponge to decon.

Any ideas?


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