Had some problems when practicing last night

[Bruno Soares]

Priming is only necessary on wool or microfiber pads, with foam you just put a little more product the first time, it's ok to spread with your finger, then after that first section you put less products. Too much product means a lot of liquid. Friction and liquid means lots of heat. And heat is the enemy when polishing paint.

The more aggressive the pad and product, and the more messed up the initial state of a car, the more often you have to change them as they're picking up abraded paint and have all that in the pad. If the car has great start and you're using a finishing polish with a polishing pad, you can use it a little more time without damaging the pad or losing cut. If in doubt, change it sooner. And after washing let them dry before reusing, some people put wet pads back on the polisher and then it's the same issue again, the liquid in the pad will get hot and damage it.

 

[Bruno Soares]

BTW, when I started doing this I also saw videos of priming pads and did it. Guess what? I messed up a few pads too. Most people that once thought priming a foam pad is needed have stopped doing that by now.

 

[Lance Mark]

honestly, if I somehow hurt my truck, I wouldn't mind, it's an old junker anyhow...... I'm considering taking a handful of gravel to one of the panels just so I can practice on getting out some serious scratches and swirls

I'm really enjoying this, I actually like the fact that it's not easy to do, most of the really gratifying things in life that I've done are like that

once I've corrected and polished the hell out of this truck, I have my wife's 300....and it's black

thanks for letting me know you had issues from the start, it's encouraging to know....and a lot of folks lack the humility to admit that at one point, they were green too

 

[psnt1ol]

Oversaturation can cause the pad to overheat and loose effectiveness. I still prime a fresh pad out of routine but I only use enough liquid to barely cover the surface then I would blow it out before I apply the working product. Pads only needs to prime once. On a larger pad.. 3 pea size dots of product generally is enough after priming but as the pad gets smaller less is more.

Here is a thought experiment. a 5.5" pad on a 2' x 2' working area using "X" amount of product. Think of product to pad size as a ratio. If the working area and the amount of product is constant then a 3" pad would have close to 40% more product by comparing the 2 ratios. Thats way too much liquid in my opinion and one would be asking for trouble. For example... When I am using a 1" pad... i just smudge the pad with product and its barely half a pea size amount.

When you are working with a smaller pad... keep your work area small and clean it often. No need for tons of pressure when using the small pads. You can monitor how your pad is doing simply by testing the firmness of the pad with your finger. As the pad spins...product get pull to the center and if the pad is saturated you could feel the soft spot. Cell construction plays a small part in this as well. Small tight cells tends to let the liquid sit on top of the pad while large open cells tends to absorb the product more.

 

[2black1s]

I also prime foam pads. Sparingly, but completely. After I spread the product across the pad face and edge, I'll then thoroughly wipe the pad with a terry cloth towel because I only want a thin film, not enough to speed the saturation process.

You said that when you primed your pad, you worked the product into the pad with your thumb... That is a mistake and can lead to pad saturation very quickly.

Then after each section pass I'll wipe the pad as dry as I can with the terry cloth towel before adding product for the next section pass. Doing this will keep the pad from becoming saturated much longer and can minimize the number of pads you need. If you have a zillion pads then this isn't necessary, but if you only have 3 or 4 pads for an entire car it helps. If you're doing this for a living then having more pads is the way to go, but if it's a hobby then the extra step, and the time it takes, of wiping the pad with the terry cloth towel often can offset the need for so many pads.