Harbor freight DA pads

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neogenesis

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I'm afraid I'm going to break down shortly here and buy a DA polisher (I really need to stop reading this forum). Since I'm a weekend DIYer, I'm just going to go with the harbor freight DA. Does anyone use the pads from harbor freight? They have the 3 different ones and was just wondering what people's experience with them was.
 
Don't do it. They are garbage and will end up costing you more money in the end.

I used them when I purchased my DA. I was lucky to get one use out of the polishing pads before they started to come apart. The waxing pads lasted 2~3 uses before falling apart. There was a point in time where I was buying new pads almost every time I was going to work on one of my vehicles.

Pads sold here like the ones from Lake Country are not only far more durable, but the foam is a much better quality as well which makes them perform better. I'm sure others here can speak to other brands of pads sold here. I've only used the Lake Country Flat Pads and Thin Pro's, but am very satisfied with them.
 
LC, buff and shine, carpro, meguiars. All good pads. HF probably work ok for one time. I bought them and used them they are 6.5 inch pads so right there it hinders you and they aren't really the best cutting things in the world

On the small free spinning machines 5.5 inch pads work better than thin pads better yet. In my experience

The good pads aren't that much more expensive and really you need several and the 6 packs make it a better buy.


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China made junk pads, almost no difference between the foam density in different colors. While Harbor Freight does sell Meguiar's polishes, they are at an inflated price.
 
You get what you pay for. If you are serious about truly "detailing" your vehicle invest in quality products. They save you money in the long run. Get a GG6 Polisher, skip the HF.
 
PC and Buff N Shine 5.5 pads would be a great start. I have numerous buddies who I have turned to this route over HF products

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I have some that I've relegated to industrial work trucks, and commercial vehicles.

The orange and blue are closed cell foam. Because of this they are highly susceptible to tearing if caught on an edge. They're also very thick.

The black is an open cell finishing foam that actually works well.

Overall, the orange pad runs really hard, and vibrates like crazy. No standard random orbital can make it run smoothly - not the Porter Cable, not the Griots. It runs like a tank.

They will do the job though. As with any closed cell pad, you want to be gentle with how you clean and wash it. You don't want to use too much speed, pressure, or product, and want to avoid excessive heat. Be sure they've completely dried before using again. It could take a few days. It will be difficult to spin them dry. When the added weight of water in the foam is spinning, it will make the pads throw themselves off the paint. I've had one catapult across the garage, knocking the bucket over with it. Big mess...
 
In the below two threads I share the pads and backing plates to get PLUS a TON of other information anyone will need to get into machine polishing. Plus some history that puts microfiber pads into context versus foam pads.

Seriously must-reading for anyone new to machine polishing.

Here's what you need to get into machine polishing - Recommendations for a beginner by Mike Phillips

i found this polisher at the store ,what products you recomend for low budget



And I still am unable to locate the Harbor Freight Car Detailing Discussion Forum where people can go to get service after the sale?


It's all good....


:buffing:
 
Thank you all for the replies. I think ultimately a good backing plate and set of quality pads will be in order. And it seems like the route to go with a daily driver is HD speed (or similar). Gonna keep digesting info here. Appreciate all your help and suggestions.
 
I got some HF pads because I broke my backing plate on my PC 7424 and needed a new one ASAP. Got some HF pads as part of the backing plate. Long story short, the pads were terrible.
 
Hmm... I just checked a few of the labels on my pads and it looks like Meguiars, Lake Country, and Griots pads are made in the USA. Either ways, I still don't believe that just because a pad is made in China it guarantees it's gonna be crap. Kirklands are made in China, and I think they work just fine on paint. So yea...
 
VISITOR said:
pads are an investment, buy quality ones (griot's garage, lake country, buff & shine to name a few) and they will last for quite some time and deliver excellent results time after time.
Click to expand...

This is a great point and what ultimately won me over to using quality pads. I could use bad ones that fell apart after every job, or I could stock up on quality pads that will be around. The initial investment was a little steep, but several years later I'm still using those original pads and only a couple are starting to wear out. They have more than paid for themselves at this point.

The quality difference goes beyond economics too. Not only do the hold up much longer, but I'm certain they perform better as well to give you much better results.
 
My experience with the HF pads is as follows. Note that the versions I used were from when they first came out around 2013, no idea if they're still the same now.

They work fine for cutting. The cut level is not quite as good as a Lake Country pad of the same type or color. I would suggest doing small sections at a time and cleaning a pad often and/or swapping to a fresh pad often. Make sure your backing plate matches the velcro size on the backing of the pad. The old HF polisher came with a backing plate that was larger than the velcro section on the pads. No idea if that's been updated or not, but people had issues with the velcro tearing up the foam and raining down tiny bits of it down on their cars while polishing which would be annoying to say the least. As someone else said above, the orange and blue pads are very prone to tearing on any sharp edges. Once they tear, the rotational force of the da can cause chunks to fly. Best to avoid or tape off anything sharp. I wouldn't use a lot of pressure with the orange or blue and keep speed around or below 5. They will get the job done, but there are much better pads out there. The black finishing pad is the best of the bunch. I like using those to spread wax or sealants, for that purpose they should hold up for a long time. By the way, NEVER lift a pad off the surface while the DA is running. The orange hf pads will rip to pieces if you do this. I recall several people having the orange pads "explode" and I can almost guarantee they made the mistake of lifting the polisher for that to happen.


All that said, my advice is to pick up better pads. The only times I would consider the HF pads is if you need to detail something right now and they're the only local option available OR you are going to detail a single stage car and don't want to stain your more expensive pads with paint. I think they're a solid option in either of those cases. If you can wait a few days, get something better. Autogeek has sales regularly, keep an eye on the discounts section of the forum.:xyxthumbs:


Eldorado2k said:
Hmm... I just checked a few of the labels on my pads and it looks like Meguiars, Lake Country, and Griots pads are made in the USA. Either ways, I still don't believe that just because a pad is made in China it guarantees it's gonna be crap. Kirklands are made in China, and I think they work just fine on paint. So yea...
Click to expand...

The fact is China can produce stuff just as good as anywhere else so long as you're willing to pay for it. The majority of microfiber towels we all use come from there. I can't tell the difference in quality between my Korean and Chinese towels for what it's worth. Both of them perform flawlessly and last seemingly forever for a DIY'er like me.
 
Totally agree with others re: pads. My first DA was the HF and it did a fine job of correcting paint. But the stock pads are terrible. The best thing I did was buy the LC backing plate and some LC pads. I'd suggest buying the 6 pack of LC pads through AG. I love the ThinPro pads for the HF and would suggest 3 orange and 3 white to start. That combo will allow you to correct and finish most paints you're going to come across. It's not quite enough pads if you're going to polish all in one session, but I tend to break up the process into a couple of days so I'll wash and dry the pads overnight the first day and be ready to finish the second day. If the paint is really bad you'll want to go with heavier cut (grey in the ThinPro pads) or if the paint is only moderately swirled you could with more white pads than orange.

With the current sale going on at AG you could get the 5.5" LC backing plate and a 6 pack of LC ThinPro pads for ~$50 and set yourself up for a whole lot of paint correction in your future.
 
Well, I done did it. Thanks to everyone's advice here, I just placed my order for LC 5" backing plate, 6-pack LC pads, and 32oz HD speed (cause more is better, right ). Now, does anyone have any tips on cleaning pads in between sessions?
 
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