Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think? :D

[JCDetails]

So today I did a thing...got to take something from idea to reality.

View attachment 62814


Yup, your eyes do not deceive you. That’s a griots g15 with a yellow rupes Mille pad on it. I imagine this is the detailing equivalent of putting a ford engine in a chevy hot rod

I ordered up a Mille pad pack (2 blue, 2 yellow, 2 white) and just received them today.

I decided to test it alongside the new Jescar medium polish. To test, I took a medium bristle brush and a little piece of 2000 grit hap-hazardly to my test hood. A little blurry but you can see the scratches to the left. Medium polish is stated to be effective against 2500 grit, so I figured this was a good test.

The Mille pad is a lot thinner, about half. The foam composition doesn’t feel that different. This pad IMO could be a contender to replace the thinpros in my arsenal.


View attachment 62813


I primed the pad for 30s at speed one with 4 drops slightly larger than peas as recommended by rupes. I then added two pea sized dots and worked the roughly 12x12 area of damage. I made 4 total section passes with a little extra love to an area with deeper scratches. I was pretty pleased with the results, given I was asking sort of a lot of a medium polish and a light/moderate cutting pad.

View attachment 62815

A little haze from a previous test but at distance it looks pretty good.

View attachment 62816

There’s one spot that you can kind of see in just the right light (below and to the left of the pot light in the pic) that it didn’t dig out. I have no doubt that medium polish on a pad with a little more cut (mf finishing maybe?) would have done it.

The pad profile made things a little interesting. The angled edge means if your technique isn’t all there, you’ll feel it. If I didn’t have a solid grip on the machine or didn’t have it dead flat, she’d start to walk on me to whatever side had less contact. It seemed to be more forgiving with moderate pressure as opposed to light pressure but overall a decent experience. I can definitely see the green yellow and white Mille pads being a great combo to compliment the free spinning long throws. I bet they’d be incredible on a duetto as well. I will probably still reach for MF for cutting, but this is a great option for finishing and AIO Work, albeit ‘coloring outside the lines’ a bit.

I plan to do some more testing in an untouched area of this hood with different pad and product combos, so stay tuned!




Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[Eldorado2k]

Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

Thanks for taking the time to demonstrate how these new pads test when used the unconventional way.
What speed did you have the polisher on?
Is there anything specific that you dislike about the Thinpros?
Would you be willing to say you’d prefer these over the Thinpros after just this 1st test run?
Anything to report as far as how the pad cleaned up after use?

Only minor complaint is that it would’ve been nice to have seen a clear close up pic of the defects before polishing.

 

[JCDetails]

Re: Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

Thanks for taking the time to demonstrate how these new pads test when used the unconventional way.
What speed did you have the polisher on?
Is there anything specific that you dislike about the Thinpros?
Would you be willing to say you’d prefer these over the Thinpros after just this 1st test run?
Anything to report as far as how the pad cleaned up after use?

Only minor complaint is that it would’ve been nice to have seen a clear close up pic of the defects before polishing.

Hey Eldo, thanks for the detailed questions, I’m more than happy to discuss.

I agree about the defect photos, I got a little too ahead of myself and forgot to snap it. I’ll definitely have more.

Test was done spreading product at 1 and then worked at 3.5. I normally work polishes at 4 but 3.5 felt ok.

The only complaint I have about thinpros is that damn gray pad. I hate those things. I love the orange but sometimes wish there was another step up in cut without going to a mf pad. To be fair, the griots boss pads do offer that but I don’t find them to be as good a value for dollar right now.

As of right now I’d reach for these over thinpros when using Rupes polishes but I need to do some testing with my AIOs as that’s primarily where my thinpros get used. I don’t have many heavy 2-3 step corrections come up so maybe the Mille pads will shine in that role if it comes about.

I will say, if nothing else they are a pretty good training pad if you have doubts about whether you’re keeping the polisher flat. You will know right away where you need to adjust where the normal rupes pads and other thicker ones are more forgiving. Interestingly thinpros have never walked on me as much as the Mille pads. I figure it’s due to the hard angle on the outside of the pad opposed to the rounded edge on thinpros.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[JCDetails]

Also, haven’t cleaned it yet but I use a pad washer now so I’m not worried. I’ve had good luck cleaning rupes pads with it, maybe I’ll try this one by hand again


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[fightnews]

Its wierd that these mille pads are so thin when they supposed to be for a forced rotation pad. The force flexes are thick so who has the right idea?

 

[JCDetails]

Its wierd that these mille pads are so thin when they supposed to be for a forced rotation pad. The force flexes are thick so who has the right idea?

Time will tell. As I recall, the force pads are about the same size as the HDOs but have a different foam composition to deal with the additional heat generated by the gear driven action. They're both about the same thickness as factory rupes free-spinning pads.


I definitely think the walking issue would be mitigated by the smaller orbit of the mille, or at least make it less noticeable.

I really don't believe there's a 'right' idea in this case. It'll just generate a different input to one of the variables of polishing that will need to be compensated or complimented by technique and/or product.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

Its wierd that these mille pads are so thin when they supposed to be for a forced rotation pad. The force flexes are thick so who has the right idea?

It’s not the idea or even the look that matters, it’s about how they’re made that matters. Remember how he said that the texture of the foam doesn’t feel a whole lot different from the other pads, but I’d be willing to bet there’s a substantial difference between these and other foam pads when viewed up close through a microscope.

Otherwise why would these companies put so much time and effort into engineering so many different pads with precise uses if 1 size fits all could do the same job.

 

[JCDetails]

Re: Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

It’s not the idea or even the look that matters, it’s about how they’re made that matters. Remember how he said that the texture of the foam doesn’t feel a whole lot different from the other pads, but I’d be willing to bet there’s a substantial difference between these and other foam pads when viewed up close through a microscope.

Otherwise why would these companies put so much time and effort into engineering so many different pads with precise uses if 1 size fits all could do the same job.

Eldo, I totally agree with your comments, but I wanted to clarify a little. My intent with that statement was that the mille yellow foam didn't feel much different than the standard yellow rupes foam we all know and love.


I definitely see some similarities to other mfg's pads in the texture, but that's super subjective and really doesn't hold much weight, scientifically at least.

 

[DBAILEY]

The Mille pads are almost same size, thickness, shape as the BOSS pads. Backing material on the Rupes is a bit stiffer than the BOSS pad material.

 

[SWETM]

Intresting testing you are doing. I have been near to order the mille foam pads to my 21mm longthrow polisher. Bought the safe option the original yellow rupes pad to both the 21mm and the mini polisher I have. Have Sonax proffessional finishing green pads that's very thin. And some thin cutting pads too in maroon color.

Will follow your findings. Do you have any else of mille pads?

 

[fightnews]

Re: Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

It’s not the idea or even the look that matters, it’s about how they’re made that matters. Remember how he said that the texture of the foam doesn’t feel a whole lot different from the other pads, but I’d be willing to bet there’s a substantial difference between these and other foam pads when viewed up close through a microscope.

Otherwise why would these companies put so much time and effort into engineering so many different pads with precise uses if 1 size fits all could do the same job.

It absolutley does matter the force flex pads are thicker then hdo. Because the 3401 force rotation can handle it. The thinpro and griots type pads stall easier on long throws. That's why griots came out with the inner flex pad to prevent stalling. Foam counts to but thickness is equally important.

I just want to know if it's alright to use the new Millie polishes with long throw machines. I know you can obviously but is it going to make it a worse polish? They say its designed for forced rotation machine but does that really make a diffrence or is it just a marketing thing?

 

[fightnews]

Re: Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

It’s not the idea or even the look that matters, it’s about how they’re made that matters. Remember how he said that the texture of the foam doesn’t feel a whole lot different from the other pads, but I’d be willing to bet there’s a substantial difference between these and other foam pads when viewed up close through a microscope.

Otherwise why would these companies put so much time and effort into engineering so many different pads with precise uses if 1 size fits all could do the same job.

To sell more pads

 

[JCDetails]

The Mille pads are almost same size, thickness, shape as the BOSS pads. Backing material on the Rupes is a bit stiffer than the BOSS pad material.

I don't own any 5.5" BOSS pads but it certainly seems like they're similar. The thinpros are just a touch thinner than both the BOSS and mille. Interestingly, it looks like Rupes have lightened up the velcro on the mille pads. They are nowhere near as difficult to remove.

Intresting testing you are doing. I have been near to order the mille foam pads to my 21mm longthrow polisher. Bought the safe option the original yellow rupes pad to both the 21mm and the mini polisher I have. Have Sonax proffessional finishing green pads that's very thin. And some thin cutting pads too in maroon color.

Will follow your findings. Do you have any else of mille pads?

The kit I purchased came with 2x blue, 2x yellow, and 2x white. I haven't found myself to be too big a fan of the blue ones on my mini and nano but figured I'd give them a shot on the G15 since they came with the kit.

 

[JCDetails]

Re: Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

It absolutley does matter the force flex pads are thicker then hdo. Because the 3401 force rotation can handle it. The thinpro and griots type pads stall easier on long throws. That's why griots came out with the inner flex pad to prevent stalling. Foam counts to but thickness is equally important.

I just want to know if it's alright to use the new Millie polishes with long throw machines. I know you can obviously but is it going to make it a worse polish? They say its designed for forced rotation machine but does that really make a diffrence or is it just a marketing thing?

IIRC the innerflex pad was mainly made for the MF fast correcting pad to help it contour a little better as it's basically a velcro backing with MF stuck to it and no foam in between. The innerflex places the foam behind the backing vs in front of it so you still get the same cut but a little more conformity.

The way Rupes talks about the mille liquids leads me to believe that they may take longer to work down on a standard long throw vs a forced action. The forced DA will do a better job of moving the abrasives in a more consistent manner versus a free spinning DA. I also would assume that the mille liquids have a higher level of lubricity due to the added heat that forced machines typically create, and so you might not get the same amount of cut without that forced action.

 

[SWETM]

Re: Hey Todd/Dylan....this void the warranty you think?

It absolutley does matter the force flex pads are thicker then hdo. Because the 3401 force rotation can handle it. The thinpro and griots type pads stall easier on long throws. That's why griots came out with the inner flex pad to prevent stalling. Foam counts to but thickness is equally important.

I just want to know if it's alright to use the new Millie polishes with long throw machines. I know you can obviously but is it going to make it a worse polish? They say its designed for forced rotation machine but does that really make a diffrence or is it just a marketing thing?

Is it something that you have experienced your self that thinner pads stalls easier on longthrow polishers? Cause I have heard the other way around. Will test it out when testing the Sonax green polishing pad that is very thin and the Rupes yellow and white foam pads. Can post a picture of them side by side later.

Don't think that Rupes just make different pads and polishes for to sell more different products. In their system I think you would be makeing the difference and it's works better. Then when the Mille and the Mille products has been out for a while and people like the OP has tested it outside of the system. We will be notice that it's maybe works better with other products on the Mille or the Mille products works great on other polisher.

 

[JCDetails]

Thinner pads on a free spinning DA most certainly do not stall easier. SWETM is correct, they actually keep it from stalling in situations where it otherwise would with a thicker pad.

Nowhere is this more evident than on the lower powered, smaller orbit machines like my MT300. Like i've been saying for a while now, had I tried thinpros on that machine sooner, I may not have bought a long throw at all.

 

[DBAILEY]

I don't think its a different type of foam, just a different shape than their original long throw pads by being thinner. We have other brands that are that thin already. They are probably more aggressive than the original ones being lighter and less mass, but you'll loose a bit of cushioning the thicker pad provides to help keep spinning on contours.

JCDetails concerns about the polishes is the real dilemma. I'm sure that Rupe's optimized the polish for forced rotation use and will work differently with a long throw.

 

[JCDetails]

I don't think its a different type of foam, just a different shape than their original long throw pads by being thinner. We have other brands that are that thin already. They are probably more aggressive than the original ones being lighter and less mass, but you'll loose a bit of cushioning the thicker pad provides to help keep spinning on contours.

I disagree, if only slightly. I have a feeling that in addition to making the pad thinner, they probably tweaked the foam's composition a bit to deal with the forced action.

The only real thin pads I know of are the thinpros and the BOSS pads, maybe the B&S low pros? I haven't tried them because of their cost vs the other options out there. I'm actually surprised that others haven't followed suit, there aren't many other options that I know of.

 

[Eldorado2k]

The only complaint I have about thinpros is that damn gray pad. I hate those things.

Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

It’s funny you say that. My favorite 3” foam pad by far is that little Gray Thinpro.. I don’t know how the larger 1 feels or performs, but the little 3” one is an absolute stud!

The only real thin pads I know of are the thinpros and the BOSS pads, maybe the B&S low pros? I haven't tried them because of their cost vs the other options out there. I'm actually surprised that others haven't followed suit, there aren't many other options that I know of.

You’re forgetting the originators of thin foam pads... Meguiars.

 

[Mike@ShineStruck]

Its wierd that these mille pads are so thin when they supposed to be for a forced rotation pad. The force flexes are thick so who has the right idea?

It's due to the small MM orbit
The Makita reacts same way
Smoother with thin foam pads vs thick pads

Neither will like regular wool or foamed wool like LC purple..they will turn into Jack hammers
Needs MF and Wool with a foam inner layer to keep vibration at a minimumal.