Microfiber pads - your experience?

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986DTM

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I'm in the market for a couple new pads. I've always used Lake Country flat foam pads but I've read a lot of good things about Uro Fiber pads. I haven't been able to find an exact answer, but to those who have used both, how would you compare a Uro Fiber to say a Lake Country orange or yellow?

I'm mainly looking for something that will work well as a one step on hard light paint (an Alpine White BMW, specifically). In the past I have used Sonax Cut and Finish or Tac Refinish Ultra with an orange or yellow pad with decent results. For this type of paint, would I stand to gain anything from going with a microfiber pad? If so, is Uro Fiber the way to go??

Also, I've read a lot about the 3D One + Uro Fiber combo. Would it be worth picking up a bottle or would it be unnecessary given the two products I already have? Again, this is for a one step on hard white paint.

Oh and I have a Dewalt polisher (cordless, free spinning, 15mm throw) if that makes a difference.
 
I can't answer your exact question but I can give you a corollary.

I have used the Uro Tec coarse blue pads as well as the Rupes coarse blue wool pads. The Rupes actually has as much or more correction capability as the Uro Tec coarse and polishes up nicer. It still needs a follow up polishing step but the Rupes coarse blue wool pads polish out better than the Uro Tec coarse blue pad. The end result would be Rupes coarse blue wool would save time compounding and polishing. By the way, my testing was with Menzerna 400, Griot's Fast Correcting Cream, CutMax, and Rupes coarse (blue) polish. Results were similar with all compounds used.

So I'd say the Uro Fiber pads would work well but you could also check out the Rupes coarse blue wool pads.
 
I use the micro fiber pads on almost all my light color 1 steps, they cut faster and finish out good enough for a one step. I don’t use the 3D One anymore because sometimes the wipe off is frustrating, I like Megs D300, Sonax Cut and Finish and Optimum Polish or Compound. Just make sure to brush or use an air compressor to fluff up the fibers or you’ll see a drop off in cutting.
 
Griots Fast Finishing MF pads work great as a light cut pad with a mild polish.
 
Consider the rupes yellow wool pads. They are versatile for harder paints and finish out surprising well even with a compound. You don't need 3D One considering what you have. Most products can be used for a one step.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I'll be honest, I've always thought of wool as something you would only use for serious correction, so I find it interesting there is a supposed "medium" wool pad. The Rupes wool pads do seem to be well received.

I know the only way to get a straight answer would be to buy all these pad and do a test spot with each of them, but would anyone be able to give me a general approximation of how these pads compare to one another? Uro Fiber, Rupes blue, and Rupes yellow....how do they compare in terms cutting and finishing to a Lake Country orange or yellow foam pad? Sorry, Lake Country is the only brand I've worked with, so they're my only frame of reference!

Also, for the wool and microfiber pads, how many should I expect to use per car? Assuming you clean the pad with a brush after every panel or so, can you go around the whole car using the same pad? I'd be buying 2 at the very least. One for my 5" polisher, and one for my 3".
 
986DTM said:
Also, for the wool and microfiber pads, how many should I expect to use per car? Assuming you clean the pad with a brush after every panel or so, can you go around the whole car using the same pad? I'd be buying 2 at the very least. One for my 5" polisher, and one for my 3".
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You’re going to need way more than 1 microfiber pad.. MF pads tend to need replacing faster than foam pads, unless you’re using compressed air to clean them, and even then they need to be replaced sooner than later.

I’d say expect to have at least 4 large microfiber pads to get through a car and that’s on a good day. It’s possible to breeze by with less, but those occasions seem to be kind of rare.

Bare minimum pick up four 5” pads and two 3” microfiber pads.

The LC Flat Foam Orange pad is sweet. So sweet I’m probably going to pick some more up soon. They’re just flat out impressive pads.
 
I've mainly been using Meguiars 3" MF Cutting Discs and have, for the most part, enjoyed its ability to correct and finish very well. Only annoying part is you constantly have to blow out the pads after every pass because the fibers get matted down quickly. You'll need plenty of them to go around the vehicle as I like to swap out for a fresh new one after a couple panels.

I tried the Uro Fiber and it didn't do nearly as well as the Meguiars for me. The strands are a little longer than the Megs and sometimes it felt like the pads were way more grabby at times. It took longer, for me, to correct and finish down a section with the Uro Fiber. In my opinion, the Meguiars is much easier to work with and better performing.

I used 3D One and Griots CC interchangeably as my polish on a Maxshine 8" DA and old PC DA.
 
I am with Guz on recommending the Rupes yellow wool - great pads.

I have been using MF pads since Meg's brought out their MF cutting and finishing pads + the matching polishes. I spoke with Mike Pennington at a Detail Fest, and he recommended using 2 dots of M105 + 1 dot of D301(?) on a cutting pad and I was amazed at how well that corrected the paint on our Civic that foam pads would not touch.
When I work with MF pads I keep 2 pads in rotation - polish, clean pad, swap to a 2nd cleaned pad (to let the other one cool off), and repeat. I melted the backing plate on my Rupes 15 MK11 being lazy and overheating an MF pad.

Fast forward 10 years, I have switched to the wool pads and they work great. The wool pads run cooler, which allows for a larger work area, and less passes for the same results.
 
Appreciate the info guys. Have to say, you've got me leaning towards the wool now! I guess my question is what exactly is gained or lost going from foam to wool? Again, no specific issues with what I've used in the past, but like most of us, I'm always looking for an easier way to get better results.

Thinking I might try out both the Rupes blue and yellow wool pads? Or is the blue a little too much for what I am going for? Again, not really sure exactly where these two fit in relative to what I am used to. Would I be correct in assuming Rupes yellow wool = LC orange foam, Rupes blue wool = LC yellow foam?
 
I usually use Uro-Fiber pads.

I really liked the old Blue and yellow microfiber pads - the first gen from Rupes.

The hardest cutting I've ever used was the Lake Country, which is what I'm switching to after my current stock is depleted.

I am also keeping the blue and yellow Rupes wool pads in the arsenal. They really work great with DA Coarse and DA Fine - as well as anything else I've used them with. Very durable, with a very high quality fit, finish, and feel.

DA Coarse with the blue wool is one of my heaviest cutting combos.
 
How perfect do you really have to get white paint?
And once you get it perfect, if the paint really is hard, why are you instilling swirls in it again to the point where you need to aggressively compound every so often?

Do what you enjoy, but if it was me I’d look into wash technique in order to prevent instilling the swirls.
 
986DTM said:
Appreciate the info guys. Have to say, you've got me leaning towards the wool now! I guess my question is what exactly is gained or lost going from foam to wool? Again, no specific issues with what I've used in the past, but like most of us, I'm always looking for an easier way to get better results.

Thinking I might try out both the Rupes blue and yellow wool pads? Or is the blue a little too much for what I am going for? Again, not really sure exactly where these two fit in relative to what I am used to. Would I be correct in assuming Rupes yellow wool = LC orange foam, Rupes blue wool = LC yellow foam?
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Generally, fiber pads cut harder than foam. At the shop, we normally use the orange for an aggressive polishing process when we want a good finish.

Rupes Yellow wool is a little different. Very often it can remove more defects and usually finish out as good as the orange foam.

In my experience, the wool and foams listed don't necessarily correlate.

If you go with the Rupes wool. Maybe consider their foams for finishing. The only pad of theirs I don't have yet are the new blue foams.
 
Eldorado2k said:
How perfect do you really have to get white paint?
And once you get it perfect, if the paint really is hard, why are you instilling swirls in it again to the point where you need to aggressively compound every so often?

Do what you enjoy, but if it was me I’d look into wash technique in order to prevent instilling the swirls.
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Yep, paint is finite.
 
Fair question regarding my wash technique! The car belongs to a family member. I last polished it roughly 3 years ago, and from what I hear, it needs a bit of work again. So my original intent behind creating this post was to see if there was a pad that could get me better results in one step, using the polishes I have. I'm not going for perfection, but I'd like a nice turnaround.

I should add that I already have white, black, and a few orange pads as well as a few milder polishes (Essence, Speed, Ultimate Polish). Its my yellow pads which I need replacements for and the orange pads that I need more of. I'm just trying to decide if I should buy more yellow and orange pads, or if wool/microfiber would fill that gap in my arsenal better.
 
986DTM said:
Appreciate the info guys. Have to say, you've got me leaning towards the wool now! I guess my question is what exactly is gained or lost going from foam to wool? Again, no specific issues with what I've used in the past, but like most of us, I'm always looking for an easier way to get better results.

Thinking I might try out both the Rupes blue and yellow wool pads? Or is the blue a little too much for what I am going for? Again, not really sure exactly where these two fit in relative to what I am used to. Would I be correct in assuming Rupes yellow wool = LC orange foam, Rupes blue wool = LC yellow foam?
Click to expand...

You gain cut and lower heat compared to foam and microfiber.

You won’t need the blue wool as the yellow wool is very versatile with either a compound or polish.

I always have about 6 pads on hand. Can never have enough as I swap them out every panel or two.
 
I really like the Rupes Med Wool pads..A lot!....,,they finish out really well IMHO and I have even used them on the rotary from time to time.
I do like the Rupes MF coarse cut as well,,,mostly for cutting quickly and doing the heavy work with the DA,,I also use the Meguiars MF pads (can't remember #'s) ,,they work pretty good but the Rupes a better for sure
 
I haven’t used the Rupes yellow wool, only the blue wool so I’ll have to pick up some of those. Thanks guys. Or should I say, thanks guys, something else to purchase dammit. :). But regarding the wool vs microfiber cutting, the wool is way more aggressive and yet can still finish well. But with any of the fiber pads, they work REALLY well cleaned with compressed air and a pad brush. I like the Rupes pad brush best. So I’d recommend getting the Rupes yellow wool and then use a compound or polish to shift aggressiveness. And use compressed air as you can use fewer fiber pads by cleaning with air and the air also helps cool the pads down. And then possibly follow up with a polishing pad but on white that might not even be needed as I doubt you’d notice a difference.
 
One thing about the Rupes Yellow Wool that may not have been mentioned is they are a sheer joy to use

They follow contours on swoopy body panels like no other correcting or polishing pad I have ever used

They feel like the softest application pads

They just flow...
 
Alright alright! I get it! I'm already sold on the medium wool. You guys can stop now! :D

Hopefully there will be a sale for Black Friday....
 
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