pad failure

terriusvette

terriusvette

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i have a terrible case of pad failure here. this was my 1st take at using a da polisher. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?

products used:

meguairs da mt300
meg's compound and polish
meg's microfiber cutting pad and polishing pad
 
It looks like excessive heat caused by too much speed, pressure, pad saturation, one or more. How long had you been using the pad? What speed?
 
4800-5800 for polishing and 3800-4800 for compounding if i remember correctly. i murdered this backing plate about two weeks ago sadly
 
IMO, too high speed, too much pressure and too much product. All 3 variables IMO.
 
so whats a good compounding speed?
whats a good polishing speed? using the MT300 if you're familiar w/ the tool?

i have some extremely whacked and neglected paint on my moms car. figured i needed more pressure to remove them and ease up on each pass
 
terriusvette said:
so whats a good compounding speed?
whats a good polishing speed? using the MT300 if you're familiar w/ the tool?

i have some extremely whacked and neglected paint on my moms car. figured i needed more pressure to remove them and ease up on each pass
Click to expand...

Trying not to just repeat what everyone else said, try changing pads often. I've had this problem with the Meg's M/F pads myself and it can be a HUGE problem because it is sudden and the flies off the polisher and it can damage a car real fast (Polisher hitting car), almost happened to me.

On the pressure your adding, allow the pad and the compound do all the work for you and let up a bit on the pressure, I apologize if i am stating the obvious here...
This might mean you have to invest other compounds that are more aggressive at removing swirls if it is really hammered.
 
Btw if you havent invested in pads yet,
Theirs a lad thats really beveled to help with pad heat retention
Thinknot was buff n shine..
Have to recheck for myself
 
If memory serves me, Meg's MF discs shouldn't be used over 4000 opm. Higher speeds will generate too much heat.
 
terriusvette said:
so whats a good compounding speed?
whats a good polishing speed? using the MT300 if you're familiar w/ the tool?

i have some extremely whacked and neglected paint on my moms car. figured i needed more pressure to remove them and ease up on each pass
Click to expand...

I am not familiar with the MT300 but I would assume it is similar to the PC7424 XP. I would highly recommend getting Mike Phillips book The Art of Detailing. I think he has updated the version, I have the older version. That will give you quite a bit of information on using the DA for several brands.

Assuming the MT300 is similar to the PC: Speed setting for

Correcting:
Lake Country CCS Pad or equivalent: 5" Orange Pad with Menzerna FG400 or Megs 105 or equivalent. Speed setting 5 and NO MORE than 15 pounds pressure (MAX). I would generally go from 7 to 12 pounds of pressure. You can check by putting pressure on a weight scale and get an idea of the pressure.

Polishing:
Lake Country CCS 5" White Pad or equivalent with Menzerna SF4000/4500 or Megs 205 or equivalent. Speed setting 5 and same amount of pressure as above.

Sealant/Waxing:
Lake Country CCS 5" Black, Red or Gold Pad or equivalent. Speed setting 2 - 3. Pressure should be the weight of the DA ie...no pressure.

I would put a mark or line on the BP to see if the BP is spinning. Additionally, keep the pad as flat as possible. 3 or 4 Peas size drops for you pad when correcting.

I would look at getting at least 2 to 3 Orange and White Pads for correcting/polishing. 1 Pad for sealant or waxing.

This is assuming you moms car is a small to medium sized car. If it is larger add one more Orange and White Pad.

You need to let the product work for you. Additionally, too much pressure will defeat the purpose of correcting/polishing. Practice your technique in slow rythmic motions.

Technique IMO is the most important thing to detailing and product is secondary. However, let the product work for you not the other way around. I hope this helps.

Again, I would highly recommend Mike Phillips book on The Art of Detailing. I still read that book during down times. I got most of the information from his book. To be more specific his section on the DA Polisher from pages 48 - 78.

I think there is a revised version of his book, however, you will gain valuable knowledge from his books. I know I have.

I hope this helps!!
 
terriusvette said:
so whats a good compounding speed?
whats a good polishing speed? using the MT300 if you're familiar w/ the tool?

i have some extremely whacked and neglected paint on my moms car. figured i needed more pressure to remove them and ease up on each pass
Click to expand...

This is where you went wrong. You don't need a lot of pressure when using the microfiber cutting pads. If you want to get more aggressive change out the compound you are using or move up to the xtra cut microfiber pads. You can move up to an aggressive compound like M100, M105 or M101.

I had no issues using the MT300 with the microfiber cutting pads.

Everything you need to know is in this thread.

Using Meguiar's D/A Microfiber Correction System

Have you considered the new thin foam pads from Meguiar's? They work great with the MT300.
 
Thanks for the input and guidance I'll be sure to test my new products and pads when they get here next week
 
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