I just bought a new bottle of Perfect Finish and i cant wait to try it! The article mentions to use only two drops per pass.
Do i need to prime the pad first using the Kevin Brown Method and wetting the entire surface?
Yes.
I have not read Todd's article on SPF I'm sure it's good though as Todd is very good writer when it comes to sharing ideas and techniques using a keyboard.
Here's the deal though, anytime you're using a dual action polisher, it never hurts to start out priming a dry pad with the product you're going to use and then add what I call you're "working products".
Sure all the product on the pad, the primed part and the drops, (working product), are going to be "working" but it's the additional drops that end up getting spread out over the surface that end up doing the majority of the cutting because these are the abrasives being pushed over the surface.
One thing I've tried to do is share this technique most every time I've demonstrated how to machine polish with a DA Polisher on TV. No reason to keep all the cool techniques to ourselves here in the Cyberworld.
Besides all the regulars that read this forum I know we have hundreds of lurkers that read it every hour of every day and thousands of lurkers over the course of just a few days as this forum in incredibly busy. And besides this thread being hot right now, hundreds and thousands of people will read it into the future.
So for all the lurkers now and into the future that might not be aware of what us regulars are talking about, here's a few pictures to tell the story...
How to prime a foam pad when using a DA Polisher
Here are 3 ways to apply product to your pad.
1. Priming the pad then adding product to work with
Priming a clean, dry pad is considered the best approach for using a DA Polisher because it ensures that 100% of the working surface of the pad is wet with product and working at maximum efficiency when you turn the polisher on. I originally learned of this technique from my friend Kevin Brown.
Priming the pad also ensures that you don't have any dry portion of the pad working over the paint un-lubricated. This really isn't a risk because since you're just starting out you're going to be removing defects a lot more serious than would be caused by any portion of the pad that is dry and spinning against the paint.
Plus, after just a few passes, the product you apply to specific areas of the face of the pad will migrate over the entire face of the pad and it will do this rather quickly when you're on the higher speed settings.
Priming the Pad - For clean, dry pads
Start with a clean, dry pad and add some fresh product to be spread out to the face of the pad. Using your finger, spread the product out over the pad and then using your finger work it into the pores of the pad. Don't saturate the pad, just use enough product to make sure that 100% of the working face of the pad has product coverage.
Work the product around the face of the pad and into the pores
Any extra, take and apply to the outer edge until 100% of the working face of the pad is primed with product.
As an option you can also prime the outer edge. This helps if you're buffing around convex curves or around panels that the edge of your buffing pad may come into contact with, like spoilers, side mirror housings, curved panels etc.
Primed and ready to add "Working Product" to.
Adding "Working Product" to the primed pad
Some people will recommend 3 to 4 pea size drops of product as the proper amount of product to use and this can be correct for
concentrated products or working small sections and if you follow this advice make sure you are not
under-lubricating the surface being worked.
Pea size drops of product
For some products and paint conditions, you may want more product on the surface working for you. Here's an example of dime size drops of product.
Dime size drops of product
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