Re: Thin is in... New Lake Country Hydro-Tech Low Profile 5 1/2 x 7/8 Inch Foam Pads
Hard to believe this thread is almost 4 years old!
But it's still true today...
Thin is in...
At least when it comes to polishers like the Porter Cable 7424XP.
What about them makes them better?
Like how does being thinner make it maintain speed better?
Sorry I just now found your question, but the reason a thin pad is better than a thick pad when it comes to the Porter Cable, Meguiar's and Griot's dual action polishers is because they are NOT direct drive and as such thicker and even larger pads mean more mass or volume of foam for these tools to try to keep rotating.
Thinner, smaller pads rotate and oscillate easier simply because they have less mass.
Since this article was written, proof that thinner pads are better for dual action polishers include,
The Meguiar's Xtra Cut Microfiber pads. They are about 1/8th of an inch
thin.
This microfiber pad and the matching compound are intended to do a very good job of replacing the work in the detailing industry traditionally performed by a rotary buffer. This means squeezing every bit of correction ability possible out of a Porter Cable or in this example a Meguiar's DA polisher. And this is in part done by making the Xtra cut pad thin so the tool can maintain pad rotation/oscillation for heavy correction work.
Lake Country Thin Purple Foamed Wool Pads
The Lake Country
THIN Purple Foamed Wool Pad for use with dual action polishers like the Porter Cable, Meguiar's and Griot's dual action polishers.
I called this trend years ago and it comes from years of actually using this tool to buff out just about everything under the sun and teaching others to do likewise.
I think I have the only article on the Internet that documents the history of dual action polishers.
The history behind polishing paint with a DA Polisher
